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.
It says that on the
wikipage, but if you go to the direct source, it’s different. The translation is noted to be rough, but the distinction is nonetheless made very clear [x].
Netherlands and Belgium are the ones that are
siblings.
Luxembourg refers to
France, Spain, Netherlands, and Belgium as big brother and sister respectively
as terms of endearment.
This is a common trope in
the series, although it often causes a lot of confusion because it’s taken
literally.
It doesn’t help that the
trio was once referred to as sworn siblings. [x]
Although, if you go on
the above piece of information, it seems to be conveying a bond similar to siblings. It’s not uncommon
for close friends to consider themselves siblings – in this case, it would be
Luxembourg due to his close proximity.
Just to give more
examples of this trope, France is referred to as a big brother type/ big
brother of the world.
Hungary is referred to
as an older sister.
And so is Belgium.
I’m working on a larger
post that will go into more detail about the brother/sister figures and relations,
but it’s going to take some time.
To begin with, I want to emphasize how important it is to
recognize that Hetalia is not a series that believes in permanent grudges. Regardless of
the betrayals that occur in the manga, the grudges that the nations bear rarely
if ever remain.
This doesn’t go to say that grudges can’t last for a long
time, because they do and for good reasons. What I’m getting at here is that
while the nations are cultural personifications – representing their citizens,
not just the government – they’re also people just like you and me.
How the nations associate
with each other is influenced by their political relations. On the other hand,
to say that, because of these rocky political relations, the nations in
question inevitably hate each other is a shallow way of understanding things.
Their pasts together extend beyond their present situation. They’ve
lived for several lifetimes and have their own memories and experiences; there are
other factors to take into account that influence how they view each other on a personal level. To view and associate are two
very different things that are wrongfully equated together in the fandom.
I say this because you’ll see moments where enemy nations
drop their political masks and treat each other as friends.
Ex: After being stranded on Seychelles during WW2, Italy invites
France to his side of the island and asks not to pick a fight. Italy still
fondly refers to France as Big Brother, a title that originated from their
childhood spent together in Rome’s house.
Ex: When he occupies Rome, rather than treating the Italy
brothers with hostility, America politely asks them to make him authentic Italian
cuisine.
Ex: Italy excitedly greets Austria after his annexation,
despite having recently fought him in WW1.
What this post will explore is how grudges held by the nations
subside with time.
That said, let’s go over some examples.
America and England:
Of course, I’ll get the most obvious one out of the way
first. America’s declaration of independence was experienced as a personal betrayal to England.
Ex: He’s noted to have had a stormy temper in the decades
following America’s independence. [x]
Ex: While it’s not explicitly stated, it’s alluded that
England is talking about America when he claims to have suffered from 100 years
of heartbreak.
Of more importance is that aside from their volatile political
relations, America still demands to see England when he hears that the latter’s
fallen ill as a result of the war.
Notice how distressed and panicked America is here. He even
tries to force his way into the house, despite being barred entry by
Canada. Again, the personal triumphs over the political.
As mentioned, with time, a lot of this anger and resentment disappears.
Ex: England takes the leap and attends America’s centennial
celebration.
Ex: The two are now able to tease each other void of any
spite.
Belgium and Netherlands:
There’s a rocky period in their relationship after Netherlands attempted to unify them into one Kingdom. Belgium declares her
independence instead.
We learn from his bunny how upsetting this “fight” was for
him. He copes by constantly keeping busy.
China and Japan:
This one is definitely the most difficult betrayal to
digest. It’s easily the most brutal scene depicted in the manga.
Japan stabs an unsuspecting China in the back during WW2.
What I want to place particular emphasis on is the fact that even though China
knew that their political relations were tense, he still personally trusted Japan, even as the katana was pulled out.
Additionally, notice how Japan’s face goes blank before he
stabs China. To me, this appears that he’s emotionally removed himself from the
situation.
In the aftermath of this betrayal, we see China drunkenly
crying as he realizes how war has changed Japan. Russia’s response to this is
crucial.
Nations don’t remain as enemies
forever.
It’s the good memories that last.
Even though China developed a grudge against Japan, it doesn’t
last.
Ex: In a more recent strip, China attempts to strengthen his
diplomatic ties with Japan.
Following the abolition of their empire, Lithuania falls
under Russian control. As Lithuania’s forcefully dragged away, Poland doesn’t
answer Lithuania’s pleas for help and instead laughs at his facial expression.
Because of all the fond moments they shared together,
Lithuania resents Poland for this, but he doesn’t hate him.
If he did, then he
wouldn’t have warned Poland of Russia’s plan to invade him in WW2.
