Full disclaimer, a lot of what I’m about to show is inexplicable.
The mochis are supposed to be wacky, abnormal, and
irrational. There’s no clear-cut answer as to why exactly they exist in Hetalia. They’re simply a theme in the
manga that don’t have much sense to them.
On the other hand, despite how minimal it is, there are some
explanations I can offer about what the
mochis are.
What are the mochis based on?:
The mochis are otherworldly characters.
Ex: Estonia is brought to their world in his dreams.
Of course, their physical design is literally based off
Japanese rice balls. Each mochi represents the characteristics of their respective
nation. As such, they are also able to procure flags on a whim.
On top of that, it appears that Hima’s depiction of the
mochis is a play on words for emoticons and emojis.
They’re rice balls (mochis) that have personality (emotions).
Mochi + emotions = emoji [emochi].
Ex: The mochis are described as being based off an emoticon
Hima received in an email. [x]
Ex: Hima posted Hetalia-inspired emoticons made by fans on his blog. [x] [x]
Estonia’s involvement with them:
Estonia initially purchases the mochis off an online auctioning site.
The reason I believe that it’s Estonia who owns them is simply
because he’s an IT nation. A large area of information technology are computers
and the internet.
Ex: Estonia has a blog, “as befitting of an IT empire.”
If the mochis are living beings meant to represent emojis,
it would make sense that Estonia, as a nation that specializes in computer technology,
would be paired with them.
Some internet-related things would include…
Ex: Mochi Spain initially appearing with a speech bubble on
the side of his head, although this later turns out to be a cookie… (?)
Ex: The fact that the mochis swear so much. Perhaps this is
supposed to represent the unfiltered profanity of the internet. They do have
their own native language, though.
Other than that, there’s not much that I personally understand
about the mochis given how bizarre they are.
Things about the mochis that we’ll probably never make sense of:
The leader of the mochis refers to Estonia as Holy Bitch.
Amerimochi thinks that a head of lettuce is his father.
The mochis can have legs and arms.
You get 500 million experience points if you defeat a
mochi.
The mochis were weird enough to scare aliens. Hima’s fully aware of what he’s doing.
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.
Are they ‘with’ the mafia?
No. This is a common headcanon/ misconception that I’ve noticed in the fandom.
The Italy Brothers don’t run the Mafia, nor do they work for
them. Instead, they’re often victimized by them.
Since mobsters are more of a problem in the Southern half of
the country, Romano’s respectively more affected by their activities. [x]
Ex: Romano is frequently coerced into doing favors for the Mafia
against his will. He complies because he’s terrified of them.
Nonetheless, Romano has proven to be capable of standing up
to them.
Ex: With Spain’s life hanging on the line due to an economic recession, Romano refuses to hand over the imports he intends to use in saving Spain’s
economy.
Typically, however, he’s seen as easy prey for the Mafia to
get him to do their bidding.
It’s only in the above circumstance where he becomes “stronger”
than usual. Put another way, Spain’s potential death kicked in Romano’s fight
or flight instinct.
How They’re Affected:
Both Italy brothers are frequently stolen from. While some
of this is from regular pickpocketers…
Ex: Romano is well-trained in guarding himself against being
pickpocketed. [x]
…the Mafia [and corrupt politicians] also steal from the
Italy brothers, albeit indirectly.
The personification’s income, as in how much money they have
available to them in their wallet, is dependent on how wealthy their country
is. If the government is corrupt and funds are being frauded/ embezzled, the personification
doesn’t receive as much money as they should.
Ex: Veneziano’s wallet runs thin as a result of corruption
in the Italian government, specifically in the South.
It’s not like they’re not aware of this corruption either,
because they are.
Ex: Veneziano comments on the corruption within Rome’s
municipal government and casts his vote for Virginia Elena Raggi, whose
campaign ran on combatting corruption. [x]
The problem is that because the nations have little
influence in how their government
runs, they don’t have the means or resources to tackle this corruption.
Without exaggerating
and as I’ve proven in other posts, the nations suffer from a lot of things; to
name a few, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. One thing that they don’t have and
have never suffered from is Stockholm Syndrome.
