Are you referring to this lmao? [x]
*Screams in chinese*
Tag: aph Macau
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.
Before I go through case examples, I want to go over some
important ground rules pertaining to the subject of economics and how nations are
affected by it.
1) When a personification has a cold or is
physically unwell, they’re having problems with their politics and/or are
experiencing a recession.
2) An economic recession will impact a nation’s
health differentially depending on their economic standing.
Ex: During the
Great Depression, some nations were more affected than others, as designated by
greater negative signs.
3) If the nation itself is poor, so will the
respective personification.
With all that in mind, just like political independence and
a stable, functioning government, the strength of a nation’s economy is an
equally important factor in influencing the personification’s age. The best way
I can explain this process is that a nation’s age is a result of an amalgamation
of factors.
Some personifications will go through a gigantic growth spurt
in reaction to their country’s own surge in economic prosperity.
Other
personifications, while lacking official political recognition, are able to age
upon achieving and maintaining economic prosperity through high GDPs.
Lastly,
there are officially recognized nations who remain young as a result of poor and
inconsistent economic growth.
America:
Of course, I’ll start with the most obvious and well-known
example. America grew up quickly in tandem to his growing economy, despite lacking
independence from England.
“Because he was relatively tolerant of religion forms, America became a melting pot for various cultures, arts and crafts. Soon, he began to grow an industrial prowess and rivaled England himself.”
Meanwhile, Canada, who didn’t possess the same
economic strength, aged at a much slower rate than America.
The point to differentiate between the two brothers is the
impact that their economies had on their biological ages.
Chinese Autonomous Territories: Macau and Hong Kong
While they are presently considered to be autonomous territories under a one country-two systems mode of governance and therefore lack full
recognition as nations in themselves, Macau and Hong Kong’s strong industrial
economies allowed for them both to age.
This lack of official autonomy is depicted by both of them
living in China’s household.
Macau:
Macau was originally Portugal’s underling. He was East Asia’s
centralized and most successful trading port before being superseded by a
younger Hong Kong.
As such, despite being part of Portugal’s house, Macau’s
commercial success was enough to make him an adult.
That’s all we know, as he’s not given an exact canon age.
Now, he remains as an older brother figure in China’s house. Again, it’s his
economy that primarily contributed to his physical maturity.
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong was little when he became English territory.
Becoming an economically-successful trading port is what contributed to his growth.
However, because he’s not a nation-state in himself,
this would explain why he’s 16-17. If he did become a full-blown nation, the
consistency in this rule would likely have him age again.
Historically, Macau’s a lot older than Hong Kong – this might
offer a plausible explanation for their differences in age.
Taiwan:
This one’s a bit tricky and controversial given the testy
disputes regarding China’s claim of sovereignty over a self-governing Taiwan.
Nonetheless, there’s still an economic factor that accounts for the reason why
Taiwan is older in age [as opposed to a small child]. She’s also a strong
industrial power, despite not receiving international recognition.
On the other hand, Taiwan was officially recognized as China
in the UN before losing its seat in 1971. This also may have had an impact on
Taiwan’s age, although since none of this is presented in canon, all I can do
is speculate.
Latvia:
Not only was Latvia historically repressed politically, but
his agricultural economy isn’t doing all that great today either. Both of these
factors account for his young age, regardless of how long he’s existed
chronologically.
Moldova:
As one of the poorest countries in Europe, it’s no wonder
that Moldova’s growth has been stunted.
In sum, while economic sufficiency and success is only one
of the factors that allow a personification to age, it’s influence has a strong impact.
🐰
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.
Before I start, it’s important to lay out some ground rules.
Thanks to Finland we know that the nations aren’t that
different from humans with regards to their physical strength and anatomy (with
the exceptions of Russia and America who are exceptionally strong).
The point in this is that the “not-so-different from a human
rule” pertains to their basic physiological structure. On the other hand, there
are immortal perks of nationhood, such as being impervious to experiencing the fatality of illnesses. They still can
fall ill, though. This happens when they’re….
1) Suffering from political instability.
2) They’re experiencing an economic recession.
3) There’s a rampant illness in their population (i.e Romano’s
Chorea).
With that said, we know that the nations are stronger than
normal humans regardless. They don’t age as fast, and as such, their memories
don’t deteriorate at nearly the same rate.
What this post will explore are the different examples where
nations have been shown to have gaps in their memories.
