Q & A

A good majority of the fan-fiction I read about
Belarus is about how she’s obsessed with Russia. Is there more to her than just
her obsession? I know she’s really really likes Russia but I want to believe
that’s not all to her character.

Honestly, no. Her
obsession is what shows up in most of her appearances. This doesn’t mean that
she can’t act normal, though. I have a post dedicated to showing that [x]. However,
even in the moments where she’s not hostile or aggressive, the gimmick still
ends up relating back to Russia.

It’s unfortunate, but
that’s just how it is. I’m still waiting for Himaruya to do something with her
character, as she’s only had one appearance in World Stars. It’s not even a
full appearance…

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 235.

I’m not an expert or anything, but I think
Canada has some symptoms of having abandoned child syndrome (ACS) or something
similar to it. Almost any official story arc involving him is about how he’s
neglected by everyone, his own family too. Poor baby I just want him to be
happy D’:

Without a doubt, Canada
was neglected as a child, but it’s not to the extent of abandoned child
syndrome. I’m also iffy on your claim that he’s neglected in every arc he’s
portrayed in. In fact, a key theme of America and Canada’s relationship—which
is depicted in more depth in World stars—shows that Canada is actually taken
for granted by America. America relied on Canada to follow his every command;
Canada’s character development revolved around him learning how to stand up for
himself.

I’m always hesitant to
medicalize characters because often enough labels like abandoned child syndrome
are thrown around without any substantiation, leading to exaggerated and
inaccurate conclusions (very similar to false claims that Chibitalia suffered
from Stockholm Syndrome).

The only symptom I would
say that Canada does have is guilt and believing that he did something wrong/
something is wrong with him that caused the neglect + accompanying
feelings of depression. Otherwise, he doesn’t have clinginess, he doesn’t
experience withdrawal from social activities, he isn’t resistant towards
others, he doesn’t have any sleeping or eating disorders, and he doesn’t have a
problem with substance abuse.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 180.

Oh, and I’m not an expert either ^^

Hey,
why do you think Germany doesn’t share the same last name as Prussia?

I agree with Hetarchive’s perspective on this. They believe
that the last name wasn’t given in order to leave more ambiguity in the relationship
between Holy Rome and Germany. They also go on to point out that the founder of
the Holy Roman Empire was named Ludwig (actually Louis, but Ludwig is the
German name version of Louis).

Hey Ella, do you have a theory as to why
Veneziano and Romano call Rome grandpa and not father? Is it a term of
endearment like “big brother” or are they actually blood related? And
if so do you think there was another nation between them and Rome that would be
their parent but didn’t last long? I’ve been wondering about that since day one
😅

No theory needed. It’s confirmed that they’re biologically
related. Their descendancy is confirmed through a curl of all things. It’s used
to discount Romania’s claim that he’s biologically related to Rome in spite of
being largely influenced by the latter’s culture.

Based on what I’ve seen in the manga, I think
the grandpa label is interchangeable and they just used what felt right to
them. Rome was older when the two of them were born, so ‘Grandpa’ likely felt
more appropriate in spite of the fact that he was their sole parent figure.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 163.

Another example: Ancient Egypt had a more
youthful appearance, which could explain why Egypt refers to her as Mom.

Is it true that England once hired China and India
to cook for him?

Yes. It’s meant to represent their cuisine’s
growing influence in his country.

Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 291.

Out of context, it looks like a sitcom…

*insert laugh track*

Q & A

Hallo Frau. Ellawritesficsometimes..Would you
be able to make a post on the relationship between India and China. Well I have
been researching about relations and have found that even though India and
China don’t have an amazing diplomatic relations they have a lot of cultural
relations such as cinnamon and fishing nets and also a lot of trade.

Sorry, friend. I can’t
make a post on that given that they’ve had one canon interaction. It should be
more, but that’s all we have to work with [x].

wait…I was going through your blog and I saw
you tag a post with ‘taiwan x ukraine’ what’s that about? keep up the good
work!

Mhhhmm.

I’ve made a post on
that. Taiwan has had some considerably gay moments. [x]. With Vietnam too.

America’s hero is
George Washington I will drown and die with this headcanon GLADLY goodbye-

Considering that Prussia sees Fritz as a role model and father figure, it’s not entirely impossible.

Here, have American presidents dressed in
steampunk attire.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., Oct 29th, 2014).

