It's a Small World After All~

Please, please refrain from 1). letting your inner fan scream in joy at a reference to the wildly popular Axis Powers: Hetalia or 2). chucking everything in sight at me because I'm about to dedicate an entire blog to it.

I consider myself pretty literate/knowledgeable when it comes to the world of Japanimation -- oddly enough, I had never even heard of Axis Powers: Hetalia until a friend of mine ranted about the series' obsessive fans. I figured any series that inspires rabid fans waranted a closer look.

As a daughter of a History professor and lover of ancient and international culture and history, I couldn't wait to start watching. :)

World History tends to be kind of... dry. If you don't have much imagination, it just ends up being a big mass of dates and battles. Recently I took a break from Naruto and began watching an anime that has become very popular during the last year –Axis Powers: Hetalia (APH).

This series (of which I've only seen the first season) is SO politically incorrect. It is a broad collage of stereotypes, insanity, inanity and more stereotypes (and all of this is in keeping with the point of the show), which is a humorous look at WWII. Can you laugh about that war? Perhaps the more important question is, should we? I think, as with most things, it's a question of how things are presented and how the more difficult topics are handled.

The main historical events portrayed in this work occur between World War I and World War II. The series often uses satire and comedy to address well-known historical events as well as historical and cultural trivia. Historical, political, and military interaction between countries is allegorically represented in APH as social and romantic interaction between the characters; the web-comic (original) version in particular depicts military and economic incursions using various innuendo.

In APH, countries are represented by characters, and every character is a mass of stereotypical flaws-- with Japan, primarily, and Germany, to a lesser extent, being the notable exceptions. The character of Japan is a brilliant, hard-working, very polite young man, though shy and not as well acquainted with the rest of the world as he perhaps should be. Germany is a hardcore stickler for the rules, who shows little emotion; like Japan, is smart, hard working, and prone to get results.

The other nations/characters, however, do not fare so well. Italy is a charming, rascally but inept and useless coward who surrenders at the first sign of danger; he is obsessed with pasta, and produces white flags as his contribution to the war effort. America is a bit of buffoon, who is fond of declaring that he is "the Hero", talking with his mouth full, and eating unlimited hamburgers -- while proposing absurd solutions to world problems (like, creating a super hero to defeat global warming). France is a self-important, militarily inept, excuse-making fellow with a passionate dislike of England and a history (which he pooh-pooh's) of failures and stealing other people's thunder. England, meanwhile, despises his former ward, America, as well as his rival, France; England's cooking is notoriously bad, and ridiculed throughout the show. Russia is a sadistic young man who is frequently plotting evil against his fellow nations. China is a power-hungry nation that produces great food; etc.

AXIS POWERS

The Axis Powers group of characters consists primarily of Germany, Italy, and Japan, who are also the protagonists (odd choice) of the series. The representations of countries also part of the historical Axis Powers, such as Hungary, make additional appearances.
(Yes, the following is taken from the Almighty Wiki. I’m lazy.)

Italy (イタリア Itaria)
Italy, the primary protagonist and the title character, is a bright, energetic and sweet young man. In the series, he is depicted at various points as the infant grandson of the Roman Empire, and is recognized as the weakest character in the series, and as a carefree and cowardly soldier who often depends on Germany to resolve issues. He has good contacts with Poland. His artistry and extreme love of pasta and pizza are references to Italian culture. He uses his adorable ways and cute face to charm any girl he meets. He is portrayed as a "lovable loser". Italy represents the northern half of the country of Italy, while his older brother represents the southern half. Hence, their full character names are Italy Veneziano and Italy Romano.

Germany (ドイツ Doitsu)
Germany is a hard-working, efficient, bureaucratic, and serious character. In the series, Germany is “primus inter pares” among the Axis Powers, and takes responsibility for the training of Italy and Japan. Another aspect of his character is his relative inexperience with relationships, leading him to be very by-the-book as a result of the belief that things will go wrong if he does not follow instructions to the letter. His extreme devotion to the military lifestyle would make him an effective leader, if not for the fact of constantly baby-sitting Italy. Despite this, as the series progresses, he forms a close relationship with Italy. He notes at one point that he has a "crazy boss", a reference to Hitler. This is the only reference to the organization and policies of Nazi Germany and the Third Reich I have encountered in the series so far.

