Japan || Honda Kiku

[nihon]

The Character

Country Name: Japan

Human Name: Honda Kiku

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Personality: A rather shy man at first, Honda can be seen as the type to not easilly speak what is on his mind around strangers. He reads the atmosphere of a conversation through careful observation and decides how to react based upon this, though near North Italy he has found himself to be a bit more open about how he feels, rather than how he used to be. He speaks English, Italian, German, and of course Japanese. These languages allow him to speak solely to either himself, everyone, or certain friends from the Axis Powers alone. He uses each one to the best of his abilities; however, he does mess up sometimes and tries to fix the mistake quickly while apologizing.

In a scenario where he is alone he will become overly curious and begin investigating everything, as per his quirks of curiosity. He usually finds himself examining anything and everything, trying to get a feel for his environment before someone returns to where he is, or randomly walks into the room he's alone in. Though if someone were to enter the room, they would find him bowing and apologizing for his curiosity. Depending on the situation, this can change from polite bowing to attacking; as well as from trying to get a feel for the environment to escaping due to an uneasy feeling.

With his friends, he usually tries to be as polite as possible while also handling his own problems seperate from theirs. He knows when to speak his mind and when not to, so talking to him is almost a breeze if one can handle the silence. He does like to stare off into the distance, but this doesn't mean he's necessarily rude. In fact, he only stares because he is thinking hard on what is being asked of him, or what is being said by the other party.

Should Honda ever run into trouble, he will address it as needed. Should it be some scary monster, he usually would not be scared of it, and fight it with strong courage and with careful execution of each attack for the maximum effect. He is usually rather respectful of the dead, giving them a proper warrior's death. He doesn't necessarily pray for them, though. A death at battle is suffice enough for any true warrior who exists to fight.

Even though Honda is a lot more open thanks to Italy and Germany, he still feels rather shy around strangers. He would never openly talk about his likes and dislikes around strangers, nor would he expect a stranger to talk about the same things with him. He is friendly though, and will greet a stranger without words by bowing politely so as not to turn them away.

Though he is polite, he would only invite a stranger into his home for either a tea ceremony or for a certain holiday. Other than these exceptions, he would generally like to avoid an awkward confrontation, and hopefully avoid the drama that comes with meeting strangers.


Weapon: Katana (Japanese style sword)/Fists


Likes:
-Fluffy creatures
- Food, especially his own
-Manga
-Anime
-Watching Italy and Germany
-Writing in his journal
-Eating ice cream and reading manga on New Years
-Cooking


Dislikes:
-Roaches
-England's food
-Russia, for obvious reasons
-Nudity
-Intimate contact


Strengths:
- He is highly skilled in fighting with a sword, and items that look like a sword (Sheaths, Pipes, Table legs, etc.)
- Should he lose his sword, he is skilled in some types of Martial arts, thus he can fight with his body as well.
- Silence. He can sneak up on certain things and take them out if need be.
- Strong resolve that is hard to break, allowing him to fight on no matter how wounded he may be.
- He is highly observant and can usually find things out of place, or get a small feeling that something should be changed in the room he is in.


Weaknesses:
- Long-range attacks
- Magical attacks
- Reliance on Short-Range Weapons or his own body to attack
- Surprise attacks, as he would never have time to prepare a counter to what is being done.
- Watching the death of a close friend, as this would break his resolve and cause him to not fight with quite as much vigor as previously done.


Sample Post: Dying was not on his list of things to do today. Most definitely not when it involved Italy watching, complaining as he always did about how he could help. He knew he could beat it, he just knew it somewhere deep down in his heart. He had the means, but just not the strength. He had worn himself out over the period of time he had spent inside the mansion...

He sighed as he leaned against the too-white piano, staining it with a crimson red flowing from his own wounds. This was it, the end he had tried so hard to escape from. His grip weakened on his katana as it slipped through fingers that were quickly losing the ability to feel. He fell onto the top of the piano, staring at the ceiling as the voice of Italy droned on around him, not really reaching his ears. His vision hazed and the whitewash ceiling of the piano roomed looked brighter to him.

He was at peace, but something troubled him as he struggled to stay conscious, just for a second longer. He wanted to at least tell Italy to keep going, even after he was gone. Just one, precious second of speaking to assure his friend that all would be well with or without him being present.

He heard the sobs, the hysterical pleading for him to hold on a while longer. He forced a smile through tensing muscles. Rigor mortis was starting to settle in, it was getting harder and harder to move. It was now or never if Honda wanted Italy to know what was on his mind as he died.

