Chapter Text
An excerpt from “History of Japan, Earth Bet, 1945-Present”
Kodansha Ltd. 2006
Parahumans:
Parahumans arrived to the world in 1982 with the arrival of Scion, as is common knowledge, and while the United States had the dubious acclaim of being home of Vikare, the first recognized “cape” or “superhero”, they were not the only country to end up with both heroes and villains. History does not record when or even who our first home born parahuman was, mostly because by the time anyone thought to try and find out, there were too many conflicting accounts. After much debate though, as they are wont to do, the Diet finally set down Japan’s own laws regarding Parahumans, dividing them into three general legal classifications that are as follows.
Villains: Known as those who break the laws of the land, these people are all wanted by the police as well as heroes. Civilians are warned to stay well clear of them as they are of any other known law breakers who might be dangerous.
Rogues: Unlike the United States, the Diet did not see fit to pass a law similar to the American NEPEA 5 act forbidding parahumans from using their abilities to work in entertainment. In response we have, in the wake of disasters like Kyushu, been able to use the funds gathered from such businesses to provide temporarily for the displaced. Those unable to directly contribute to combat have either worked to help keep things calm in relocation camps or else donated money to assist the work of those camps.
Heroes: The hero classification is the only one to be broken down further into three subclasses, which are as follows;
· JSDF: The Japanese Self Defense Force gladly accepts any Parahuman who has reached their age of majority and assists them by finding a field where they can put their power to good use, protecting the nation. While the UN looks down on such actions, it is the position of the Diet that, because of the proximity of the Chinese Imperial Union and their suspected use of their group known as the ‘Yangban’, the JSDF will continue to have its own parahuman response units to counter any possible action by the Chinese or North Koreans.
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· National Police: Much like the JSDF, the National Police has created ‘Cataclysm Divisions’ in almost every major metropolitan area in the country. These units operate much like a parahuman SWAT team, responding to actions that specifically require parahuman involvement due to a parahuman villain. As such, they act more like the United States Protectorate teams as opposed to their PRT.
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· The Sentai: Technically Vigilanties acting outside the law itself, the Sentai have been recognized unofficially as heroes even though they break the law while protecting civilians from villains. Often too young to join the JSDF or National Police, idealistic teens have been known to engage villains in various metropolitan areas to try and contain them and/or limit damage and casualties until the local Cataclysm Division members can arrive. These teens are often classified by their style of dress whether they act as teams or individuals:
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· Rangers: These are the most common to be seen, and usually operate in teams of four to six members. Like North American heroes and the manga and anime heroes they emulate, Rangers wear bright primary colors and full helmets to hide their identities.
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· Ninja: Dressed in the western concept of a ninja, (which is known to be that of a kabuki theater stagehand,) these teens tend to operate as individuals or in teams of three to four. Ninja are not usually seen unless their plans have either been broken, or else have to react to a direct attack against civilians like they did during the Tokyo Station Gas attack of 1995.
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· Magical Girls/Boys: Distinctive and destructive with a tendency toward large amounts of collateral damage, MGBs are more likely to operate alone as opposed to in a team. They do, however, on occasion seem to form teams of convenience if an enemy is too powerful or too fast for one to deal with alone. These teams rarely last past the existing enemy but they do tend to network better than other groups and also have a tendency to move into the National Police openly upon reaching their majority.
A known example of this is Tokyo Police: Cataclysm Division Captain Takamachi Nanoha. Active as a ‘Magical Girl’ during the mid and late nineties, the Captain became known for taking on villains all the way up to just shy of Endbringer levels. When asked by a reporter at her commissioning as an officer, why she didn’t respond to Leviathan’s attack on Kyushu her response was a sullen, “I was unable to access my powers at the time.” It was later realized that the attack happened immediately after she had been involved in the Wolkenritter incident which had apparently left her powerless due to restrictions on the use of her powers.
While it is not JSDF nor the National Police’s policy to specifically seek out former Sentai for their service, over seventy-five percent of all Cataclysm Division parahumans came from there, as do ninety percent of JSDF: PRU forces.