User blog comment:Pygmy Hippo 2/Oliver Cromwell vs. Takeda Shingen/@comment-27358240-20190408010528

Kazanshin's "TYBALT YOU HERETIC PREPARE TO FACE MY WRATH!" edges:

Swords: Nodachi. Straight up, no contest. First off, you guys are blindly assuming the nodachi is going to be some kind of slow mace or hammer-like weapon. This is definitely not the case. Over here in the Jigen-Ryu school of nodachi, our goal is not strength: it's lethality. We don't just blindly go around swinging that sword like a maniac (well, we kind of do look like maniacs, but still), we focus on strength, speed, and accuracy. All of out blows are directed at a weak point of armor such as the groin, the sides of the neck, or if necessary straight at the top of the head to cause concussions and knock the guy out cold. We also value speed, with the speed of our 続け打ち (consecutive blows) being the main way to earn respect amongst our fellow apprentices. The more hits you can dish out in the span of a single breath, the better swordsman you are. Then, sheathing. I don't know where you got that, but a nodachi can be sheathed just fine. Sure, during the relatively peaceful times of the Ashikaga shogunate, the nodachi was only a symbol of social status, attendants were ordered to carry them around. However, how do you expect a guy to do an anime samurai quickdraw without sheathing his sword? The main issue brought up with carrying a nodachi on your waist is its difficulty to draw. However, this is easily possible by pulling the scabbard back when drawing, making the space needed to draw a sword much smaller. Basically, stronger, longer, not slow or cumbersome in any way. Nodachi wins. Edge: 武田信玄

Spears: This isn't a hard one. The two weapons are basically the same, but the yari is longer and has hooks to dismount people with. I could go on with how the yari could be used from horseback, but even I have doubts about a massive pike could be used from atop a horse. Edge: 武田信玄

Muskets: Again, easy edge for Shingen. A better version of the same weapon and the tanegashima can be used from horseback as the Date clan has proven in battle. Edge: 武田信玄

Special: Yumi. Longer range, better accuracy, faster reload (especially on horseback), users are far more skilled. "But Kazanshin, the doglocks will annihilate the gusoku but the arrows will just  bounce off the cuirass like marshmallows!" Allow me to introduce you to this video. In this, we see the wheellock pistol be stopped by early lamellar armor, definitely inferior to the Tosei Gusoku in terms of durability. I'm not saying the Yumi will have an easier time killing an armored man, but it's going to be able to do a relatively similar (if not better) job from longer and do it faster. Also, I very much doubt anybody would have given the edge to the pistol if Shingen's weapon was named "English Longbow" instead of "Yumi". Eh, that's how it is I guess. Edge: 武田信玄

X-Factors and Final Verdict: First off, Cromwell takes armor, but do his troops do so as well? For cavalry, I'm sure wealthy horsemen could afford great armor, but I don't think common foot soldier could do the same. While this was the same for the Ashigaru, I actually believe the ashigaru have better armor than contemporary European common foot soldiers, mainly because of better limb protection. European munitions armor  had little to no limb protection, making it very easy in this case for the Ashigarus to simply attack limbs and hack them off. Ashigaru okegawa-do, on the other hand, had kikko and kusari style limb armor which protected their arms. This is the main reason why I'm rating armor even. Even if the high-ranking soldiers have better armor, if the common footmen don't stack up well enough it won't do much good. Tactics, easy edge to Shingen. First, let me elaborate on his losses. First thing, the battle of Uedahara, I won't deny it, that was a decisive defeat. However, the main thing I want to elaborate on is the battles of Kawanakajima. These standstills are nothing to be laughed at. The foe Shingen was facing in those battles was Uesugi Kenshin, his arch-rival and biggest rival. The rivalry between these two lords is legendary, and they alongside Oda Nobunaga are known within our history nerd community in Japan as the Divine Beasts of the Sengoku (the Tiger Shingen, the Dragon Kenshin, and the Kirin Nobunaga). Kenshin was an extremely successful general. He has lost pretty much no large scale battle and was believed by many to be the reincarnation of godfucking Bishamonten, the God of War. It was a series of clashes between tactical geniuses and they fought to standstills, is it something unimpressive? In my eyes, it's the manliest and badass battles of the Sengoku Jidai. Shingen won most of his battles except Uedahara and was rightfully feared. Hell, he's one of the generals to have won the most battles in history. So yeah, umm, how to summarize this? Shingen is a better tactician, fought for much longer compared to Cromwell who only really fought for ten years and worked a lot as a politician. He has better weapons, is more skilled and his footmen have better armor. So yeah, Shingen wins......... BANZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!  最強戦士：武田信玄公！