Q: i read on one of the hetawikis that italys curl was added as a last
minute thing to make him cuter, but himaruya said that now the curl is
“important.” any thoughts?
A: There’s one character note that states that the curl represents “the
sexual something of the Italians” [x].
Q: Your post on how fascism isn’t promoted in the manga was
extremely helpful, so thank you. Just wondering. Is there any strips that
depict how the people react to the war?
A: Disclaimer: This is
coming from someone who’s half Jewish. I shouldn’t have to say this, but
knowing the internet…
All that’s shown is how hopeful the people are [x].
You have to situate the context and realize that the German people had just
come out of a massive economic recession. The war promised them a solution. (Unfortunately, this solution and the many years leading up to it involved scapegoating, unjust persecution, assaults, and discrimination).
Point is, Hetalia never promoted Fascism. As
discussed in this post [x], all it does it situate the reason why the Germans
went to war – namely because of how stringent the compensation mandated by the
Treaty of Versailles was. It doesn’t tackle anything past that. Given the young targeted demographic, the atrocities committed during WW2 aren’t covered or touched on.
Again, there’s a difference between situating a
historical context vs promoting a horrible political ideology.
A: Thank you! I’m by no means a gun expert, but in one
of the first original web comics, he does appear to be holding a sniper rifle [x].
There’s also the famous Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä “White Death” from WW2 that might have made such a headcanon
to be taken as fact. Other than that, you’re right. I don’t recall any of his
character notes mentioning this ability. Most of them can be found here [x].
Q: What’s your favorite time Germany
wasn’t being “strict follow the rules never smiles” in the manga. ( I just saw
a picture of Germany putting on a puppet show for America and Russia and he
said “don’t nuke it out, hug it out” and I was like man I need more of this
side of Germany).
A: Chapter 20 of World Stars! Italy asks Germany
to help him clean Romano’s messy room. Germany seems looser here and even
returns some of Romano’s snark, although still being up to the challenge [x].
Q: Can Norway and England see General Winter?
A: It seems to be Northern countries who experience winter that have interactions with
General Winter.
What I’ve always found to be insane is that not
only is Finland immune to the cold, but he’s friends with General Winter [x].
Ellawritesficssometimes 