Fun fact:

The nations do brand deals.

Is there anything about Romano that you think should be more well-known?

I don’t see the immigrant side of his life portrayed all that often. He traveled to America for work during the Second Industrial Revolution.

This arc adds a lot more depth to his character given that it reveals his willingness to take responsibility for himself and not be, well, lazy.

Admittedly, he did complain considerably while he lived at America’s house.

Nonetheless, he still did his work, and I think he took a lot from this experience.

Overall, this arc is wonderful in that it entails Romano’s growth as an individual. It wasn’t just about learning to take care of himself and work for a living; it was also about learning how to cooperate with others in a mutually-dependent relationship.

Ok I get the status as world superpowers giving nations superpowers but America always had super strength. I don’t recall how the manga dealt with it at the time but in the anime England acts a bit surprised when baby America can swing a bison withouth a problem

I’m
not so sure about that. I wouldn’t say always.

Young America was shown to
develop this strength at an early age because of the abundance of settlers that
propelled his economy forward. However, because he lacked true independence,
was taxed a lot by England and fought wars for the latter, there were times
where America was considerably weakened. His “economy [became] strained.”

Likewise, he had initially lost a lot of battles in the
Revolution before making a comeback. He wasn’t as strong then compared to what
we see depicted of him more in the strips.

Once he became independent, America likely gained this super
strength back + some. You also have to consider how he lost strength again as a
result of the Great Depression.

Nonetheless, he didn’t become a Superpower, which includes
global political and economic dominance until after WW2. A Superpower status
only added to his physical strength, allowing it to grow to unprecedented
levels unlike any other nation but Russia, his rival.

In other words, America’s strength fluctuated as a result of his
economic situation. Now add independence and a Superpower status, and you have
an unprecedented amount of strength.

Economy:

Whether it’s due to war or a stock crash, the nations will
develop colds during economic recessions.

Their physical strength is dependent on their economy.

Age:

While the nations are immortal, they do age, albeit gradually.

Ex: China is commonly referred to as an old man/ grandpa and
tires easily.

Ex: Japan can’t do strenuous exercise, also makes a constant
mention of his old age, and suffers from health complications as a result of
his high sodium intake.

Weight:

The nations’ weight is influenced by the average weight of their population.

If obesity levels rise, they’ve been seen to gain weight.

However, America seems to be the exception to this rule due
to working out excessively and trying all sorts of diets and exercise machines.
In reality, the extra weight he perceives is actually just muscle.

Anatomy:

A nation’s blood type is dependent on the most common one
within their population.

When people think you’re innocent because you’re smol

Why do you say that Russia had the super strength that America has? Do you mean that Russia had it, but he lost it?

From what I understand, yes. Let’s take you through it.

Basically, I believe that
America and Russia’s super humanness stems from a historical allusion to their
status as world Superpowers during the Cold War.

The rule in the series is
that a nation’s strength derives from the strength of their economy, the
stability of their government, and whether or not they hold a dominant position
in global politics. Since both Russia and America emerged as the two leading
powers following the end of World War 2, they achieved a Superpower status. The
logic, then, is that they would be physically stronger than the other
nations. Yes, they were stronger than usual beforehand, but this accelerated their abilities even more.

You even see Finland during
the 2010 Christmas Event referring to America and Russia as super humans.
Again, I think this is a reference to the Cold War, as the power balances in
the world have long shifted since their time spent as unmitigated Superpowers.

Also
important to note here is that Finland mentions that the nations normally are
not that much different than humans. This is
consistent with the rule that a nation is more resilient than a human (aside
from their obvious immortality), but that they still nonetheless need to be a
powerful figure themself in comparison to the other nations if they’re to
possess this additional strength.

I believe that Russia doesn’t
possess his super strength anymore mainly because he’s no longer a Superpower.
He’s still stronger than most, as Finland said, but I think it’s suggested that
his super strength has waned in this strip.

When asked about their current relations, Russia responds by
stating that he used to want to “squeeze” and “snap” America.

He then goes on a sidetracked tangent about how America always
makes friends with people first. More importantly is that after showing annoyance at
Russians stereotypically being made into villains in Hollywood, he admits that
he still wants to smash America’s glasses into “ten equal parts.”