Of course, the whole unequal power dynamic between the conquered country and
their conqueror makes for an unhealthy relationship, no doubt. However, it’s
within these relations, problematic as they may be, that the conquered
countries are able to form better personal relationships with their ruling
country.
What needs to be
differentiated here is that the nations have a persona as well as a person. Put
another way, they relate to each other both politically and on a personal
level. This is why you’ll see nations fight over one seeking to obtain sovereignty
and yet still attempt to befriend each other despite their hostile political
relations.
Ex: America wanting
to visit a sick England after the American Revolution.
Regardless if the
nation is conquered and ruled over, what I’ll argue is that they’re still able to
exercise agency and free will. Not only that, but they don’t wholeheartedly
comply, have their own opinions, and their survival is never threatened should
they oppose their ruling nation. It’s for this reason that Stockholm Syndrome
doesn’t compare to what we see in Hetalia.
There are many
problems with the characterization in these earlier strips [x]. Stockholm Syndrome
isn’t one of them.
What is Stockholm Syndrome?:
Stockholm Syndrome
occurs when a hostage forms an emotional bond with their captor. This, in turn,
is at first a survival response that eventually becomes internalized and warped
into an unhealthy attachment. [x]
The victim’s response
occurs in four stages; shock, denial, traumatic depression and recrimination,
and resolution and integration.
The shock stage
occurs when the victim realizes that their life is in danger. On a surface
level, their behaviour appears to be cooperative and friendly when they abide
by their captor. In reality, they’re only trying to stay alive.
The denial stage occurs
as this cooperative rationality further moulds itself into the victim’s
thinking. The victim minimizes and dismisses the abuse committed by their
captor as they spend more time with them.
The traumatic
depression and recrimination stage occurs when the victim begins to see their
captor more and more as a provider. This is called traumatic infantilism, which
entails the victim’s becoming increasingly compliant, obedient, submissive, and
more sympathetic toward their captor. It’s a survival tactic whereby children
are engrained to cling to their caregivers for protection.
The last stage, resolution
and integration, occurs when the victim loses their agency [identity] and
identifies with their captor. In their eyes, their captor gives them life. This
is especially in cases where the victim’s life is saved by the captor.
The attachment grows
so strong that being released from their captor is now seen as the danger
rather than being with them. Again, it’s like a child being separated from
their parent. The trauma causes the victim to develop an infantized mentality. They cling to the figure with the most power, someone who can offer the most protection.
That said, let’s tie
this back to the strips.
Why Italy didn’t have Stockholme Syndrome:
Don’t get me wrong.
The trauma that both
Italy brothers went through in being conquered and fought over by other
countries is not healthy at all.
Holy Rome attempting
to drag Chibitalia against his will is not healthy.
Austria’s harsh
punishments of Chibitalia are not healthy.
Despite all this,
Chibitalia does not have Stockholm Syndrome.
I’ve said this
before, but a lot of the older characterizations of the nations are cruder,
more exaggerated, and not up to par as they are now. Hima’s grown as a
content creator, and it’s important to recognize that.
I acknowledge the
problems of these earlier storylines. All I’m aiming to do is prove that
Chibitalia isn’t a victim of Stockholm Syndrome.
Chibitalia’s life isn’t
ever in danger, unlike a victim of Stockholm Syndrome. Although, he is
a hostage in that he has no choice but to live in Austria’s house.
It’s bullying that
Chibitalia fears, not a fear for his life.
The boss and house
system that the series depicts involves the conquered nations acting as a
servant to the ruling nation.
Despite this power differential, they live together and have been seen
to treat each other as family members.
Chibitalia still
exercises agency and opposes Austria and Holy Rome on several occasions.
If Chibitalia’s life
was truly in danger, he wouldn’t have drawn a mustache on Austria’s portrait.
Nor would he have painted,
dressed up in costumes, or spent more time with Holy Rome than he absolutely
had to. Politics and nationhood personas aside, they’re people living in one
house, dysfunctional as the reason that brought them all together was.
Not to mention that
Chibitalia refuses to form an empire with Holy Rome.