"Keep going...even when I'm not there... I always wished us to...leave together...Italy." And then, he was at rest. A small smile on his lips, his eyes half open and closing as his muscles finally relaxed and gave away to the coldness of death. He lay there, the last of his blood dripping from the piano, as a true warrior died a true warrior's death.

Did you read the rules?:
★Tomatoes
★Knife
★Eyebrows
★Maple
★Freedom
★Rose

---

The Player

Name: Japan, Nihon, Hana, Chi(dori is optional).

Timezone: GMT - 6 (Central Standard Time)

[Mysterious Voice]

Thank you very much for applying as Japan. While you did hit the minimum word requirements, we will unfortunately have to reject your application.

We allow some discrepancies on spelling and grammar, but this is an issue that the Voices have reminded you to fix multiple time. More than this, though, the Voices are troubled more by the lack of depth and consistency in his character.

First and foremost, I feel as if you are focusing far too much on Japan as a part of the Axis Powers. I must remind you that this takes place during the current era. Japan would most definitely know English, but Italian and German? Those are not likely, especially because you failed to mention the language that he’d know just as well as his own – Chinese. The Voices implore you to look further into Japanese history to understand our reasoning behind this, and would like to remind you that Japan has been an a country in isolation for a very long time. Asian cultures in general are not readily accepting of outside cultures – language included – with a few exceptions during the recent years.

From the very first paragraph, the I had a hunch that you were going to put far too much emphasis on Japan’s affiliation with the Axis Powers, and I was correct. Again, the Voices must remind you that this takes place during the current era. Japan’s friends are not limited to North Italy and Germany. I implore you to look further into Japanese international relations to get a better grasp of what his friendships would be like during the current age. (Even the anime mentions a few key friendships that were not mentioned at all in your application, whereas Germany and Italy were. What of Greece? Turkey? America? If you’re going to mention a few nations as examples, please use the ones that would matter most.)

In your second paragraph, you describe Japan to be a very curious man. That is fine. However, you make him out to be almost childish in his curiosity. I feel as if you have a very weak grasp of what sort of curiosity Japan has. Furthermore, the last sentence completely broke whatever consistency the character had thus far. Depending on the situation? What sort of situation would cause Japan to attack right away? Even if he had an uneasy feeling, would he simply attack someone that came into the room? Please review this section carefully.

Would Japan really be polite only to his friends? No, not at all. This paragraph, at first glance, seems fine, but as a whole, it has very little substance. You elaborate on simple things that you need not elaborate on, and leave many important things very vague. The way you worded things here make him sound like someone who hardly talks at all, which is false. This is why grammar and a certain level of mastery in the English language is important and stressed on this forum.

The only part that I personally thought was very accurate and spot-on was Japan’s desire to die a warrior’s death.

Again, you are putting far too much emphasis on Japan’s relations with the other Axis Powers. Japan came out of isolation years before the Axis Powers even formed, so giving them the credit for making Japan more “open” would be inaccurate.

Japan is humble, and he is a very good host. There are several reasons he would invite someone over to his house, both formal and informal. What holiday are you speaking about? You’re far too vague – not only here, but all throughout the application as well.

In the Likes section, you put far too much emphasis on anime than necessary. It would’ve been fine it you mentioned it once (anime/manga), but you mentioned it three times, and made him seem even further two-dimensional and not at all Japanese. (In fact, it almost seems offensive to the Japanese to associate them so strongly with only anime and manga.) Also, would watching his friends really be a like? Elaborate, because this only makes him seem like a creep.

What are the ‘obvious reasons’ that have him disliking Russia? Again, you’re being far too vague. Why does he not like roaches in particular? Is it really nudity itself that Japan does not like, or the nudity of others when they come into contact with him?

Items that look like a sword are not swords; thus, they would be used differently. Would silence really be that amazing of a strength? Anyone can shut their mouths. Also, by weaknesses, we mean shortcomings. What keeps him from being helpful in battle? Surprise attacks are surprise attacks because no one is prepared for them. Anyone would be depressed and take a step back when they witness the death of a friend. Try not to state the obvious, and go further into his character.

These are the major mistakes that the Voices have found with your application. Overall, there are certain things that simply do not make the characterization consistent. When revising your application, please do not just add in everything that I’ve mentioned. Deepen the character – make him come to life. You have just one more try before we will unfortunately have to automatically decline your applications in the future.