Before I start, it’s important to lay out some ground rules.

Thanks to Finland we know that the nations aren’t that
different from humans with regards to their physical strength and anatomy (with
the exceptions of Russia and America who are exceptionally strong).

The point in this is that the “not-so-different from a human
rule” pertains to their basic physiological structure. On the other hand, there
are immortal perks of nationhood, such as being impervious to experiencing the fatality of illnesses. They still can
fall ill, though. This happens when they’re….

1) Suffering from political instability.

2) They’re experiencing an economic recession.

3) There’s a rampant illness in their population (i.e Romano’s
Chorea).

With that said, we know that the nations are stronger than
normal humans regardless. They don’t age as fast, and as such, their memories
don’t deteriorate at nearly the same rate.

What this post will explore are the different examples where
nations have been shown to have gaps in their memories.

The thesis I’m putting forward includes a variety of
reasons to account for this:

One, older nations such as Japan and China have even larger gaps
in their memories as a result of their physical bodies aging. They’re therefore
unable to recall memories as fast as younger nations [This in part goes with my
third argument].

Two, the influence of their citizens pertaining to whether
or not the nations can see and therefore remember the existence of magical creatures.

Three, the nations simply aren’t able to remember
everything; it would be impossible.

And four, some
nations actively repress bad memories to minimize the anxiety and trauma they
previously experienced.

Without further ado, let’s go over some of these examples.

Age:

As stated above, the nations’ chronological age, while
influenced by their economic and political affluence, also seems to be affected
in part by how long they’ve lived (I.e. Both Japan and China refer to
themselves as old men.)

If Japan is shown to have higher blood pressure levels and hip pains as a
result of his old age, then it wouldn’t be too farfetched to assume that his
memory wouldn’t be as up to par as it would be in comparison to a nation younger
than him. Put another way, his age would cause him to have greater slips in his
memory.

It’s the body that’s old, despite not looking like it.

Ex: He’s unable
to remember who Lithuania is, and almost mistakes the latter to be Livonia.

Ex: While looking
through an album of him and Pochi throughout different periods, Japan
mistakenly recalls the chronology of them.

Likewise, China’s also referred to as an old man.

Ex: He admits to
being forgetful.

The Ability to See Magical Creatures:

We’ve also seen the impact on how a population’s belief in
magical creatures respectively influences whether or not the nation will be
able to see them.

Ex: During the
Meiji Era, England could see the kappa and youkai spirits, meanwhile Japan couldn’t
as a result of his people no longer believing in them as strongly.

However, just as a nation can forget about magical
creatures, they can also re-remember them if popular culture strongly believes
in them again – presumably it would have to go past folklore superstitions.

While enjoying Japan’s hot springs, the two talk about
folklore.

Notice how Italy spots a strange creature beginning to approach them.
Although it’s not shown, the discussion of the topic could possibly mean that
Japan [and not just Italy] is also able to see the creature.

There’s also an exact replica of this hot spring scene
dating back to when they first met during WW2. I don’t think Hima did this for
no reason:

Repression of Traumatic/Guilt-Ridden Memories:

As Russia darkly puts it, perhaps it’s a good thing that the
nations don’t remember everything.

When Lithuania and Germany allegedly meet for the first time
during WW2, Lithuania expresses relief over Germany not remembering him. It’s
noted that Lithuania once beat-up one of Germany’s family members. This is
possibly a reference to when Prussia became a lackey to Poland under the
Lithuanian and Polish Commonwealth.

This is highly indicative of Germany existing well before
his ‘birth’ in 1871 given that Lithuania is fearful of being remembered and/or triggering
Germany’s memory. If anything, Lithuania’s fear of this points further in the
direction of Germany suffering from amnesia.

Why else is there a childhood version of Germany/Holy Rome pushing to be acknowledged in older strips? I’ve theorized before that this is
simply a part of his unconscious mind trying to get him to remember about his
forgotten childhood.

Or why is it that he’s seen to confusedly hold up Chibitalia in another strip?

“It’s me.” Jogging his memory much?

Similarly, Italy also dreams of a childhood version of
himself pushing to be acknowledged by him, only for Italy to refuse in doing so. Like
Germany, it seems that Italy has actively striven to forget his childhood.

