The way that Spain obliviously gets on Romano’s nerves
always makes me laugh…
Spain’s apologizing to Romano here, but only ends up
irritating him by rubbing a tomato against his face.
I mean, to be fair to
Spain, it’s an accurate comparison. [x]
Mhmmm. Chibi Romano’s ‘rude’ behaviour has a ton of psychological meaning. I’m going to expand this series and begin incorporating different theories.
To put it briefly, it has to do with attachment issues. His hostility toward Spain isn’t actually directed at Spain. He’s taking out his relationship issues with Ancient Rome on Spain.
Post on Chibi Romano’s hostile attitude coming up tonight.
Me: I can take
criticism.
Also me:
Anon 1: I didn’t forget that Germany’s states are personified. An example post is not purposed to provide
a full list of every case in the manga/ web comic. That’s why I provided
sources for people to search the “states and provinces” tag if they wanted a
more complete list of all state personifications.
However, since we’re on
that note, if anyone wants examples of German state personifications, several of
them are mentioned in the “Cleaning Prussia-san” game [x]. Saxony makes a few
formal appearances in the webcomic (e.g., one panel in the Maria Theresa Arc).
Hesse is the one with
the most formal appearances (e.g, 2011 Christmas strips, volume 5).
Lastly, since the states
aren’t actually personified in canon, that last part of your ask is a headcanon
(I just don’t want anyone to confuse this). But, yes, I’m often perplexed by
the whole ‘top secret’ trope. This is also the case for me in AUs where the nations
are kept as a secret from the public, when we know in canon that humans are aware of their existence.
Anon 2: I suppose, but there are
times where they are both referred to as Italy in conjunction. It’s an inconsistency I’ve noticed in the series.
Like you said, Romano is
referred to as Italy in Lithuania’s outsourcing pt. 3.
However, they’re both
seen representing Italy [in general] at a world meeting in an incompleted strip. (not canon,
just used for demonstrative purposes).
Likewise, what I find
odd is that when they’re given EU profiles, Veneziano is referred to as Italy,
meanwhile Romano is specified as South Italy. [x]
Either way, there’s no
real reason provided in canon to account for this, so I just accept it how it
is.
Q: If there are two
Italies, how come Veneziano is referred to as Italy and Romano isn’t?
A: There’s no
real reason given. It’s just how it is.
The other nations generically refer to Veneziano as Italy, and
Romano as “Italy’s older brother” – Romano gets pissed off at this since he
resents being stuck in Veneziano’s shadow.
Nonetheless, BOTH are Italy.
Q: What did Chibitalia represent? Did anything
change?
A: Nothing’s changed in what he represents. Veneziano has always represented the north of the country, and Romano, the south.
The only difference
then is that Italy was fragmented into several small city-states after the
Roman Empire fell. The country wasn’t as
consolidated.
By this, I mean that each city-state was diverse and different
enough to be considered as a nation in its own right. Veneziano and Romano were
the collective personifications of these states. Similarly, their names are
each likely references to Venice and Rome, city-states that were thriving with
culture at the time.
Veneziano refers to his half of the country as his house, meaning
that when city-states under his jurisdiction were conquered, he would also be
conquered.
This is seen when Milan gets thrown into a war between
France and Prussia. When Milan gets taken over by Spain, it’s Veneziano who’s
captured. Again, he represents the collective of these northern city-states.
“This is how the War of Austrian succession looked like. Basically, everybody just bullying Austria. At one point, Northern Italy (Milan) got caught in a war between between France and Prussia, not noticing Spain surrounding him from the South until he got kidnapped.” [x]
The same thing goes for Romano.
He was once conquered as Naples by France [parts of Veneziano were also conquered here].
Q: Would APH Genoa still be alive today?
A: It’s difficult to say since we don’t see him in the
present, so I can only speculate.
However, I would guess that it’s possible for a variety of
reasons.
1) Personifications are personality-based. These personalities
are based on how strong the culture(s) of a collective organization of people are [x]. Since
Italians are so diverse and tend to identify themselves regionally, it’s
possible that while Genoa is no longer a city-state, he can still be a
personification of Genoan culture.
2) It’s stated that when the culture dies and the personification
loses their nationhood, they either die or become a representative of the
region. In other words, he could be active in politics. [x]
3) This one is more unclear and open-ended, but it’s
still substantiated in canon. We’ve seen personifications that technically
should be dead still existing well past their date of dissolution.
