I first wanted to write "as the Australians have done". Alas, many people will argue that the genocide in Australia is still ongoing. Please let us not get off-topic about this issue. I conclude this here.
Murderous fascist is not the role the military role Kempeitai had in WW2. They happened to become murderous fascists, but their original function was military policing, propaganda, espionage etc. which is exactly what the Infinity Kempeitai are described to be tasked with. This argument comes up an awful lot, but where are you getting this from? From what they've shown so far, the Kempeitai don't come off as heroic in any way.
Listen, if you are so worried about it getting the thread off topic, you shouldn't have brought it up. There would have been plenty of other valid ways to discuss the colonialism narrative inherent in Ariadnan backstory without asserting that a nation is currently enacting a genocide.
I happen to live in that nation, that is why that thought came to me first. When someone says a nation has or is committing genocide, then it does not mean that every individual of that nation is doing so. No reason for you to feel offended. The people who argue that Australia is still committing genocide usually have Australian passports.
Because their real life counterparts were. Otherwise readers get the feeling that fascists are getting the praise or at least their atrocities get played down. Remember, historical baggage. Some people have feelings attached to that.
But I'm not getting that feeling. Many people on this forum don't get that feeling. And most people I've asked also don't get that feeling.
I feel like it's pretty simple: If you adopt the name of something historically significant, it's because the theme of that historical item is relevant to the themes you're trying to communicate. If the theme of the historical item isn't relevant to whatever you're trying to name, maybe you need to find a different name? For example, the modern Japanese military police are called 'Keimukan', why did CB not use that and deliberately choose the name with historical significance? So, as far as I'm concerned, if the evil acts of the historical Kenpeitei are not relevant to the theme of JSA's Kempeitei then CB should have found a different name for the unit. As they haven't, I assume that the inference was intended or that someone at CB got lazy with their research. The release of the nuJSA sectorial was the perfect time to rename the unit if it was a mistake (see: Raiden), seeing as they didn't I assume the inference is deliberate. Personally, I think Kempeitei is exactly as offensive as naming a unit Einsatzgruppen, seeing as they had relatively similar historical roles. If Einsatzgruppen offends you, Kempeitei should, as well. I think we're mature enough as a community to have units labelled as such, just as long as they are framed as villians/evil (as the alternative is condoning them through positive rendition). Personally, I like the idea that the JSA rebellion was sparked from the underhanded tactics/assassinations of the Kempeitei, that the heart of a noble rebellion against an oppressive empire (YJ) is an evil group of individuals (lawful evil, of course). Ambiguous morality is always more interesting than 'Good Guys versus Bad Guys'.
It's really not. The modern Japanese military police does not have the same duties the Kempeitai had, so the proximity to the historical term is a lot closer (propaganda, espionage etc.). Secondly, CB "condoning them through positive rendition" is very much debatable.
Kampeitai were never clandestine freedom fighters though, so the case for literal naming is way off. Gutier probably just searched "Los japos a los que no les gustan los chinos" in Yahoo! search or something.
Post-Uprising it is. Pre-Uprising... Kempeitai The Kempeitai is a clandestine and subversive unit that has infiltrated the Nipponese Army of Yu Jing. Their members are diehard nationalists, loyal fanatics to the Japanese Emperor, their symbol of the subjugated Japanese nation. Their ultimate goal is to free Japan from the tyranny of Yu Jing, using any means necessary. Okay, so this part isn't nice, but isn't terribly bad either. Die hard nationalists, but fight for subjugated japanese nation. Also fanatical monarchists, which is shit. The Kempeitai fights Yu Jing by attacking its army, the main tool of submission to the StateEmpire, from the inside. As opposed to the Tatenokai, the Kempeitai only attacks military objectives and is composed entirely of experienced soldiers that operate from inside the Yu Jing Army. Nicer than the other terrorist group. Meeeeeeeeh. Its creation was consequence of the Yu Jing High Command’s attitude towards the Nipponese troops, who are treated as expendable cannon fodder. Protecc poor nipponese desu. This subversive unit performs espionage, sabotage and assassination tasks to undermine the operative capacity of the Yu Jing Army. Violent and implacable, their missions of punishment are true cold-blooded murders. Okay, but kinda assholes Their targets are non-Nipponese soldiers and officers, as well as those Japanese military suspected of collaborationist activities, whom the Kempeitai are especially cruel to. So racism The Kempeitai has assumed the protection of Nipponese soldiers enlisted in the Yu Jing Army, terminating those officers who disdain the lives of their men and place their troops in danger. This elimination can happen even during combat, with Kempeitai troops taking command of the operation to ensure it finishes with the least casualties possible. But protecc poor nipponese from bad officers To accomplish their mission, the members of the Kempeitai, helped by inside men in the staff and logistics departments, employ fake identities and ranks in the Nipponese Army of Yu Jing. The operative cells of the Kempeitai are never composed of more than three men, to maximize security. Since its creation, the Kempeitai, which was cautious at first, has become more and more ambitious and daring in its operations. Any member of the StateEmpire Army can be a target for its goals. So much paranoia has been created that Celestial Guard agents investigate the deaths of all Yu Jing command officers, by natural causes, accident or in action, to divine whether it was caused by this relentless secret organization. And Imperial Service is imcompetent. I guess it wasn't a new development after all. I doubt that. I think he knew exactly what he was doing, and he just did it anyway because Infinity is his baby. I would certainly like to hear his reasoning for the choice, maybe on Interplanetario I can get him drunk and ask.
It does fit with the new description, but you are right if you are talking about the Kempetai before uprising. I like your explanation, but I find it more probable that,in Gutier's masterplan, they were always supposed to become the morally ambiguous, nationalistic enforcers they are being portrayed as in uprising and thus closer to their namesakes. Edit: Looking at @Aldo 's summary, they don't even come off as very heroic in the first place. "Freedom Fighter" and "Tyranny" are not as black and white as they might seem. It's a biased perspective and it's done like that on purpose.
I may be done with this game. Forums, fluff, everything. We will see how the story turns out. But that image/quote? That's how the second most powerful nation in the Sphere loses a rebellion. By making the nominally still-loyal ethnic Japanese have to choose between fighting in the secession and hoping to survive to evacuate, or to be killed by the Jackbooted thugs of the Imperial Service. Were I the Emperor, I'd have that Crane's head mounted on a pike as a warning to the next thousand generations that the role of the Imperial Service is to protect the innocent. This. So much this! More Gestapo than SS Prison Camp Guards, IMO, but still Class A War Criminals who made a lot of civilians disappear. And the Secessionist fluff has definitely gone straight back to the Imperial Japanese Army Kempeitai. I'd like to think so. But this is not being handled well.
Since the secessionists are massively supported by the japanese population, all of them are considered insurgents by the State Empire. Therefore, they're dealing with it like they always did, just on a bigger scale: behave and you'll live, keep supporting the uprising and we'll crush you. It's what they did with the Triads, they mercilessy hunted them down until the criminals realized there was a very simple way out of this: submission. To be fair, the only reason it didn't work here is because of international pressure to stop the bloodbath.
