It depends on their position within the global economy.
As such, a nation’s health depends on their political and economic situation. They catch colds during economic recessions.
The Great Depression strips are a good source for this, as each negative number assigned to a nation has a differential impact on their health. Since America was a manufacturing powerhouse at the time, his stock market crash affected them all.
Ex: Japan obtains a cough, meanwhile Poland runs a high fever.
In modern strips, we’re also provided with the fact that Austria will slip into a high fever and eventually collapse if Germany even so much as catches a cold.
“A reliable country that likes to approach things with a sober seriousness. He approves of and supports lots of Germany’s ideas so he may look like one of the helper countries, but in reality the level of his dependency is pretty high. So high that when Germany catches a little cold, Austria goes straight to high fever and eventually collapses, and so he doesn’t have much of a choice than to take good care of himself.”
As for how serious it can get? Spain almost died from an economic recession.
While some nations are taller as a result of their country’s statistical demographic height (i.e. Russia, the Netherlands), this isn’t always the case. Factors like sovereignty, historical political repression, and economic strength have been shown to impact the personification’s biological age.
As such, you have personifications with statistically taller heights like Latvia who are only 15.
The micro-nations, like Molossia, are an entirely different ballpark. Like regular nations, they’re personality and culture based [x]. Their ages aren’t something that can be attributed to a common sense explanation given that Japan shows surprise at Nikko Nikko acquiring micro-nation status. [x]
There’s also the fact that Lithuania expresses surprise at Sealand’s existence, and warns him not to become a full nation as it would be too hard on his “small body.” Latvia also expresses this concern, mentioning how nationhood would be hard on Sealand’s heart because of said small body [x] Put another way, the micro-nations are as a much of a puzzlement to us as they are to the other nations.
That said, tonight’s theme will be the influence of economic strength on a personification’s age. As mentioned by anon, while lacking full independence, Hong Kong and Macau have still aged because of their successful economies.
No, no. All I meant to say is that historical age is how the nations organize themselves. Biological age is predicated on political, cultural, economic, and historical factors.
It wouldn’t make sense to take biological age as a way of organizing who’s an elder given that you have characters like Latvia who’ve existed way longer than countries like America, but because of political repression and a lacking industrial economy, they’re younger biologically.
When Romano says he’s an elder, it’s not referring to his biological age in comparison to America. I say this because in the strips covering the second Industrial Revolution (approx. 1870-1914), Romano had just become an adult having obtained his independence.
Notice how he refers to America as a pipsqueak…
…and then later as someone [historically] younger than him.
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💖 You guys are too good to me I swear. I know it sucks that it takes me a while to respond to your asks, but I really do try my best to get to them all. I want you to know that I unequivocally appreciate your engagement and take great lengths to record and keep track of them.
It makes me happy that you guys are taking something from these posts. I aim to make people think about links between canon information. And YES! Strips will always take precedence as a primary source of material. You NEVER use the anime as a source.
Of course, I can’t answer some asks given that the information presented is misleading and/or incorrect. This is especially the case if I’ve proved otherwise in a separate post.
However, you’re always free to message me. I’ll happily link you to the correct source information; I just don’t have time to constantly correct misconceptions that I’ve already covered/ misconceptions that could be easily fixed with a simple google search.
That said, welcome back to those of you who are new here. @atrellis It always helps to have a notebook if you want to get your thoughts down. You should definitely try writing! It gets easier with practice 🙂
Now that I’ve gone over some of the factors that cause a nation
to age [x], I think it would be useful to go through each one separately. This
post will focus on how political autonomy and independence allows a nation to
reach adulthood.
Not only that, but what you’ll also see is that they go
through growth spurts right before gaining independence; their status as an
adult is solidified once this independence is gained. In other words, it’s the resistance that first sparks the aging.
It’s also important to mention that
chronologically-speaking, nations will still consider themselves to be older
than others, regardless if one of them became an adult first. There are late bloomers
like the Italy brothers and quick bloomers like America. The best comparison I
can think of is that anything to do with gaining independence is akin to the pubescent
period for a personification.
That said, let’s go through some examples.
America:
In the following three panels, we see America go through three
developmental changes. In the first stage, he holds a more compliant attitude
towards England and helps him in the French-Indian War. Notice the tag of “Young
America” attached to him.
This compliance begins to wane as America was heavily taxed and financially drained by England following his involvement in the war. Notice how he’s a slightly
older child here.
Then, when America begins fighting for his independence, he’s clearly gone through another growth spurt.
We also see in the years leading up to his independence – as he becomes even more economically and politically sufficient – that he grows pre-emptively.
Lastly, there’s the imagery that Kumajiro uses with dolls to
represent England’s relationship with America and Canada. America is the rowdy
Baby Bear; put another way, it’s like a teenager fighting for freedom from
their parent. Once that freedom is gained, only then will they become an adult.
Canada:
Canada’s growth occurred at a much slower rate than America. He wasn’t an economic powerhouse like the latter.
While he remained as a young child, America appears to be in his pre-teen
phase.
In the years following America’s independence, Canada ages,
but he still has the lanky and awkward appearance of a teenager. He hadn’t yet
gained his autonomy yet, the missing factor to the age equation.
Here’s Canada after the Battle of Waterloo.
Pay attention to the roundness of his face.
And here’s him during the war of 1812 [right], vs how he
looks in present strips [left]. There’s a notable difference in age.
Likewise, we also know that when Canada upgrades to the semi-dependent
status of a Dominion, the autonomy is enough to allow him to reach adulthood.
Italy:
We know that Italy is around the age of a pre-teen during the
Austrian War of Succession. He’s not quite a teenager, or at least not an older
one given how short he is in comparison to Austria.
During the Battle of Custoza [whilst raging his third war of
independence], there’s a considerable increase in age. Once again, we see an
example of a nation pre-emptively growing right before they attain independence.
Once Italian Unification is complete, there’s no doubt that
Italy has become an adult.
Romano:
Romano’s path to adulthood occurred in the exact same manner
and timespan as Veneziano’s did.
He’s around the same age as Veneziano during the Austrian
War of Succession.
He’s noted to have stereotypical teenager behaviour in the
years leading up to his independence from Spain.
Before independence, he appears to be in his late teen
years.
Once unification occurs in the panel I provided above, he’s also clearly an adult.
With all that in mind, it’s important to mention that chronological age is how the nations organize themselves
in terms of perceiving their elders. I know this may come across as obvious,
but it still needs to be said.
Despite becoming an adult later than America did, Romano
still sees himself as older than America and even takes it upon himself to give
him political advice.
On top of re-doing the German
Unification strips, which they completely BUTCHERED in the anime, I’d love to
see the Italian Unification movement animated. Romano’s reaction to it is
priceless.
I think what makes it successful
is that the characterization is so subtle that you don’t even realize how strong
of an impact it has. It builds up on you. If you say “England,” I can
immediately evoke a feeling of his personality + other associative emblems of
him; eyebrows, tea, messy blonde hair, eyebrows.
Not to mention how expressive
the drawings and interactions are. Though they lack development in comparison to
the main characters, even newer characters like Macau or Portugal have enough
of a personality for me to reimagine them. Ex: Macau is the prefect student
type and Portugal is the sunny guy who won’t hesitate to mercilessly insult you
with a smile on his face.
The way the stereotypes
are used overall are brilliant in that it prevents you from forgetting characters
easily, minor or not. They all have something unique to them in their design. Belgium
has her headband, bobbed blond hair, and her cat-like smile; Seychelles has her
pig tails and blue dress.
Honestly, whether it’s
the design of the characters, the consistent foreshadowing that links strips
literally years apart from each other, or just the wild, out-there humour,
Hetalia is truly an enjoyable series if you know the proper boundaries in which
you can show your appreciation for it.
