National service/Army Manga

[Lermont]

Well, I recently "did my time" in our GREAT nation's service (Estonian Defense Forces), and am I glad. Now I can spend time trying to forget about it just in time for the regathering in four years. But let's get to the point: I suddenly realized the lack of manga about the conscript's humorous perils that ensue when a young gentleman's life is interrupted by the draft - these kind of stories are somewhat popular in Russia at least. And THEN I googled to see if Japan even has a system like that... and DAMN! While I expected something like this from a small island nation, there sure is a hell of a lot of other countries where the draft was abolished, no wonder I haven't seen any western comics or shows about it either. And while it IS a year of your life down the drain (two in some countries) you people don't know what you are missing (I'm talking about the kind of fun several thousand unmotivated armed men who are children at heart can have while running through the forest "playing war"). But that's your loss, mine is that of all of the possible fiction (and sometimes what you want to believe is fiction about the army - we had a nice little episode of a few guys playing rugby with an old RPG grenade that was found while digging trenches) that won't be created.

[xioaxioa]

I'm having trouble seeing what you're getting at. Are you trying to get us into the military? If so, then I'm already in the US Navy, so yeah. But I don't think that's what you're saying so, can you simplify it?

[Stev3child]

Well Im sure there's a manga out there with the premise of some guy being drafted for combat, but the challenge is finding it. And if your absolutely sure there isnt, well then you can pitch the idea to some manga companies.

[ByaKuya_]

I'm having trouble seeing what you're getting at. Are you trying to get us into the military? If so, then I'm already in the US Navy, so yeah. But I don't think that's what you're saying so, can you simplify it?

dude .... u can't be in the navy if ur dead man ... chillax!

[POW]

Actually I think hes on to something..... this could be very good idea for a manga.

I think the setting would be more intresting if it took place in an imaginary world. Could be some semi futuristic elements like gaint mecha army corps.

Some lazy guy glad to finally be out of school so he can finally take some time off and follow his dream of writing the ultimate mecha manga so he can get a job as a manga artist. Then he gets a letter that hes being drafted into the real world mecha military corps.

His adventures , mishaps , friendships, ups and downs that change him would be an intresting story. Like a funny situation where he compares what he is going thru to a manga and expects a predictable outcome like the hero saving the day only to find RL is nothing like a manga.

[Hagane, the Ice Nomad]

But wouldn't the semi-futuristic mech/bio-armor thing kinda take away from the sense of reality, that this could happen to anyone?

[POW]

But wouldn't the semi-futuristic mech/bio-armor thing kinda take away from the sense of reality, that this could happen to anyone?

Nah it wouldnt too far off futuritic it would be grounded futuristic elements like the movie Akira. However it wouldnt be as serious as it would have a kind of slap in the face sense of comedy. It would have sense of realism as the basic training he would have to go thru from waking up early and running and all the PT elements as well as training on weapons and later mecha.

So in the end even tho it takes place in a imaginary setting to make it more intresting it would still have relatable elements.

[xioaxioa]

dude .... u can't be in the navy if ur dead man ... chillax!

Alright fine, I'm dead. Truth is they have computers in the afterlife and it's really boring here, so all I can do is internet stuff.

Back on Topic:
Now I get it. A manga about the draft. A manga like that would be best if it was about the Vietnam War. Just get a war journal of a KIA/MIA/POW soldier during the Vietnam War and turn it into a manga. I'd read that.

[Light-kun]

Actually I think hes on to something..... this could be very good idea for a manga.

I think the setting would be more intresting if it took place in an imaginary world. Could be some semi futuristic elements like gaint mecha army corps.

Some lazy guy glad to finally be out of school so he can finally take some time off and follow his dream of writing the ultimate mecha manga so he can get a job as a manga artist. Then he gets a letter that hes being drafted into the real world mecha military corps.

His adventures , mishaps , friendships, ups and downs that change him would be an intresting story. Like a funny situation where he compares what he is going thru to a manga and expects a predictable outcome like the hero saving the day only to find RL is nothing like a manga.

When I read this I couldn't help but think about "Innocent Venus" (don't know if there was a Manga though)

[Lermont]

Now I get it. A manga about the draft. A manga like that would be best if it was about the Vietnam War. Just get a war journal of a KIA/MIA/POW soldier during the Vietnam War and turn it into a manga. I'd read that.

No, that's not exactly it, when people are getting drafted for war it's not comedic at all, also being on contract service you've seen the "other" army - the serious one. I'm talking about the romantic years of compulsory training forced on people who don't want to do ANYTHING with the army. Would you ever see a U.S. marine dragging his rifle after him by the belt or setting it to "soak-off" in a bucket of soapy water? - I think not! Only people who don't take their service to seriously (and that's easy to do in this system) can get them selves into the kind of hilarious situations I'm talking about. Also with the compulsory draft EVERYONE gets called-up - I mean, there are people so strange, weird, lazy or dumb you wouldn't believe they existed, you don't even have to make up characters. The government off course understands who it's giving equipment to and what is the chance of getting a few contracts out of the bunch, and because of that the state our equipment is in and the administrative sides are "something else", we can have a window of four hours doing nothing, and then having so much to do that we have no time for eating and are missing sleep that is either way scarce in the forests with the damn patrol graphics, I remember sleeping a total of eight hours in three days once. But that's not BAD - it's FUNNY, a special part of time-service folklore - we have two sayings here: "I've lost my sleep after the army because now I know who protects me at nigh", and "Who served doesn't laugh at the circus".
Did that make any sense?