Lastly, the most obvious hint of repressed childhood
memories is found in Buon San Valentino, where Germany appears to recall fuzzy
images of Chibitalia.

They Can Only Remember So Much:

Prussia is the one to confirm this rule, considering that he’s
taken to recording every experience as a method in circumventing the inability
to recall them. It’s simply a matter of jogging his memory.

In sum, while the nation’s memories are limited, there are
different factors and contexts that account for this phenomenon. Age, trauma,
civilian belief, and limited physiological brain capacity seem to be the most
common reasons in accounting for this.

Friend: Hey, remember when you

–

Me: *already begins cringing*

As a series that works with stereotypes, it isn’t surprising
that Germany comes off as relatively
stiff and cold. However, what’s important to realize is that the stereotype is
used for a specific purpose; it’s essential to Germany’s characterization in proving
that he’s anything but stiff and
cold. Nonetheless he’s still perceived that way because of his stereotype.

In other words, Germany is anything but this stereotype.
Instead, what you’ll see is that he has trouble expressing his sentimental side
as opposed to lacking it entirely. It’s not that he doesn’t want to smile and
be expressive either. He simply isn’t able to.

He’s seen as angry, when all he truly wants is to be able to
be himself with others, void of being fearful, anxious, and hesitant in doing
so. You’ll see that he’s actually quite shy and uncertain with regards to how
he navigates around social situations.

That said, this is a pivotal inner conflict that he’s
consistently experienced. I’ll get into why a little bit later. First, it’s
important to demonstrate how pervasive and repetitive this theme has been.

In Comic Diary 4, he’s revealed to possess an
intimidating aura.

As
such, even Italy misinterprets Germany’s genuine intention to get drinks
together as him being angry.

A more explicit mention of this frequent misinterpretation of
his mannerisms is found in this character note.

He’s troubled because his voice comes across as harsh and he’s seen as angry. The
only beings he feels openly comfortable in expressing his affection for are his
dogs.

But, what about his troubles with smiling?

For one thing, he’s once shown to be reading a manual on “how to
smile naturally.”

In the 2010 Christmas event, he states that he “can’t smile
the way Italy can.”

Likewise, in an exaggerated comic gag from the Strange Laws
mini-series, Germany is kicked out of an area where it is legally required for
people to be smiling all the time.

In the few times where we do see Germany smiling [widely],
he’s drunk. If anything, this only reiterates how he’s repressing and
containing a whole other side of his personality. It’s in these rare moments
where we see the masked frontier of inhibitions that he’s constructed fall apart,
thus revealing the realer aspects of his true person.

Further, we know for a fact that Germany experiences chronic
loneliness in his character song “Einsamkeit.” The literal translation of this
is loneliness.

This song gives us the best insight into how Germany feels
about constantly coming across as harsh and angry to others. It’s not only
loneliness that he feels in being isolated from others – there’s also a
considerable internal estrangement from himself. He feels lost in his own skin
given that he doesn’t know how to express this happier, more expressive, and
thereby less restricted aspect of his personality.

Though I look like I’m lecturing,
I’m actually just conversing
It’s not really…
At times my face may look grim,
But I’m actually just cold
Though I don’t mind it…

What’s interesting here is that he recognizes that others
tend to misinterpret him. This only ripens the possibility of losing a sense of
one’s self. The social mask he puts on is not who he truly is.

Einsamkeit
Einsamkeit
Einsamkeit
I want to be found.

This could have a plethora of meanings.
I’ll go over the main two. One, it simply means that he wants people to see him
for who he actually is, and that he’s helpless in being able to change these
perceptions.

Two, it could act as a double-meaning
to represent him being unable to recall the lost memories of his childhood [as
Holy Rome]. Simply put, he feels lonely because he’s missing a part of himself.

I’m always said to be scowling,
But my smiling face hasn’t been erased
You may think I’m frightening,
But it’s only because I’m straining to laugh

Now, in a previous post (link here), I
talked about the psychological concept of catharsis. Basically, when a memory
causes a person too much anxiety or trauma, they repress the memory as well as
the emotions associated with it. The result is that the person can no longer
consciously access the memory, and sometimes, depending on how strongly they’ve
repressed the memory, they don’t experience the emotions associated with it at
full capacity. You only experience them partially.

Perhaps this is why Germany is
“straining to laugh.”

