Misconception: She’s average.

Reality: While Hima intended for her to be average, her
characterization took a drastic turn [x]. She’s anything but average.

Ex: She’s a model student within Africa.

Ex: Regardless of her isolated position, she avidly studies
foreign relations [x]. Either way, she’d need to given how globalized the world’s
economies have become. The 2008 Financial Crisis affected her too, after all.

Ex: She’s described as a go-getter [x].

Ex: She’s not subtle about her economic transactions with
European tourists. She’s well adept at making her tourism industry thrive.

“Good –foreign
currency–

noon!” [x]

Ex: She’s good at sales promotions [x].

Ex: Prices in her country are more expensive in response to
high volumes of European tourists.

Ex: As a matriarchal society in which women are the
breadwinners of the family – as also cited by Hima in her character notes [x] –Seychelles
is not only strong and tenacious but admirably self-effficient.

Misconception: She’s a ‘stupid’ and ‘plain’ airhead.

Reality: She’s a lively, bubbly personality who simply
smiles a lot. The term airhead is used to describe her weird personality given that she’s composed of a mix of several cultures. It has nothing to do with her intelligence.

Ex: An unconfirmed African nation refers to Seychelles as an
airhead due to French and English influence.

Ex: She loves salted and pickled fish [x] [x].

Ex: She’s notorious for her butt-shaped coconuts [x].

Ex: Her isolation from other African nations parallels that
of Iceland and the other Nordics. A unique moment is shared between them where
Iceland senses her situation and relates to her fear of being forgotten. I can guarantee
you this is where the IceSey pairing came from.

Misconception: She’s related to England and France.

Reality: She inherited much of their culture, along with
some Indian and Chinese influence. What ties her and France and England together
is that she used to be a colony of theirs at different points in time [x].

Ex: A scrapped design intended for her to have one thick
eyebrow and one thin one to represent French and English influence.

Ex: Later, it’s shown that French influence on her country
has prevented her from inheriting England’s thick brows [x].

Ex: Her cuisine represents a mix of several cultures.

Bonus facts:

Both the Allies and Axis get stranded on her island during
WW2.

She’s a homebody [x].

Her costume as Captain Hook during the 2011 Halloween Event
is likely a reference to the fact that young pirates used to have hideouts on
her island [x] [x].

She’s tough on litterers.

She was the main character in an unfinished dating
simulation titled “Gakuen Hetalia” [x].

In sum, Seychelles is a wonderful character, regardless of
how little canon representation she has. She’s a cheerful and vibrant spirit
that bravely powers through the obstacles of her isolation, namely economic. Nonetheless,
she makes the best out of her unique cultural inheritance and isn’t afraid to
show it off. What’s unfortunate is that much of this complexity is watered down
in light of disliking her for coming between popular ships.

Me: I should start waking up earlier.

*Goes to bed at 4:00 AM, sleeps through five alarms, and wakes up at 4:00 PM*

Also me: Unbelievable.

Why do people hate Seychelles so much?

I believe most of it has to do with Gakuen Hetalia. Fangirls got jealous – don’t ask– and hated Seychelles because she was the main character in the dating simulation with other male nations.

I don’t know how anyone could hate her, though. She’s always smiling.

Can you tell me or perhaps post something about Seychelles? She’s my favorite character! She deserves more love. <3

Sure thing, and hell yes, she’s so underappreciated. She’s a big sweetheart. Unfortunately, people tend to dislike her because ‘she gets in the way’ of ships…just like any other female nation.

Characterization post on Seychelles coming up tonight!

I’ve heard that Seychelles is referred to as an airhead. Why is that?

The comic gag is that it’s attributed to French and English influence.

Oh, there’s plenty.

Russia taking back Lithuania
after the Great Depression + America’s reaction as Lithuania calls out for him.

Canada crying when Seychelles
remembers him as a member of the G8.

Germany promising Italy that
he values their friendship by giving him a cross necklace.

…

The relief on France’s face
when he realizes that Jeanne d’Arc has been reborn into a happier life

Considering that the nations are described as “odd beings”,
many aspects of their existence are either left open-ended or unanswered. It’s probably
meant to be like this, as it allows Hima to have more creative leeway.

On the other hand, there’s a consistent logic in the process
of how the nations are born that I’d like to go over.

How Are They Born?

For the most part, the nations are born as babies.

