To celebrate April Fools’, here are some of the best pranks
pulled in the manga
🐇 🎉
Poland sends Russia a “scary” chainmail
letter threatening to make Warsaw his capital.
America annually prank calls England.
France thinks that Spain is joking with him when he’s
offered a bottle of olive oil to chug.
Spain wasn’t joking.
To get China to leave, Hong Kong lies and tells him that
there’s a new monster for him to collect. It’s really just a mailman.
Misconception: China
hates Japan
Reality: While he
does hold against a grudge against Japan for betraying him in WW2, he’s deeply
affected by it.
We all know the scene. Japan stabs China – literally and
figuratively – in the back. You’d think this would generate hatred on
China’s part…
…but this couldn’t be anymore true.
China raised Japan. He was there with him through everything.
He protected Japan from other nations, like Mongolia, only to receive nothing
for it.
In other words, China’s heart was broken. A telling scene in
which this is confirmed is when China drinks away his sorrows and breaks down
into tears as he recounts what Japan has become.
Unfortunately, we are not provided with much insight on how
Japan and China fare in modern times, as we don’t get many moments where they
exclusively interact with each other.
Misconception: China
is weak
Reality: He
possesses immense strength, but because of his age he lacks stamina.
Ex: This strip
illustrates America’s perception of China’s innate strength and/or capacity for
it.
Despite this, however, because he’s lived for so long, China’s
physical body has aged and weakened. This is an exception to the rule of a nation’s
political and economic situation affecting their physical strength.
The physiology is more applicable to how they lead their
daily lives.
Ex: He’s referred to as a grandpa in modern times, and tires easily.
Ex: In another modern
strip, he’s affected by his population’s growing obesity rate and subsequently
gains weight despite his efforts to circumvent this.
This can be taken as another demonstrative impact of his
physiology age given that older people also have trouble shedding weight.
It’s still important to note that he’s nonetheless referred
to as a powerhouse [for obvious political and economic reasons.]
Accurate Conception:
China is likely an Ancient.
He’s lived for approximately 4000 years. Given that Quintillus, a Roman emperor, was once
seen to be holding a baby China, I would say that this pretty much confirms his
status as an Ancient.
This is aside from the fact that Quintillus can time travel
– the timelines correspond without the need for him to do so. Point is, this is a more concrete example of how old China is.
Misconception: China’s
rude and stand-offish.
While he can be petty and complain like a disgruntled old
man in comparison to some of the younger nations, China is probably one of the most
wholesome characters in the series.
Ex: He acts as a
mentor to Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong. The latter two live with him.
Ex: When Hong
Kong wants to leave China’s house, China begs for him to stay and promises to
stop cleaning Hong Kong’s room so often.
Bonus Facts:
He doesn’t like to lose.
He believes in fortune + luck and is able to see ‘monsters.’
Monster culture is just another way of Hima naming a nation’s ability to see magical
creatures.
Ex: He compiles an index of monsters. While it does contain
regular creatures, it also bears real monsters.
Not to mention that the other nations expressed fear towards
China in “Hetalia of the Dead” as they believe that he’s fully capable of summoning
dark spirits.
Amazing character, right?
Whether it’s due to war or a stock crash, the nations will
develop colds during economic recessions.
Their physical strength is dependent on their economy.
While the nations are immortal, they do age, albeit gradually.
Ex: China is commonly referred to as an old man/ grandpa and
tires easily.
Ex: Japan can’t do strenuous exercise, also makes a constant
mention of his old age, and suffers from health complications as a result of
his high sodium intake.
The nations’ weight is influenced by the average weight of their population.
If obesity levels rise, they’ve been seen to gain weight.
However, America seems to be the exception to this rule due
to working out excessively and trying all sorts of diets and exercise machines.
In reality, the extra weight he perceives is actually just muscle.
A nation’s blood type is dependent on the most common one
within their population.
