America as: First Year Hogwarts Student

England as: Sorting Hat

America: Oh boy, I hope I get Gryffindor!

*sits on sorting ceremony stool and nervously pulls out a
burger*

England: Hufflestuff!

America: …Don’t you mean Hufflepuff?

England: NEXT!

I’ve seen this question enough times where I think it’s
important to differentiate between a few things.

Misconception #1: That nations are a reflection of their governments.

This couldn’t be the more opposite. Countless times
throughout the series, the nations have been shown to do things against their
will. Right from the get-go, this rule is established in chapter 1 of World Stars.

The nations may not agree with their bosses, but they
nonetheless accept their fate, resign, and obligately listen and do what they’re
told–not that it makes it right, nor am I justifying it.

Likewise, the nations represent their people. Yes, they’re
political in the sense that they’re forced to work for their governments, but
it’s important to remember that they’re cultural and historical
personifications.

They don’t represent the government. The nations represent
their people in whole; the government is only a small part of that.

In other words, likewise to the stereotypes they embody, the
nations are a symbol of their people’s cultural identity.

Think of it this way: when you identify yourself with a
national identity, is it predicated on the negative actions of your government?

No.

Then why apply the same faulty logic to the nations?

What the government does is not a reflection of that
nation’s culture. That said, it wouldn’t make sense to attribute the actions of
a political minority onto a cultural personification that represents the
majority. Not to mention that again, the nations are often forced to follow
their bosses’ orders.

Misconception #2:
Political Enemies = Personal Enemies

Remember that the nations themselves are people too.
Regardless of the wartime alliances they get involved in, they’re more often
than not able to transcend over them. While war may impact how they formally relate
to each other, it doesn’t impact the past that they’ve shared and experienced
together (spanning across decades, centuries, and sometimes even millennia).

So, while they may be enemies during war, when fighting
isn’t necessary, the nations will still interact and see each other as friends
above all else. Political relations between national leaders is more orientated
in the present, whereas due to long-established and developed relationships, the nations are more influenced by the past. However, that doesn’t mean that they hold grudges either. It just means that they have more to consider.

Misconception #3: Tense Relations = Incompatibility

Like I said above, the nations are humans too. Yes, their
countries may not have had/have the best relations, but that doesn’t
automatically mean that the respective personifications won’t get along either.

The best example of this is how Russia and America interact
with each other, especially in modern
times. They may not be the best of friends, but they still share a considerably
familiar and comfortable relationship.

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.

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.