Otaku
Japan's boss sighed. Another unproductive meeting with the Diet, he thought irritably. It was times when the Diet reduced itself to a hoard of screeching junior high schoolers that Japan's boss wondered why he had involved himself in politics. Then in the late hours in the night as he watched the night sky overshadowed his beautiful country, he remembered. A nation needing no one but itself in situations calling the military, he thought with a pleasant feeling going through him. Unfortunately, the people do not seem to understand. It's as if the land is surrounded by liberals. Japan's boss thought again that another meeting with his country was in order.
Although thousands of years old, the said nation refused to see the wisdom of having a military again. Doesn't he remember fighting for the proud nation of his people? Japan's boss was about to turn the door to the nation's small room – he didn't know why the nation insisted on having a room to himself that no one could enter – when he heard cries.
Although Japan's boss had not seen the nation cry, he remembered his grandfather telling him of Japan's tears. Apparently the nation cried a lot during those times. Is it China again? Japan's boss thought with disgust. The relations between his country and theirs were souring once again. It continued to amaze him of how China, the national personification of that teme Jinping Xi, had tried time and again to shower his nation with gifts and Chinese delicacies. Remembering Japan's disapproval at the dismayed look on China's face made Japan's boss burst with pride. He does not allow his former brother pity him, I see. Now in the present time, Japan's boss opened the room in not in a fashion of a prime minister and yelled.
"Nihon! Daijōbu…desu ka?"
The prime minister of Japan stood in stunned silence as Japan curled into a ball and continued to cry. The tears almost looked like streams of rivers. Japan's boss, however shocked he was to find Japan shedding tears, stared at the television screen incredulously. It grew as Japan's boss realized what he was watching.
As Japan's boss continued to stare at the screen, the nation continued to cry.
"Why, Saber-san? Why did you have to go and forsake your happiness? Shirō-san will become lonely without you by his side!" Japan's boss stared at his once proud nation, who was now crying in earnest as the various anime characters came onto the screen and the song played. "Why couldn't you have forgiven yourself and loved him?"
Japan's boss was growing vastly uncomfortable by the situation, hearing the song echo in his ears. A growing horror dawned upon him. As Japan's boss looked at the surrounding room with haunted eyes, he felt his knees weaken under him.
The first item he saw were plushies. Small stuffed creatures with big eyes. Various characters and things were in this material. Including this Saber-san that Japan was sobbing over. Japan's boss looked at the figure curiously. Is it lust? Japan's boss thought with a cringe as he stared at the small figure once he figured out that this Saber-san was female. He hadn't known Japan to be particularly needing female company. There were times when Japan's boss thought perhaps the nation was asexual given the amount of time he spent without female company. His wife had asked politely if he had found someone yet, and a raw blush had overtaken the nation He couldn't speak for a while, Japan's boss thought at the memory. Staring at the figure in front of him, Japan's boss noted of the blond hair and the emerald eyes. She reminds me of someone…
His observation went unnoted as he continued to stare with growing despair at the various items in his county's room. Japan's boss had never seen so many manga volumes in one room, nor so meticulously organized or cared for. Rurouni Kenshin…Tokyo Ghoul…Tegami Bachi…Naruto… Japan's boss' head spinned as he continued to more of the titles. Across from them was an entire section of DVDs. He saw various titles similar to the manga volumes in animation. Some of the names he recognized, including the Miyazaki Hayao. As he continued to stare with growing sickness at the situation – hearing his nation continuing to sob in the background – Japan's boss turned his head, desperate to be distracted by anything else.
He obtained his wish, only not what he had thought. Japan's boss was stunned by the photos. His nation, wearing Western clothing, smiling as he sat across the so-called legend Toriyama Akira. Even Japan's boss had heard of him. He stared at the man with glasses with contempt. Various other pictures were on the shelves across from the massive…collection. A smiling Japan standing beside a slightly taller and somewhat pale man with several short people including a woman with curls. Who are they? Japan's boss stared incredulously at the sight of his nation laughing in the picture as it was taken with a tall young man with his arms around the nation.
