









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.


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.

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.

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

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.


Is able to see Japanese arcana/ youkai/ spirits.


Encounters a divine being in a dream + meets Japan as a child in said dream.



It’s hinted that he summoned Finland
when the Allies and Axis got shipwrecked. Obviously, there was no communicative
technology available at the time.

Has powers of clairvoyance.


Made contact with Italy in the latter’s
dreams well before they had first ‘met.’ (see above).
Created mind-reading
technology

As a result of his people not
believing in the supernatural as much after contact with the West, he loses his
ability to see youkai/ kappa spirits.
However, in modern strips it’s hinted
that his people’s belief in the supernatural has returned. It would follow that
he believes in them too, as he cleanses spirits and holds many superstitions.

It’s hinted that he may have demons
haunting him/ some kind of tangible (not mythical) curse.
Ex: England’s fairies and magical friends
leave the moment Russia arrives at the 2013-2014 Halloween Event. They feel a “dangerous aura.”


Can see
and communicate with ghosts, fairies, and any other magical creatures.

Can perform magic.

Has the
ability to make anyone but America see and believe in ghosts and spirits when they visit his place.
Can only
see magical fairies/ unknown beings on Halloween.

Can see
and communicate with magical beings.
Uses
his cross clip to communicate with a troll.


Can also see
Norway’s magical friends, but refuses to acknowledge this ability.


Does fortune-telling.

His ability to
perform magic is left open-ended here…

…but since he’s in
the magic club, whose other member (England) does perform actual magic, I’d confidently assume that he’s also able to.

Holds a
lot of superstitions + believes in fortune and good luck
It’s
hinted that he can summon supernatural beings/ spirits.

The other
nations believe that China has prediction powers and can defeat monsters.

He is
shown to go searching for monsters at one point, filling out a “monster index.”

Does
fortune-telling + doesn’t believe in bad luck.

Normally I don’t answer these kind of things. But, if I’m going to be practical here, China literally coughs up gold.





China after Japan betrays him in WW2.

South Korea uses mind-reading binoculars, only to find out that China is annoyed by him.

An insecure Italy having Germany repeat that he doesn’t
hate him.

Russia during Bloody Sunday.

Davie.

What I presume you all look like now:


I’ll go over these in greater detail in separate posts, but here’s a basic chart of what I’ve got jotted down.
America – Wanting to be liked, fear of criticism, fear of being hated, fear of being challenged, his weight/ muscles.
Russia – Wanting to be liked, being alone, fear of being hated, fear of exclusion.
England – Uses biting sarcasm in order to hide feelings of inferiority, feeling like an outsider despite being included, being lonely, can actually be really sweet but is too shy to openly help or give direct advice to the other nations, loss of power.
Canada – Not being unique or relevant enough, not being recognized for his own accomplishments.
France – Loss of power, being alone, worries of becoming irrelevant.
China – Fears being left behind in a more modern world (he’s doing just fine), fear of abandonment (earlier with Japan, now with Hong Kong), feeling like an alien due to his old age.
Germany – Problems with expressivity of happiness, being alone, worries that he comes off as cold to others, works hard but quickly becomes flustered when praised (relates to low feelings of self-worth).
Prussia – Being alone, melancholy over having never married, low self-worth and loss of superpower status.
Romano – Feelings of inferiority in comparison to younger brother, regret over snapping at people and not being seen as agreeable and likeable.
Ukraine – Size of breasts, ambivalence over leaving the Soviet Union and distancing herself from Russia.
South Korea – Wanting to be liked, unhealthily perfecting physical appearance, wanting to be unique despite following in the footsteps of Japan, China, and America.
Hmmm. I’ll go with the less obvious and underlying ones.
-The Italy Brothers’ eyes
-Germany’s inability to smile.
-Germany’s love for Italy’s climate and culture + his deep interest in Roman history (*cough Holy Rome)
-Japan’s clairvoyance abilities + his limited memory
-Russia’s curse
-America’s dual personality
-China and Japan’s old age
-England’s alienation
-France’s loneliness and overcompensation as a Big Brother figure