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England’s character tends to get a lot of criticism, for, well,
how critical he is of America. Don’t get me wrong either. England can be
exceptionally mean. At the same time, however, as I’ve mentioned in previous
posts, he can also be just as sweet, considerate, and thoughtful.
To understand why England tends to take out his frustration onto
America, it’s important to situate this behaviour within the context of the Revolutionary
war, both before and after (duh).
The isolation and constant mocking that came with being the “Black
Sheep of Europe” took a huge hit on England’s self-esteem. Of course, being as
sensitive as he is, he responds with anger and keeps the accompanying feelings
of stress and anxiety to himself.
Things were different with America, who functioned as England’s
stress relief. England’s even noted to feel at peace when he’s with America.
This can be attributed to the fact that America’s youth and naivety
led to his unconditional acceptance and love for England. America was the one
person England could feel at home with. While the rest of the world hated
England, America didn’t.
That said, England became dependent on America emotionally. He
didn’t have to worry about being rejected by America…that is until America
began fighting for his independence.
To put it simply, America going against him broke England’s
heart. He felt like he could trust and rely on America to have his back, only to
be betrayed (in his POV) and isolated once more when other European nations sided
against him in America’s favor.
History repeats itself, and England found himself all alone
again.
While subtle, there are significant hints about just how deeply
the Revolution hurt him.
For one thing, it’s said that he’s suffered from 100 years
of heartbreak. Likewise, an even more telling emotional omen of the past is that
in one his character notes, three important pieces of information are given.
1) “His
temper was quite stormy during the decades after America’s independence.”
– Anger is a maladjustive way of
either expressing one’s need for something or acquiring it. In this case, it
could be a reaction to the loneliness he experiences after losing America.
2) “He’s quite bad at expressing
himself. He himself knows that people often misunderstand him, he uses this fact
for self-depreciating jokes.”
– This ties in with how easy it is to see him as an angry
person when he’s actually extremely sensitive.
Taking the latter two bits of information, you can see why Hima then
says this about England:
3) “He could
easily be the most pitiful one in this webcomic.”
In other words, England thinks lowly of himself, cares about
others’ opinions of him, poorly expresses his sadness by acting out in anger,
and yet doesn’t bother to fix these external misconceptions.
Like I said before, America was his best friend, and because
he can’t articulate his feelings well, England went from using America as a stress
ball to a punching bag (this term is used loosely).
For example, England is notorious for being a “scathing”
critic of America’s movies.
Nonetheless, what you’ll also notice is the subtle hints of America knowing that England cares about him.
Here, America –with a noticeably teasing look, as if he understands
more than what he voices– allows England to poke holes in his proposed world
defense plan.
Also pay attention to how England “commends” parts of
America’s plan.
Aside from these faults, the strengths in England’s
character prevail when they’re most needed. Even though any mention of America’s
dependence causes England to get sick, he visits America and celebrates the
occasion with him.
It causes him a lot of pain to do so, but he still commits
to it. Not only that, but he gives America the liberty bell on the 100th
anniversary of his independence, worries over and offers to repair the bell in
1958 despite the offer being turned down by American officials, and gives America
a new one another one hundred years later.
While America is amused by England’s evident embarrassment,
the next panel can easily be interpreted as him crying and laughing from
happiness.
Please note that the anime handles this scene quite differently, as it’s depicted more as in America laughs so hard that he cries.
I think it’s also important to end this by mentioning that
England was also America’s best friend. America is arguably just as lonely as
England.
When he was younger, America was scared to sleep alone. Regardless
if England always fell asleep before he did, America still needed him.
In “We’re Shipwrecked Too”, we get this awkward moment where
both of them consider sleeping closer to each other for warmth, but in the end
choose not to.
The tension here reveals that England isn’t the only one
having trouble working past the difficulties in their relationship.
Nevertheless, we also get moments where America reaches out
to England.
Ex: During a blizzard, he asks England to come and play
video games with him, but is turned down.
