Prince Pickles in Action
After the hot 'n heavy discussion of Japan Self Defense Force mascots recently, I had to post these. They're taken from the pages of Prince Pickle's Diary, a comic book published by the Japanese Ministry of Defense. The story involves Prince Pickles being sent by his father to Japan for a year to learn about the country's military system.
Here, Prince Pickles watches as two divers practice disarming a dummy mine. (The text goes on to explain that while they haven't ever found any mines in the waters around Japan, the divers did get a chance to exercise their skills in the Persian Gulf in 1991.)
Apocalypse Now, the Japanese way? No, just Prince Pickles helping the JDSF practice rescuing citizens from floodwaters.
America may have had Chuck Yeager, but Japan has The Cute Stuff.
Best for last: when they aren't disarming mines in the Persian Gulf, the JSDF builds enormous snow sculptures of anime characters for the Sapporo Snow Festival. Viva la revolution.
Never get out of the boat, Prince Pickles.
Posted by: Roger | March 04, 2007 at 12:17 PM
That last picture, I saw that in Dai Guard but thought it was a joke.
Posted by: Fort Max | March 06, 2007 at 06:53 PM
The horror! The horror!
Posted by: Tim | March 18, 2007 at 07:26 PM
I am not paying my tax to have our SDF to make snowman!!! What a job!!
Posted by: Toshi | April 24, 2007 at 11:44 PM
Who the hell came up with the name "Prince Pickles?" XD
Still, creating a manga like this is a good way to increase recruitment levels :)
Posted by: Cakedollar | May 23, 2007 at 07:28 PM
I can't recall if it's official or speculation, but I do recall reading about the reasoning behind the name somewhere. In Japanese cuisine, pickles are a great accompaniment but are never the main course... Just like the self-defense force's role in Japanese society.
Posted by: Matt | May 24, 2007 at 08:43 AM