Ex: Egypt and his mother, Ancient Egypt.

This excludes…

1) The micronations, who are noted to be anomalies outside
the rules of nationhood.

2) Germany, who’s born as a young child given that he
already had an existing body (I’ll get back to this in a moment).

We know from Iceland that the nations spontaneously gain
consciousness and come into existence. It’s not a formal birth process. They’re also instinctively able to tell that they’re different from humans.

What signifies them?

What signifies a nation as a baby is the nightgown they
wear. Personally, I don’t believe that the nightgown has any real significance
other than the fact that it acts as a plot device to distinguish the nation’s
young age.

How do they know who they’re related to?

Just like the nations are able to sense each other, the baby
nation is also able to sense their biological sibling.

This is seen with Iceland when he’s born. He sensed that
Norway was his brother upon gaining consciousness.

Norway also senses Iceland.

Likewise, we also know that later on, Iceland takes a DNA
test–in this case, it’s a land excavation–to confirm that there were no
Icelandic natives. Instead, the first people to settle in Iceland were
Norwegian.

That’s why Iceland and Norway are related.

On the other hand, America was colonized by several nations at once, not to mention that there
were already native tribes living there. As such, he’s referred to as an “ingredient.” He represents a mix of several cultures. [x]

Further, America doesn’t ‘sense’ an older brother from the pool of countries colonizing him. Instead,
Finland, France, and England deliberate over who will assume the role of America’s older brother.

It’s also important to mention that “onii-chan” in Japanese
does not always literally mean older brother. It can be an expression of “endearment” or “adoration.”

There are different cultural connotations that are
unfortunately lost in direct translations.

Despite this, America does, in fact, have a biological brother: Canada [x]

Germany’s ‘Existing Body’:

As mentioned above, most nations are born as babies. Germany
is an exception to this rule as he’s born as a young child…or is he?

Disclaimer, I’m going
outside canon now. This next part is theory based on canon fact.

Many people have speculated that Germany’s ‘existing’ body
means that while Holy Rome died, his body remained. Germany then resumed this
body after German Confederation.

The ‘existing’ body, then, would be the fact that Germany’s spirit
inhabited Holy Rome’s old body, hence the reason why he wasn’t born as a baby.

This perspective doesn’t make sense to me, as we know that
it’s possible for nations to live past their date of dissolution. More
importantly, Holy Rome lived past his dissolution.

Another problem with this perspective is that the nations’
bodies don’t remain when they die, but rather, they fade away. The nations are
personality-based, meaning that when their culture dies, so do they. [x]

Put another way, culture doesn’t die definitively. It fades
with time – A nation’s path to death is reflective of this.

This would explain why Holy Rome didn’t die right away, albeit being ill. The
German culture he represented was still alive and well.

Meanwhile, my take on Germany’s ‘existing body’ is vastly
different. I’m of the mindset that Holy Rome lost all his memories when he
became Germany. [post on that here].

In other words,
Germany wasn’t born as a baby because he was already existing, as in he had a living body.

In sum, while many questions about the nation’s existence
are left unanswered, there is a relative level of consistency regarding the
ages in which nations are born as well as the role that evolutionary instinct
plays in how they find their relatives.

Teacher: You can’t do this assignment at the last minute.

Students:

Misconception: He’s
weak

Reality: Far from
it. The man’s been through a lot, emotionally especially.

Ex: During a heated
argument with America, he’s able to close the door on him. It’s hinted that
Canada may have super strength, but he dismisses this.

Ex: He’s more
than capable of standing up from himself if necessary. Even a pushover has their limits.

Admittedly, he does excuse a lot of Cuba’s hostile behaviour
towards him. It’s only because Cuba mistakes him as America, though.

Ex: Canada’s
emotional insecurity can easily be seen as a strength. It takes a lot out of a
person to remain so generous and friendly, despite being historically ignored and
neglected by those close to you.

Misconception: He
and America hate each other.

Reality: While
they may have had some extremely rough times together, they’ve done more than
enough to make up for this.

Covering the progress of their relationship in more detail
will require a whole series of posts, but these are the basics.

Despite growing up together, they argued a lot following
America’s independence. Britain acted as the most prominent wedge between them. For some time before, they also couldn’t see eye-to-eye due to profound age differences.

Canada held resentment towards America for being selfish,
reckless, and too imposing.

Ex: America
actually pushed for Canada to gain his independence. This didn’t occur until quite a while later, obviously.

