Ex: Germany and Prussia are asked to infiltrate America’s war
camp.
Fans, after a series ends: It can’t be over!
Fan fic writers: Say no more.
What this post aims to do is flesh out the “hot tempers”
that are often attributed—uni-dimensionally—to these characters. While Hetalia
is based on stereotypes, the characters’ personalities are still considerably
developed and round. It’s the fan depictions that tend to make them flatter
than what they actually are.
England:
England is probably the easiest character to misinterpret,
especially for those who don’t like him—not to mention that he’s hands
down the most hated and contested among fans.
I’m not here to debate the fact that England can be
incredibly rude. However, it’s important to contextualize and
understand the reasons for this if anyone is to truly appreciate let alone
depict him.
England’s temper comes from a place of extreme sensitivity
and vulnerability.
Ex: His temper became particularly volatile in the aftermath
of the American Revolution. We also learn that he experienced 100 years of
heartbreak. While the connection hasn’t explicitly been made in canon, I think
it’s safe to assume that the latter fact is in reference to the heartbreak that
he experienced in the wake of America’s separation from him.
Source: Hetarchive, 2007 Christmas Event + Hetarchive, Notes & Etc.
Ex: Other character notes state that he’s poor at expressing
himself (i.e., he lashes out and rubs others the wrong way). He’s even aware of
the fact that he’s misunderstood but copes with self-deprecating humour.
Source: Hetarchive, Notes & Etc.
Point is, England’s personality is two-sided: he insults and
condescends, only to reel in this scrutiny in and deprecate himself.
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 25.
Germany:
Germany is notorious for being characterized as someone with
a short temper. While this isn’t in whole inaccurate, as he does have a short
fuse, it ignores the fact that most of his anger stems from confusion and
perplexion at forming meaningful relationships with others. Longer post on that
here [x].
Source: Volume 3, the United States of Hetalia.
What I particularly want to emphasize is the problem in
which other characters mistakenly perceive Germany to be angry (a German stereotype). In
other words, he comes off and seems angry.
Source: World Stars Chapter 1.
Ex: Germany asks Italy out for drinks after a training
session, only to be interpreted by Italy as being angry.
Source: Hetarchive, Comic Diary 4.
Iceland:
The most forgotten element about Iceland’s personality is
that it’s predicated on a hot and cold spectrum. It’s a clever reference to his
geography, i.e., hot volcanoes/ springs vs freezing weather.
Source: Hetascanlations, Chapter 106 + 114.
Characterizations lean more towards depicting his hot side
and how ‘annoyed’ he gets when the other Nordics—especially Norway—coddle him.
In reality, it’s revealed that Iceland doesn’t mind this
badgering. In fact, he appreciates it.
Source: Hetarchive, Halloween Event 2014.
Another example would be how flustered he becomes when he
finds out that the other Nordics had gotten together to host a surprise
birthday party for him.
Source: Hetarchive, Volume 6.
Romano:
Romano’s personality is very much along the same lines of
England’s. His hostility is a self-protective mechanism employed in order to hide his sensitivity.
Ex: He’s described as a crybaby and coward.
Source: Volume 2.
Ex: When he confronts Germany during WW2, putting on a macho
act, he’s quick to retreat when France appears.
Source: Volume 1.
Ex: When they lived together, Romano became fed-up with the
maid work America tasked him with. The comic gag revolves around Romano
attempting to intimidate America with a gangster persona, only to cower and
surrender when America perceives him to be a “bad guy” in need of being brought
to justice.
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 59.
Parents, panicking before you go off to college: All sorts of people are going to offer you drugs!
Just note that there’s a time error inconsistency between this panel and the out-sourcing series, where Lithuania moved in with America post-WW1 instead of during the Second Industrial Revolution (World Stars).
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 58.
Yes. There are the ancients who died (e.g., Rome and Germania) permanently. They reside in Heaven.
Source: Hetarchive, Grandpa Rome’s Visit Home.
Then, there’s the phenomenon where personifications can die and regenerate.
Source: The Ruler of Scandinavia and The King of Eastern Europe, Volume 3.
(France is shot by Switzerland.)
Source: Hetarchive, Christmas 2007 Event.
Source: Hetarchive, Hetare 4: Pact of Steel.
Source: Hetarchive, In just two minutes you can grasp the exterior of the European economy.
While characterizations depicting
Romano as an easily irritated and rude person isn’t in whole inaccurate, it’s
nonetheless one-sided and uncontextualized. By that I mean that this type of
characterization erases the fact that Romano’s incredibly sensitive from a lifetime
full of pestering insecurities and fears. He’s bottled up a lot of these
emotions and lashes out as a result. Likewise, it also erases Romano’s loyalty
in spite of his poor way of expressing it.
Let’s unpack what I mean by this.
For one thing, it’s canon that Romano is an even bigger
crybaby than Veneziano.
Source: Volume 2.
A lot of this stems from feelings of resentment and
inadequacy that he developed as a child. Rome spent the majority of his time
rearing and caring for Veneziano.
Source: Hetarchive, Chibitalia.
Consequently, Romano develops an inferiority complex and
feels inadequate compared to Veneziano.
Source: Boss Spain’s Control of Southern Italy pt 2.
What doesn’t help is that Romano placed second again when
invading countries preferred Veneziano over him.
For example, Spain initially wanted to trade Romano for
Veneziano, as Romano’s manners and housekeeping skills weren’t nearly up to
par.
Source: Hetarchive, Boss Spain’s Control of Southern Italy pt 1.
It sounds horrible, but we do get a touching scene where Spain eventually reconciles
with Romano, learning to accept and love him for who he is.
Source: Boss Spain Doesn’t Understand.
The two meet each other halfway and develop a strong bond in
which they genuinely enjoy living together.
That bond is abruptly cut during Italian Unification, where Veneziano
and Romano are forced together after centuries of separation in which they
rarely saw each other.
Sources: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 20 & 73.
Since Romano still had unresolved feelings towards Veneziano,
the two didn’t exactly get along. As such, Romano opts to move to America
instead to look for work. The immigrant life was a scary and unfamiliar terrain
for Romano to traverse. To cope with this, he calls the first person who’s ever
felt familiar and homely to him: Spain.
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 73.
Point is, even though Romano doesn’t show it, he’s very
sensitive and shows it in ways that aren’t the most obvious.
While I initially rubbed this off as trivial, there are
scenes during WW2 that are particularly important in showcasing Romano’s
vulnerability.
Ex: He cries during the infamous failed mustache incident with Germany.
Source: Volume 1.
Ex: He cries and hides behind Germany from France – note that
this is likely indicative of the fact that Romano is reliving the childhood fear
of being conquered and attacked.
Source: Volume 1.
Other examples of vulnerability would include him being
sensitive about his height and crying into tears of joy when Grandpa Rome
visits him from heaven.
Lastly, it’s also important to recognize that while Romano
may be rude, even to people he cares about, he’s loyal.
Ex: During the immigrant period of his life, he cheered on
America when the latter surpassed England in industrial production.
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 70.
Ex: While too shy to do this upfront, Romano looks out for
Veneziano in WW2 by remaining skeptical towards Germany, questioning him about
his intentions.
Source: Volume 1.
Ex: Romano tries to save Spain from illness during an
economic recession, which forces him to come into conflict with the mafia, who he’s
normally terrified of.
Source: Hetarchive, In just two minutes you can grasp the exterior of the European economy.
All in all, it would be unfair to say that Romano’s a prick
without contextualizing this within a broader understanding of him employing a
tough exterior to hide a more sensitive than normal interior.
That look you give your friend when the teacher asks you to partner up
Ellawritesficssometimes 