Hi! Could you explain why
England didn’t want little America to call him big brother. I remember in an
episode he starts remembering spain, france, and his own brothers when America
asks if he can call him that. I didn’t really get why he was bothered by it.

I’ve already done a post on this 🙂 [x].

Hi, I hope I’m not bothering. I just wanted to say something
maybe obvious(??). With Genoa being a republic of its own as some kind of
city-state first and soon being brought in history to be part of the whole
kingdom of Italy in the unification, does it make sense that the
personification is still there as Genoa but the nowadays version? As an Italian
we have lots of stereotypes on Genoans (like with uhh every bigger city and
region and part of Italy) could that have changed its personality?

The personifications are
cultural personifications. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t official countries.
The word nation is a much broader term. If Genoa’s culture is truly unique and
the people there identify with it, there’s no reason for him not to be alive. We
just haven’t seen a confirmation in canon yet.

Anyways, this post fleshes out what I’m saying in more detail [x].

Q & A

Are Seborga
and Genoa related to anc.Rome too? Since They have the curl.

(The Italy brothers use a curl as proof of a
blood relation to Rome [x].)

By the logic vested in the manga, I would say
so. It’s similar to how Himaruya approached the German states. They were all
considered to be brothers.

In your opinion,
are there any secret/low-key stoner characters?

No one is confirmed to be a stoner lol. However,
Canada has smoked pot once.

Source: Christmas 2010 Event, page 5.

Although he’s never been shown to smoke pot in
canon (therefore it’s not canon), Netherlands would be another contender. There’s
a panel even depicting how some “coffee shops” in his country sell it.

Source: Bamboo Thicket (Eng trans., Hetarchive, February 24, 2015).

Is there
enough evidence to say that Prussia is an albino? Or Iceland or someone else in
the series for that matter

This is actually a mistake I’ve made in the
past in my own fics. Pale eyes and hair doesn’t automatically make someone an
albino, even though Prussia is sometimes depicted with characteristic red eyes—point is, it doesn’t automatically make him an albino.

Source: Christmas 2007, Hetarchive, page 5.

Canon evidence has actually pointed otherwise since
Prussia’s color scheme varies. He’s had blond hair and blue eyes, and his eye
color can range from hues of red, blue, and purple.

Edit: I’m aware that albinos can have blue/ purple eyes, but the fact still remains that Prussia hasn’t been confirmed as one.

Source: Bamboo Thicket (Eng trans., Hetarchive, Nov 22nd, 2011).

slightly
personal question for mun: what do u think the most endearing trait of your
favorite character is?

I don’t have a favourite character!

…The first character that comes to mind is
Finland.

He’s just a genuinely wholesome person that can
cheer up anyone [x].

Where did the
Netherlands and Taiwan ship come from? Is there any interaction between them in
canon?

There is no interaction between them.

I’m not favourable of the “they must have an
interaction in order to be shipped” mentality, though. People are free to ship
what they want, and they shouldn’t have to justify it based on canon material,
ya know?

Q & A

Random cosplayer
here- could you do a post on demon England sometime maybe, if it isn’t too much
trouble? I’m thinking of cosplaying him in the future and I know horridly
little about how much he was in canon and how he was portrayed in canon. You’re
pretty much the expert on this sort of thing and I’ve found shockingly little
official stuff online. Thank you so much for all of the work you do for the
fandom, it’s absolutely excellent! 😀 Keep up the good work and best of luck to
you!

Hello, and thank you!

I’m not sure what you mean by demon England… are
you perhaps confusing that with the Brittania Angel trope [x] ? Or is it the Halloween 2010 costumes you’re talking about? Even then, it was Prussia who was the demon. England looks more to be a vampire. Not all of the costumes are specified, though [x].

Do you think America is somewhat bitter at
Britain because he didn’t tell him about how humans aged and died or took
possibly 50 or so years to get a flower for him to give his friend? I know it’s
odd to ask but I just watched the davie episode and after watching it, certain
scenes like America running away and laughing after Britain says they could be
friends has a different feeling now.

It’s never really talked about nor are any links made. As
you figured, America must have learned for himself the hard way as he matured.

The grudge that prompted America’s reaction in the latter
strip you mentioned was mainly from the Revolution/ England meddling in his Civil
War [x] [x] [x].

Ella, what are your thoughts on fans who create
OCs for countries that haven’t appeared in Hetalia?