Ex: Holy Rome.
If that’s the case, then Genoa could still exist, either because his culture is still there, or for no explicit reason. Nationhood is often very flimsy and loosely defined in the
series.
You also have to factor in the existence of the micronations, where
even Hima states that the reasons that founded their existence are “amazing” – as in no concrete rules
apply to them. It also has to do with the bizarre reasons regarding how they formed in real life. [x]
It’s likewise important to mention that real nations are often just as perplexed by the existence of micronations.
In sum, it’s possible for Genoa to still be alive if you use
the canon rules I provided; however, it’s not canon.
Q: Is State-talia
real or OC?
State-talia is real. You can find notes on states and
provinces if you search the tag in the English translation of Hima’s blog
(Bamboo Thicket)
Tag: states and provinces
Ex: China’s provinces are personified.
Ex: Japan’s prefectures [blog only] and feudal clans/territories are
personified [make appearances in the manga]
Interestingly, these feudal clans/territories still exist during Japan’s Westernization phase. Again, the rules of nationhood are loose, and personifications don’t always die and fade out right away.
Sometimes it takes a while before they die, and other times they won’t die at all.
Osaka, a previous feudal domain, later evolved to become a prefecture from the Meiji era
– present.
Ex: America’s states are not personified, but Hima does
provide a hypothetical description of what they would be like in their relation
to America [x]. There’s also a brief dialogue between some states.
Notice how America refers to his country as his house in the
case that his states were personified. It’s the same exact situation with North
Italy. Point is, there’s a consistent rule here.
Given that Genoa is personified, it would be possible for the city-states in each Italies’ house to be personified as well.
In previous posts [x] [x], I’ve laid out the rules that explain what
affects a nations’ health. This post, however, will elaborate in more detail to
show the different ways in which they can be affected and why that is.
For one thing, we know that the personification’s health is
predicated on their economic and political situation. That is, if they are
suffering from political issues (either domestic or international) or are
experiencing an economic recession, they will fall ill.
That said, let’s go through the symptoms they can experience.
Ex: Several nations develop fevers or colds in reaction to
the Great Depression.
Ex: Austria will develop a high fever and eventually collapse if
Germany acquires a cold [from an economic slump].
“A reliable country that likes to approach things with a sober seriousness.
He approves of and supports lots of Germany’s ideas so he may look like one of the helper countries, but in reality the level of his dependency is pretty high.
So high that when Germany catches a little cold, Austria goes straight to high fever and eventually collapses, and so he doesn’t have much of a choice than to take good care of himself.”
Ex: England develops a cold after the American Revolution.
Ex: The aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.
Ex: Spain nearly dies during an economic recession before
Romano starts helping him recover with imports.
This symptom in particular is depicted more as a consequence
of war (which includes separate battles/attacks) or civil strife. You’ll often
see the most devastated nations coughing up blood in panels where Hima
introduces different sides of the conflict.
Ex: Prussia, Spain, and Italy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Ex: Prussia during the American Revolution.
Ex: China during WW2 after being betrayed by Japan.
Ex: The disunity in the Holy Roman empire causes Holy Rome
to fall ill and cough up blood. His political situation isn’t stable, which, in
turn, is reflected in his poor health.
Bonus case:
The nations cough up blood and get sick during conflicts,
but are nonetheless able to heal from these wounds with time as their country’s
situation stabilizes.
But, what if a personification never healed emotionally from
a conflict and keep reliving it over and over again?
Wouldn’t that explain why England coughs up blood and falls
ill every year during the fourth of July? The event is still fresh in his mind,
and regardless if it’s over and done with, his body reacts as if it’s still
happening.
It depends on their position within the global economy.
As such, a nation’s health depends on their political and economic situation. They catch colds during economic recessions.
The Great Depression strips are a good source for this, as each negative number assigned to a nation has a differential impact on their health. Since America was a manufacturing powerhouse at the time, his stock market crash affected them all.
Ex: Japan obtains a cough, meanwhile Poland runs a high fever.
In modern strips, we’re also provided with the fact that Austria will slip into a high fever and eventually collapse if Germany even so much as catches a cold.
“A reliable country that likes to approach things with a sober seriousness.
He approves of and supports lots of Germany’s ideas so he may look like one of the helper countries, but in reality the level of his dependency is pretty high.