However little power that
he had, Chibitalia wasn’t wholeheartedly complying to demands in order to
survive. He didn’t sympathize or adopt Holy Rome/ Austria’s perspective as his
own. Instead, he maintained his individuality and held firm on his opinions.
If anything, Holy
Rome learns from Chibitalia and apologizes for all that he’s done before he leaves for war.
Admittedly, there is
one moment where Italy is taken hostage by Spain in the Maria Theresa Series. When given a choice between
the two, Italy chooses to stay with Austria. This is the closest that we come
to an aspect of Stockholm Syndrome, and yet, it’s distinctly not the same.
Just imagine it.
Italy loses his grandfather, his security blanket and protector, and is living in
a new house with big, scary adult nations. Eventually, they warm up to them and
he grows accustomed to the new niche he’s found. Being conquered and having to
move again would disrupt that environment – his comfort zone.
That’s why I believe
that Italy chose Austria. It didn’t have to do with survival. Spain would have
taken good care of him, probably even better than Austria in terms of emotional availbility. Italy
simply wanted to stick with what he was familiar with, with those whom he had
formed a close personal bond.
It’s also important to mention that Italy is still a child in this strip. He’s
terrified and respectively clings to Austria because that’s who he’s been
raised by ever since Rome’s passing.
Lastly, when he’s not
forced to choose between who he’s ruled by, Italy doesn’t perceive his freedom
from Austria to be dangerous, as would someone with Stockholm Syndrome. He
zealously fights for his autonomy.
In sum, while many aspects of the older strips are questionable and problematic, applying a label as severe as
Stockholm Syndrome is not warranted. It actually detracts from the discussion
acknowledging how the series has evolved for the better…
There’s nothing wrong with
acknowledging past mishaps of a content creator if they’ve already proven to
have learned from these mistakes.
The time’s come to begin delving into the older characterizations
in the series, those of which owe Hetalia much of its poor reputation today. What
doesn’t help is that those in the fandom either deny the mistakes that Hima
made in the past or ignore them completely. Both of these actions do more harm
than good.
To be as objective as possible, it’s important that we
acknowledge the series’ early, but nonetheless problematic past. In doing so,
this then opens up more avenues to discuss how the characters have evolved and
changed for the better. Put another way, it’s more effective to air out the
dirty laundry as opposed to letting it [rumours/ misconceptions] sit there in
an unresolved mess.
Another point to hit on is that it’s pivotal that we
recognize that Hima has learned from his past errors. The characterization of
the nations has moved way past the unfunny middle school sexual humour that
used to define them. While things went too far in the past, the fact that they
don’t today is enough to hold Hima into account.
Creators grow and learn from their mistakes. If they prove
to learn from said mistakes, there’s really no reason to continue to shame them
for something that was created years ago
– in this case, a decade.
That said, let’s get into it.
I’ll be blunt. The humour in the early strips is incredibly offensive.
I’m often reminded of how this type of humour was normalized back then. Not
only that, but I remember making some of these jokes myself without really understanding
the meaning of what I was saying. Of course, this doesn’t make any of this
right.
Some of these jokes would include France stripping and groping
other nations.
A good part of this content was owed to the fans as well, who
encouraged and requested nations to do these sort of things [x]. At the time, the
humour was supported because that was the joke culture. It wasn’t as connotatively
aware as it is today.
Briefly, as I’ve already touched on, France’s stripping
doesn’t stem from a French stereotype of sexuality. Instead, it stems from the
stereotype that the French tended to swoop in for fresh pickings of territories
after European conflicts. The best way I can describe it is that they were like
scavengers; they stripped the losing nations to the bone.
Ex: This is seen when France strips Austria clean after the
War of Austrian Succession.
The reason I’m going over this is simply to point out that
France’s stripping did occasionally have a logic to it, bizarre and problematic
as it was.
Likewise, since a nation’s body is a physical embodiment of
their geographic landmass, each body part respectively represents a certain
territory (e.g., Austria’s ahoge represents Mariazell).
This would explain why France ‘rubbed’ Italy’s chest when
his economy was doing poorly. He was seeking territories to profit from.
