Q & A

Do you have a theory on Germania? It seems weird
that Rome is still his friend in heaven if he did kill him. Also Himaruya wrote
something along the lines “it’s ‘believed’ he killed Rome” so… he
didn’t really kill him?? Also he says they’re friends, but later says they hate
each other, with Persia and Germania being all buddy-buddy taunting Rome. And
why is he Prussia and Germany’s dad when Rome is a grandfather?

– Yes, it is weird. You are right that the matter
of whether Germania really did deliver a fatal blow to Rome is left open-ended.
It’s neither a yes or a no.

– That’s also true. His character notes do tend to
contradict each other. I covered this more in detail in my characterization
post of Rome, although that was written after you sent in this ask 😊 [x].

– That last question isn’t necessarily true. The
relations between them is incredibly wonky. Germania’s referred to as both the
father and grandfather of Germany in different pieces of canon material. Search Hetarchive’s profile of Germania.

Image: Grandpa Rome’s Visit Home, Hetarchive.

I genuinely learn so much more about the manga
after you analyze it and uncover those hidden messages that have been embedded
into Hetalia ❤ Any chance you know a little something about India and/or
Thailand? Thanks anyway!

I’m glad!

I do know some things and anyone can too if they search the relevant character tags on the English translation
of Bamboo Thicket, provided by Hetarchive! (ah geez, I sound like a
telemarketer…)

Not all information can be found on the blog, though!

Just for fun, here’s one
fact each.

India: He has
considerable stamina.

Source: Halloween 2011 Event, Hetarchive.

Thailand: He’s somewhere around 22
years old according to Himaruya.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Nov 26th, 2010).

I got a question about the U.S. states. I
know they are not officially canon, that’s not what I wanted to ask. In the
sketch Hima showed what they’d be like, am I mistaken or did he confirm that
they would not be America’s children but his relatives, like Germany’s states?
And that they were all male (brothers I think the state shown said)? I may be
wrong though, it’s been awhile since I seen it, but my friend got into it with
me over whether it disproved the whole his children thing.

Note: Originally in my
State-talia post, I accidentally cropped and posted an image from the question
below in the same Q & A where Himaruya created a hypothetical dialogue with
the states. Nothing about the information I gave or said was incorrect (again,
total accident and you can verify in the initial reblogs to see that I haven’t
changed what I said), but the image was misleading (it had to do with computer
programs/software being personified). Still not sure how that managed to slip
past me [x].

Anyways, no. They’re not personified. We got a dialogue of
what it would be like if they existed. There is no confirmation of their
relation. All we know hypothetically is that while some possess “mixed feelings,” they still “love America very much.”

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Jan 10, 2015).

Tbh, I don’t even know
where to start with this lol. This blog is pretty much dedicated to proving
that whole assertion, so I would recommend checking out my post directory 🙂

People have yelled at me before for me asking
for them only to give me proof for things, since i dont believe just from
someones word. No one ever wants to give proof and gets angry from me not
wanting to believe them until I get proof. So I’ll ask you, does Belgium have a
cannon nyo? And does France have a canon mother (Gaul i think it was)?

I’d suggest removing
those people from your life. If they can’t respect you, then they’re not worth
your time.

Belgium has a canon nyo. Just remember that the nyos that have made appearances in the manga don’t exist
in the same world. There is no canon Gaul. While it’s still not canon, Himaruya
has pondered over the idea of the Kingdom of the Franks being a parental figure to
France.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., April 1rst, 2011 + May 6th, 2008).

What this post aims to
do is examine the ways in which the nations are impacted by the chronicity of
the wars they’ve endured as well as the coping mechanisms that they employ to bear
these hardships. Aside from the predictability of physical pain and illness,
there is a disturbing sense of normalization and domesticity in how the nations
negotiate their lifestyles in war. It’s
maladaptive.

That said, let’s go over
some examples.

Physical Pain and Illness:

The most obvious impact
of war and political struggles—both
domestic and international—is the physical strain that it puts on a nation’s body.

Ex: During the Second World War, Germany and Italy are both taken as
prisoners of war. Germany compares the pain of torture to a mosquito bite, as
his daily life is far more painful.

