His extraordinary talent was well known, and his father Nariaki TOKUGAWA's confidant, Tatewaki AJIMA, commented on him as "someone who will purify the Tokugawa Family line"; he singly shouldered the expectation of restoring the Shogunate's authority, and when his highly touted tenure as the Shogun began, his brilliance was praised as "the return of Ieyasu TOKUGAWA".
英邁さで知られ、実父・徳川斉昭の腹心・安島帯刀は、慶喜を「徳川の流れを清ましめん御仁」と評し、幕威回復の期待を一身に背負い鳴物入りで将軍位に就くと、「徳川家康の再来」とまでその英明を称えられた。