So high that when Germany catches a little cold, Austria goes straight to high fever and eventually collapses, and so he doesn’t have much of a choice than to take good care of himself.”
As for how serious it can get? Spain almost died from an economic recession.
Further Readings:
Lithuania’s Out-Sourcing Part 3
(The Great Depression)
In just two minutes you can grasp the exterior of the European economy [x]
Germany is playing an impossible game [x]
No, no. All I meant to say is that historical age is how the nations organize themselves. Biological age is predicated on political, cultural, economic, and historical factors.
It wouldn’t make sense to take biological age as a way of organizing who’s an elder given that you have characters like Latvia who’ve existed way longer than countries like America, but because of political repression and a lacking industrial economy, they’re younger biologically.
When Romano says he’s an elder, it’s not referring to his biological age in comparison to America. I say this because in the strips covering the second Industrial Revolution (approx. 1870-1914), Romano had just become an adult having obtained his independence.
Notice how he refers to America as a pipsqueak…
…and then later as someone [historically] younger than him.
Now that I’ve gone over some of the factors that cause a nation
to age [x], I think it would be useful to go through each one separately. This
post will focus on how political autonomy and independence allows a nation to
reach adulthood.
Not only that, but what you’ll also see is that they go
through growth spurts right before gaining independence; their status as an
adult is solidified once this independence is gained. In other words, it’s the resistance that first sparks the aging.
It’s also important to mention that
chronologically-speaking, nations will still consider themselves to be older
than others, regardless if one of them became an adult first. There are late bloomers
like the Italy brothers and quick bloomers like America. The best comparison I
can think of is that anything to do with gaining independence is akin to the pubescent
period for a personification.
That said, let’s go through some examples.
In the following three panels, we see America go through three
developmental changes. In the first stage, he holds a more compliant attitude
towards England and helps him in the French-Indian War. Notice the tag of “Young
America” attached to him.
This compliance begins to wane as America was heavily taxed and financially drained by England following his involvement in the war. Notice how he’s a slightly
older child here.
Then, when America begins fighting for his independence, he’s clearly gone through another growth spurt.
We also see in the years leading up to his independence – as he becomes even more economically and politically sufficient – that he grows pre-emptively.
Lastly, there’s the imagery that Kumajiro uses with dolls to
represent England’s relationship with America and Canada. America is the rowdy
Baby Bear; put another way, it’s like a teenager fighting for freedom from
their parent. Once that freedom is gained, only then will they become an adult.
Canada’s growth occurred at a much slower rate than America. He wasn’t an economic powerhouse like the latter.
While he remained as a young child, America appears to be in his pre-teen
phase.
In the years following America’s independence, Canada ages,
but he still has the lanky and awkward appearance of a teenager. He hadn’t yet
gained his autonomy yet, the missing factor to the age equation.
Here’s Canada after the Battle of Waterloo.
Pay attention to the roundness of his face.
And here’s him during the war of 1812 [right], vs how he
looks in present strips [left]. There’s a notable difference in age.
Likewise, we also know that when Canada upgrades to the semi-dependent
status of a Dominion, the autonomy is enough to allow him to reach adulthood.
We know that Italy is around the age of a pre-teen during the
Austrian War of Succession. He’s not quite a teenager, or at least not an older
one given how short he is in comparison to Austria.
During the Battle of Custoza [whilst raging his third war of
independence], there’s a considerable increase in age. Once again, we see an
example of a nation pre-emptively growing right before they attain independence.
Once Italian Unification is complete, there’s no doubt that
Italy has become an adult.
Romano’s path to adulthood occurred in the exact same manner
and timespan as Veneziano’s did.
He’s around the same age as Veneziano during the Austrian
War of Succession.
He’s noted to have stereotypical teenager behaviour in the
years leading up to his independence from Spain.
Before independence, he appears to be in his late teen
years.
Once unification occurs in the panel I provided above, he’s also clearly an adult.
With all that in mind, it’s important to mention that chronological age is how the nations organize themselves
in terms of perceiving their elders. I know this may come across as obvious,
but it still needs to be said.
Despite becoming an adult later than America did, Romano
still sees himself as older than America and even takes it upon himself to give
him political advice.
On top of re-doing the German
Unification strips, which they completely BUTCHERED in the anime, I’d love to
see the Italian Unification movement animated. Romano’s reaction to it is
priceless.
Ellawritesficssometimes 