As seen in more modern strips, the two of them are slowly working
towards reconciliation and visit each other often. The perfect ideal would be
if they’re able to become best friends
again, not just in their hearts, but openly and expressively without any qualms
of what others might think.
One of the
biggest criticisms of Hetalia is that the stereotypes it uses make the
characters come off as flat; dull; uninteresting; and overall lacking in enough
depth to constitute a well-rounded character. I will argue against this
assertion. Yes, while the national stereotypes are very much embedded in the
characters, there are other personal and unique elements that make their
personalities complex. Most often this complexity is seen in binaries, where
the character has an internal contradiction to grapple with.
I’ve
constructed a brief guide on characters that this most pertains to. Each
character could easily have an entire post dedicated to their complexes—
although, I have already completed a few on the matter.
America:
America’s
contradiction lies in the fact that his egotism – which for the most part is
unintentional as he’s not privy to it – takes away from his hero ‘save all’
persona.
Ex: America
wants to save the day at the African Warfront during WW2. Meanwhile, it’s
revealed that he will only do favors for something in return.
Sources: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 23 + Hetarchive, Volume 5.
England:
England
knows that he rubs others the wrong way. Rather than doing anything about it,
he copes with self-deprecating humour. He’s accepted his Black Sheep status in
spite of the frustration that it causes him.
Character Note: He’s quite bad at expressing himself. He
himself knows that people often misunderstand him, he uses this fact for
self-depreciating jokes.
Germany:
Germany
likes romance and shows interest in forming intimate relationships with others,
yet he’s clueless, having never learned how to make friends let alone have a
lover.
Source: Hetarchive, Buon San Valention Pt 1 & 2.
Hungary:
After
settling down with Austria, Hungary feared that her battle skills would get
rusty. It’s something that deeply troubled her. Not only that, but while she
does have strong feelings for Austria, their union wasn’t simple in that she
also bore feelings of defiance towards him.
Source: Hetarchive, Notes & Etc.
Character Note: She does have defiant feelings about being under
Austria’s rule but at the same time she harbours complicated, yearning like
feelings towards him.
Iceland:
Iceland’s
complex rests with his loneliness. He wants to fit in, yet he remains
unsociable when he’s in the presence of other nations.
Sources: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 104 & 113.
Italy:
Italy’s
known as the trademark character of the series. Contrary to his happy and
bubbly demeanor, he harbours deeply wedged insecurities. He suffers from abandonment
issues, given that both Rome and Holy Rome, two people very dear to him, passed
away and left him at a young age.
Ex: At the beginning of their friendship/ alliance, Italy gets worried
that Germany will grow tired of him.
Source: Hetarchive, Hetare 4: Pact of Steel
All in all,
Himaruya has been consistent in building on his characterizations. It doesn’t
matter how old the strips are for the reader to pick up on the themes running
through each character. What’s unfortunate is that the stereotypes tend to
obscure the level of detail and thought that is put into them.
The characterization in Hetalia is great sure but what are your thoughts on the humour?
Oh, I love the humour! There’s several fourth wall breaks
and anachronisms, but my favourite has to be the fact that Himaruya literally
titled a strip “Fuck you.” [x].
Hetalia has often been mischaracterized as something that
promotes and glorifies violence. Why? Because the initial setting takes place
in World War 2. Somehow that automatically equates to said negative image.
To that, I say this. There’s a difference between situating
a historical context and using explicit insignia to support an abhorrent
ideology. You never see the latter portrayal in the series.
While I disagree with a lot of Hima’s early characterizations and miscalculated jokes, his depiction of
fascism, communism, and war is something that I’ve always respected. It’s done
tastefully (with comical hyperbolic elements, of course), and does anything but
promote violence.
That said, it’s also important to mention that the
insensitive war jokes used in the dub are completely irrelevant to the messages
of peace and solidarity that Hima incorporates into his work. That’s the result
of other people interpreting the series and making it their own, only to botch
it entirely.