The role of the psychologist is to bring that traumatic
memory back into the patient’s conscious mind. Catharsis is the emotional relief
that comes upon recalling and subsequently resolving the internal unconscious
conflict tied to the traumatic memory.

Let’s tie this back to the strips.

Germany’s stated before that he doesn’t have much experience
with relationships, hence the reason why he’s constantly referring to manuals
all the time. Similarly, because he was born into war, the hostility and trust
he grew accustomed to also caused him to be relationally-stunted.

It’s for this reason that he has trouble interacting with others and
expressing emotions other than anger or frustration; these are more primal. Happiness
and compassion is something that’s taught. In psychology, there’s a general
agreement that how one’s raised impacts how they are as an adult.

This doesn’t mean to say that his personality is fixed
though. All it really means is that he’s still affected and possibly traumatized
by being thrust into war from birth.

On the other hand, let’s take another route in approaching
this. If Germany is Holy Rome, then he would have likely repressed the
traumatic memories of the war that caused his dissolution. However, for that to
happen, he would have also had to have repressed his entire life as Holy
Rome to get rid of this trauma.

As such, this would involve repressing all the happy emotions
that Holy Rome experienced with Chibitalia.

If that’s the case, when Germany feels happiness, his mind
unconsciously subdues it to avoid triggering any accounts of his past as Holy
Rome. It’s because his brain unconsciously minimizes the anxiety generated from
these traumatic memories that Germany is completely unaware as to why he’s
unable to smile. All he knows is that he’s unable to.

Simply put, when Germany experiences happiness, his brain
represses it to prevent him from accessing childhood memories associated with
the same emotions.

In sum…

Germany may have trouble smiling because…

1) He’s relationally-impaired
and inexperienced due to having been originally reared in a world of hostility
and aggression. He can express happiness, but it very rarely has to do with
people. I.e. His dogs, machinery during the Industrial Revolution.

He hasn’t quite learned to become
comfortable in showcasing this other side of himself to others. Maybe this is
because of the anxiety generated from only being seen as stiff and cold and him
not knowing how to compensate for this by expressing how he truly feels.

2) He’s repressed all childhood memories from his
past as Holy Rome, which just so happens to include the happier ones. If he
smiles and consciously –not drunkenly, which doesn’t involve full awareness–
expresses happiness, he risks recalling his traumatic dissolution. To safeguard
against this, his brain suppresses feelings of joy and happiness. As such, he
isn’t aware of the reason why he has trouble smiling.

He just knows that he can’t smile.

Coming out of an exam like…

How come Germany is portrayed as humourless?

It’s not quite like that. I think it’s more a matter of
how old the strips are.

A lot of the national stereotypes were heavily exaggerated in
earlier characterizations.

Ex: Germany is in fact noted to be humourless + jokes go
right over his head.

In newer strips, the stereotype remains with Germany, but not
nearly to the same degree.

His humour is subtle and less explicit. In other words, he
does possess a sense of humour, a pretty sly and sarcastic one, but it’s not expressive
or obvious.

Ex: He takes a photo of Italy when he makes a silly face.

In previous posts, I’ve discussed how more often than not,
the nations are forced to comply with their bosses’ orders, often at the
expense of going against what they think is right. It would follow then, that
there’s a discrepant irony between what the nations represent (their people),
and who they serve (their bosses).

Despite this direct involvement of the gov’t facilitating nation
action, there are many instances where the nations lack very minimal political
power and influence. In other words, you don’t commonly see the nations facilitating
much gov’t action.

One of the prime examples of this would be how powerless
they are to stop corruption. Nonetheless, they still possess a deep awareness and
recognition of these political issues.

Without further ado, let’s go over some examples, shall we?

The Italy Brothers:

The Italy brothers experience a lot of troubles back home.
For one thing, they have the mafia and pick-pocketers who routinely steal from
him.

Italy has his car and phone stolen.

The mafia attempts to steal imports that Romano intends to
send to Spain.

As such, the prevalence of being constantly stolen from and
victimized ultimately motivated Romano to learn how to defend himself against
pick-pocketers.

Lastly, we get an explicit recognition from Italy that the
Italian Parliament suffers from transparency and corruption issues.

America:

America’s involvement in his politics is a tricky puzzle,
all right.

