View source for Afghanis-tan

{{Short description|Japanese yonkoma manga}}
{{distinguish|Afghanistan}}
{{No footnotes|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| name = Afghanis-tan (Afghanistan)
| image = Afuganisu-tan-cover.jpg
| caption = Japanese edition cover
| ja_kanji = あふがにすタン
| ja_romaji = Afuganisu-tan
| genre = {{ubl|[[Comedy]]|[[History]]|[[Moe (slang)|''Moe'']]}}
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type            = manga
| author          = Timaking (ちまきing)
| publisher       = [[SansaiBooks]]
| demographic     = 
| magazine        = Online
| first           = October 2003
| last            = February 2005
| volumes         = 1
| volume_list     = 
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type         = manga
| title        = Pakis-tan
| author       = Timaking (ちまきing)
| publisher    = [[SansaiBooks]]
| magazine     = Online
| first        = February 2005
| last         = Late Winter/Early Spring 2005
| volumes      = 1
| volume_list  = 
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}

{{nihongo|'''''Afghanis-tan'''''|あふがにすタン|Afuganisu-tan|see note on name below}} or '''''Afghanistan''''' is a Japanese [[yonkoma manga|''yonkoma'' manga]], originally published as a [[webcomic]], by Timaking (ちまきing). It is also the name of the protagonist of the manga. The manga is nicknamed {{nihongo|Afgan|あふがん|Afugan}}

==Background==
''Afghanis-tan'' illustrates the modern [[history of Afghanistan]] and its neighboring countries, starting from the [[imperialist]] era in the 19th century, through [[moe anthropomorphism|''moe'' anthropomorphism]]. The title character, a short and clumsy ''[[bishōjo]]'', is a [[national personification]] of [[Afghanistan]]. Other female characters personify the nearby nations of [[Central Asia]], such as [[Pakistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]]. Nations that have fought wars in Afghanistan at various times, such as [[United Kingdom|Britain]], the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]] also make appearances. The [[Taliban]] regime and [[Al-Qaeda]] terrorist group are also represented in the comic as feral cats.

Each ''[[yonkoma]]'' strip is accompanied by an "Afghan Memo" that explains some of the background and history of the nations depicted. Additional pages give short biographies of the characters.

The fact that it is a [[moe (slang)|''moe'']] manga depicting international conflict, and the fact that it personifies countries, has drawn some criticism. However, it has also drawn attention for its attempt to blend an appropriate depiction of the history and background of each country with the personality of its characters.

''Afghanis-tan'' has finished, and work on its sequel, "Pakis-tan" (ISBN 4-86199-116-1), was suspended after four editions but was released in 2008 by the company SansaiBooks. The author of both the comics caught a virus on his computer that had leaked his personal info, after which he took down his website and moved on from associating with the comics.

On July 26, 2005, after several delays, the series went on sale as a comic book, "Afghanis-tan" ({{ISBN|4-86199-009-2}}).