Regardless of the fact that war’s going on, Hima makes an effort
to showcase the triumph of humane and compassionate qualities in the nations.
Yes, they ‘hate’ and wage wars against each other - not having much of a choice over the matter,
mind you – but this rivalry doesn’t hold them hostage, nor does it dictate how
they interact with each other.
Conflict doesn’t dehumanize the nations; they don’t become
ruthless killing machines without a semblance of remorse or empathy. Just like
enemy soldiers called ceasefires on Christmas and occasionally organized sports
events, the nations for the most part
engage in similar civilities.
Again, it’s the conflict that’s brutal, not the nations
themselves. In fact, they have some of their admirable, most striking moments during war.
When America occupies Rome, he treats both Italies as if
they were his friends. Romano’s clearly terrified, but America breaks the ice
by politely asking them if they could make him authentic Italian food. That’s
hardly something you would see with individuals who regard each other as
enemies.
You also see nations from different alliances casually
hanging out during war, almost as if there wasn’t one going on at all. Remember
that they’ve fought each other so many times that they’ve likely matured past
being pent up on rivalries, as long as interacting with enemy nations doesn’t
go against their people’s well-being.
As they share and try each other’s rations, familiarity
appears to triumph over hostility.
There’s a clear reason why the series’ main theme is “Draw a
circle, that’s the Earth,” rather than, “Draw a border, that’s my country.”
It’s to bring the world together, not tear it apart.
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.
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.
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.
Before, I used to dismiss the idea of time travel in
Hetalia. Looking back, I can see that this limited my understanding of several
bizarre and inexplicable occurrences in the manga.
In a fictional series
where the nations are immortal, being referred to as “strange” and “odd”
beings, it’s honestly not that far-fetched to consider that they’re capable of
time travel.
This is especially true given the facts that…
1) Time is experienced differently by the nations.
Ex: Canada spends an entire weekend staring at Kumajiro’s
eyelashes. It passes by without him realizing this [x].
Ex: If a human were to spend enough time around a nation,
their perception of time would become so warped that they’d go mad.
Ex: Pets don’t go mad when they’re around their nation
owners. Instead, their lifespans increase. Should they separate from the
nation, however, they would become normal pets again and resume aging [x].
2) Some nations are capable of magic,
fortune-telling, clairvoyance and other supernatural abilities.
Ex: England’s and Romania’s ability to cast spells.
Ex: Japan’s powers of clairvoyance and mind-reading [x]– I’ll
get back to this later.
Evidence of time travel in Hetalia is either extremely
subtle or so right in your face that it’s easy to overlook.
Could it be that the pets don’t age because the nations are beings that are able to transcend space and time? In other
words, what if time is bent around the nations, which, in turn, causes their
pets not to age?
They’re timeless beings in that they’re immortal. While they
do age, it’s very incremental. They still remain youthful, likely because time
is slowed for them. In that case, the reason that the pets won’t go mad by
being around a nation is that they don’t perceive time the same way that humans
are able to.
Are the nations able to time travel then?
Evidence from the manga suggests that they’re indeed able
to.
Let’s go over some of these examples.
Bizarre and Casual Anachronisms:
If you factor in time travel, this would explain the sudden
appearance of anachronisms when you least expect it. I used to think that these
were silly comic gags. My opinion has since changed.
Ex: When America pulls out a computer to google where
Germany is in 1942, England isn’t surprised. Instead, he’s able to pinpoint
exactly how far into the future the model is and reprimands America for showing
off.
Ex: Why is it that during the 18th century, Japan
appears to be listening to music…with earbuds? [x].
Ex: The Roman Emperor Nero is once depicted to be playing an
acoustic guitar.
They’re aware that it’s an
anachronism. Perhaps either Rome or Quintillus – another Roman Emperor who’s
canonically able to time travel – brought that there. I’ll get back to
Quintillus in a moment.
Japan’s Powers of Clairvoyance:
As mentioned above, Japan has been shown to be able to read
minds, see into the future, and establish contact with others without having
ever met them in person before.