Like I said, bizarre and problematic.
Even so, there were still boundaries in place for France’s
early characterization. The running gag of the old humour was predicated on
recognizing that France’s behaviour was outlandish.
Ex: He was once arrested for his lewd behaviour.
Ex: In the first chapters of the original webcomic, he states plain
as day that love shouldn’t be forced on anyone.
Ex: For a supposedly territory-happy nation, he’s once shown to have grown uncomfortable at the prospect of imperialism.
Ex: Similarly, when Italy hadn’t covered himself properly,
France had no trouble pointing this out to him.
The humour may be perverse, but France wasn’t always
perverted. This is especially the case in
later strips, where this lewd behaviour has disappeared completely and for a
good reason.
There was a clear recognition that France’s characterization
was not up to par, and over the years, he’s blossomed into something truly beautiful.
The present France is the mouthpiece for exploring several
dark subjects in the series.
Let’s go over a few.
France gives us the best insight into the reason why nations
exist.
…
We implicitly learn from him [his citizens] the pain of constantly seeing loved ones die should a person possess immortality.
The angle then shifts to France, who gazes at a young family. How just a handful of panels can convey so much emotion, longing in particular, is beyond me.
There’s this one moment with Lisa, Jeanne d’Arc’s
reincarnate, that always sticks with me.
France felt betrayed by God in how
unforgiving history was for letting Jeanne die so tragically. When he first saw
Lisa, he believed God was playing a cruel trick on him.
When he realizes that Jeanne has been born into a much
happier life, the peace of mind on his face is undeniable.
It took remarkable strength for France to confront this resentment
and pain, let alone to have the heart to let go and accept that history has
paved a better course for Jeanne, albeit it being in a different life.
Given how rough his own history has been, the ability to
forgive and love reflects on how truly resilient and strong he is as a person.
France also acts as a great father figure to America, having
originally helped the latter gain their independence.
He comes to America’s centennial celebration. The genuity of
the gesture is what truly matters here. America wasn’t just a vessel for France
to spite England, contrary to how his government perceived this conflict as an
opportunity for. There’s a true supportive relationship here.
I’ll end on this. While France’s character may have been
poorly characterized in the past, that shouldn’t take away from how he’s
enjoyed now. He went from a character ‘stripped’ of meaning to a personality
teeming with complicated thoughts, emotions, and life nuances.
There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging the prior mishaps
of how he was depicted so long as it’s recognized that he’s since changed and
grossly at that.
Note: This post
can be very triggering for some people. Please take care of yourself and don’t
read this if you are sensitive to the topic of eating disorders.
To start, let’s lay out one ground rule. We know that
population statistics respectively affect the nations’ behaviours, habits, and
personalities. When something is common in the population, the personification
adopts it too.
For example, America’s people strongly believe in aliens and
conspiracy theories.
As such, America also believes in aliens and conspiracy
theories.
It would follow, then, that given how big the fast food and
dieting industries are in America –what a
massive contradiction that is – he would also be affected by this.
Well, he is.
While I can’t attest to how accurate this statistic is, Hima
cites that 60% of Americans are overweight. What matters here is that this
statistic explains why America is also ‘overweight’. He’s not actually. I’ll get back to that in a minute.
Point is, America has been struggling with weight and
dieting issues from some of the earliest strips. Of course, this is because the
fast-food industry really took off after WW2. The dieting industry came a bit
afterward when people began realizing how much weight they were gaining by
eating so much processed food.
The same thing happens to America. Initially, he doesn’t
realize the effect that constantly eating burgers has on his
metabolism.
This then leads him to inquire about the eating habits of
other nations as well as how they maintain their thin figures.
The problem with America is that this obsession with dieting
becomes unhealthy, exactly as it is with the American population. Eating
disorders and crash diets are chronic in North America. It’s a major problem
that isn’t really talked about. Hima, on the other hand, characterizes America
to accurately reflect this.
In his introductory chapter of World Stars (chapter 23), the
topic of his dieting session is immediately brought up. I don’t think this
would be done unless it was something pivotal to his characterization.