The thesis I’m putting forward includes a variety of
reasons to account for this:
One, older nations such as Japan and China have even larger gaps
in their memories as a result of their physical bodies aging. They’re therefore
unable to recall memories as fast as younger nations [This in part goes with my
third argument].
Two, the influence of their citizens pertaining to whether
or not the nations can see and therefore remember the existence of magical creatures.
Three, the nations simply aren’t able to remember
everything; it would be impossible.
And four, some
nations actively repress bad memories to minimize the anxiety and trauma they
previously experienced.
Without further ado, let’s go over some of these examples.
Age:
As stated above, the nations’ chronological age, while
influenced by their economic and political affluence, also seems to be affected
in part by how long they’ve lived (I.e. Both Japan and China refer to
themselves as old men.)
If Japan is shown to have higher blood pressure levels and hip pains as a
result of his old age, then it wouldn’t be too farfetched to assume that his
memory wouldn’t be as up to par as it would be in comparison to a nation younger
than him. Put another way, his age would cause him to have greater slips in his
memory.
It’s the body that’s old, despite not looking like it.
Ex: He’s unable
to remember who Lithuania is, and almost mistakes the latter to be Livonia.
Ex: While looking
through an album of him and Pochi throughout different periods, Japan
mistakenly recalls the chronology of them.
Likewise, China’s also referred to as an old man.
Ex: He admits to
being forgetful.
The Ability to See Magical Creatures:
We’ve also seen the impact on how a population’s belief in
magical creatures respectively influences whether or not the nation will be
able to see them.
Ex: During the
Meiji Era, England could see the kappa and youkai spirits, meanwhile Japan couldn’t
as a result of his people no longer believing in them as strongly.
However, just as a nation can forget about magical
creatures, they can also re-remember them if popular culture strongly believes
in them again – presumably it would have to go past folklore superstitions.
While enjoying Japan’s hot springs, the two talk about
folklore.
Notice how Italy spots a strange creature beginning to approach them.
Although it’s not shown, the discussion of the topic could possibly mean that
Japan [and not just Italy] is also able to see the creature.
There’s also an exact replica of this hot spring scene
dating back to when they first met during WW2. I don’t think Hima did this for
no reason:
Repression of Traumatic/Guilt-Ridden Memories:
As Russia darkly puts it, perhaps it’s a good thing that the
nations don’t remember everything.
When Lithuania and Germany allegedly meet for the first time
during WW2, Lithuania expresses relief over Germany not remembering him. It’s
noted that Lithuania once beat-up one of Germany’s family members. This is
possibly a reference to when Prussia became a lackey to Poland under the
Lithuanian and Polish Commonwealth.
This is highly indicative of Germany existing well before
his ‘birth’ in 1871 given that Lithuania is fearful of being remembered and/or triggering
Germany’s memory. If anything, Lithuania’s fear of this points further in the
direction of Germany suffering from amnesia.
Why else is there a childhood version of Germany/Holy Rome pushing to be acknowledged in older strips? I’ve theorized before that this is
simply a part of his unconscious mind trying to get him to remember about his
forgotten childhood.
Or why is it that he’s seen to confusedly hold up Chibitalia in another strip?
“It’s me.” Jogging his memory much?
Similarly, Italy also dreams of a childhood version of
himself pushing to be acknowledged by him, only for Italy to refuse in doing so. Like
Germany, it seems that Italy has actively striven to forget his childhood.
Lastly, the most obvious hint of repressed childhood
memories is found in Buon San Valentino, where Germany appears to recall fuzzy
images of Chibitalia.
They Can Only Remember So Much:
Prussia is the one to confirm this rule, considering that he’s
taken to recording every experience as a method in circumventing the inability
to recall them. It’s simply a matter of jogging his memory.
In sum, while the nation’s memories are limited, there are
different factors and contexts that account for this phenomenon. Age, trauma,
civilian belief, and limited physiological brain capacity seem to be the most
common reasons in accounting for this.
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?
Is there a character who will always make you laugh?
Most of them are funny, but China is a whole other level.
He’s the stereotypical gullible old person that buys anything off the internet from anyone.
Economy:
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.
Age:
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.
Weight:
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.
Anatomy:
A nation’s blood type is dependent on the most common one
within their population.
Why do you say that Russia had the super strength that America has? Do you mean that Russia had it, but he lost it?
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.
Ellawritesficssometimes 