As long as they’re respectful, who’s to stop
them? They’re exercising their creativity and tapping into their imagination.

Likewise, it would be hypocritical to criticize
someone else for taking the initiative to create their interpretation of a
country when that’s literally what Himaruya did.

What’s the source for America being modelled on
a Canadian?

Sorry about that,
thought I included it in the OP. It also has the note about Himaruya’s
American teacher not caring for geography all that much [x].

Out of all the countries who do you think is
the most lonely?

A lot of them are
lonely!

However, I would say
Russia is the most isolated since he doesn’t really have any solid friendships [x].

Q & A

Isn’t there a strip
where England asks America for a rubber (eraser) and America gives him a condom

Pretty sure I answered this already but just in
case.

The “rubber” incident [x].

Did you mean, canon? [x].

Idk if this is of any use to your DenNor
analysis but there’s that scene in a Hetaween event where Norway demands that
Denmark asks if he’s lonely after Den has already asked Sweden and Finland.
Denmark tells him that they’re always around each other so he’d know if he’s
lonely and Norway doesn’t seem completely okay with that answer…

Yes, but Norway’s just annoyed with his response [x].

I summarize
relationships for these posts, so I can’t use every example 🙂

I think all nations are
just inherently smarter than the average human, regardless of their populations’
intelligence levels. Yes, they do act foolish in the manga, but they’re just
comic gags/ stereotypes. If you think about it, each nation has gone
through several political, economic, and social revolutions. Centuries and millennias
of existence would inevitably lead to increased intelligence.

Italy never lost his
smarts either.

Ex: He participated in
the Second Industrial Revolution and invented cars [x].

It’s really random and
there’s not much logic to it. I’ll get into some patterns that I’ve found
in a more detailed post, but the basic rule is that regardless of history, nations
aren’t related to each other unless explicitly stated by Himaruya.

Q & A

‘But big brother don’t you always say you don’t
want to see me at all?’this. I do wonder if Himaruya will ever make Romano
realize the weight of his words. I’m sure deep down he doesn’t mean any harm
with them,but they surely leave a scar.

I think that’s
the whole point. Romano doesn’t realize the impact of how mean and vicious he
can be to Veneziano. Veneziano’s also a very sensitive person, so it doesn’t
help. Everyone has their limits

The fact that Romano’s shocked by this is most
telling for me [x].

Countries such as England, Spain, Netherlands,
Portugal, America, and France did overseas trading but weren’t pirates.

While there is a fan request where Himaruya depicts
England and Spain as pirates for fun, it’s important to remember the negative
implications of the word [x].

Ex: France knew the
real Captain Hook and warns Seychelles of him [x].

On the other hand, there is one strip that depicts
an unknown African nation as a pirate (in this case, they actually personified
a band of pirates in the region) [x].

I’ve done a post on religion if you’d like to check
it out. It’s listed in my directory under Characterization in Hetalia [x].

The basic gist is that religion and the belief in
God still remains because there is an actual God in Hetalia. Whether they have faith in God depends on the individual and what they’ve experienced.

Well, all episodes are based on the comics!

Right now, the first thing that comes to mind is America and Canada’s series of
arcs in world stars.

(He doesn’t have a rifle as a child in the growth spurt strip: “England dreaming of long days passed, Vol 3).

There is this panel of child America gripping onto a rifle, though [x].

I’m just
going to start by saying that I don’t make any canon conclusions without basing
it on something in the manga/ character notes provided. As such, what you
mention would fall under headcanon territory.

The part about America clutching guns is
depicted in canon but the leap to him viewing guns as a safety net and this
being reflected in his gun culture today doesn’t draw on canon material. For
me, a conclusion has to tie two or more pieces of canon material together rather than
using one piece to make a speculation where there aren’t any definitive links.

I know this model is nitpicky, but I’m very
stringent when it comes to forming and supporting an argument ^^

However, your headcanon wouldn’t be entirely
impossible. It actually draws on a similar structure in logic to what we’ve
seen with America before!

Ex: America’s tendency to mass produce is a
reflection of the trauma he experienced as a child in that he didn’t possess
many belongings.

So, it’s not impossible, but the link hasn’t
been made in canon yet.

Q & A

I wanted to ask about Belarus. Does she have an
outdated personality like France? Should I consider her old appearance as
inaccurate?

I’ve said this before, but very
little is known about Belarus. She’s a bit of an anomaly, so I’m not inclined
to form a solid opinion on her.

Most of the canon information about
her personality is from an untranslated PC game that Himaruya created and posted
on his blog. As for any changes? She appears in a few non-linear strips and the
first three printed volumes but makes a marginal appearance in World Stars.

Where we do see her more often is in
the Holiday Events (e.g. in Halloween 2011 and Halloween 2013-2014 you get
larger glimpses than in the Christmas Holiday Events where she also appears).

Judging by her character there,
she’s still obsessed with Russia and has violent/ impulsive tendencies, yet
she’s also calm and almost…regal at other moments [x]. However, it’s nowhere near
to the same extent as some of the borderline insane information given from the
PC game.

(She mistakes Taiwan’s greeting as normal lol).

I’d prefer to have a recent arc of
chapters/ strip deliberately focusing on her before I assess what aspects of
her characterization have remained and/or if it hasn’t changed at all.

Since Mochis are versions of the countries they
represent, does that mean that America’s strange dad complex can be backed up
by the weird lettuce-daddy Mochi comic strips? Cause Lol, I hope so.

I really wanted to
say no to this but knowing Himaruya, that literally might be a factoring
reason lmao. Although you have to remember that this lettuce also once wanted to
take over the world, only to be eaten by Canadamochi [x].

Okay so this has been in my mind for a while. I
was reading over some chapters from the manga to establish notes for myself and
came across the terms ‘junior’ and ‘senior’ used. Specifically in the It’s a
Treasure Box Full of Countries and Ch. 201. I was wondering if it’s meant to be
out of age establishment (Hutt River calls Wy, Molossia, and Sealand juniors
and himself Wy’s senior) or ranks (Australia calls himself Canada’s senior but
could also mean age… )? What are your thoughts?

Most of the time it has to do with
chronological age.

Then again, you also have South
Korea asking Japan and China (who in the
series are older than him) to call him older brother [x].

I saw something saying that romano has more
arabic(?) blood than italy, that’s why he’s darker than him (hair, skin, etc)
but I wasn’t sure if it was someones headcanon or canon

It’s considered to be canon by most
since his hair still remains darker than Veneziano’s. It’s listed in his Hetarchive
article [x]. Some LJ posts also link to Japanese fans who have saved old trivia
information that Himaruya later deleted from his blog.

By the way, in one of your posts, you mentioned
that “in WW2 when he’s occupied by the Nazi regime, England takes France
into his home”. Can you show me which strip that’s in? (I can’t find
it…) Thanks!

It’s from Volume 5: “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité and…”

Q & A

Since when was Canada and Romano best friends?
Apart from the brief encounter when Canada asks Romano about independence,
there has been no interaction that shows them as friends. In fact, isn’t Romano
one of the ones who forgets Canada unlike his brother, Veneziano? I know he’s
friends with America, but only acquaintances with Canada, or an I missing
something?

They’re not friends? I’m
as confused as you. Like you said, they had that interaction in WS where Canada
asked Romano how he had gained his independence [x].

Not exactly. I think you’re
referring to the Christmas 2011 event. Veneziano recognizes Canada but we don’t
get to see Romano’s reaction [x].

do you believe that
monaco and france are siblings the way that norway and iceland are? like…
biologically (even though biology and nations is an iffy thing lol)

It is an iffy thing lol. I’m still in the process
of putting together a model, but to avoid a slippery slope, Himaruya has made
it so that descendants aren’t necessarily biologically related (e.g., Bulgaria
and Romania aren’t considered to be Rome’s grandsons, even though Romania
strongly insists otherwise).

Anyways, as for your question, no. Monaco is referred to as his protégé in a
volume 4 character note [x], although I’ve seen printed English translations where she’s referred to as his sister in the same note…

In Volume 6, she’s referred to as his “kind-of sister.”

She and Italy refer to France as big brother;
however, we know that Italy uses it as a term of endearment and given that
Monaco is his protégé, I would apply the same logic [x].

Hey, so, before some wars in the 1700s, the French and
Spanish had A LOT more colonized land in North America than England, so in
Hetalia, wouldn’t that make France more of a parental figure? Before the wars
in 1700s at least. (I got this from my AP US History book)

Hetalia isn’t historically accurate, so it’s not the best
lens for analyzing relationships between the characters. Use the original
source material for interpretation (i.e., the manga).

I’ve done some posts that highlight the paternal
relationship that France has with America

[x] [x], but it still stands that England was
his primary father figure/ mentor. Even so, we know that because of England’s
long absences it was minimal.

Ex: America is jealous of kids who get presents from their fathers on Christmas [x].

Hello! Can you tell please in which period of
time strip “While you were gone” takes place?

I think it takes place
during the intermission period between WW1 and WW2. Both Lithuania and Poland
were independent, but Lithuania still warns of political tensions and the
likely possibility of Poland being targeted. Italy had also just gained his independence [x].

I’m very
sorry to hear that.

In the series, what
we’ve seen is that if ordered to, the nations will promote propaganda despite
not necessarily believing in it. This doesn’t mean that you can’t characterize them as you wish either.

Ex: Germany is
morally opposed to annexing Austria but is forced to [x]. In a later strip, he’s
seen promoting the annexation with other officers [x].

I hope this helps. All the
best, and thank you for sharing your voice and permitting me to comment.

I’ve already done posts on this subject. You can find them in my post directory [x] [x]

Q & A

I strictly base my
opinions on the information presented in the manga [x].

From what we’ve seen,
Norway can see and communicate with fairies (including England’s fairy friends), and Iceland can see these creatures but chooses not to let people
know this to avoid being seen as childish and weird [x].

There’s no indication
that they can perform magic, unlike Romania and England who are in the magic
club in the Gakuen AU and are depicted with spell/fortune books in other blog updates [x] [x]

Given the legends, it’s
possible that Himaruya will decide to give them the ability to cast spells, but for now,
no. That doesn’t mean you can’t headcanon this, though!

Russia and America are distinctly
singled out as the strongest as the nations, but Germany is noted to possess
significant strength and muscles too [x].

This doesn’t go to say that
Germany wasn’t strong enough to defeat America or Russia in different battles (obviously), but
Himaruya has been consistent in elevating Russia and America’s strength above
other nations [x].

As a title of endearment, yes [x].

Do you have some favorite Finland strips?

The fact that he cuts Iceland’s hair [x] and his love for nature [x].

Which Hetalia mochi or
cat would you keep as a pet?

No mochis
for me. Too much of a hassle.

I like
Spain cat because he’s super cute and Franchat, mainly because of the pun.

Q & A

Not 100% sure, but
Himaruya has cited Osprey’s publishing work as his main source for military
uniforms [x]. If you would like more insight into the resources he uses, you can
skim through Bamboo Thicket. He lists dozens of the books that he uses as
history sources.

Side note: If
anyone’s ever wondering why some of the facts on the Roman emperors are a bit
off from mainstream understandings, Himaruya is really into new theories about
them that contradict traditional historical narratives.

Speaking of ancients, am I the only who thinks
it’s weird that Korea’s portrayed to be so young? I think the theory is because
of the division of Korea, but it kinda irks me when fans make him out to be
this immature little perv (I know Hima wrote him as such but still) because
Korea has almost 2000 years of culture and history; the fact that he’s seen as
“younger” than Japan is kinda wild too considering the south half of the
peninsula was the one to filter tech from China to the island.

No, I get that. Those choices were made in poor taste.
However, there’s also the possibility that Korea is second generation,
just like Egypt and Greece are with their ancient counterparts. It really
depends, because you also have Japan, China, and Turkey who don’t have ancient
counterparts,

Just laying out the possibility, but it’s important to note
that this hasn’t been confirmed.

Is the BTT a canon trio?

Their dynamic is, not the name [x] [x] [x].

Ok so I’m not sure
if America’s glasses are fake or real because I remember I was reading the
manga and he was talking to Canada and said “I tried wearing glasses how do
they look” (chapter 207)so that had to be around 1845 or early 1846 so if his
glasses are real glasses I guess he would start to need them as Texas became
more powerful. The stronger Texas is the worse America’s vision is and the more
he relies on his glasses.

He got them in an
unspecified period after his independence. However, given that they represent
Texas, I’m fairly certain it’s 1845 [x].

In consistency with the
rules from chapter 1 of world stars, France and England note that America’s
personality changed after he gained them (*title changes) [x].

They’re not real glasses,
though. In addition to representing land, they serve the purpose of a superhero
trope (e.g., Clark Kent taking off his glasses and becoming Superman) [x] [x].

They can eat, but I don’t recall them every being shown to
have any teeth…or any internal organs for that matter…[x] [x]

They have limbs and can produce flags.