Anyway, on a mission to procure some of these doujinshi for a friend, I ventured into the underground (literally and figuratively), cave-like used comic shop Mandarake. The store is divided into two main sections: comics for guys, which include normal stuff that you can buy at any bookstore as well as nudie anime ladies, and the "For Ladies" section filled with Boy's Love comics and doujinshi. Almost any copyrighted property you can think of is represented in the fan comic world, and many more that you could never think of, like the one about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs (though I guess copyright infringement isn't a factor there...maybe just slander). Almost as baffling as the aforementioned is that there was an entire book case filled with country doujinshi. I'm not talking about the musical genre here, I mean the comics are about countries--as in political states-- (in human form) being in homosexual relationships with each other. I need to stress here that these are not boys from that country, rather the boys are the countries...
Still confused? Allow me to better explain this completely insane concept with examples from the comic I bought (you didn't really think I wouldn't buy one, did you?) I chose "The World Still Turns Around" an "Axis Powers Fan Book" that has a story about America, England, and Japan.
Again, these are not just representatives from those nations, but are the actual nations themselves. This can be illustrated by the history of America and England's relationship as explained by America in flashback :
Ever since America was born, England always treated him like a little brother and America, who looked up to him like a big brother, was always following England around.
See, when America was a toddler, England was in high school...
Eventually, though, America grew bigger than England and started to resent England's constant fussing over him, so he declared himself to be independent from England (whose full name is "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland," by the way).
See, now America is taller than England.
Ever since then, while they remain good friends and live nearby to each other, they often get into petty arguments.
Sounds like a pretty accurate account of the relationship between the countries... That is of course until you get to the part were America and England do it.
See, the reason America didn't want to be treated like a little brother any more, is because he really wants to do it with England and "you can't do this with your little brother, can you?" (Although I'm betting there are several doujinshi that would present an argument against that statement...)
Unfortunately (?) Japan, who was invited over so he could make sushi for everyone, walked in at that point, so they didn't get any further than the kiss. But, according to the author's afterword, they promise to make it more "scintillating" *ahem* next time, so don't worry, America and England will eventually get it on...
The biggest question I have is: Why is this anyone's fantasy? Do "geography fetishists" exist?
I just hope this never actually happens in real life--wait a minute, maybe that's what earthquakes are?
**UPDATE**
A couple of people informed me that the particular doujinshi I am talking about is in fact based on an Internet anime called "Hetalia," which deals with the interactions of anthropomorphized countries during WWII. It also apparently has an avid fan-base and plenty of male-male "hints" to start with, which explains the popularity of this particular doujinshi...though doesn't really explain why there were so many others about countries not associated with Hetalia...