In an earlier post, I talked about the lesser known sides of
Spain. This post will focus on the more obvious, yet ironically ignored,
positive aspects of his character. Spain has never been a plain character. The
problem is that his personality is often watered down, either as a result of
the anime or people choosing to selectively represent certain aspects of his
personality.
That said, let’s go over some examples.
He’s not a cheerful
ditz all the time:
Ex: He didn’t
take chibi Romano’s constant complaining without any resistance. On several occasions,
Spain’s shown to be calling him an idiot.
Ex: He’s an
emotional or “violent” drunk. It depends on which translation you have, but it
pretty much conveys the same thing.
My translation is a bit different from the one above:
“As long as you keep him away from booze, and don’t get on
his bad side, you should be fine.”
Ex: Prior to the
strip, teenage Romano had a huge obsession with fantasizing about/ role-playing
the medieval chivalric romance novels that he read. In comes Prussia, recklessly
spouting out keywords that seem to trigger Romano’s obsession again, much to
the latter’s dismay. Mother hen Spain quickly swoops in to give a deadly warning.
Ex: He melancholically
looks back on his and France’s rough childhoods.
Ex: When the
topic of discussions falls to what each nation is known for, Spain laments over
being known for cows and tomatoes.
He’s more than capable of reading the atmosphere:
Ex: His reaction
to America after the Stock Market crashes in 1939.
Ex: He’s
heartbroken when Veneziano chooses Austria over him during the Austrian War of
Succession. The scene alludes to the fact that Spain was deeply saddened in the
years following his divorce from Austria. Likewise, the way Spain revs up his
cheery attitude in light of being rejected seems to be more of a defense
mechanism, a guarded mask of emotions, than it is of his true personality.
I say this because Romano finds Spain weeping in the next
panel.
Ex: He solemnly hints to Chibitalia of what’s to become of him right before he and his brother are
both conquered.
His optimism is not out of sheer stupidity:
It’s more like it’s a desperate sort of optimism. The way
that Spain convinces himself to push forward with a smile is eventually
internalized until he himself doesn’t even realize that what he’s doing is
unrealistic and naive. As mentioned above, it’s also a coping mechanism.
Nonetheless, there are moments where he shows a deep awareness
of his economic/ political situation.
Ex:There’s a clear recognition that he’s lost his international
standing due to poverty.
Ex: Once again, his [desperate] optimism shines through in
how he copes with his weakened economy. He sings songs, and acts happy…
…but he’s more than aware of how deep and serious his money
problems are. He’s literally clinging to Germany, albeit for exaggerated humorous effect.
He may have a laid-back personality…
…but once he gets worked up about something, his passion
replaces his typical lazing around.
Ex: He fought to have olive oil continually be marketed as a staple product
of the EU.
Again, with Spain, it seems that the happiness he forces
onto himself allows him to get too carried away in what he does (e.g., over-manufacturing and then causing a property bubble).
That’s why he comes off as naïve and a bit air-headed. You could even argue
that it’s a slight dissociation from reality to help minimize any anxiety that
he feels.
His constant smiling is also a play on the fact that the sun
never set in the Spanish Empire.
He’s selfless:
Ex: Despite all the complaining and constant belittling that
he had to endure with Romano, Spain still saves him from Turkey.
Ex: Spain spent all his money on improving Romano’s
wardrobe. [Please note that Romano was too young to realize this]. Meanwhile,
his own clothes were in tatters.
Ex: When Romano immigrates to America, Spain is the first
person he calls. Their relationship is noted to be much deeper than the one
Romano shares with Veneziano.
Immediately, Spain’s mother hen mode gets switched on as he
asks Romano how he’s been and if he’s been eating well.
He also lets Romano know how proud he is of him working and
taking responsibility for himself for once.
That said, it wouldn’t make sense for a character predicated
on a stereotype of passion to be flat and static. He’s anything but.
Ellawritesficssometimes 