Ex: England falls ill on several occasions following major political conflicts
(e.g., the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, World War II) [x].

Ex: China complains of body aches, stemming from political infighting
in his country [x] [x].

Sense of Helplessness:

Of course, smaller
powers are rendered vulnerable and pliable to the discretion of larger powers.

Ex: Belgium and Luxembourg discuss their inability to protect themselves
during both World Wars [x].

Ex: The conditions that Russian soldiers experienced were so bad that
Russia becomes ecstatic when Germany takes him as a prisoner of war. He
compares the German POW camps to heaven.

Ex: England’s normalized being captured by
the Axis and pre-preemptively brought a spare change of clothes [x].

Suspicion and Hostility:

War is a breeding ground
for distrust and betrayal. As such, the nations must always be ready to fight
for their lives, even in seemingly innocuous circumstances.

Ex: When the two first
meet in World War I, Germany second guesses himself several times on whether
Italy poses a threat to him.

Ex: Russia shares his tea
ration with England. While skeptical at first, England accepts. The sweetness
of the tea initially causes England to conclude that Russia poisoned him. What
matters here is the fact that England rationalized this outcome as a legitimate
possibility…[x].

Domesticity, Normalization, and Adaptation:

As horrible and gruesome
as war may be, there are still moments where the nations are able to enjoy
themselves and share a good laugh. The problem, then, is that having had
experienced countless wars, the nations bring the domestic into the world of
war—i.e., war becomes their home and the private
and public sphere divide becomes muddled.

Ex: England drinks tea in
the middle of the battlefield. Trivial as this may appear, on a latent level,
he’s attempting to include a routine and sense of normalcy in an environment
that is otherwise chaotic and unpredictable.

Ex: After infiltrating
America’s war camp, Prussia teases Germany for his impression of an American.

Ex:Having just occupied
Rome, America asks the terrified Italy Brothers if they could make him
authentic Italian cuisine [x].

The casualness in the way
America speaks is disturbing considering that from his perspective, taking over
another country is normal. It’s not
something that should produce fear but rather should be accepted as is. He
doesn’t consider the Italy Brothers to be his personal enemies. The personal is not political in this case.

Relief:

The best nations that
illustrate the burdens of war are those who have passed on. Rome and Germania
visit Earth together and upon reflecting on their lives, they reach a similar
conclusion: death gave them a sense of liberation.

They’re no
longer bound by their bosses’ orders and aren’t forced to participate in wars
they have no interest in being involved in [x].

Q & A

For those curious,
it’s 116 f or more up there. Yikes. I’ll take our 83 to 96 f later today. I
wanted to ask yesterday, but the ask box didn’t seem to
be connected to the server (at least that’s what it told). How do you think the
Republic of Ireland is related to the UK brothers? It’s not been stated they
are a sibling, or even a relative, so that makes me curious. Happy Canada Day
up there 🎆

[Thank you! The ask box situation has been fixed, but the
read more coding issue still hasn’t been resolved! I’m so sorry, but I can’t
always answer asks right away….]

Himaruya isn’t sure what to do with Ireland, so no relation
has been confirmed [x]. Thus far, we only know that England is the son of four
siblings, including Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland [x].

If I’m to speculate here, they could be siblings if Himaruya ever decides to elaborate on the
character. Aside from historical relations, geographic proximity is
occasionally used as a defining factor for sibling relationships.

Given that Northern Ireland is England’s sibling and was originally
partitioned from Ireland, I don’t think this is too much of a stretch. Things get even
more complicated when you see that Northern Ireland is listed as England’s older brother… what a can of worms, eh?

Do you happen to know why people say APH
England doesn’t know how to swim? I’m pretty sure that was a joke in the comic
strips, but everyone seems to consider it canon.

Like you said, it is a joke, stemming from how British
people in horror films have a tendency of not being able to swim. I know I’ve
talked about this before, but my opinion has since shifted. I personally wouldn’t
consider it to be canon given the context [x].

Which Hetalia character has the biggest amount of
ships/harem? Why is it that a lot of the characters can be shipped with everything?
(including fridges apparently).

