Series: Hetalia: Axis Powers - Season 01
Release date: 13th December 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 130 mins
Director: Bob Shirohata
Starring: N/a
Genre: Anime
Studio: Manga
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Originally a manga, then an online series, and finally adapted into an anime, Hetalia is a zany and immensely wacky recollection of world (yet predominantly European) history, where each country involved is represented by one or more allegorical characters. It interprets the political and historical events of the time, primarily focusing around World Wars I and II in easily digestible five minute vignettes that are as simplistically accurate as possible, while always being completely ludicrous.
Hetalia is a portmanteau from the Japanese words Hetare and Italia meaning incompetent and Italy, so while the series principally focuses on 20th century history, it does delve back in time to the Holy Roman Empire, to show the stark contrast between the then and now.
Delving into the military conflict of what is World War I, Italy is presented as a bumbling, yet lovable, coward who is discovered by Germany lurking in a box of tomatoes in a forest clearing and begs him not to kill him. The serious and bureaucratic Germany is baffled by the complete ineptitude of someone who, at the time, is supposed to be his enemy. He takes Italy captive, yet the clingy and desperate need of his prisoner to feel respected, as all the other countries “bully” him, means Germany is the recipient of mass adulation. He, at one stage, leaves the door of the jail open for Italy to escape through, but Italy wishes to ally with Germany, which comes into play heavily as the story progresses towards the Second World War.
Slowly as we proceed through the course of history, other nations are brought into play, as are their relationships with all the other factions, each with their own unashamedly stereotypical traits. France is a romantic character who attributes his years of military failure to a cruel joke from God; America is often seen eating a hamburger and professes grand ideas to bring unity and harmony to the world, which are rarely ever seen - he also has a tempestuous relationship with England, a cynical, well-spoken gentleman who is often ashamed by the actions of what he perceives to be his former student. Other smaller nations such as Estonia, Lithuania, Lichtenstein and others enter the fray at varying junctures in minor roles, with Russia and China making up the rest of the Allied Powers, while Japan is initially recruited by Germany to join Italy as the Axis Powers referred to in the title…
It is quite an achievement that even in the course of the five-minute sequences, a lot of information can be found in them, as season one of Hetalia ploughs through the two major wars of the 20th century and into the formation of what is symbolically seen as the United Nations. For the most part, Hetalia is completely non-linear and interchanges the stories it is recounting quite frequently, often leaving plot lines incomplete and “to be continued,” to be picked up again several episodes later.
At times, it could be possible to view Hetalia as a childish and very amateurish analysis of 20th century politics, as condensing an entire country into a pathetic fallacy doesn’t account for all the millions of individual lives that character represents. However, Hetalia is more concerned with the actions a nation undertook, and what it believes its motives were at that time, and how the writers perceive that nation historically. For example, in the opening episode there is a flashback to the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), which is personified as a bold, brave and handsome hero who sought to unify Europe and had a great fascination with arts and culture. Modern day Italy, unfortunately, whilst “related” to HRE, and being the shows prime protagonist, is more fixated with talking to ladies and hiding behind Germany for protection. Also, Germany’s entire justification for invading France as the catalyst for the start of World War II is because he was forced to make cuckoo clocks for the Swiss (the profit of which going to France) as reparations in accordance with the Treaty Of Versailles: he also makes mention that he is only doing this because he has a “strange boss,” in a veiled mention of Hitler. Hetalia simplifies the complex into a childlike interpretation, yet it is impossible to ignore how, in its own way, accurate every nation is portrayed.
Even as a recollection of world history through a somewhat surreal kaleidoscope, Hetalia still utilises many fundamentals of anime to help explain circumstances and make its self more accessible. There are traditional character-based story arcs that develop and tie in to the evolution of events. England and Germany are characters that are referred to in Japan as “tsundere,” a portmanteau of the terms Tsun Tsun and Dere Dere, meaning “to turn away” and “lovey dovey” respectively. Tsundere is the concept of an individual changing from a cold and unsupportive individual into someone more demonstrative and compassionate. There is also a high usage of familiar honorifics where characters may refer to one another as “little brother” or “father.” This is not because the nations are necessarily directly related to each other but is used more as a sign of bonds, respect and similarities between individuals. Russia views Lithuania as his “younger brother” because he picks on him emotionally like an older brother may do but also because he has a deep desire to unify with him and work together for the common good. It is also eluded to briefly, although not explicitly said that Germany may be the spiritual brother to Italy, as his initial tendencies to take over Europe reminds the latter of the days of the RME, whom he references as “grandfather.”
As with all anime of late, the animation is completely sublime and immensely focused on detail. While there are no scenes that may leave the viewer with his jaw on the floor, it is the quirky detailing of characters emotions and the slightly surreal manner of interactions, such as the Axis Powers being stranded on an island beach, where Germany draws up a chart of why the Allied Powers can’t work together and Italy decides to simply build a sandcastle - a metaphor for the field of conflict.
While Hetalia perhaps couldn’t be used as a substitute for a history textbook, it is a sharp, snappy, silly and thoroughly enjoyable glance back through time showing the demise of HRE as once a father figure to all of Europe to nothing more than a source of laughter. But more than that, the writers stick their claws into every single nation in their own unique satirical fashion able to highlight the positives and negatives through political stereotyping and insanely sharp wit.
Hetalia allows no country to go untarnished, or ignored, from its brand of comedic assassination, and with such a fresh take on events we know so well, proves to be perversely educational. BL
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