I just wish people would take the time to read the actual source material before making such inaccurate assumptions. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Hetalia doesn’t have its fair share of legitimate controversies, though.
There’s more evidence in previous posts I made, but these are core strips I always use.
Why Hetalia doesn’t promote fascism:
The Austrian Anschluss (Non-linear)
Main Storyline Chapter 4 (Original Webcomic)
Volume 1, Axis Powers pt. 1
Why Hetalia doesn’t promote imperialism:
France and the Olympia Romance (Non-linear)
The story about the early days of China and Japan (Non-linear)
Why Hetalia isn’t racist:
Fly, Canada-San Fly! (Non-linear)
Why Hetalia Doesn’t Promote War:
Volume 1, Axis Powers pt. 1
We’re Shipwrecked Too (non-linear)
Volume 1, 🙂 in the world
World Stars Chapter 120 & 129
Volume 3, United States of Hetalia
Volume 3, A Battlefield’s Kickoff
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.
It depends on their position within the global economy.
As such, a nation’s health depends on their political and economic situation. They catch colds during economic recessions.
The Great Depression strips are a good source for this, as each negative number assigned to a nation has a differential impact on their health. Since America was a manufacturing powerhouse at the time, his stock market crash affected them all.
Ex: Japan obtains a cough, meanwhile Poland runs a high fever.
In modern strips, we’re also provided with the fact that Austria will slip into a high fever and eventually collapse if Germany even so much as catches a cold.
“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.”
As for how serious it can get? Spain almost died from an economic recession.
I’ll go over these in greater detail in separate posts, but here’s a basic chart of what I’ve got jotted down.
America – Wanting to be liked, fear of criticism, fear of being hated, fear of being challenged, his weight/ muscles.
Russia – Wanting to be liked, being alone, fear of being hated, fear of exclusion.
England – Uses biting sarcasm in order to hide feelings of inferiority, feeling like an outsider despite being included, being lonely, can actually be really sweet but is too shy to openly help or give direct advice to the other nations, loss of power.
Canada – Not being unique or relevant enough, not being recognized for his own accomplishments.
France – Loss of power, being alone, worries of becoming irrelevant.
China – Fears being left behind in a more modern world (he’s doing just fine), fear of abandonment (earlier with Japan, now with Hong Kong), feeling like an alien due to his old age.
Germany – Problems with expressivity of happiness, being alone, worries that he comes off as cold to others, works hard but quickly becomes flustered when praised (relates to low feelings of self-worth).
Prussia – Being alone, melancholy over having never married, low self-worth and loss of superpower status.
Romano – Feelings of inferiority in comparison to younger brother, regret over snapping at people and not being seen as agreeable and likeable.
Ukraine – Size of breasts, ambivalence over leaving the Soviet Union and distancing herself from Russia.
South Korea – Wanting to be liked, unhealthily perfecting physical appearance, wanting to be unique despite following in the footsteps of Japan, China, and America.
Hmmm. I’ll go with the less obvious and underlying ones.
-The Italy Brothers’ eyes
-Germany’s inability to smile.
-Germany’s love for Italy’s climate and culture + his deep interest in Roman history (*cough Holy Rome)
-Japan’s clairvoyance abilities + his limited memory
-Russia’s curse
-America’s dual personality
-China and Japan’s old age
-England’s alienation
-France’s loneliness and overcompensation as a Big Brother figure
Ellawritesficssometimes 