Note: Flying Mint
Bunny is a dubbed term, as the creature doesn’t have an official name. I’ll be
working from that. Still, I think there’s enough to say even if you omit the
mint part. It’s just for entertainment and speculative purposes.
Flying Mint Bunny, huh? Never thought analyzing magical creatures
would lead me down this dark of a rabbit hole – pun graciously intended – but here
we are.
In the series, we know that England’s not very well-liked and is
kind of a loner. He’s certainly not a favourite in Europe, being referred to as
the Black Sheep of the continent. We also see in the Splendid Isolation strips
how much he struggles to make friends with the other nations, with the exception
of Japan.
Given this loneliness and England’s popular ghost culture – which
allows him to see ghosts, fairies, or any other supernatural creatures – it would seem that he befriends these beings
as a way of compensating for his loneliness.
In terms of Flying Mint Bunny’s potential symbolic value, there
are several things to mention. First, it can be a reference to Ancient Chinese
folklore of the Jade or Moon rabbit. Either way, the bunny is symbolic of longevity
as well as fertility. The latter meaning of longevity is what is more
applicable here, as it could be used to represent the nations’ immortality. That
is, as long as England is lonely and needs a friend to speak to, Flying Mint
Bunny will always be there for him, presumably being immortal itself.
So, why make him mint-coloured? Of course,
this is just speculation, but mint itself is symbolic for the protection of
illness. Following this train of logic, perhaps England is using Flying Mint
Bunny, as well as the rest of his magical friends, to help ease his loneliness
and prevent himself from going mad. There’s also the fact that mint is symbolic
of precious moments; England is indeed very fond of these friends of his.
Now, as for the true madness aspect, let’s break it down before
tying everything together. The nation’s memories are not limitless, and those old
enough have been shown to forget things. We see this more with Japan, and I’ll
get into this more with another theory, but for this specific post, I’ll be
focusing on ghosts and supernatural beings.
It’s noted that because Japan’s people no longer believe in
ghosts, he is unable to see them. Meanwhile, on a state visit, England is able
to see the tengu, onion-headed youkai spirit, and kappa at Japan’s house.
Later in the strip, England interacts with the kappa and
onion-headed spirit. They tell him that because they’re not acknowledged by Japan’s
people, they’re no longer able to be seen and thus have to move farther up into
the mountains. Before they leave, however, they give England a gift.
The Kappa’s Miracle Cure is known for its ability to cure any
illness. Don’t you find it weird how they gave England, an immortal and invincible being
himself, that specific gift of all things? What if England’s illness isn’t
physical, but rather mental? What if he’s lonely and depressed, and these youkai
spirits recognized that and tried to help him? I mean, he literally came to
Japan to establish a friendship/ alliance with him.
The nations are able to recover from physical
diseases, but it’s the mental scars that never truly leave them. And as much as England may try to forget about how isolated he is
from the other nations (especially from America), the memories are still fresh enough for them to remain.
It’s extremely disturbing if you think about it, because there are
instances in the strips where America thinks England’s crazy. Yes, it’s mostly
because America is unable to see the ghosts/ creatures (he’s too impure,
according to England. Pssst. I’m aware Norway can see FMB too), but the specificity
of the word choice is what makes me wonder if there’s something else to it.
England isn’t schizophrenic, as we know
that it’s actually France who’s the ‘ghost’, appearing frightening because his
beauty sleep was interrupted (don’t ask me how he snuck in). Still, America’s
comment may be referring to something wrong with his head; that is, a mental
illness. Obviously, he’s not crazy, but depression and loneliness is very
much an illness of the brain (i.e head).
Then, in “We’re shipwrecked too”, after America goes into the forest
to search for materials, England immediately turns to his magical friends…perhaps for comforting purposes.
That said, loneliness and the possible depression it brings is a
serious illness, and it would seem that England may very likely be suffering
from it.
Ellawritesficssometimes 