Ex: Japan demonstrates his clairvoyant powers during the
Meiji Era. The fourth wall is broken as the scene pans in on
Himaruya scrambling to finish a comic.
Ex: When Japan first becomes acquainted with the Italy
brothers, they’re put off by how silent and reserved he is. Japan later admits
that he’s not used to speaking out loud with those whom he’s read the minds of [x].
If anything, this alludes to the fact that Italy and Japan
have technically met before.
Notice the title of the strip too. “A melody that transcends
history and reaches you…”
Japan’s ESP Contact with Italy + Dream Sequences:
After falling into bed with Holy Rome, Chibitalia has a
strange dream where he encounters a presumably divine being that leads him to –
yes, Japan. This confirms what Japan claims in World Stars. He did, in fact,
read the mind of Italy and communicated with him far before they formed their
alliance in WW2 [x].
That’s not it, either.
Italy in adulthood has a ‘unpleasant dream’ of a child that looks
exactly like him pressing to be acknowledged [x][x].
How I’ve interpreted this before is that it symbolically
represents Italy’s unconscious mind repressing memories from his childhood. Put
another way, he’s refusing to remember – acknowledge – bits of his past.
Taken literally, this could also mean that Italy’s child
self is transcending time and space to get him to remember his past.
Or, what about this scene? Italy encounters his child self, recognizes this, and feels ashamed for
lying about how [not] strong he’s become [x].
Germany also appears to have these strange encounters with chibis.
Ex: In the same strip, a child that looks
exactly like Germany/ Holy Rome presses to be acknowledged as well [x].
Ex: Germany’s once shown to be holding up Chibitalia.
“It’s me!”
What if this is Chibitalia traveling into the future
to get Germany to remember about his past as Holy Rome? At the same time, it could symbolically represent childhood memory repression. Of course, this is all making the assumption that Germany is, in fact, Holy Rome.
Quintillus:
Most obvious of all is that there’s a real character in the series
who’s physically able to time travel.
The play on Quintillus’ time-traveling abilities is that
because historical records about him are shifty, his timeline leaps back and forth.
Himaruya took this, made it literal, and gave Quintillus time-traveling powers [x].
Ex: We see Quintillus visit Germany in modern times making
sure that the latter’s research and re-writing of Roman history are accurate [x].
With all the evidence I presented, I truly do believe that
the nations are able to time travel. It’s not just limited to their ability to
slow time for those around them. They seem to be able to manipulate it too, being able to disappear on
a whim…
To begin with, I want to emphasize how important it is to
recognize that Hetalia is not a series that believes in permanent grudges. Regardless of
the betrayals that occur in the manga, the grudges that the nations bear rarely
if ever remain.
This doesn’t go to say that grudges can’t last for a long
time, because they do and for good reasons. What I’m getting at here is that
while the nations are cultural personifications – representing their citizens,
not just the government – they’re also people just like you and me.
How the nations associate
with each other is influenced by their political relations. On the other hand,
to say that, because of these rocky political relations, the nations in
question inevitably hate each other is a shallow way of understanding things.
Their pasts together extend beyond their present situation. They’ve
lived for several lifetimes and have their own memories and experiences; there are
other factors to take into account that influence how they view each other on a personal level. To view and associate are two
very different things that are wrongfully equated together in the fandom.
I say this because you’ll see moments where enemy nations
drop their political masks and treat each other as friends.
Ex: After being stranded on Seychelles during WW2, Italy invites
France to his side of the island and asks not to pick a fight. Italy still
fondly refers to France as Big Brother, a title that originated from their
childhood spent together in Rome’s house.
Ex: When he occupies Rome, rather than treating the Italy
brothers with hostility, America politely asks them to make him authentic Italian
cuisine.
Ex: Italy excitedly greets Austria after his annexation,
despite having recently fought him in WW1.
What this post will explore is how grudges held by the nations
subside with time.
That said, let’s go over some examples.
America and England:
Of course, I’ll get the most obvious one out of the way
first. America’s declaration of independence was experienced as a personal betrayal to England.
Ex: He’s noted to have had a stormy temper in the decades
following America’s independence. [x]
Ex: While it’s not explicitly stated, it’s alluded that
England is talking about America when he claims to have suffered from 100 years
of heartbreak.
Of more importance is that aside from their volatile political
relations, America still demands to see England when he hears that the latter’s
fallen ill as a result of the war.
Notice how distressed and panicked America is here. He even
tries to force his way into the house, despite being barred entry by
Canada. Again, the personal triumphs over the political.
As mentioned, with time, a lot of this anger and resentment disappears.
Ex: England takes the leap and attends America’s centennial
celebration.
Ex: The two are now able to tease each other void of any
spite.
Belgium and Netherlands:
There’s a rocky period in their relationship after Netherlands attempted to unify them into one Kingdom. Belgium declares her
independence instead.
We learn from his bunny how upsetting this “fight” was for
him. He copes by constantly keeping busy.
China and Japan:
This one is definitely the most difficult betrayal to
digest. It’s easily the most brutal scene depicted in the manga.
Japan stabs an unsuspecting China in the back during WW2.
What I want to place particular emphasis on is the fact that even though China
knew that their political relations were tense, he still personally trusted Japan, even as the katana was pulled out.
Additionally, notice how Japan’s face goes blank before he
stabs China. To me, this appears that he’s emotionally removed himself from the
situation.
In the aftermath of this betrayal, we see China drunkenly
crying as he realizes how war has changed Japan. Russia’s response to this is
crucial.
Nations don’t remain as enemies
forever.
It’s the good memories that last.
Even though China developed a grudge against Japan, it doesn’t
last.
Ex: In a more recent strip, China attempts to strengthen his
diplomatic ties with Japan.
Following the abolition of their empire, Lithuania falls
under Russian control. As Lithuania’s forcefully dragged away, Poland doesn’t
answer Lithuania’s pleas for help and instead laughs at his facial expression.
Because of all the fond moments they shared together,
Lithuania resents Poland for this, but he doesn’t hate him.
If he did, then he
wouldn’t have warned Poland of Russia’s plan to invade him in WW2.
All in all, the point to take away from this is that while
hatred exists in the manga, it doesn’t persist. Political relations may influence
the nations, but in no way does it define them in whole.
After talking about how nations are affected by illnesses with @ellawritesficssometimes, I decided to write an extensive post to better explain my take on the matter.
Now, as Ella already pointed out, from canon we know for sure that personifications can experience what’s the human equivalent
of an illness in three different situations:
1) Economic recessions
or depressions
2) Political unrest
Rome was shown to be sick when there was some
unrest inside his territory, in spite of the successful external military campaigns.
3) An illness affecting a big part of the population
This is the case of Romano, for example, who as
a child was affected by Huntington’s Chorea. I remember reading the strip but
I couldn’t find it to have a better check, I would just like to note that this
isn’t actually a widespread disease, Huntington’s Chorea is by definition a rare neurodegenerative pathology. It has its highest incidence
among European population, with a peak of 10.85/100.000 in Molise, a region of
South Italy, while it’s extremely rare in Japan (0.5/100.000), so I guess that
this is what Himaruya was talking about.
Either way, it’s canon that personifications can
be affected by illnesses that are characteristic of their population or affect
part of it.
It looks quite straight-forward, doesn’t it?
And then there’s this:
America, who, in front of a sick England and wearing
what looks like his WW2 uniform, doesn’t seem to know what a cold is.
As Ella pointed out, this looks like a
continuity error. It doesn’t make sense for America not to know what a cold is,
as he has already experienced the Great Depression, knows that England was sick
after the Revolutionary War and should have seen some humans getting sick, anyway.
My point is that, while this could likely be a mistake
on Himaruya’s part, there could also be
an explanation.