Japan (日本 Nihon)
Japan is a shy, reclusive and hard-working character. He seems to have a problem with others being in his personal space, for he gets uncomfortable if anyone touches him or gets too close. In the series, he is shown to be inexperienced with the Western world, and prone to culture shock. A young man, his character design features dark brown eyes and black hair, common physical traits among Japanese people. He often tries to adopt the cultures of other countries he meets, like France. Generally quiet, he is often depicted with the attitude of a businesslike old man.

ALLIED FORCES The Allied Forces group consists primarily of the characters America, Britain (also known as England), France, China and Russia. These characters are often depicted as comically failing to reach consensus in their war meetings. The representations of countries also part of the historical Allies of World War II, such as Canada, make additional appearances.

America (アメリカ Amerika)
America is an energetic and headstrong character. In the series, he is raised by England and later fights for his independence. America is very similar in appearance to Canada, who is often forgotten and was seen "invisible" by other nations. The self-proclaimed leader of the Allied Forces, his catchphrase is "I'm the hero!" His ideas for solving international problems are often absurd, but he is usually oblivious to the opinions of others. America's ideas and inventions are grand, but rarely go anywhere. His crippling fear of ghosts is at odds with his friendly acquaintance with a grey alien named Tony, who lives in his house. America is frequently seen clutching a hamburger, or eating while speaking. He is often portrayed as a rude fellow and one who has disregard for whom his actions affect or just what they might be. He has a mixed colored blond and brown hair, has blue eyes, and wears glasses.

England (イギリス Igirisu)
England, also known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is depicted as an irritable young man. A former pirate, he is now a cynical and sharp-tongued gentleman. Some of his notable character traits include his terrible cooking skills, foul mouth, ability to see supernatural creatures ("imaginary friends"), and ability to perform magic curses on his enemies. Britain is most antagonistic towards France, with whom he shares a long rivalry, and America, his former charge. He's usually recognized for his large eyebrows, spiky blond hair and green eyes.

France (フランス Furansu)
France is a romantic, carefree character. In the series, he is shown to have a long-held rivalry with Britain. However, he frequently makes sexual passes at many characters, including England. France explains away his long history of military defeats by attributing them to a joke from God. He regards himself as the eldest brother among the European nations and is referred to as such by some of them, though he calls Spain his elder brother in turn. However, he gets very upset when another nation refers to him as an 'old man', as he claims he's still young. When he is happy, his laugh (“hohonhohon”) is intended to be a stereotype of him being French. He is often depicted wearing flashy blue and red clothes with a rose, holding it in his hand.

Russia (ロシア Roshia)
Russia is the tallest of all the nations, but has the innocence and cruelty of a child. He adores vodka and sunflowers. His primary target of resentment is General Winter, because despite using the cold to his advantage in war, he is also attacked by him every year. Russia has a kind face, but has mentally cracked from the strain of his bloody history. Despite his brutalities towards others, he truly means well. The other nations are terrified of him, especially the Baltic Trio (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia), whom he loves to abuse physically and emotionally. Occasionally, he stalks China, while in a panda costume. Russia also has two sisters: his older sister, Ukraine and his younger sister, Belarus. He becomes gloomy and depressed when either of them is on his mind because Ukraine left him to try and make friends in the European Union and Belarus is obsessed with the idea of forcing him to marry her. She seems to be the only other country which Russia fears. Russia happily promises that eventually "all will become one with Russia". Another favorite phrase is "kolkolkolkol", used when he is angered. Russia is often seen carrying a water faucet pipe. For unknown reasons Poland is not afraid of him (probably because Poland is the only country that won a war with him and General Winter).

China (中国 Chūgoku)
China is one of the oldest nations, being depicted as immortal as well as being four thousand years old, and is regarded as the eldest brother among the East Asian nations. He is disturbed and distrustful of Russia, reflecting the Sino-Soviet Split that actually occurred after the war. China's favorite food is variety, and as such has certain tastes for things and gets irritated if a food has a certain pattern of tastes. He is a big fan of Hello Kitty and tends to end his sentences with the suffix “-aru,” a Japanese stereotype of how Chinese people speak. However, he replaces the customary “-aru” with the suffix “-ahen,” which means opium, when speaking to England, as a reference to the Opium Wars. After China's defeat in the Opium War, he became the cook for England and France. During the fight between the Axis and Allies, China fights Germany and Japan with a Wok (round cooking pan) and ladle, which became his weapon of choice that also serves as a stereotype that China serves good food. China's boss was introduced as a green Chinese dragon with an intimidating appearance, but in reality, he is quite relaxed and modulate as well as shown to be bullied by China in a comedic way. China is often depicted with pandas.