He’s incredibly optimistic about the outcome of his
elections…well, at the very least he leads on the façade of believing that
everyone will get along in the end.

England notes that because of how partisan America’s
citizens are, it divides the country.

America responds by saying that the “powerful enthusiasm” of
his citizens is a good thing…

…to which England counters by deeming America to be blithe
about the political division in his country. Basically, England is saying that
America is cheerfully indifferent about how polarized the Republicans and
Democrats are.

What makes me think that America is putting on a façade is
the fact that when he claims that everyone will get along in the end, the image
he pictures is in stark contrast to his statement. It reveals two beaten-up and
worn-down citizens agreeing on the fact that the President isn’t doing his job
well.

Go back to the first panel where America refers to their political
activism as “lively.” When comparing that statement to the fact that America is
implicitly acknowledging how potentially violent his politics can become, it shows a
reluctance on his part to confront the volatile–both verbal and sometimes
physical i.e. rallies or protests–aspects of his elections.

The “United after all” phrase seems like America is trying
to convince himself that the situation in his country isn’t that bad. It’s also
important to consider that this strip is recent, having come out in 2016.

It doesn’t end here, either. As a result of America’s
dividing politics, England expresses concern for the former’s health– a small
reminder that a nation’s health can be affected by the stability or instability
of their political situation.

Of course, America waves off England’s comment, likely not
wanting to admit that even with his super strength, he can grow weaker just
like any other nation can during dire economic recessions or turbulent socio-political
disputes.

What he says next, however, gives a better hint as to how
involved he is in his politics. It’s quite worrisome.

To surmise, means to accept something as true without possessing
the evidence to confirm it. If that’s the case and America’s merely guessing
what his citizens want, it would mean that he’s not directly involved in the campaigning and gathering of public opinion.

Without a decent grasp of what the polls are like before
voting, perhaps America is relying on media reports and/or word of mouth from
other gov’t officials on who the people are leaning toward. Point is, he doesn’t
seem to be directly involved in the process of actively talking to people
during elections.

This doesn’t mean to say that America is completely removed
from his politics. He hails and takes the privilege of voting very seriously.
What I’m trying to get at is that he might have more of a sideline role with
regards to how active and engaged he is during elections.

Russia:

This one is pretty disturbing and unsuprising, but it still
goes to show how little control a nation has over their gov’t.

Bluntly and with a
troubled look on his face, Russia admits that votes [and people] in his country disappear, and
that he doesn’t even know if all of the votes are counted.

France’s Speculation about Germany:

While this is just a speculation on France’s part, it
nevertheless demonstrates the recognition that nations are capable of taking
part in corrupted schemes. As stated above, however, they don’t always have the
discretion to oppose these gov’t orders.

France suspects
that Germany took part in a conspiracy where he knew that letting Greece into the
EU would cause the European economy to crash.

Germany obviously denies this.

It’s the realized possibility that matters here, not the
actuality of it playing out in real life.

That said, while the nations are often used as puppets by
their leaders, that doesn’t mean that they share a similar mindset. Instead,
when presented with issues like corruption, it causes them to experience reciprocal
internal conflict.

So is Chibitalia North Italy?

[I’ve explained this before, but I’ll use an older example
just to prove the consistency in characterization]

Yes.

Italy used to be composed of several city-states, which were
considered to be something similar to sovereign nations in their own right. The
concept of what consisted of a nation was different then.

While the name Veneziano is clearly a tribute to the city of
Venice, we know that it’s possible for the nations to evolve and gain new
territories/titles as understandings of nationhood and borders change.

In other words, he
could have been born as a personification of Venice, but evolved to represent
North Italy as it was conquered, divided, and amalgamated into being seen as
one region of the country. It was predicated more on where the foreign rulers’
jurisdiction over Northern Italy ended rather than how the people organized and
identified themselves.

Here, Chibitalia is taken over by France via his conquests
in Florence and Naples (this is Romano’s territory, so he was also conquered here too).

Milan, a northern city-state, is also mentioned.

Hima also explicitly refers to him as already representing
several parts of Italy here.

Don’t you think Italy should be a cockier character?

He is, it’s just more implicit. Hima’s hinted a few times before at the possibility of him hiding and containing a whole other side of himself.

First, let’s just establish the fact that for the most part,
the nations are bound by their bosses’ orders.