All in all, the point to take away from this is that while
hatred exists in the manga, it doesn’t persist. Political relations may influence
the nations, but in no way does it define them in whole.
Q: What I really want to know is why people ship Canada and
Netherlands,,, I’m not judging it, it looks quite cute but I don’t??
Understand???? Could you help out?
A: It’s a historically-based ship. During WW2, the Dutch Royal Family fled to Canada. When Princess Margriet was born, they declared the maternity to be Dutch territory so that she would retain her Dutch citizenship. Every year as thanks, the Dutch government sends close to a million tulips, and in return, Ottawa hosts a tulip festival every year. I’ll make sure to take some pictures since I live there.
Q: Hey, sorry to bother you, but do you have any information on
Ireland, Scotland, or Wales? I know they’re not official characters yet, but is
there anything on them?
A: You’re not bothering me! However, I’m not an information blog. If you’d like access to information, there’s an English translation of Hima’s blog, Bamboo Thicket. It’s an excellent resource if you’re looking for facts about specific characters.
Scotland and Ireland are undesigned characters but do have some character notes [x]
England is the son of four siblings, which includes North Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. He also doubles as the UK in representing them [x]
Q: For characters like Iceland, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Estonia
, micronations and other young/ teen characters ;do you think they live by
themselves or with a physically older nation and would they go to school or no?
A: The only school that all nations attend is the World Academy. It’s like a mini AU within the series. [x] Nations only live with each other if they lack independence.
Q: England is my least favourite Hetalia character. Enlighten
me and change my opinion, I don’t want to be the only tea-hating heathen in the
fandom!
A: I’ve done a lot of posts about this 😉 [x] [x][x][x]
You’re not a heathen, by the way. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
Q: It looks like Romano is getting over his inferiority complex
in recent years, in Liechtenstein strip he certainly is confident even when
Veneziano points out their grandpa’s inheritance to both of them.
A: I’m not so sure about that. Romano still consistently refers to Veneziano in a demeaning manner. He needs to stop calling Veneziano “stupid/ idiot little brother” if he’s to truly get over his inferiority complex.
The nations are two-fold representations. By that I mean
that they have a literal body and a figurative body.
Bear with me, things get a bit tricky, but I’ll break it
down to the best of my ability.
Basically, the figurative body is what influences the nation’s
physical body.
The figurative body
is composed of two parts.
1) There’s the geography of the nation. The landmass is sometimes referred to as their body or house,
despite the real physical one that they possess.
The geography can influence both the physical appearance and
personality of the personification.
Ex: Since Sealand’s geographic body is small, so is his physical
one.
Ex: Iceland’s contrasting volcanic and freezing temperatures respectively
causes him to have a hot and cold side.
2) There’s the personality
of a nation. The personality of a nation (not to be confused with the
personification’s personality) is defined in terms of culture in the manga [x]
If the culture is well-developed
and thriving, then the personification will also thrive and be able to grow; to
age. However, if the culture is repressed, then the personification’s growth
will also be stunted.
The reason I’m outlining this is essentially to show how
geography/climate and historical events are reflected in the personifications’
appearances and personalities. Information on the impact that this has on their
health can be found here [x][x]
What this post will focus on, however, is why some nations
have scars and either suffer from or are affected with other physical symptoms.
Let’s go over some examples.
Ancient Rome:
Before dying, Rome was noted to have many wounds and scars –
a physical reflection of the turmoil his people suffered from.
Lithuania:
We know from his time spent in the USSR that Lithuania acquired
several scars on his back. The military repression of several revolts and the
banning of diverse cultural practices in favor of an atheist state very likely
had a role in causing these scars to appear.
Latvia:
Latvia’s case is similar to Lithuania’s. While we don’t know
if he has any scars, we know that Russia pushing down onto his head ultimately
stunted his growth. How I interpret this is that it’s a metaphor for political repression.
Put another way, Russian control stunted Latvia’s growth,
which, in turn, was reflected in the personification’s physical body.
China:
It’s hinted that China gained scars after being betrayed by
Japan in WW2. It’s both a literal and symbolic stab to the back.
Germany:
Each time America engages in reckless financial activities,
a new wrinkle develops on Germany’s forehead.
Finland:
Estonia’s quest to become a Nordic causes Finland’s back to
be itchy whenever he’s talked about.
Bonus cases that aren’t so clear…
Russia:
When he’s not wearing a scarf, Russia is shown to be wearing
bandages around his neck.
Netherlands:
An unknown event caused him to develop a scar on his
forehead.
Sure! While I’ve touched on the differences of the nations’ own wills in comparison to those of their bosses, I haven’t really talked about the extent to which they’re involved in their politics. Not to mention that they’ve been shown to be aware of corruption, and yet have very little power to do anything about it.
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