In this post, I set out to prove against claims that Hetalia’s narrative promotes division and necessitates hatred among the
characters. Quite the contrast, Himaruya’s writings have shown that while
history may be rough, filled with grudges and periods of hostility, friendship
and camaraderie will always prevail. It’s for this reason that characters who may
experience a sudden, turbulent, heated, and disastrous pit in their
relationship will eventually gravitate toward the other and find it in
themselves to reconcile over time.
It’s much more complicated than hatred. Grudges exist but
they aren’t permanent. Political relations add more complexity to how the
nations negotiate their personal lives, which, in turn, adds more nuances to
their relationship. Some common themes, or rather stages, depicting the
aftermath of these fall outs include: resentment, external hostility to hide
feelings of nostalgia and longing, reminiscence, and reconciliation.
Point is, because history is a central tenet in depicting
the nation’s lives over time, their relationships are made to be dynamic. While
I have touched on this before, I would like to go into more depth with two specific
relationships. That is, China and Japan, and England and America.
That said, let’s tie this back to the strips.
China and Japan:
China raised Japan and considered him to be his younger
brother, albeit Japan’s denial of this. The two nonetheless shared a very close and
emotionally intimate relationship.
Even in the midst of rising political
tensions between their nations and other conflicts, it didn’t compromise their
personal relationship.
The breaking point in their relationship was Japan’s
betrayal of China. Japan enters an unsuspecting China’s home, asking for
forgiveness before stabbing the latter in the back.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, the Japan in this panel seems
to be forcefully dissociating himself from the situation, divorcing his
emotions with a blank face to complete the task.
I say this because later, we
see China crying about how war has changed Japan. At the time, Japan wanted to become stronger. What’s important to note is that the strip portrays Japan as the antagonist, highlighting the consequences of greed and an imperialist mentality.
We then learn that China developed a strong grudge against Japan for this betrayal.
However, it doesn’t end there. While we don’t get much insight
or interactions between them in the interim, they are able to reconcile.
China’s character song “Aiyaa four thousand years” gives us the best
perspective on China’s feelings over the matter, as it nostalgically covers his
early relationship with Japan and ends on a note of forgiveness with his wish
to be able to gaze at the moon with Japan again.
Source: Hetarchive, The Story about the Early Days of China and Japan
Skip forward and this reconciliation becomes apparent as
they openly interact with each other with no hostility. While they aren’t as
close as they used to be, notable steps have been taken to improve their
relationship [x].
England and America:
Just like the above example, England and America go through
several bumps in their relationship. However, what defines them best is that
they swing back and forth in a pendulum of hostility, bickering, longing, and a
need for the other. In the present, the bickering is still present, but it’s
playful in nature rather than hiding a latent grudge from the past.
Personal vs Political
Ex: After the Revolution, the two had tense relations. This
doesn’t stop America from becoming distraught after hearing that England fell
ill as a result of the conflict [x].
You’re not my friend, but I still need you
Ex: America refuses England’s offer to be friends, yet in a
volume 2 character note we know that America wasn’t well liked following WW2
and that only Japan and England were considered to be his real friends.
Source: Hetarchive, Black Ships Have Sails + Volume 2
Longing vs Refusal to Acknowledge
Ex: America gets
nostalgic when he cleans his storage closet and recovers items from his childhood
with England.
Source: Hetarchive, Cleaning Out the Storage.
Ex: England
dreams of his time spent with young America and sleep talks, making fond
remarks.
Meanwhile, this is the same person who would go out of his
way to criticize and nitpick at every little thing America did. While England can
be incredibly rude, it’s not for no reason. There’s a deeper meaning to it;
it’s a symptom of the heartbreak he experienced and his poor way of coping with
it.
Source: Volume 3, England Dreaming of Long Days Passed.
Ex: Bedridden and
gravely ill, England’s last wish is to have America say “England” like he used to.
Source: Comic Diary 3, Hetarchive.
Reconciliation
As mentioned, their relationship in the present has moved
more to that of teasing.
Ex: America likes to pull pranks on England [x].
Ex: They regularly visit each other [x].
All in all, I often use these two relationships as examples to
illustrate how time makes relationships in the series dynamic. They aren’t
static in the sense that the past defines their present experience. Without a
doubt, the past does have an impact, but the fact that they’re immortal has to be
factored in if we’re to analyze how they are granted more opportunities to
overcome their grudges.
Ellawritesficssometimes 