The scene ends with Russia
quickly changing the subject and proving that his relationship with America nevertheless isn’t all that bad. To me, that seems that likewise to his country’s loss of a Superpower status, Russia doesn’t have the same strength to fight America than he used to. Meanwhile, America still remains as a powerhouse today.

That said, for transparency’s sake, I really want to stress that
Russia and America still get along really well despite irking each other and
bearing old grudges.

Lastly, while acquiring a Superpower status allows younger nations
to possess additional super strength, this doesn’t seem to be the case with the older
nations. Like humans, the nations’ bodies age, albeit gradually.

This especially applies to
China and Japan. Japan held the title of the world’s second largest economy,
but if you pay close attention in the strips, a consistent theme with him is
that he’s grown weaker from old age. Ex: He has high

blood pressure, can’t do
strenuous exercise, and is referred to as an old man.

Likewise, you have the same
situation with China, who’s even older than Japan and is also referred to as an
old man/grandpa. Currently, China would be considered a superpower, and figures
suggest that they’ll eventually surpass the US economy. However, because
China’s body has aged considerably, even if he’s a Superpower, his physical
body may not be able to gain back this strength again.

Would America’s superhuman strength also count as a supernatural ability?

Personally, I wouldn’t think so. Here’s why:

1) The nations’ strength/ health are reliant on their economy and position in the world. Russia also had this super strength.

2) The nations themselves are already noted to be strange beings. The super strength is just an ability that comes with part of their existence. In other words, while it’s not common, it’s still a natural feature.

All of them can attain it if their country is strong enough. Meanwhile, seeing spirits/ magical creatures is more dependent on their populations’ cultural belief in them.

Ironically (or perhaps purposefully knowing Hima), in the strip
“It’s a Treasure Box of Countries,” we get a treasure box of information
regarding the rules of nationhood.

We learn two things that happen to a nation when their
country’s culture or personality dies/ disappears. The personality is to be
understood in terms of a group of people uniting with each other under a common
identity.

The two rules go as followed:

1) “Usually, when the culture of the country’s
personality dies/ disappears, the country would gradually disappear or entrust
him/herself to the country that takes over him/her.

2) Or, “There are also cases that him/her is not a
country but continues to live leisurely as a state representative.”

Okay, simple enough. Either they fade over a long period of
time, or they become active in politics. However, there’s another rule I want
to go over that explicitly confirms that the nations are able to become human.

That requires going into the details of the Republic of Niko
Niko’s existence.

Basically, Niko Niko was a middle school student who
obtained micro-nation status. He represented a section of a city in the
Fukushima prefecture.

It’s also important to note that Niko Niko is declared by
Japan to be a rare, anomalistic case. Regardless, we still learn a lot from
him.

For one thing, after obtaining micronation status, Niko Niko
stopped aging and his health became dependent on how his economy was doing, similar
to what the full-blown nations experience.

We also know that Niko Niko eventually relinquishes his
status as a micronation and reverted back to a normal human again.

For example: He resumes aging and is able to have a son.

Tying this back to the rules of nationhood, we finally learn
that Niko Niko’s ability to shift from human to micronation to human again
wouldn’t be as easy for the other nations to undergo.

How I interpret this is that because Niko Niko personified
such a small area, his country’s personality and sense of identity isn’t nearly
as strong as that of a much larger nation. In other words, it would be harder
for the other nations to become human because their people’s sense of national identity
and cultural heritage isn’t something that can just disappear all of a sudden.

But, what about full-blown nations? Are there any hints of
them becoming human?

There sure seems to be.

During the Great Depression, a sickly Lichtenstein wishes
that she could have remained as a country for just a little while longer. Given
that her population is so small, it wouldn’t take as long for her country’s
personality to fade.

Now, for the more obvious and well-known example: Prussia.

I’ve speculated before that Prussia has fulfilled option 2
of the rules listed above. That is, we know for a fact that he attends world
meetings, and since it’s still unconfirmed whether he represents East Germany
(it’s painfully obvious, I know), it’s very well possible that he’s become a
state representative.

There’s also the fact that it’s been proven that he doesn’t
heal from his injuries quite as fast as the other nations do.

He also openly lies about this to Germany.

In sum…

– Niko Niko’s rise to nationhood is a rare case,
but his transformation still provides us with useful information on how it
would be difficult for a normal nation to become human.

– There have been hints here and there of the
normal nations losing their status as personifications and becoming human.