Man? Japan's boss' mouth gaped. He couldn't be certain. Perhaps his eyesight was failing him, but the thought for sure that the person smiling with Japan looked too feminine. Stranger still was a picture of England standing next to one of Japan's citizens with a smirk on his face. That nation needs to do something with his eyebrows, Japan's boss thought with a shake of his head. No nation should… Then Japan's boss suddenly gaped. He recognized the face softly laughing in the picture next to the blond nation. His eyes became impossibly wide as he stared at the picture of Japan with…him.
"You've seen the picture then with Noriaki-san then, ne?"
Japan's boss almost gasped from the sudden intrusion from his nation. He stared nervously at the nation beside him. The small Japanese nation appeared to have…recovered, and only his eyes tinted red showed how shaken he had been beforehand. Suddenly Japan's boss blanched.
"Noriaki-san, you say?"
Japan's boss hoped that his nation wouldn't hear the growing weakness in his voice.
"Hai." A small reserved smile appeared on Japan's face. His onyx eyes appeared to have emotion. "Noriaki-san was extremely generous when allowed me to meet Kishimoto-sensei…and the rest of the cast." A crack appeared, and Japan's boss stood in tense silence as Japan smiled and laughed suddenly. Not a calm laughter I have heard only appears in a century, but…their laughter. "He is quite a kind person. A gentleman, as England-san would say." A smile, a fond smile appeared on his face. Japan's boss hoped that he was reminiscing about his fellow nation and not about the driving force of the insaneness that suddenly appeared in the great nation that was Japan.
"They surprisingly get along quite well. It is quite interesting to note that England-san's favored characters are all voiced by Noriaki-san. Ishida Uryū from Bleach…Uchiha Sasuke from Naruto…and Emiya Shirō from Fate/Stay Night." Japan frowned, although not from the horror that his boss was experiencing. "He loves Saber-san as well, but that is to be expected. She was…his king and his citizen." Japan blinked, suddenly shedding tears once again. "He was very surprised of the truth that the king was a woman…but that only made him love her more." A deep sigh escaped from him, and the boss slightly twitched. "He named himself Arthur in the memory of the king's sacrifice…and he told me after the first time that he was honored to have the same name as his king, although her true name was Arturia."
"The first time?" Japan's boss said breathlessly. The room seemed to sway, and for some reason he thought the room was surrounded by Sabers. He saw Japan nod, and then he gasped in recognition of the object he first saw in the room.
"The nation England-san looks very much like this…character," Japan's boss said hoarsely. Japan didn't seem to notice that his boss' mind was breaking.
"Noriaki-san stated something similar when he met the island nation. I hadn't seen England-san smile in such a long time…although the moment was interrupted by America-san, who is also a fan of anime and manga." Beside the nation, his boss blanched. "America-san laughed that England-san was barely taller than my citizen, and although Noriaki-san blushed, the nation was not happy with America-san and preceded to fight with each other if not for our intervention."
A small smile appeared on Japan's face. "America-san would be disappointed to note that although their relationship has improved over the last couple of decades, my citizen and I believe that England-san is closer to France-san. Although Noriaki-san does say to him he should connect with France-san more than he has. Not saying they belong together," Japan said hurriedly at the horrified expression on his boss' face, "but as friends. Although…I could make posters similar to what I did with Italy-kun and Germany-san, and perhaps this time, there won't be any…failures."
"You're not together then?" Japan looked closely at him boss. "You and…England-san?"
"No," Japan stated bewildered as he blinked. "Whatever caused you to think of that?" Japan's boss was about to turn away when Japan replied more softly, "Greece-san is my lover."
As Japan's boss slowly swallowed this information, Japan's boss turned abruptly when he saw the Japanese nation stare at the blank television screen. "Why…couldn't have forgiven yourself? Even England-san said…" Suddenly Japan's boss found his nation bowing to him.