(Fridges aren’t even the
brink of some of the madness in the fandom :P)

In my experience of
reading fanfiction, I would probably say England. He’s very versatile and fits
well in several dynamics. (e.g., FrUk, UsUk, AsaKiku, EngSey, EngBel, EngIta, and SpUk).

People have different tastes; of course it’s going to vary.

How do you think the Eastern European countries (Ukraine and
Hungary in particular) would interact with their Romas/Gypsies? What would
their relationships be like?

From what I can recall, there is no canon
depiction of this. It’s difficult to say due to the fact that citizenship in one country
doesn’t have meaning in their way of life.

However, given that the nations
represent all people within their territories, including those of different
ethnicities, race, religion, and class, Hungary and Ukraine would personally treat them the same way as they
would with any other citizen, even if they don’t possess citizenship. Citizenship
is a social construction. I believe what’s more important is the fact that
these people live in certain jurisdictions.

I know you said Luxembourg was referring to Belgium and
Netherlands as older siblings are terms of endearment rather than him being
biologically related but, do you think he could at least be related to Belgium
considering that a lot of his former land now belongs to Belgium and their countries
have close relations? (sorry for this being long.)

(Please don’t be sorry!)

The corroborating source
I mentioned in an earlier post [x].

The post [x].

It’s complicated because
as I mentioned before, the Bamboo Thicket post and the corresponding Hetarchive
page state two different things. The post is listed as a rough
translation, but the fact that Himaruya refers to Luxembourg using terms of
endearment instead of directly confirming a sibling relationship to Netherlands
and Belgium in the question is pretty clear.

I don’t know what else
to say. If it doesn’t claim that they’re biological siblings, then they’re not. I’m not a translator and don’t speak Japanese either. Still, what I would like to look into more is why that translation is cited
as rough…

Can you do another character chart please :)

Most dangerous nations: Belarus, China, Germany, Finland, Hungary, and Russia.

Most underestimated nations: Belgium, China, and Italy.

Hardest workers: America, Germany, Japan, and Romano (if he has the motivation).

Laziest nations: Austria and Romano.

Do you have any hetalia headcanons for any characters? You’re always pointing out canon facts(thank you so much for that, btw), and it would be cool to see your own ideas and impressions on the characters :D

I’m not particularly big on headcanons, but I sometimes do charts like this 😀

Most insecure nations

–

America, Canada, England, Germany, Italy,
Romano, and Poland.

Loneliest nations

–

America, England, Iceland, Prussia, and Russia.

Happiest nations

–

Denmark, Finland, Seychelles, and Sweden.

Most sarcastic nations

–

England, France, Norway, and Romano.

Nations we need more of

–

Belgium, Belarus, India, and Vietnam.

Note: This is a
guide. It’s not meant to cover an exhaustive list of all relevant examples in the manga. If I did that, this post could
easily be a novel.

Before I get into the direct blood relations of the
characters, this guide aims to chart out and differentiate between the different
types of relationships that we see in the manga.

Biological:

Biological siblings, obviously, means that the nations in question
are blood-related.

Ex: America and Canada.

Ex: Greece and Egypt and their moms, Ancient Greece and
Ancient Egypt.

The best example of a biological relation is that of Norway and
Iceland’s.

Iceland had no native people. Since it was Norwegians alone
who first settled on the island, the two are directly related [x].

Iceland innately senses Norway when he’s first born.

Norway
also senses Iceland.

Likewise, DNA testing – in this case, a land excavation – is
done to confirm their biological relation.

Now, let’s do a comparison.

When America’s born, he doesn’t sense a biological brother
among the countries colonizing him. The reason for this is that he’s referred
to as an ingredient, meaning that not only were there native tribes living on
the land he represented but that America existed as a mix of several European
cultures [x].

The point to differentiate here is that America doesn’t have
a direct biological relation to these colonizing countries due to the large
volume of them.

Instead, what you’ll see is that the colonizing countries
fight over assuming the role/ title of being America’s big brother, or
onii-chan.