Ex: When Canada
does get his independence, they reconcile for the better…after having another argument of course. Siblings will be siblings.

Although, as you’ll
see soon, they still argue over the same things. Canada’s main tooth to pick
with America is his egotism and boisterousness.

Ex: America knows
little about Canada’s pop culture, meanwhile Canada knows everything about his.

Nonetheless, the two are still extremely close…

Ex: America helps
Canada figure out his identity. Canada’s multiculturalism [in the strips only,
of course] is inspired by America’s own diversity of cultures and ethnicities.

As such, Canada suddenly finds South Korea and China staying
at his place. The East Coast of Canada, especially Vancouver, is where many
East Asians immigrate to.

Ex: America is
jealous of Canada’s natural ability to get along with everyone.

Ex: The two co-host an online cooking show together. Yes, it’s called “America’s Cooking Channel, but Canada is on there enough times to deserve the title of a co-host.

Misconception:
France is his father.

Reality: France temporarily
acted as a big brother figure to Canada before England took hold of his
jurisdiction. As such, this would explain why Canada inherited France’s hair. It’s
mere influence. They’re not blood-related.

We’ve already see with Hong Kong how one nation’s influence can impact the
physical/ personality traits of another.

Ex: England’s
influence on Hong Kong’s personality. England also cursed Hong Kong to have
thick eyebrows like him.

Ex: Seychelles was originally supposed to have one
thick eyebrow and one thin one to represent French and English influences on
her nation’s culture.

Misconception: Canada’s invisible for no reason.

Reality: There’s
a real historical reason for this. Being a dominion, Canada was often
overshadowed by Britain.

For instance, in WW1, other than the occasional Canadian Red
Ensign flag – which also had a Union Jack on it – Canadian troops fought under
the Union Jack. In return, Britain absorbed much of the credit for the feats
accomplished by Canadian soldiers.

Ex: America thinks that Canada hides in Britain’s shadow. He holds back from saying this out loud.

Later, Canada’s shown to recognize this on his own.

Ex: Canada wanted
to sign a treaty with America, however he was too scared to talk to America
directly. He was worried that America wouldn’t be able to see him.

Bonus Facts:

He cried when Seychelles remembered him as being part of the
G8.

He served in the French army at Waterloo.

Maple syrup is his fuel.

He smoked marijuana.

He once yelled at America for three hours straight, pointing
out his faults. America cried afterwards. Predictably, this was quickly fixed with
a burger.

He aged at a much slower rate than America.

There seems to be a lot of confusion and sometimes purposeful
misleading regarding what France means when he calls himself a “Big Brother.”

On one hand, you have people who have only watched the dub,
haven’t read a page of the manga, and worst of all, incorrectly declare that
France is related to all the nations who either call him big brother, or who he
claims to be the big brother of. There’s also people who know this is false,
but still use the misunderstanding as a way to immaturely elevate their own
ship and degrade shippers of the opposite kind.

To that, I say this: the dub is never canon. I totally get why
there’s a lot of misconceptions regarding the family tree, though. For example,
in the dub, Switzerland is referred to as France’s relative, meanwhile, in the
strip material, Switzerland is listed as France’s neighbor.

Again, don’t ever use the dub as a source. It’s like the
Wikipedia equivalent of canon material; it gives you a general idea, but in no
way is it totally correct. While I understand how limited the anime medium can
be in portraying all canon information, it’s still your responsibility to do
your research.

That said, if you’ve read the manga, you would know that France
doesn’t have any siblings. That’s right. He’s not a big brother at all, but
rather, he’s listed as a big brother type. Likewise, he’s also referred to
himself as “the Big Brother of the world.”

In other words, because France is self-conscious of his age, he
opts to be a big brother mentor figure as opposed to identifying as an elder.
Although, admittedly, he has occasionally adopted a parental role. This is
especially the case with America, whom France expresses disdain at England for
raising so poorly.

Regardless, the following few strips demonstrate how France will
claim to be the big brother of literally anything.

Here, he deems himself to be the big brother of the reader. No,
I’m not kidding.

When he meets Lisa, Jeanne d’Arc’s reincarnate, he introduces
himself as “Big Brother France.”

The rest is pretty straightforward. Aside from the explicit
character description, there’s no possible way he would be related to them all
without it creating the need for other nations to be related to each other.

England: