A dragon knight in another world discovers a mysterious flying object that invades his own airspace. "It" with a red circle drawn on a white background cannot intercept because it can fly faster and higher than the wyvern operated by the dragon knight. The flying object was a Japanese aircraft that was suddenly blown into another world and was at the height of confusion. Japan, which was suddenly blown into another world, diplomatically works hard to survive and maintain peace.
However, Japan is swallowed up by the rough waves of the history of a different world where hegemonic nations are rife. This is the story of Japan trying to survive in a different world.
Japan Summons (Nihonkoku Shoukan), is a Japanese light novel series by Minorou and illustrated by toi8 currently being published by Pony Canyon. Originally a webnovel hosted on the novel posting site Syosetu, there are 6 volumes as well as 2 Gaiden books written by Ryoji Takamatsu. The first volume of the series was published on March 2017.
A manga serialization started in January 2019 with Chiharu Takano acting as the illustrator, currently being published by Kadokawa. As of 2023, there are 7 volumes released.
This series contains examples of:
- Adaptational Heroism: In light novel of the the engagement with the Parpaldia ground army on Fenn, the Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers recognize that the Parpaldia soldiers were attempting to surrender, even if their method was unconventional to the Japanese, due to the troops dropping their arms and hoisting a flag. The Japanese commander however, whose relatives were killed by Parpaldia's troops during their campaign, decides to declare the Parpaldia practice an attempt to conduct a magical attack and obliterates them with artillery. In the manga, no such internal conflict occur on the Self-Defense Force end and it is portrayed moreso as a miscommunication of intent rather than a malicious interpretation to satiate one's revenge.
- Alternative Calendar: All dates are given in the "Central Calendar", with the series starting in 1639. The average year length is 365.5 days (a quarter of a day longer than Earth).
- Archaeological Arms Race: The Holy Mirishial Empire got its technological edge from reverse engineering relics from the ancient sorcerous empire, and they're also not the only ones to have done so. Particularly notable is the Pal Chimera, the aerial battleship that the Holy Mirishial Empire has unearthed and put into use during the war against Gra Valkas.
- Bullying a Dragon: Japan is fine coexisting with its neighbors and didn't have any plans for conquest but other aggressive countries who mistake their pacifism for weakness gets cocky enough to piss them off. The lucky ones got off only with destroyed military forces meanwhile as for Parpaldia and Gra Valkas, their bases and military installations are totally obliterated and destroyed systematically with superior military firepower that even if they managed to survive the war, they are military and economically crippled with hard time recovering (like what happened to Parpaldia) for a long time.
- Berserk Button: Japan absolutely gets furious when their citizens (especially the civilians) are executed in live television as a "message" and threatening to attack their country directly. Remille even rubbed it to the Japanese Ambassadors (at this time is at Rage Breaking Point due to Parpaldians Smug Super officials making things harder for everyone) that Parpaldia will do a war of "cleansing" to Japan. Understandably, this angers the Japanese that they declared war on the spot and one of the Ambassadors state that after 70 years they would unleash their sealed bloodlust since World War II.
- Cassandra Truth: More than once, eyewitness reports of Japan's true capabilities are dismissed as absurd, even after they lead to heavy losses for whoever happens to have antagonised Japan this time. Parpaldia was particularly prone to this.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The result of any countries that go to war with Japan or Gra Valkas, whose technology is years ahead of them.
- Decade Dissonance: There are two areas in the New World that are based by their technological, infrastructural, and social level: Civilized and Uncivilized Areas. Countries in the Civilized Areas ranges from Napoleonic and Victorian Age to pre-World War 2, while countries in Uncivilized Areas are on the Medieval Era.
- The Empire: There are several examples.
- The Ravernal Empire, the "ancient sorcerous empire" that conquered the New World thousands of years ago before they waged war against the gods and transported themselves to the future to avoid their punishment. They are prophesied to return sometime in the future.
- The Louria Kingdom wanted to be one, however their ambitions are thwarted by Japan's entry in the Rodenius War.
- The Parpaldia Empire that subjugated the southern part of the Third Civilization Area.
- The Gra Valkas Empire, a nation from the world of Yggdra that was transferred to the New World. Upon arriving on this world, they declared war on the entire New World to conquer them.
- Fantastic Nuke: The "core magic" used by the Ravernal Empire is basically a nuclear fission weapon powered by magic. It's even used as a warhead on what is effectively a magic ICBM.
- Fantastic Racism: The human-only country of Louria Kingdom, whose ambition of conquering the Rodenius Continent is fueled by the desire to exterminate demi-humans.
- Game Changer: Basically Japan. The common motif would be for Japan to go to war alongside a side considered weaker and less developed than the antagonist, and single-handedly help them turn the situation from a hopeless odd into an overwhelming and outstanding victory.
- Gunship Rescue: Several attack helicopters manage to repel an Lourian Calvary from the eleven refugees.
- I Surrender, Suckers: The commander of the Leifor fleet tried to do this to Gra Valkas, fake surrendering in order to lure the Grade Atlastar into range. Unfortunately for them their attacks didn't have any effect on the giant battleship and they get wiped out.
- Macross Missile Massacre: The mighty Gra Valkas naval fleet is subjected to this by the JSDF by a large-scale barrage of ASM-2 anti-ship missiles fired by F-2s, P-3s, and submarines, which effortlessly decimates the fleet with no real countermeasures against them.