Onii-chan:

Continuing from America’s example, after he chooses England
over France, he asks England if he can refer to him as onii-chan – ‘Big Brother.’

As stated in the translator’s note, onii-chan can be used as
an expression of adoration and endearment. Put another way, ‘big brother’ here
has an entirely different cultural connotation. It’s a brother-figure relationship
and isn’t meant to be taken literally.

Not to mention the fact that England initially rejects the
label of onii-chan, claiming that “just ‘England’ is fine.’” The reason England
is hesitant to accept the label stems from the horrible relationship he has
with his own older brothers.

France is another example where the term Big Brother is used affectionately.

Ex: He claims to be the Big Brother of the world.

Ex: He’s described as a Big Brother-type.

Ex: The first thing that he does when he meets Lisa, Jeanne
d’Arc’s reincarnate, is introduce himself as Big Brother.

Ex: The reason that Italy refers to France as Big Brother is simply because they grew up in Rome’s house together for some time.

This title of endearment is confirmed in one of Hima’s blog
posts, where he clarifies that Italy and Monaco both call – as in refer – to France as Big Brother [x].

More examples of France’s use of the title ‘Big Brother’ can
be found here [x].

One last example of this is that of Netherlands, Belgium,
and Luxembourg.

Netherlands and Belgium are biological siblings. Meanwhile,
Luxembourg refers to Netherlands, France, Spain, and Belgium as Big Brother and Big Sister respectively [x].

While the translation is noted to be rough, the distinction
is nonetheless made very clear.

Marriage:

A full post on this can be found here [x].

All that needs to be known is that when two nations
willingly unite – not to be confused with being conquered/ annexed – the personifications
involved are considered to be married.

Austria is notorious for this, being noted to have solved
all his problems in the past through marriage (e.g., the Austro-Swiss
partnership, The Hapsburg Monarchy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire).

Ancestors:

In the manga, sharing similar ancestors doesn’t make the
nations involved biologically related. In this case, I’m talking about cultural
influence.

Ex: Spain and Portugal. (Chapters 77-79 of World Stars).

Both are noted to share a similar ancestry. As such,
Seychelles can’t tell which one is Portugal when she has a letter to deliver to
him.

Given the context in which the topic of their physical resemblance and relationship is discussed, if they were siblings, France would have attributed the reason for their likeness to this. He doesn’t.

Not once is a relation ever confirmed except for the fact that they’re neighbors.

Point is, it’s the similar ancestry that causes them to look alike.

Ex: Romania and the Italy Brothers [x].

While Romania may have inherited much of Rome’s culture, he’s
not related to the Italy brothers.

This brings me to my next point.

Influence:

While cultural influence often affects the physical
and personality traits of nations, it doesn’t make them biologically related.

Ex: Seychelles was originally designed to have one thick
eyebrow and one thin one to represent French and English influence.

Ex: As an amalgamation of several cultures, America
resembles bits of Finland, France, and England.

Ex: France’s influence prevents America, Canada, and
Seychelles from inheriting England’s bushy eyebrows [x].

Ex: Young Canada inherits France’s hair due to his
influence. This is before England had assumed control over him.

The House System:

When a country is conquered and their conqueror is on the
same continent, the conquered personification lives with the conquering personification.

Ex: France, Holy Rome, and Chibitalia living in Rome’s house (panel used above).

Ex: Chibitalia and Hungary living in Holy Rome’s house. Despite the rough start, they become so close that they refer to each other as family.

Ex: Romano, Netherlands, and Belgium living in Spain’s house.

In modern times, we still see this occur, albeit it’s a bit
different.

The Chinese provinces +
Macau and Hong Kong (under a one country two systems principle) all
live in China’s household.

The Colony/ Household System:

*Note – I made up the labels of house and household system
to better clarify and more easily distinguish between the two different living circumstances.
In canon, ‘House’ and ‘Household’ are terms used loosely and interchangeably in the translations.

The household system is separate from the house system in
that because the colonies are on separate continents, they’re part of a
household. In other words, they’re together and considered to be a unit despite
not living with the ruling nation.

Ex: England visits America, but America doesn’t live with
him in England.