“They accept their fate as it is and let their bosses order
them around.”

All right, good. Now that that’s out of the way, it’s
important to differentiate between what the nations represent and what they do.
The nations represent their people – they’re cultural personifications.

However, what’s ironic is that because the nations are
subordinated to their leaders, they often act in ways that goes against the best
interests of their people.

Basically, while the nations are personifications that
represent their people, they may not represent them well politically. There’s
an inherent tension between the reason why the nations exist (their people),
and whose interests they serve (their leaders/politicians).

Of course, this doesn’t mean to say that a government can’t
act in the best interest of their people, nor am I trying to justify or
minimize any wrong action taken by a nation as a result of an order given to
them. The point here is that there is an evident power imbalance between a
nation and their boss.

More often than not, the nations don’t have any other choice
but to listen to their boss, aside from the fact of whether the latter’s
intentions are good or bad.

Nonetheless, what I also intend to reveal is how the nations
are still able to exercise a sense of agency and resist their bosses to some
degree. Not only that, but there are times when the nations form a strong and
positive relationship with their boss.

Dictative Relationships:

Russia:

Russia is the epitome of a nation who is forced to comply
with their boss’ orders.

His bosses are “notorious” for making unreasonable demands. It’s
even alluded that they’ve tortured Russia before out of mere boredom.

He was once asked to stop a tank with his own body.

He was also ordered to build a canal in frigid weather
without any food.

Germany:

He’s forced to annex Austria, despite voicing his
unwillingness to do so.

During WW2, Finland talks to Germany about his boss troubles.
He jokes with Germany and says that countries can be imprisoned by their boss
if they complain too much.

This joke takes a dark turn when Finland suggests that
Germany’s boss would actually be capable of doing this.

Private Life:

Now that these more drastic orders have been covered, let’s go
over some of the more trivial aspects of a nation’s life that is controlled by
their boss. Like I said before, the relationship between the two isn’t always oppressive,
but there still remains a clear hierarchy.

England:

England’s banned from alcohol and sweets by his boss, and is
threatened with higher duties and taxes should he consume either of them.

The boss enforces this ban to keep England’s health in check.
Either way, this demonstrates how pervasive and extensive their control is.

Lies + Blind-sidedness:

Sometimes, the nations are kept in the dark about things
too.

America:

After the Roswell New Mexico incident, America is told that
the UFO he saw was nothing more than a weather balloon and that he should
forget that it ever happened.

Likewise, it seems that America is a bit disconnected and naïve
about how his own political system works. The fact that he has to “surmise”
what everyone wants is troubling. The naivety comes with the fact that he
thinks he can find a satisfactory political candidate that pleases everyone.

On the other hand, to surmise means to guess, estimate, or
speculate without having any evidence to confirm the assumption. If anything,
this might mean that he’s not directly involved in gathering public opinion,
but rather that he’s adopted a passive role when elections come around.

It makes me wonder how much he’s permitted to get involved
in the process.

Resistance:

While bound by their bosses’ orders through customary
tradition, there are times when the nations go against them.

Japan:

During the formation of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, Japan apologizes
to England when his boss “went on his own accord.”

Italy:

Italy maintains a boundary with his boss by asserting his right
to keep some of his life private. Admittedly, he does offer to reveal these
stories should his boss treat him to lunch.

Notice the title of this strip too. This confirms the power
differential between boss and nation.

Idolizing Relationships:

Prussia:

Lastly, there are times where the nation forms a lasting
bond with their boss.

Prussia and his relationship with Frederick II “Fritz” is
the best example of this.

Prussia idolized, or rather still idolizes, Fritz to the
point that he still keeps a picture of him on his nightside table.

You’ll also find that when he feels anxious or lonely,
Prussia evokes the memory of Fritz to comfort him. This is seen
in Buon San Valentino.

Bonus: In his character song “Mein Gott!”, Prussia also asks Fritz to watch over him.

In sum…

The nations are often forced to comply with their bosses’
orders, despite being representations of their people. None of this negates or
justifies the fact that they’ve likely been commanded to do unspeakable things.

The bosses’ orders are not always negative in nature, but
they’re still authoritative.

The nations have been shown to exercise discretion and
agency by resisting their bosses.

It’s possible for a nation to form an affectionate
relationship with their boss.