The character note claims that America’s gotten over his
dieting craze and has accepted that he’s not actually fat but rather muscular
and big-boned.
That’s the mental illness aspect of eating disorders. You
claim that you’re better despite the fact that you keep relapsing into
unhealthy habits. This thought process can be very convincing, as some people
with eating disorders truly believe that they’re healthy and that there’s
nothing wrong with what they’re doing.
Expectedly, later chapters contradict this.
Not even that, literally the next chapter depicts him
struggling with his weight. When he measures himself on the scale and a large
number turns up, he convinces himself that it’s broken. If that wasn’t enough,
he also calls Germany to fix the scale.
How I interpret this is that America is in denial and is stubbornly
fighting with himself over the number on the scale.
In the same chapter, he falls back to his old dieting tactics
and asks Italy about his eating habits.
This isn’t the first time the insecurity over his weight is
shown either.
Ex: In the strips depicting what each country is known for,
America is shown to be painting over the American stereotype of being “fat.” As
someone who seems to be struggling with his body image, it makes sense that he
wouldn’t want to be known as an obese country.
The problem with America is that he overeats, sets unrealistic
body goals, and then doesn’t follow through with these goals. This, in turn,
leads to a rigorous cycle of dieting and feeling poor about himself.
Ex: One of his New Year’s Resolution to “take better care of his
health” is to have a body fat percentage of 3%. Obviously, this isn’t a
realistic goal. It’s far from healthy.
Notice how being slimmer has been his resolution for the past 30
years. It’s not something that’s gone away, as it’s a problem that’s
persistently affected Americans over the years.
The cycle continues when, in the same strip, he treats
himself to a hamburger and milkshake.
The last that we see of this problem is when he trains China
to help him lose weight. [Chinese obesity rates have been on the
rise lately.]
Regardless of the fact that America possesses super strength
and possesses more physical endurance than normal, a 10,000 corkscrew punch workout is not normal. If anything, this is indicative of another unhealthy dieting
tactic.
In sum, America’s dieting/ workout habits and
overconsumption of junk food are owed to the prevalence of the fast food and
dieting industries of his country. Given the evidence I just presented, it’s
not a stretch to claim that he suffers from body issues and has an eating
disorder.
The purpose of this post will be to analyze the ways in
which childhood traumas and unhealthy relationships are continuously repeated
in how the nations lead their adult lives.
England:
What you’ll see with England is that the rocky relationship
he has with his brothers is replicated in how he maintains future
relationships. As a child, his brothers, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
had a profound hatred of him. The hatred was so deep that they would send hexes
to England in the mail or attack him with arrows and stones.
The consequence of this, from a psychological standpoint,
would be that England learned to have a hostile distrust of others. Just like
his brothers would send him away, England replicates this through his own
hostility. He denigrates others because it’s something he grew accustomed to –
it’s all he knows how to do.
In other words, he isolated himself and became the Black
Sheep of Europe.
Likewise, this denigration is also imposed on himself. England
has poor self-esteem and deprecates himself just as much as he does to others.
Those who have problematic upbringings unconsciously pass on
their own neuroses (inferiorities) to their children. You can’t expect a parent
to be a true parent if they haven’t experienced what it’s like to be a child
who’s cared for and loved.
This would explain why England did such a poor job in
raising America, despite caring so deeply for him. He’s capable of love but has
a terrible way of expressing it. He was alone in childhood, so leaving America for long periods of time was, in his mind, ‘normal’. It’s not.
This is why I also believe he was so critical of America
post-Revolution. The relationship he shared with America was full of unconditional
love and care on the part of the latter. He could come back and visit at anytime and be able to expect a warm welcome from America.
America was naïve and had no reason to hate him. The hostility came when America declared his independence. England was being pushed away again… The care was gone, and not knowing how to cope with this, England
went back to being hostile.
Notice the repetition in behaviour where England, the older
brother figure, casts a hex on America, the younger ‘brother. ’I don’t think
this was done for no reason.
He attempts to get America to sit in the cursed Busby Stoop chair. Russia sits in it instead.
