In this article, we will be interested in anime characters. “Hetalia and the Axis” is an animated series that is an allegorical interpretation of the historical and political events of the Second World War. And the main characters of this anime are characters representing different countries.
The anime, based on a series of web comics, was first announced in 2008. And by 2015, 6 seasons of 26 episodes each were shown.
The name “Hetalia” was formed using two words - “unreliable” and “Italy”. This is a hint of the frivolous and cowardly behavior of the Italian government during World War II.
Hetalia and the Axis: Characters
Let's start with the heroes of the Axis Union.
Axis countries (or powers) - a military-political alliance between Germany, Japan, Italy and some other states that really existed during the Great World War. Its name comes from the word "axis", since Germany and Italy were sure that the axis of all of Europe passes through Berlin and Rome. After Japan joined the unification, Tokyo began to cross the "axis".
In the anime itself, the search for the name is quite comical. Italy, Germany and Japan, located on a desert island, began to look for a harmonious name for their union, and eventually found.
Germany
The main characters of the anime "Hetalia" are Germany, Italy and Japan. Let's start with Germany. She is represented by Ludwig. This is a serious, collected and hardworking man who has a large collection of adult films. Ludwig is neat, loves cleanliness, dogs and hides from everyone that he likes to make sweets and bake cakes. He used to follow the schedule and plan everything in advance, so if something starts to go wrong, Ludwig is nervous.
The first acquaintance of Italy and Germany occurred when a representative of the first country hid during the First World War in a tomato box. Then the countries were enemies, but later united.
Italy
Anime characters (Hetalia) are countries, and Italy is next in line. Her personification is Feliciano Vargas, a clumsy, friendly and very energetic young man who, when danger is approaching, begins to coward. His biggest culinary passion is pasta and pizza.
Vargas is the grandson of Ancient Rome, which was once the most powerful state in the world, as well as the younger brother of Southern Italy.
Once in a difficult situation, Vargas either immediately gives up, raising the white flag, or runs for help to Germany. He is very weak in battle, but succeeds in trade, art, and is also known as a good cook. Often he can be seen with his eyes closed - only in rare situations does he open them.
Japan
Japan is represented by Kiku Honda - a modest, hardworking, very polite, but very silent and secretive character. Of the representatives of all the Axis countries, he is the youngest, but sometimes behaves wiser and more adult than Italy and Germany combined. Japan is difficult to persuade on any adventure. Due to the fact that Japan is a fairly closed country, Kiku is not very familiar with Western culture, and it often causes him a real shock. He is fond of technology and drawing. The behavior is more like a successful businessman.
Outwardly, he is almost always calm and calm, but in anger he becomes truly terrible.
Allied forces
Allied forces, or the anti-Hitler coalition - a union of states that united to oppose the Axis countries, which were a Nazi bloc.
The ranks of the Allied Forces represent the USA, France, England, Russia and China. In the anime, they often gather for various military councils, but they can’t agree among themselves because of various trifles. Sometimes other countries participating in the coalition appear in the animated series.
USA
Due to the fact that the creators of the anime managed to accurately emphasize the national characteristics of the countries, the description of the characters (“Hetalia”) becomes quite interesting.
The US representative is Alfred Jones, an energetic and very noisy young man. He is obsessed with burgers, superheroes, food coloring and aliens. Has a strange addiction to watch horror films, despite a strong fear of ghosts. His favorite exclamation is “I am a hero!”
He was raised by England, but when he grew up, he regained his right to independence. America is very similar to its brother Canada, whose existence is constantly forgotten by other countries.
Jones' ideas regarding the solution of world problems are completely absurd and cause many objections from others, but he does not pay any attention to the opinions of others.
England
Pretty transparent and understandable allegories of the animated series "Hetalia." Characters (pictures with images of the latter are presented in this article), however, are very well developed, and their behavior makes it easy to understand which country they represent.
So, the representative of England is Arthur Kirkland, sharp-tongued and a very cynical young gentleman. In the past, he was a pirate for a long time and was known as the thunderstorm of all the seas. Arthur's main distinguishing feature is his thick eyebrows. In addition, England is well versed in black magic and endowed with the ability to see mythical creatures (fairies, mint rabbit, ghosts). Due to the fact that no one else is able to see them, Arthur is perceived as a little abnormal.
France
In this anime, all characters have a pronounced personality. "Hetalia" in general is a rather striking phenomenon. At least the fact that some countries asked to ban anime due to the fact that the created images defame their nation, says a lot.
The representative of France is Francis Bonfois, a carefree romantic. He is an implacable opponent of England since the Middle Ages. Francis' hobby is the construction of castles in the air. In addition, the character experiences an irresistible weakness for beauty, and it does not matter whether it is a person or an inanimate object. He is proud of the art and history of his people and refuses to learn any other language besides his native language.
China
Represents this country Yao Wong. Despite his outward youth, he is the oldest of all states and, to some extent, immortal. China is called the elder brother of the whole East. Despite his considerable age, he is quite careless in behavior and loves cute little things, good food and the Hello Kitty cartoon. All his attempts to invent something of his own turn into plagiarism. Due to the split that occurred between China and the Soviet Union, Yao is wary of Russia.
A distinctive feature of Yao is a large terrible scar on his back, which was inflicted by Japan during the 1st Sino-Japanese War. At the end of each sentence, he necessarily adds “aru,” which is a stereotype common in Japan about the peculiarities of Chinese speech. But in communication in England, Yao replaces "aru" with "achen," which translates as "opium." This is a hint of the Opium Wars.
Russia
Russia is represented by Ivan Braginsky, a smiling, cheerful and seemingly friendly giant. He loves sunflowers, ballet and vodka. However, due to the fact that the past of Russia is full of bloody events and upheavals, the country is prone to mental disorders. Ivan's cherished dream is to live where sunflowers are warm and grow, and also so that all powers become one. During the Second World War, many countries lived with Russia in the same house, which was called the "Soviet Union".
Russia has two sisters: Ukraine - the eldest, Belarus - the youngest. When Ivan thinks about his sisters, he becomes gloomy, as the eldest left him for the sake of the European Union, and the youngest dreams of marrying herself. Other countries are afraid of Bragin, although he himself cannot understand why. He is especially fearful for the Balts.
European characters ("Hetalia")
Separately, in the anime, European countries stand out. Among them you can meet:
- Southern Italy, representative - Lovino Vargas.
- Austria (Roderick Edelstein).
- Prussia (Gilbert Beilschmidt).
- Spain (Antonio Cariedo).
- Greece (Hercules Karpusi).
- Turkey (Sadyk Adnan).
- Switzerland (Bash Zwingli), etc.
Other countries
Our article on the anime "Hetalia" is drawing to a close. The names of the characters were listed by us above, but this is not all the characters of the animated series. Do not forget about episodic characters, among which:
- Canada, Representative - Matthew Williams.
- South Korea, representative - Im Jensu.
- Taiwan.
- Cuba.
- Hong Kong.
- Romania.
- Vietnam.
- Cyprus.
- Egypt.
- Bulgaria.
- Seychelles, etc.
In addition, there is an alternative characterization of heroes that anime fans have created. Fan description of the heroes was called "2P! Hetalia. " The characters of this version became owners of rather unusual traits, and also revealed frank details of their personal lives.