Ex: England hosts a household meeting, requiring the colonies to travel [x]. (America is already independent here, by the way. He’s not part of the household.)

Ex: Likewise, England has holiday houses in Hong Kong and
India, as alluded to in one of his character songs [x].

“

Curry, Chinese cuisine, my holiday houses’ meals.”

Ex: Hong Kong, who used to live with China and referred to him
in a more intimate way [x], changed after he became an English colony.

When he becomes Chinese territory again, he refers to China
as teacher/ Mr., seeing him more as a mentor.

What I want to stress here is how fluid interpersonal relationships
between nations are in Hetalia. They’ve lived for centuries; how they view and
interact with each other changes with time. Their relationships – aside from
biological relations – aren’t as static as human patterns of organization.

I couldn’t disagree more.

These are just a few examples. Of course, I’ll
go into them in more detail later.

Hungary:

Magyar raised her just to be like him, which is why she uses
a more male language.

She has a complex over settling down, having previously
represented an equestrian hunting tribe, and has fears about her fighting
skills getting rusty [x]

Despite this, she’s described as “probably the manliest
person in the comic.”

She kicks ass.

Belgium:

Belgium’s ‘plainness’, as in she doesn’t stand out much in
comparison to surrounding countries, is what makes her more complex.

Any insecurity, weakness, or flaw adds depth to a character’s
personality.

Belarus:

As one of the most neurotic and incomprehensible APH character
to unpack, she’s the antithesis of plain.

She breaks Lithuania’s fingers during a date [x]. It lasted three minutes.

Her obsession with Russia became so strong that she forgot
her own language.

Monaco:

This lady packs a strong punch in the world of business and gambling [x].

It was also just recently revealed that she fears losing her
nationhood. Remember that personifications represent their citizens and only exist
because of them.

As such, since most people in Monaco’s country are tourists
(transients) she doesn’t have many citizens to call her own. It’s the tourists
who create the need for her existence.

The threat she faces is that if criminal
activity keeps increasing in her country, tourism rates will decline.

All in all, to say that the female nations are plain is
unwarranted. Even though some of them could definitely use more fleshing out,
they still have distinct personalities, quirks, insecurities, and weaknesses.

I think it’s important to recognize that it’s the quality of
their characters that matters most here; not the quantity of what we see.

Misconception: He
hates Spain

Reality: He hated
Spain but puts up with him now [x].

While Netherlands may be annoyed by Spain, they’re not
hostile.

Ex: Spain and
Netherlands are spotted together during the 2010 Christmas Event. Spain wants
to take a photo and Netherlands’ is reluctant. Netherlands’ threat to flip
Spain over is actually pretty funny [x].

Further, when they’re attacked by parallel France, Spain
comes to Netherlands’ aid.

Ex: They
coordinate their costumes during the 2011 Christmas Event, along with Belgium
and Romano [x].

Ex: Having been there
for part of Romano’s childhood, it’s Netherlands who points out how unaware the
latter was of the sacrifices that Spain made for him. In this case, Spain spent most of his money on Romano.

Ex: He helps lift
Spain onto Romano’s back as Belgium cheers them on [x].

Ex: Spain teases
Netherlands by putting on glasses to make himself more approachable and
suitable for business [x].

Misconception: He’s
rude

Reality: He’s kind and an older brother type.

On
the other hand, he can also be crabby and has a ‘dirty side.’

Ex: He attempts to help Belgium and Luxembourg, who were at the
mercy of other countries, through diplomacy. The running gag is that all of his advice is about money, albeit well-intentioned [x].

Ex: He teaches Luxembourg the business skills that propelled him
into the thriving economic state that he’s in now.

Ex: He’s in his element when he’s surrounded by tulips [x].

Ex: He socializes and involves himself in a discussion on gardening [x].

Netherlands’
personality is complex in that he has faults. He’s not rude all the time. Like
everyone, there are moments where he loses his composure.

Ex: He tends to lose his composure when it comes to economic
matters relating to Greece in the EU. He’s still noted to usually be a
pleasant coworker [x].