America:
With England gone for long periods of time, America had to
grow up fast. Of course, this didn’t stop him from [initially] having panic
attacks over being left alone, especially given how young he was biologically.
In more modern strips, America still panics over the thought
of being alone.
Ex: America pokes his nose into other nations’ business to
the detriment of them ‘hating’ him. Desperately, he tries to convince himself
that at the very least he has Japan as a friend.
Germany:
As a nation that was thrust into wars right from birth,
Germany has trouble understanding sincerity in others.
He also has difficulty understanding the concept of
praise and doesn’t know how to react when he’s on the receiving end of it.
Similarly, when he gives praise himself, it takes him a
while to realize that he’s done so.
Russia:
Growing up under repressive rule warped Russia’s conception
of what a healthy relationship should be like. As such, he mistakenly grew to
believe that power is what is needed and essential in a relationship. The
adults [conquering leaders] are giants that can do whatever they please. Russia,
as the child [underling], is both powerless and coercively subject to
satisfying what the adult wants.
He claims that he and Lithuania can’t be friends until they have more power.
This child imagery pops up again during Bloody Sunday. The
way he describes the protestors as children, as something to be controlled and suppressed,
is even more telling of what he perceives to be a ‘normal’ relationship.
Russia is attacked during the 2010 Christmas Event and calls
on General Winter for help. When they’re both defeated, Russia realizes that
his power has been taken away. He’s no longer in control of the situation and tears
up over how nostalgic this is of the past. It’s the perverse power dynamic
that is most important here.
I’ll end on the note that a lot of the ‘childish’ behaviour
that Hetalia is criticized for has meaning and purpose to it. There’s a ton to
unpack if you step past the simplicity of external appearances and dig deeper –
that’s just how detailed Hima’s characterization is. It’s easy to overlook if
you only look.
To understand Russia’s brutal and violent side, it’s
important to step into his mindset, warped as it is. I go into this in greater
detail in another post [x], but to put it briefly here…
During his childhood, Russia experienced severe repression
and violence. As such, he wrongly learned to equate violence as both a show of
love and a solution to his problems. Not only that, but this violence continued
into his adulthood.
Ex: Russia considers General Winter and anyone he meets to be his friend. The key point to keep in mind here is that while General Winter
protects Russia, he also attacks him every year.
Ex: Russia naïvely refers to the other Allied powers are his
friends. Meanwhile, Lithuania has a more realistic view, stating that nations
operate on principles of self-interest.
Russia becomes saddened after hearing this.
Ex: Russia’s bosses are so notoriously cruel that they
torture him when they’re bored.
They once asked him to stop a tank with his own body.
Again, I’m not justifying any of what I’m about to show. I’m
providing an explanation and in doing so, I’m shedding light on how Russia’s
warped sense of mentality makes him incapable of differentiating between right
and wrong. In other words, he’s not able to possess any morals, despite often
having good intentions.
This amorality and confusion of what true friendship, or
rather, what a healthy relationship with another person entails ,are what caused
nations in the USSR a lot of pain, suffering, and fear.
What I don’t see a lot of people mention is that these nations
are fully aware of the fact that Russia is incapable of making these distinctions.
While they may be scarred and still fearful of Russia in present times, not all
of them hold this against him. There’s meaning and reason behind this abuse,
foul and irrational as the reasoning may seem to a normal person.
That said, let’s tie this back to the strips.
What living in Russia’s Home was like:
Nations under Russian control became servants to Russia.
They were indoctrinated into saying what Russia wanted to
hear. There was no tolerance for dissent.
Similarly, while Russia represented them at world
conferences, the controlled nations would either stay home or act as servants
during these meetings.
Just like Russia was forced to build a waterway in impoverished
conditions, Latvia was tasked with building an entire railway on his own.
Notice how Russia pushes down on Latvia’s head when he protests to this.
Prussia is noted to have worked unprofitable jobs during his
time spent in the USSR. [x]
How they were affected:
Lithuania received many scars on his back. This can be both
as a result of violent historical events marking themselves on his body and
Russia physically causing these marks. It’s left open-ended.