"We must watch this together!" Despite Japan's boss' protests, he found himself sitting down next to the said nation. His mind wandered as the "beautiful story" unfolded, seeing briefly of the suicidal red-haired boy and of the erotic young woman who was…equally annoying. Japan's boss tuned out Japan's sobs at the scenes of the supposed romance between the two. Eventually, his eyes began to tire and he was about to fall into a blissful sleep when he felt a hand of his shoulder.
"Would you like to watch Naruto Shippuuden? I know that there are four hundred thirty-one episodes, but if we watch twenty-four each in the coming weeks, we should –"
"No!" Japan's boss was stunned by the desperation and pleading in his voice. Please, no more of the high voices and juvenile plot lines! "This is the reason why the country is how it is right now!" he shouted. He was not aware of the crack in his knees as he stood staring at the Japanese nation. "All of you," he continued to utter. "All of you freaks!" The contempt and anger coming from him oozed out at last as he stared at the nation whose eyes suddenly held no emotion. "If all of you just stopped with your freak obsessions, then jobs would grow as well! The young people sit around and do nothing as the future of the nation is at stake! The birth rate is falling because of you freaks!" Japan's boss breathed out the anger that had been residing in him for years, staring at the small nation before him. "The economy is falling, and it because of you freaks as well." Japan said nothing as his boss continued to pant and rave. His dark eyes were blank. "And you…you're a failure as a nation, Nihon. Abiding to these urges, and becoming a freak your –"
A sudden coldness overcame him as he suddenly became aware of the darkness emerging from Japan. "Never anger your nation," his grandfather had warned him. Now as the current boss of Japan stared at his nation with growing fear in his eyes, he had realized he had made a fatal mistake.
"The one who is a failure to the nation is you," Japan stated. His voice was cold. How is it that I can hear the anger coming from him when his face is so calm? The face was expressionless, but the cold anger remained. "I do not need the strength you speak of. I do not need or want a military. All those deaths…" Now Japan slightly shook, and his boss gulped. "I caused them, and I will not allow my people to suffer or for anyone to suffer again." The boss sharply inhaled when he saw the contempt and cold rage in Japan's eyes. "My citizens need to equal rights, and they need to be accepted. The women in my country…are not happy. The children born out of wedlock are just as they are. Children." The prime minister of Japan sharply backed away as the nation suddenly moved toward him. "You need to fix this." Two onyx eyes bored into each other, and Japan's boss allowed himself a shudder.
Suddenly Japan smiled at him and said, "Let us watch."
It took the prime minister a couple of moments to realize of what his nation was going to do. No…please…no… The prayers to the Shinto gods did nothing as the prime minister of Japan stood, tense and almost sobbing as he saw it again. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. There were no windows, and the Japanese prime minister was surrounded by plushies. Eventually, the trembling and sobbing prime minister of Japan banged his head on the wall as his nation shouted obscenities. Why…did I involve myself in this? He in vain tried to not hear the noise coming from the television, but it was everywhere. Much to his shame, he found himself holding a plushy for his dear life, and both of them had their headed banging into the floor. Ah…that's right. I wanted Japan to be a…"normal" nation.
From a lecture in March, I gathered that otaku culture in Japan isn't seen in a positive light. Otaku are seen as freaks for not helping the economy and only consuming anime and manga. They are also considered the main reason why Japan's population is so low. Japan has discrimination that would be considered by some as nineteenth century. Women can work after spending years taking care of a child, but the position no longer belongs to them, and no matter what position they ad by the time of their pregnancy, the women have to start over again. They are also expected to not work and care for child for years before the birth of their child and after. As such, many women are simply not having children or not even marrying. The reason of having children without a significant other has caused discrimination in the past, but several laws in the 1990s made it so that discrimination against children born out of wedlock is falling. Discrimination still remains, however. Although Japan does not have a military in rhetoric, it has the Self-Defense Force, the sixth strongest military in the world and Abe Shinzo - the boss in this story - is currently trying to change the constitution of Japan to make it legal for Japan to have a military again. Also, I love Sugiyama Noriaki and Fate/Stay Night (2006) as much as England, so I hope none that bothers you.