I’ve always interpreted it as Italy teasing Germany. Italy’s admitted to Germany in Buon San Valentino that his first love was a boy.
The strip you’re talking about is from Chapter 4 of World Stars [x].
Interpersonal
relationships:
Their perception of time is different, which makes it
difficult for them to establish close relationships with their citizens.
Ex: Canada spent
an entire weekend staring at Kumajiro’s eyelashes without realizing it [x].
Ex: Young America
befriends Davie, and the two spend their time searching for a blue flower. America
leaves and goes, finding Davie as a young adult and again as an old man with grandchildren.
Since time runs differently for nations, it’s dangerous for
humans to be close to them for too long. Himaruya cites that because time is so
warped for the nations, a human wouldn’t be able to be around one for so long
without losing their mind. Essentially,
the nations’ immortality would rub off on these humans but at a grave cost [x].
Ex: England was
careful not to spend too much time with Howard. Nonetheless, in a blog post, Himaruya claimed that it’s possible that Howard may have retained his youth and lived longer than the average
human [x].
On the other hand, the nations’ immortality can rub off onto their pets without any consequences. Animals don’t possess the same cognitive
skills to comprehend time the same way as a human can. If an animal remains as
a nation’s companion, they’ll age so long as they’re constantly with each
other. Should the pet not be around their nation, they would resume aging [x].
Lastly, another factor to consider is that the nations are
too preoccupied with “diplomatic talks, fights, and being commanded around by
their bosses.” This makes it even more difficult for them to form external personal relationships,
although there are instances where the nation forms strong relationships with their
bosses [x].
Status and Class:
I’ve talked about this before, but the nations aren’t celebrities
warranting high-end protection with limitless wealth.
Instead, they’re treated casually as if they’re any other
citizen.
“Yeah, that’s him. Go, see him
for yourself,” [x].
The nations aren’t inherently wealthy either. Their wealth
and well-being depends on their economy (primarily their GDP).
Ex: France experiences an economic crisis and his wallet
runs dry [x].
In terms of housing, Himaruya’s said that the homes the
nations live in change depending on the era.
Ex: America first lived in a log cabin, then an “austere
English-style building in the suburbs, and now lives in an apartment building
near New York. Meanwhile, Italy’s lived in the same house and has remodeled it
over the years [x].
Ex: The American trait of living lavishly is reflected in
America’s present “luxurious” style of life. Using Italy again, he can’t afford
his electricity bill because he spends all his money on clothes instead [x][x].
Ex: During “periods of peace” (I’m guessing the original
question was referring to eras without political conflict), Japan is said to be
“a young man leading an ordinary life with a strangely high rank that nobody questions
(i.e., for someone so youthful, he’s doing pretty well for himself) [x].
As mentioned in previous posts, we already know that the nations
are subordinates to their heads of state. Said control is very extensive [x] [x].
Ex: England’s boss once limited his consumption of alcohol
and sweets [x] [x].
Work:
The nations all work for their bosses and attend meetings
(e.g., world meetings, EU meetings) [x][x].
Some nations even go to school for post-secondary education.
The type of work depends on their national industries.
Ex: America has done a hair iron commercial before [x].
Unpacking further Misconceptions about Hetalia
In previous posts, I’ve already debunked the misconception that
Hetalia promotes fascist, racist, and imperialist narratives and linked both an
academic source and primary source materials from the manga [x] [x].
This post will unravel additional misconceptions that arise
when people 1) don’t read the manga and/or watch the anime 2) think the anime
is entirely representative of the manga, and 3) falsely think that the dub,
which has made some crudely offensive lines, is affiliated with Himaruya.
In no way am I advocating to wholeheartedly and blindly support
Himaruya, as he has made some culturally insensitive choices in the past—mistakes
of which he has clearly learned from in the following decade of content he has
produced.
Creators are capable of evolving from their mistakes, so to
hold them presently accountable for something that they did in the past is
childish and counterproductive. Outrage culture is the antithesis of growth; it’s
fueled by anger instead of reason and inhibits discussion rather than promotes
it.
On the other hand, what I am advocating for is that people
do their research and look into the series before hopping on the bandwagon to
hate Hetalia and make assumptions that have zero canon substantiation.
“The nations being ‘cute
and relatable’ is offensive.”
This would be a good argument if Hetalia’s tone intended for
serious discussion and historical accuracy.
It doesn’t.
Hetalia is a satire and a historical parody. Its entire
premise is stereotypes and making fun of them. Stereotypes aren’t always
accurate either, so to come to Hetalia expecting accuracy is to set yourself up
for disappointment. Stereotypes inherently implicate an outsider’s perspective.
You need to possess a certain humour for it and it isn’t meant for everyone.
Nonetheless, the series is oriented around poking fun at history
and at a deeper, more implicit level has an anti-war and anti-fascist agenda. The main genre is humour, so of course the nations are going to have
several comic gags, foolish blunders, and jokes. To expect otherwise is to again, mistakenly set yourself up for disappointment.
In working with a humour genre, Himaruya can’t cover certain
subjects, and, therefore, has to gloss over events. It’s not erasing history
nor is it trivializing the atrocities that occurred. The genre constrains what events
he can depict.
As mentioned before, there’s a stark difference between historical
situation and promoting a rotten ideology. Just because fascism and war are
depicted doesn’t inherently mean that it’s being glorified. What matters is how
the information is presented.
For example: People outside of Hetalia think that Nazism is
celebrated and that Germany is held up on a pedestal.
The real Germany that we see in the series is someone who is
morally opposed to annexing Austria but is forced to [x] . Remember that this is a
core theme of the series: nations are forced to follow their bosses’ orders [x][x]. While unfavourable at times, this theme is understandably necessary for
avoiding the slippery slope where nations would be given more free will over such
matters.
Another strip alludes to the fact that should Germany
disobey his boss [Hitler] he could be imprisoned. Rather than the heroic, brave,
blindly patriotic, and invulnerable German man that would be depicted in propaganda,
we see the opposite in Hetalia [x][x].
Germany is instead depicted as a tortured and worn man who
equates his daily life to torture. He claims that the pains of being a prisoner
of war is a mere mosquito bite in comparison.
Tell me, in what way is this promoting fascism and Nazi
Germany?
Colonialism:
Just like Hetalia mocks fascism, it also mocks sentiments of
colonialism.
Imagery is used to reduce colonizing nations to mere children
having squabbles. Their conquests aren’t glorified. They’re instead made to
appear foolish, ridiculous, and immature. France and England’s constant bickering
in the context of their conquests best highlights how colonialism is undermined
in the series [x].
Hetalia doesn’t erase the many planes of genocide that the indigenous
populations experienced at the hands of colonial powers. The humour genre restricts
what can be depicted, so it instead frames its focus on belittling the idea of
colonization by undermining historical narratives that have asserted the false
and non-existent racial superiority of these powers.
Ex: The nations
building holiday homes in America is a deliberate euphemism for the actual
practice of colonization.
Lastly, I have to point out that the criticism that America’s
personification is European-centric is false. America’s explicitly referred to
as “an ingredient for a country” during this colonization phase. Several groups
and cultures were present, which, as logic follows, would include both the
colonizing powers and indigenous populations in America at the time. In other
words, he wasn’t born as the outright personification of the country but rather
seems to have evolved into the title.
“【America, at this time】
He’s more like an ingredient for a country right now, to be
frank.
The East Coast in the 17th century is like a cauldron for the birth
of unique American culture, which may well have been a sign.”
Conclusion:
Overall, it’s ironic that as a series based on stereotypes
Hetalia is wrongly stereotyped for what its content consists of. Likewise, instead
of looking at Hetalia as a series that’s simplistic in nature, analyze how said
simplicity is able to mock and criticize imperialism, colonialism, fascism, and
racism via the device of satirical humour.
One is just a structure Himaruya uses. I find it funny when
he does that little side bubble thing, where the characters give snarky
comments with a miniature version of their faces.
I also think the political and economic jokes he makes about
the EU are quite funny. Obviously, not the situation itself but dark humour never
hurts!
Ex: Spain and Greece attaching themselves to Germany.
I disagree. Politically, he may be disloyal, but personally he’s loyal to the other nations as friends. That’s an important distinction that’s always been cemented in the series.
Ex: Even though they were enemies during WW2, he still greets France as a friend when they’re stranded.
The decisions of his bosses are not reflective of his character as a person.
Side note: Italy only met Germany in WW1 after he had switched sides by the way + being a player doesn’t always mean cheating on a spouse. It can mean having several non-committal flings, one-night stands etc. while still remaining single.
Isn’t it super sad that almost the whole fandom forgets about
the fact that Italy is really good with clothing and fashion but wears big,
silly t-shirts instead?
I mean, France of all people pretty much states that Italy
isn’t very good at fashion [x].
Then again, I don’t think Himaruya can make up his mind on
what Italy’s sense of fashion is given how contradictory pieces of canon
information are.
Ex: Italy can’t pay his electric bill because he’s spending
too much on clothes + his dressed-up cosplay ventures [x][x]
If there is a significant demographic shift in
a country (ex. if a minority group shifts to become the majority), will the
personification’s appearance and/or behavior also change? P.S.: Your content is
always awesome! I love your stuff, keep up the good work and thank you!
Thank you!
The nation’s appearances
first and foremost are based on stereotypes. Even if a minority becomes a
majority, more emphasis is placed on how the country is known to the world.
However, internal demographic traits and political, social, and economic
developments can affect the nation’s health, behaviours, and personalities [x].
Try to bear with me while I ask this, I’m not the
greatest with words so the phrasing might not come out right. Um, this has
confused me, unification is like a marriage, right? Okay, so wouldn’t they be cheating
on their spouse if their dates other nations. And what would of happened to two
married nations of other suddenly married another nations. Wouldn’t break and
upset their people, wouldn’t that cause trouble… And if they represent the
same country how’d that work. I’m sorry, very confused.
Even though the words
are used interchangeably, unification
is more often used in reference to the formation of one country (i.e., states,
territories coming together; German Unification, Italian Unification), whereas
marriage involves the union and/ orpartnership between two countries.
Unions don’t necessarily have
romantic overtones either [x].
I was just wondering, do you think the
england’s personality is at all influenced by the germanic stereotype? some
consider him part of the germanic family (historically england has strong
germanic influences + he has blond hair where the rest of his family seem to be
brunettes and redheads) and he’s definitely bad at showing his emotions, or do
you think these stereotypes only apply to actual german-speaking countries?
Probably not. He may not
be good at conveying himself, but unlike the Germanics, England is volatilely
expressive. He’s not stoic but rather extremely hot-tempered, sensitive, and
impulsive [x].
On the other hand, there
has been some Germanic influence depicted, albeit minimal. From what I can
recall, there is one panel depicting the Danish Conquest of England [x].
Thank you, same to you :D.
I know that Austria spent part of his life in his
wheelchair [x], and that Romano had chorea when he was younger (Vol 1).
Ellawritesficssometimes 