The trauma of Russia’s abuse is enough to have him experience
flashbacks.
Ex: Lithuania recalls declaring independence from the USSR. As
he imagines this, he remembers Russia squeezing his shoulders. Still immersed
in the memory, Lithuania begins squeezing Latvia’s and Estonia’s shoulders
without realizing it. He squeezes hard enough to cause them both pain.
In a volume 2 character note, Lithuania is said to be rehabilitating
from his time spent in the USSR.
I’ve said this before, but Russia pushing down on Latvia’s
head is likely a metaphor for political repression. Latvia’s growth was stunted
in the process.
What is of more relevance here is how ignorant Russia is to
Latvia’s suffering. He doesn’t connect Latvia’s trembling to feelings of fear
[of him].
To get Latvia to stop trembling, Russia’s solution is to
snap Latvia’s neck. You can’t honestly tell me that this is the rationality of
a sane person. This isn’t calculated pain; it’s irrational.
The imposition of Russian culture was so strong that Belarus
once forgot her own language.
How they get along now:
The tension and fear are still there, but most of it has to do with the fact that
Russia’s personality is still unstable and unpredictable. He perceived the USSR
as an opportunity to keep and make new friends.
You can imagine how hard Russia took this separation,
childish and unrealistic as his conception of reality is. He was all alone
again.
Latvia is still scared of Russia and is not keen to visit him
on New Years when invited.
Estonia also remains fearful of Russia but is not afraid to
stand up to him if needed.
Ex: Estonia confronts Russia when he believes that the
latter hacked his blog.
Ex: Estonia has no problem hanging up on Russia during the
2010 Christmas event.
Prussia holds a strong resentment toward Russia. The hatred
is so deep that he’ll puke if Russia even so much as lays a finger on him.
With all that in mind, I’d like to end this by pointing out
that while history may have divided the nations [personifications], they don’t only let this effect how they interact
with each other in the present. They may still resent and be fearful of him; however, it doesn’t stop most of them from making peace and acting as if they’re a unit again.
This is seen in the 2011 Halloween event, where most of the
ex-Soviet nations coordinated their costumes together. Perhaps this is one
stride closer to obtaining the true friendship that Russia had originally
sought in them.
Q: If there are two
Italies, how come Veneziano is referred to as Italy and Romano isn’t?
A: There’s no
real reason given. It’s just how it is.
The other nations generically refer to Veneziano as Italy, and
Romano as “Italy’s older brother” – Romano gets pissed off at this since he
resents being stuck in Veneziano’s shadow.
Nonetheless, BOTH are Italy.
Q: What did Chibitalia represent? Did anything
change?
A: Nothing’s changed in what he represents. Veneziano has always represented the north of the country, and Romano, the south.
The only difference
then is that Italy was fragmented into several small city-states after the
Roman Empire fell. The country wasn’t as
consolidated.
By this, I mean that each city-state was diverse and different
enough to be considered as a nation in its own right. Veneziano and Romano were
the collective personifications of these states. Similarly, their names are
each likely references to Venice and Rome, city-states that were thriving with
culture at the time.
Veneziano refers to his half of the country as his house, meaning
that when city-states under his jurisdiction were conquered, he would also be
conquered.
This is seen when Milan gets thrown into a war between
France and Prussia. When Milan gets taken over by Spain, it’s Veneziano who’s
captured. Again, he represents the collective of these northern city-states.
“This is how the War of Austrian succession looked like. Basically, everybody just bullying Austria. At one point, Northern Italy (Milan) got caught in a war between between France and Prussia, not noticing Spain surrounding him from the South until he got kidnapped.” [x]
The same thing goes for Romano.
He was once conquered as Naples by France [parts of Veneziano were also conquered here].
Q:Would APH Genoa still be alive today?
A: It’s difficult to say since we don’t see him in the
present, so I can only speculate.
However, I would guess that it’s possible for a variety of
reasons.
1) Personifications are personality-based. These personalities
are based on how strong the culture(s) of a collective organization of people are [x]. Since
Italians are so diverse and tend to identify themselves regionally, it’s
possible that while Genoa is no longer a city-state, he can still be a
personification of Genoan culture.