==Characters==
{{Hatnote|1=Note that most of the character names are written in Japanese the same way the country they represent is written, only with a [[katakana]] emphasis on the "[[Japanese honorifics#Baby talk variations|-tan]]" suffix}}
; {{Flagdeco|Afghanistan|variant=2002}} {{nihongo|'''Afghanis-tan'''|あふがにすタン|Afuganisu-tan|represents [[Afghanistan]]}}
: The protagonist of the series, an unfortunate girl surrounded by neighbors with strong personalities. According to her character description, "she trips and falls a lot". Her design appears to be based on [[Sharbat Gula]], an Afghan woman whose [[Afghan Girl|iconic photo]] appeared on the cover of the June 1985 issue of [[National Geographic Magazine|National Geographic]].
; {{Flagdeco|Pakistan}} {{nihongo|'''Pakis-tan'''|ぱきすタン|Pakisu-tan|represents [[Pakistan]]}}
: Boastful, and often feels lonely, especially without Kashmir. Likes Afghanis-tan.
; {{Flagdeco|Uzbekistan}} {{nihongo|'''Uzbekis-tan'''|うずべきすタン|Uzubekisu-tan|represents [[Uzbekistan]]}}
: Stubborn and a sore loser. Often quarrels with Pakis-tan. Idolizes "Older-Sister [[Russia]]".
; {{Flagdeco|Tajikistan}} {{nihongo|'''Tajikis-tan'''|たじきすタン|Tajikisu-tan|represents [[Tajikistan]]}}
: A salt-of-the-earth [[Edokko]] type, quick to argue and quick to make up. Has girlish tastes.
; {{Flagdeco|Kyrgyzstan}} {{nihongo|'''Kyrgyzs-tan'''|きるぎすタン|Kirugisu-tan|represents [[Kyrgyzstan]]}}
: Quick-thinking and sharp-tongued. Always riding on a wooden horse.
; {{Flagdeco|Turkmenistan}} {{nihongo|'''Turkmenis-tan'''|とるくめにすタン|Torukumenisu-tan|represents [[Turkmenistan]]}}
: A girl with a mysterious personality. One never knows her true thoughts. (Cf. [[Saparmurat Niyazov]])
; {{Flagdeco|USA}} {{nihongo|'''Meriken'''|めりけん|Meriken|represents the [[United States]]}}
: The richest person in the neighborhood and a bully.
; {{Flagdeco|Al-Qaeda}} {{nihongo|'''Al-Nyaida'''|あるにゃいだ|Arunyaida|represents [[Al-Qaeda]]}}
: A group of [[feral cat]]s causing trouble in the neighborhood. Come to live in Afghanis-tan's house while she is out.

== Reception ==
Around the time when the book was published by Sansai Books, part of the intention was to  provide information about the current state of Afghanistan.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

There is criticism that using the style of [[Moe (slang)|''moe'']] trivializes the situation. In particular, the [[9/11|terrorist attacks]] of September 11, 2001 were depicted as "an incident where a cat called Al-Qaeda bit America", a fact which was severely criticized in the secondary work, "{{nihongo|Introduction to the Kashmir conflict|カシミール紛争入門|Kashimīru Funsō Nyūmon}}".

==Collections==
{{Graphic novel list/header
 | OneLanguage     = yes
 | LineColor       = CCF
 | WithTitle       = yes
}}
{{Graphic novel list
 | VolumeNumber    = 1
 | OriginalRelDate = July 26, 2006
 | OriginalISBN    = 978-4-8619-9009-0
 | TranslitTitle   = Afghanis-tan
 | OriginalTitle   = あふがにすタン, Afuganisu-tan
 | LineColor       = CCF
}}
{{Graphic novel list
 | VolumeNumber    = 2
 | OriginalRelDate = August 30, 2008
 | OriginalISBN    = 978-4-8619-9116-5
 | TranslitTitle   = Pakis-tan
 | OriginalTitle   = ぱきすタン, Pakisu-tan
 | LineColor       = CCF
}}
{{Graphic novel list/footer}}

==See also==
* ''[[Hetalia: Axis Powers]]'' – a series with a similar premise, employing ''[[bishōnen]]'' to represent [[Italy]] and its interactions with other countries, particularly around [[World War I]] and [[World War II]].

==References==
* [http://www.animenewsservice.com/archives/jan55.htm "Popular Web Mangaka Vanishes After Winny Incident"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813191326/http://www.animenewsservice.com/archives/jan55.htm |date=2009-08-13 }}. [http://www.animenewsservice.com/ Anime News Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070201233036/http://animenewsservice.com/ |date=2007-02-01 }}. 5-2-06

== External links ==
* {{in lang|ja}} [https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.yukai.jp/~timaking/afgan/* Partial archive of ''Afghanis-tan'' site] (many images not available)
* {{ann|manga|6654}}
* https://sites.google.com/view/afuganisutanandpakisutanmangas/home (Fan Translations)
{{Portal bar|Anime and manga}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghanis-Tan}}
[[Category:Moe anthropomorphism]]
[[Category:Yonkoma]]
[[Category:Japanese webcomics]]
[[Category:National personifications in comic books]]
[[Category:Webcomics in print]]
[[Category:Historical webcomics]]
[[Category:2000s webcomics]]
[[Category:History of Afghanistan in fiction]]
[[Category:Works about the Great Game]]
[[Category:2003 manga]]
[[Category:Comedy anime and manga]]
[[Category:Historical anime and manga]]
[[Category:Islam in comics]]