From what I understand, yes. Let’s take you through it.
Basically, I believe that
America and Russia’s super humanness stems from a historical allusion to their
status as world Superpowers during the Cold War.
The rule in the series is
that a nation’s strength derives from the strength of their economy, the
stability of their government, and whether or not they hold a dominant position
in global politics. Since both Russia and America emerged as the two leading
powers following the end of World War 2, they achieved a Superpower status. The
logic, then, is that they would be physically stronger than the other
nations. Yes, they were stronger than usual beforehand, but this accelerated their abilities even more.
You even see Finland during
the 2010 Christmas Event referring to America and Russia as super humans.
Again, I think this is a reference to the Cold War, as the power balances in
the world have long shifted since their time spent as unmitigated Superpowers.
Also
important to note here is that Finland mentions that the nations normally are
not that much different than humans. This is
consistent with the rule that a nation is more resilient than a human (aside
from their obvious immortality), but that they still nonetheless need to be a
powerful figure themself in comparison to the other nations if they’re to
possess this additional strength.
I believe that Russia doesn’t
possess his super strength anymore mainly because he’s no longer a Superpower.
He’s still stronger than most, as Finland said, but I think it’s suggested that
his super strength has waned in this strip.
When asked about their current relations, Russia responds by
stating that he used to want to “squeeze” and “snap” America.
He then goes on a sidetracked tangent about how America always
makes friends with people first. More importantly is that after showing annoyance at
Russians stereotypically being made into villains in Hollywood, he admits that
he still wants to smash America’s glasses into “ten equal parts.”
The scene ends with Russia
quickly changing the subject and proving that his relationship with America nevertheless isn’t all that bad. To me, that seems that likewise to his country’s loss of a Superpower status, Russia doesn’t have the same strength to fight America than he used to. Meanwhile, America still remains as a powerhouse today.
That said, for transparency’s sake, I really want to stress that
Russia and America still get along really well despite irking each other and
bearing old grudges.
Lastly, while acquiring a Superpower status allows younger nations
to possess additional super strength, this doesn’t seem to be the case with the older
nations. Like humans, the nations’ bodies age, albeit gradually.
This especially applies to
China and Japan. Japan held the title of the world’s second largest economy,
but if you pay close attention in the strips, a consistent theme with him is
that he’s grown weaker from old age. Ex: He has high
blood pressure, can’t do
strenuous exercise, and is referred to as an old man.
Likewise, you have the same
situation with China, who’s even older than Japan and is also referred to as an
old man/grandpa. Currently, China would be considered a superpower, and figures
suggest that they’ll eventually surpass the US economy. However, because
China’s body has aged considerably, even if he’s a Superpower, his physical
body may not be able to gain back this strength again.
You didn’t offend me at all, no worries. I said that Latvia’s short height was a result of multiple factors. His economy isn’t strong, he was repressed by Russia for a significant part of his life, and later, while being sovereign, he didn’t achieve full independence until the USSR’s dissolution.
What distinguishes Hong Kong is that his economy is huge (being a low-tax trading port), hence the taller height.
We all know Prussia’s
East Germany, and yet, Hima hasn’t directly referred to him as such. He’s only
been referred to as East and is also stated to have fallen under Russia’s
control after WW2, working unprofitable jobs.
It’s like Hima enjoys toying with us, leaving hints literally
everywhere. But, I mean, it’s not like he would make a hint so obvious that he would make use of a symbolic
wall in the strips…
DAMN IT, HIMA. SERIOUSLY?!!
And lest we forget about this beautiful strip, where Taiwan
and Hong Kong are moving furniture. Move it to the east and west, you say? Well,
wouldn’t that be a convenient excuse
to sneak in another Berlin Wall reference and have Germany or Prussia pop out
of nowhere.
Well played, sir.
Well played.
You’ve
got your fresh-meat, ripe for conquering
AU Finished! 10/10
Ellawritesficssometimes 