2) It’s stated that when the culture dies and the personification
loses their nationhood, they either die or become a representative of the
region. In other words, he could be active in politics. [x]
3) This one is more unclear and open-ended, but it’s
still substantiated in canon. We’ve seen personifications that technically
should be dead still existing well past their date of dissolution.
Ex: Holy Rome.
If that’s the case, then Genoa could still exist, either because his culture is still there, or for no explicit reason. Nationhood is often very flimsy and loosely defined in the
series.
You also have to factor in the existence of the micronations, where
even Hima states that the reasons that founded their existence are “amazing” – as in no concrete rules
apply to them. It also has to do with the bizarre reasons regarding how they formed in real life. [x]
It’s likewise important to mention that real nations are often just as perplexed by the existence of micronations.
In sum, it’s possible for Genoa to still be alive if you use
the canon rules I provided; however, it’s not canon.
Q: Is State-talia
real or OC?
State-talia is real. You can find notes on states and
provinces if you search the tag in the English translation of Hima’s blog
(Bamboo Thicket)
Tag: states and provinces
Ex: China’s provinces are personified.
Ex: Japan’s prefectures [blog only] and feudal clans/territories are
personified [make appearances in the manga]
Interestingly, these feudal clans/territories still exist during Japan’s Westernization phase. Again, the rules of nationhood are loose, and personifications don’t always die and fade out right away.
Sometimes it takes a while before they die, and other times they won’t die at all.
Osaka, a previous feudal domain, later evolved to become a prefecture from the Meiji era
– present.
Ex: America’s states are not personified, but Hima does
provide a hypothetical description of what they would be like in their relation
to America [x]. There’s also a brief dialogue between some states.
Notice how America refers to his country as his house in the
case that his states were personified. It’s the same exact situation with North
Italy. Point is, there’s a consistent rule here.
Given that Genoa is personified, it would be possible for the city-states in each Italies’ house to be personified as well.
In previous posts [x][x], I’ve laid out the rules that explain what
affects a nations’ health. This post, however, will elaborate in more detail to
show the different ways in which they can be affected and why that is.
For one thing, we know that the personification’s health is
predicated on their economic and political situation. That is, if they are
suffering from political issues (either domestic or international) or are
experiencing an economic recession, they will fall ill.
That said, let’s go through the symptoms they can experience.
They can get colds or fevers:
Ex: Several nations develop fevers or colds in reaction to
the Great Depression.
Ex: Austria will develop a high fever and eventually collapse if
Germany acquires a cold [from an economic slump].
“A reliable country that likes to approach things with a sober seriousness. He approves of and supports lots of Germany’s ideas so he may look like one of the helper countries, but in reality the level of his dependency is pretty high.
So high that when Germany catches a little cold, Austria goes straight to high fever and eventually collapses, and so he doesn’t have much of a choice than to take good care of himself.”
Ex: England develops a cold after the American Revolution.
They can suffer from fatigue and exhaustion:
Ex: The aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.
They can die:
Ex: Spain nearly dies during an economic recession before
Romano starts helping him recover with imports.
They can cough up blood:
This symptom in particular is depicted more as a consequence
of war (which includes separate battles/attacks) or civil strife. You’ll often
see the most devastated nations coughing up blood in panels where Hima
introduces different sides of the conflict.
Ex: Prussia, Spain, and Italy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Ex: Prussia during the American Revolution.
Ex: China during WW2 after being betrayed by Japan.
Ex: The disunity in the Holy Roman empire causes Holy Rome
to fall ill and cough up blood. His political situation isn’t stable, which, in
turn, is reflected in his poor health.
Bonus case:
The nations cough up blood and get sick during conflicts,
but are nonetheless able to heal from these wounds with time as their country’s
situation stabilizes.
But, what if a personification never healed emotionally from
a conflict and keep reliving it over and over again?
Wouldn’t that explain why England coughs up blood and falls
ill every year during the fourth of July? The event is still fresh in his mind,
and regardless if it’s over and done with, his body reacts as if it’s still
happening.
Ellawritesficssometimes 