On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, award-winning author Peter Tieryas talks about his alternate history book series, United States of Japan, as well as answers many of the lingering questions at the end of his most recent book, Cyber Shogun Revolution.

About Peter Tieryas

Peter Tieryas is the award-winning author of the United States of Japan books (United States of Japan, Mecha Samurai Empire, Cyber Shogun Revolution). Inspired by Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle and Japanese popular media such as the Zone of the Enders and Metal Gear series of video games, the United States of Japan books present a dark but super technologically advanced world filled with epic mecha battles, hyper realistic video games, and a version of the United States that was split into two after Imprial Japan and Nazi Germany came out victorious in World War II. The United States of Japan books have been translated into multiple languages, including French, Spanish, and even Japanese. Tieryas is the recipient of two Seiun Awards for the Japanese translations of United States of Japan and Mecha Samurai Empire. Aside from his work as an author, Tieryas has also worked as a technical writer for LucasArts and a character artist for major motion pictures such as Guardians of the Galaxy. And he also really enjoys video games.

Topics Discussed

Why Peter chose Beniko as the name of one of the main characters of United States of Japan
Why Peter decided to reference Punch Out and Hajime no Ippo (Fighting Spirit) through the name of the main character of Mecha Samurai Empire (Makoto Fujimoto/Mac)
The symbolism of Akiko Tsukino's dreams
Unites States of Japan as a general commentary on militarism
Why Peter decided to make Akiko Tsukino of mixed French Korean heritage rather than ethnically Japanese
Why technology is so advanced in the United States of Japan universe
Why Japan developed mecha in the universe of United States of Japan
Peter's writing process for the United State of Japan trilogy
Some of the things the mecha that appear in Cyber Shogun Revolution reference
How Peter goes about creating mecha
The positive reception of the United States of Japan books by fans around the world
Winning the Seiun Award
Traveling to Japan for the first time to attend the Seiun Award ceremony in 2017
Why Peter decided not to focus on mainland Japan in the United States of Japan books
Whether Peter plans to write more books in the United States of Japan series
The dark undertones of the United States of Japan series
Having Hideo Kojima write a blurb for Mecha Samurai Empire
Peter's upcoming novel focusing on what would happen to the world if people stopped dying
And a whole lot of spoiler talk regarding Cyber Shogun Revolution (after the outro mousic)
And much more!

Support on Patreon

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get access to extra blog posts and additional input on future content. You'd also receive Tony's eternal, profound, and undrying gratitude.

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Links, Videos, Etc.

All three books in the United States of Japan series are available for purchase now. If you would like to support Japan Station, please use the Amazon Associates links below.

If you want to stay up to date with everything Peter is working on, then make sure to follow him on Twitter

@TieryasXu

You can also check out Peter's YouTube channel.

TieryasXu YouTube Channel

If you would like to learn more about Peter's first trip to Japan and his experience attending the Seiun Award ceremony, check out the article below.

Big in Japan: United States of Japan Author Peter Tieryas Reflects on Traveling East, Winning the Seiun, and What Comes Next

Spoiler Talk

This episode includes a spoiler-heavy section after the outro sequence in which Peter Tieryas answers questions about characters and story elements that were left out of Cyber Shogun Revolution. Here's a list of some of the main things he discusses in this section. If you have not read the United States of Japan books yet, you should not continue reading or listen to the spoiler section of this episode. Please come back after you have read all three books.

Where Mac (Makoto Fujimoto) and Grisalda are during the events of Cyber Shogun Revolution (they are teachers at the Berkeley Military Academy)
Some of the things that were left out of the final draft of Cyber Shogun Revolution
How Peter considered killing off Mac
How Peter tried killing Kujira in a draft of Cyber Shogun Revolution
Difficulties trying to figure out how Kujira would react to Akiko's actions in the events of Cyber Shogun Revolution
Dreaming about being in Mecha Samurai Empire
Kujira's growth as a character
The existence of an unreleased novella focusing on Kujira that is titled The United States of Kujira
The sequel to United States of Japan that Peter tried to write before he began working on Mecha Samurai Empire
Akiko's role in the United States of Japan series
Whether Peter has heard from fans regarding the identity of Bloody Mary
The thought process that went into writing the ending of Cyber Shogun Revolution
The meaning behind Kujira's name

Special Thanks

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Peter Tieryas

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Full Show Notes

Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

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