Is it funny? Yes, at times. In fact, at times, it is hilarious. Things like the Holocaust, war crimes, racism, etc., weren't discussed; and so, in a parody world where those things don't happen, it seems ok to laugh.

I’ve read a lot of reviews recently that point out the sympathetic view of the Axis Powers, particularly Germany and Japan, some even going so far as to argue that Germany and Japan are the only countries that are noble – all others are greedy and arrogant. I disagree with this. APH does not glorify WWII Germany or Japan; they are just as greedy and misguided (and hapless) as the rest of the world, we as the viewer just pity them because they have to tolerate Italy.

So, all in all, it is Italy that gets the short end of the stick in this manga, but the Italy stereotyped in APH is much more positive than any depiction on television today. Despite this, Italy’s just plain adorable!

And it's all in good fun -- the stuff that goes on is based on real historical events, but filtered through a satirical anime/reality-show lens. The dialogue is gut-splittingly funny, peaking with Italy's song about Germany ("Even though I'm your prisoner, you give me food/and it doesn't suck like English food!"), and there's goofy slapstick and cultural references aplenty.

But there are also some more somber moments, such as America reminiscing about the War for Independence and his painful rift with England, or China thinking of how he found and raised Japan. I also enjoyed the scenes between Lichtenstein and her “big brother,” Switzerland. And while all the characters are national stereotypes, the writers succeed in making each one endearing and likable... well, except maybe Russia. He's just creepy.

General Reception

Both volumes of the printed manga version of APH have topped The New York Times manga best seller list. Volume 1 topped the list on October 10, 2010 and Volume 2 topped the list on January 16, 2011. Volume 1 has been in the top ten for twenty-one weeks and Volume 2 for fourteen weeks.
Readers reviews of the British magazine NEO gave positive to mixed reviews for the anime version.

One reviewer, Ellis Wylam, said that: "The animation is very colourful and cheery, and makes you astonished how they managed to create something so hilarious, fun, light-hearted and enjoyable out of a World War." However, Wylam also said that: "Unfortunately, some jokes (particularly in the first episodes) didn't make me laugh hysterically 'laugh out loud', as much as was expecting when I bought the DVD. However, the humor seemed to develop in later episodes, making you give out giggles that translate as "did he actually just say that?!

The second reviewer, Lara Garnermann, said that: " APH is an extremely intelligently written anime, suited to anyone with an interest in world history or international politics, and of course anyone who wants to laugh for 26 episodes straight." However, the third reviewer, Rohan 'Amuro' Hine, was more critical saying: "It is a very funny series, but a lot of jokes will go over your head, due to Japan having different stereotypes than us. For example, while we think the French are white flag waving cowards, in this, it's Italy who is the coward, and hides behind Germany for protection. And some jokes can go over your head if you don't have a PHD in history as well."

A review for the second season of APH, also in NEO by Matt Kamen gave the DVD of the season four stars, each for the program and the DVD extras. Kamen wrote that: "Despite its risqué jokes and abundance of national stereotypes, APH thankfully manages to stay on just the right side of casual comedy racism - maybe that's why we don't feel too bad laughing uproariously at the dub, particularly Japan's heavy "Engrish" accent! It's best not to ask too many questions of this show - instead, just sit back and enjoy while APH conquers your world.”

And the ending theme is so chipper and catchy you’ll be singing it all week! You're welcome!

Translation:
Hey, Hey, Papa! Give me wine!
Hey, Hey, Mama! Hey, Hey, Mama!
That bolognese we ate so long ago...I can't forget the taste of it!
Draw a cirle; there's the Earth!
Draw a cirle; there's the Earth!
Draw a cirle; there's the Earth! I am Hetalia (Italia)!
Ah, with just a stroke of paint, a wonderfurl world can be seen.
Let's make a toast with our boots! Hetalia!