- Magitek: The New World utilize this technology for the main means of advancement and development of civilizations, with the exception of Mu.
- The Ancient Sorcerous Empire (Ravernal) possesses these kinds of technology powerful enough to conquer the domains of the gods.
- Mugging the Monster: Many of Japan's opponents in the new world mistake Japan's diplomatic methods as pacifistic and interpret the country as militarily weak, and so Japan's opponents often start hostile measures to subjugate Japan and their allies. Unfortunately for Japan's opponents, the military technology of the 21st century prove easy to hide and devastating when unleashed.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Gra Valkas and Japan are the prime examples of this. Their military advancements are so great that they can deal Curb-Stomp Battle to anyone who try to challenge them.
- Pacifism Is Cowardice: Several empires in the world interpret Japan's attempt to establish diplomatic relations and avoiding warfare as a sign of weakness, causing them to start hostile activities to subjugate Japan. They would be proven wrong when the JSDF gets deployed and encounter the enemies guns blazing.
- It's Raining Men: To attack and seize the Gra Valkas' Valkyrie forward operating base, Japan and Mu coordinated forces to send in their paratroopers to land and overrun the base.
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: What the Lourian army does to the Qua-Toyne border town of Gim. Only 100 people are left as survivors. This is also what happens to Alune, the border city in Mu that Gra Valkas seizes during their invasion.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Several cases, especially with royals that become involved with Japan.
- Princess Lumines of the Altaras kingdom, after escaping the Parpaldia's invasion to Japan, establish her legitimacy by setting up a government-in-exile in Japan, establishing diplomatic relations with Japan, and sending broadcasts to her conquered kingdom and neighboring ones to prepare to rebel against the Parpaldia empire.
- Gar Cabal, prince and heir of the Gar Valkas empire, was this when he first insisted on visiting the frontlines in order to bolster troop morale. However, after being captured and held in Japan, he takes the initiative to try and sue for peace in order to save his empire from Japan's might.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Demon King Nosgorath, one of the bioweapons engineered by the Ancient Sorcerous Empire (Ravernal) as magical shock troopers. A hundred years after the Ravernal Empire teleported themselves to the future, one Nosgorath unit managed to gather a vast army and invaded humanity. However, his army was decimated by the Emissaries of the Sun God and was forced to retreat, sealed by the Four Heroes in an unsuccessful attempt to permanently eliminate him. Fast forward into the future, the seal was weakened by Annonrial Empire's agents which allows him to invade humanity once again.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: In the opening days of Gra Valkas' invasion of Japan's ally Mu, a F-2 pilot decides to disregard rules to withhold demonstrating their capabilities against Gra Valkas' forces and shoot down three enemy fighters attempting to strafe evacuating civilians.
- Small, Secluded World:
- The Kingdom of Esperanto. Before Japan contacted them they believed that the rest of the world had been wiped out by demons.
- "The Legend of the Dragon" features a ring of mountains enclosing a sea, inside which is an island with a few countries on it. Again, they had no knowledge of the outside world until Japan found them and contacted them.
- Suicidal Pacifism: At first Japan didn't want to boast their firepower and be humble as possible when dealing with other countries. Unfortunately this made them look weak especially to warmongering countries like Parpaldia. After a hard learned lesson, the Japanese got the message that they need to "demonstrate" their technological advancement to prevent other countries belittling them and even considers to make a nuclear weaponry as a deterrent.
- Technologically Advanced Foe: Japan and Gra Valkas, needless to say, other countries suffered tremendous damages from them as you expect.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: When pushed, Japan leverages the full might of their military to punish empires that try to provoke them, and considering their first few opponents range from medieval-era to Napoleonic-era technologies, this is the default scenario even when they attempt to hold back.
- Title Drop: This occurs in the light novel during an anonymous Japanese forum conversation about their situation of Japan transported to a new world.
- Trapped in Another World: An interesting example. Unlike the other examples where one person or more gets transported into another world and trying to find a way back home, it's four countriesnote (though one averts this since they transported themselves in the New World in the first place and left thousands of years ago but they are prophesied to return in the future) that gets transported into another world along with their populations.
- It plays back to the "one person or more gets transported into another world" scenario, where in one of the Gaiden books, the Imperial Japanese Navy Eastern Fleet and Imperial Japanese Army Zeroth Army gets transferred into another world where they have to survive in the New World and fight the Demon Lord and his army. The New Worlders know them as... The Emissaries of the Sun God!
- The Magic Versus Technology War: Downplayed. Although Japan, the main character nation, is a science-based nation, its enemies are not entirely magic-based: they are using Magitek which combines both elements to varying degrees - although their underestimation/misunderstanding of the role of science means they rely more on magic.
- The only exception so far is the Gra Valkas Empire, Japan's only opponent so far that is a science-based nation like them.
- War Crime Subverts Heroism: Subverted. Since Japan is not tied in Geneva and Oslo Conventions anymore due to being transferred, they can use weapons that are banned (like MRLS Cluster Rockets) and still come off as heroic. In some cases, some of the military commanders whose family members who were killed in the massacre by the Parpaldians "didn't notice" anyone who were surrendering were understandably sympathetic.
- The Worf Effect: For the supposedly most powerful country before Japan and Gra Valkas arrived, the Holy Mirishial Empire sure takes a lot of damage from Gra Valkas. They do put up a better showing in later parts of the war, at least.
