Fangirls

And then they start discussing Denmark x Norway, Denmark x Netherlands, Sweden x Åland and Germany x Denmark x Netherlands.
Sister Japan teaches Sister America the fine art of the nosebleed, and by the end of the day they agree to meet regularly to stalk the boys, write fanfiction and draw fanart.
Watch out everyone... The Ultimate Yaoi Shipper Duo is born.

@Kyasarin <yes... just yes

Japan's obsession with America has roots in WWII. For the Japanese, the concept of emotions and will having power of their own is fundamental to their spirituality (if not consciously). They call this force "ki" (breath) and it is a measure of a being's life force. Japan was doing very well at conquering other nations in WWII, and there was a strong sense of nationalistic superiority (that Japan is better because it is destined to be).

And then America dropped two massive bombs on them. Bombs with a power that no one had ever seen, that killed invisibly and for weeks and months afterward. It was like we poisoned reality itself. This, to the Japanese, is a demonstration of ki that they never imagined was possible. It was so traumatic to the Japanese consciousness as a whole that it persists in their film TV, and manga even now (large, dome-shaped explosions that annihilate everything they touch).

We also invaded and occupied the country for years afterward, reshaping their entire culture (it's where the Japanese schoolgirl uniform comes from; the one that looks like a little sailor suit) and restricting in law how the Japanese military was allowed to develop (this is why anime and manga words for military forces translate to things like "defense force"; military was only allowed for defensive purposes). This treaty still exists and even now restricts Japan's military in ways that are making it vulnerable to China.

@Vulturedoors Going to have to correct you on a few points here:

* "Ki" is the Japanese word for the Chnese "Qi" wich is a sort of hypothetical, mystic energy said to exist in the human body. It has nothing to do with waht you just described. You're thinking of the concept of "Yamato Damashii" wich means "Japanese Spirit" and is sort of like the Japanese version of the American Dream: the Japanese have a certain character wich allows them to work hard with intense focus to achieve their goals and never, ever, EVER surrender. This was exploited in WW2 as you said.

* The atomic bomb was actually not considered a big deal by the Japanese military top brass at the time. It was just another big bomb to them, and they were still ready to fight.

* Japan was never invaded. The furthest the Allies got before Japan surrendered was Okinawa.

* Japanese school uniforms are designed after the Prussian dito and well predates the entirety of WW2.

Two girls were in the same class . One was Japanese one Americans. The japanese girl would bleach and curk her hair. The American with blonde curly would straighten and dye it darker.

Ottowa seems very confused, But when isnt he confused?

@BadgeOfBall when absolutely nothing is happening of course.

@BadgeOfBall Chihuahua’s are lazy. They aren’t confused when they are sleeping of course

I ship it! Japan and America should totally get married! :-D

@Uhtceare
They're both fujoshi though... (girls super into gay men).

japan and america were killed eachothers in ww2, and now become bestie.. Will it happened with north korea too
Edit: i think my prediction will come true https://news.sky.com/story/trump-on-kim-jong-un-we-fell-in-love-after-beautiful-letters-11513244

@Zuperkrunch
I don’t think so. Considering that it was only due to Japan ignoring the peace treaty they signed with the US, them being close friends is quite ironic. However, China, one of North Korea’s closest allies, looks negatively towards the US. North Korea as well takes measures to ensure that their citizens detest the Americans.

Due to all this, I believe that it would take a miracle for the two to become close allies.

@LavaMadness Russia and us are allies in ww2, and they were in cold war since than.. So any things can happened..

@Zuperkrunch
The Japanese had a rather unusual reaction to being defeated by the Americans in WWII. Their whole culture at the time, and all their own war propaganda, was that they were divinely fated to be victorious conquerors (as in, the gods they believed in wanted them to win). So when the USA crushed them so decisively, a lot of Japanese people started wondering if maybe the gods (or these foriegner's One God) favoured the American people more than they were, so many of them strove to imitate Americans in order to get back in favor with the gods.
They've mellowed out a lot since then, but there is still a bit of that high opinion of American culture still bouncing around in their heads.

@Hinoron ow..that's how it works.. Thanx for the info

@Hinoron interesting

Le power of FANGIRLS!! *magical flapping*

It's absolutely true! I'm from the US and grew up watching Sailor Moon. It was enamoring to watch these average girls, all with flaws, be these incredibly powerful super heroes. We love their video games, horror films, anime (particularly their sic-fi), those cute little chibi stickers, Sanrio Co. products, cars, and Miyazaki films. Akira Kurosawa was hugely influential to our cinema, and one of our big time current directors, Tarantino, is obviously influenced by Japanese culture.

Some people from the states even believe they belong in Japan which I find so funny, because often these are people who don't seem to understand Japanese values or culture in the slightest. We have a term for these people, "Weeaboo."

It should also be noted The US always seems to go through intervals of Anglophilia.

When I was living in Japan, I felt like it was practically defined by a need for escapism. It is a country that, culturally, still adheres to conformity as a useful tool for social stability (it's still one of the safest countries on the planet, so it's not like it's not paying off). You can see some of the cracks nowadays, but as long as there's a "vent" it seems like it will still work. That "vent" just happens to be fiction/media from the US, which has a culture that is in many ways just about the opposite of Japan's.

The sheer size of the US rewards cultural complacency at a local level while breeding a sense of individuality. The general sense is "if you don't like what you know so far, you can go elsewhere", but this is a country where a 4 hour drive in any direction will often just get you somewhere with (for a simple example) a different sports team and the same kind of beer and hamburgers. Mass media's not much help, since everyone is clearly watching similar things, and that (I think) accounts for why we look to an "exotic opposite" to have a cultural exchange with.

So basically, the "opposite" is a new frontier for someone who's all too familiar with their current situation, even if the specific causes are so different.

@Slesvig
@Futski
@KeithSevaldsenBarron

People need to stop with the "United Statsian" or "Staters" business. The proper demonym is Americans or US American. We are, the United States OF America. I understand it can be confusing for some because there are other countries that are "North/Central/South Americans" (in the same way the countries in Europe are also Europeans) but I can assure you the proper term for USA Citizens is "American" or "US American (if you want to be real specific)". It turns out, shocker, we've been saying it right the whole time.
(if people insist on "United Statsian or Stater" I'll have to insist they also call people from the UK "United Kingdomers", someone from Ireland a "Republican"(for the Republic of Ireland) and people from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico "Commonwealthians" along with many others)

I know Spanish for American is "estadoundiense" but Mexico is officially called "Estados Unidos Mexicanos". so technically Mexicans would be United Statsians too.(that's actually always bothered me about Spanish, if U.S.Mexicans are Mexicanos, why wouldn't U.S.Americans be Americanos?)

ps. you rock humon, love your comics