Ex: His sister declaring independence from him made him cranky
when he visits the then isolationist Japan for trade.

Nonetheless,
like other Dutch merchants, he respectively adopted the customs of his business
partners and engaged in them during transactions.

Side note: I’ve seen enough people take a dub line
as canon, so I want to clear it up.

In the “Before an International Meeting” strip… [x].

What
Netherlands does not say: “What? Do
you envy my scarf?”

What he does say: “Yo, good morning.”

It’s a big
difference.

Misconception: Business is everything.

Reality: Business isn’t everything, but it’s extremely important. It’s what taught him how to thrive.

Ex: Witnessing the wealth of his younger sister, Belgium,
motivated him to evolve past his agrarian roots.

Ex: It’s for this reason that Belgium believes that he’s become
so stingy and obsessed with profit.

Ex: He exchanges weapons with Spain while they’re at war.

Ex: He has no problem mixing his business and personal lives
together.

Ex: When the prospect of the nations’ memories being full of
gaps is introduced, Netherlands is able to recall business transactions from the
last three hundred years, as well as European countries’ weaknesses.

Bonus Facts:

Like England,
he may, in fact, have a tattoo [x].

His hair is
naturally flat and limp [x].

His
relationship with Denmark is good enough for him to offer the latter a cheaper “buddy
price.”

He’s extremely
neat and tidy – he won’t eat in his kitchen despite cleaning it + doesn’t like
messy gardens.

As such, these compulsions, along with his obsession with money, is likely why he is described as neurotic in a character note.

In sum, while
Netherlands may appear to be rough on the edges, stemming from his occasionally
“rough’ business practices, he’s far more than that. He’s kind and is more than
capable of sharing close relationships with others. It’s not that he’s
unfriendly either. He has a stand-offish appearance. Meanwhile, he’ll stand up
for himself and those close to him.

hey, just wanted to say that i really liked your belgium characterization post! i see a lot of people saying she’s fake and two-faced because she “interferes” with spamano. your post pointed out a lot of why she’s actually a great character :)

I’m glad 🙂 ~~Also why does everything have to be about ships this fandom will honestly be the death of me ugh~~

Misconception:
She’s a ‘Plain Jane.’

Reality: Her
awareness that she’s ‘plain’ and doesn’t stand out in comparison to surrounding
countries is what adds more layers to her character [x].

Ex: She tries her
best to stand out.

Ex: If anything,
her and Luxembourg realizing how powerless they were 100 years ago makes her personality
more complex. It’s revealed that she was constantly at the mercy of other
nations. Any character that’s vulnerable and has weaknesses, flaws, and
insecurities are far from plain [x].

Misconception:
She’s weak

Reality: She’s endured a lot. Resilience is what makes her strong.

Ex: There was a
period where her and her older brother, Netherlands, had a rocky period in
their relationship.

Netherlands attempted to unite their kingdoms into one, but
she declared her independence instead. This incident is described as a fight by Netherlands’ bunny [x].

Ex: Her
personality isn’t only a stock sweet-type. She’s also noted to have quite the
temper; she becomes scary when she’s angry.

Misconception: She’s fake and ingenuine

Reality: She’s incredibly sweet and supportive.

Ex: When Spain buys new clothes for a young Romano at the cost
of wearing rags, Belgium pleads for him to get new clothes too.

Ex: She cheers on Romano as he attempts to lift up Spain [x].

Ex: Because they’re so familiar with each other and regardless
of the fact that she’s a girl, Romano gets nervous and will swear in front of
her [x]. He used to have a crush on her, after all.

Ex: She gets to share rare moments with Netherlands where he
reveals his softer side [x].

Bonus Facts:

Her smile is sometimes cat-like, a probable reference to the
annual Cat Festival held in Ypres.

Given that Hima bases a lot of the physical traits of the
nations on population statistics, Belgium has large breasts [x].

She’s very serious about her waffles and will make a sour
face if she eats a foreign recreation of the treat.

All in all, even though Belgium doesn’t appear very often in
the manga, she still has a unique and distinct personality. Yes, she’s long due
for further character development, but she’s
not plain.