The most straight-forward explanation could be
that America does know what a cold
is, but he associates it with a human disease, not with personifications, so he’s
merely confused at the use of the term and he’s asking France for
clarifications on this. His confusion might also derive from the fact that he has
never experienced such an illness, as Himaruya seems to imply in a following panel:
Here, Himaruya is talking about wars, but since
this is his explanation for America’s ignorance on the matter, I think that it
applies on broader terms, meaning that America has never had a cold before - or
at least, not such a bad cold that it left him as sick as England was.
This seems to clash with other canon
information we have about the way illnesses affect personifications, but I don’t
think it’s necessarily so.
Now, what I’m proposing is not canon, but it’s
not even merely a headcanon, as it’s an interpretation rooted on canon material.
I am of the opinion that the rules I listed at
the beginning are merely general rules,
but they don’t apply in the same way to every single personification: just like
humans, there is always a factor of individual variability to keep in mind.
The fact that there’s some individual variability
isn’t only a headcanon of mine, either, as we have seen it in other fields, one
of the most glaring examples being a personification’s strength: this is clearly
linked with a nation’s political and economic strength, however it also varies from
personification to personification. For example England, even at the peak of his
power, was never shown to be as physically strong as America - he was even surprised
when he witnessed America’s strength (who at that point, by the way, was only a
colony - for how prosperous his land might have been, he shouldn’t have been that strong unless it was also a
characteristic belonging to him as a person, that later emerged even more with his
status of superpower).
Going back to illnesses, some nations will tend
to suffer more debilitating effects from an economic recession, while others will be affected in a lighter way, for example getting away with some exhaustion
or a slight cold instead of being bedridden, and this depends only on them as
individuals - just like some people might get a fever of 39 degrees for only staying
out in the cold and others never get sick.
Based on the evidence, I would place America at
the second end of the spectrum. Again, it could
be a mistake, but it doesn’t have
to be. This is up to interpretation.
Moreover, I’ve also found another small evidence
that might point to America having a stronger constitution than other nations:
Civil wars should be another instance where personifications
get sick, however America looks perfectly fine here - Canada looks worse than he is, and this makes me believe that,
while the general rules are always valid, the single personifications are
affected in different grades.
With this, I’m not trying to say that America doesn’t
get affected at all, but he has probably never experienced anything more than a
slight cold, and being isolated for so long he didn’t know that nations could
be affected differently - hence his confusion at seeing England so sick and the
fact that he didn’t know about it. Once again, his ‘what’s a cold?’ might be referred not in broad terms, but only in correlation
with personifications. This is why I believe that’s it’s not necessarily a mistake.
I really hope that it’s clear now! And don’t hesitate
asking if there’s any question :)
All right! So, as previously
discussed, the three rules @feyna-v laid out for us are canon. The first two are
explicitly stated in “In just 2 minutes you can
grasp the exterior of the European economy”, whereas the third one
derives from a solid example. I’m not here to dispute that.
However, there are few things
that I would like to point out and go over. Not all of it relates back to
America’s perception of colds either.
1) America not knowing what a cold is may
not be a consistency error:
A) Situating the Context
I think it’s important first
to situate the context under which these panels took place. Like Feyna said,
they take place during WW2 judging by America’s uniform. This comparison in
health happens at a time where America’s industrializing and profiting
immensely, not to mention that the war isn’t taking place on his own soil.
European land, politics, and civilian life was thrown into chaos. Despite
taking part in the war, for their own self-interest mind you, America wasn’t
nearly as affected as France and England were.
The fact that America is
stronger than France and England should be expected, as it falls consistent with
the inverse of the economic strength rule; if the nation’s economy is weak,
then they’re weak too. Wouldn’t it follow that if their economy is stable, that
their health would also be stable? It’s an implied yes.
Likewise, we know that during
the Cold War, America and Russia, as a result of their economic and political dominance
as global superpowers, were equated to superhumans by Finland. Today, America remains as a superpower.
Disclaimer: I’ve noticed that
Feyna and I have different methods of approaching the material :). If
I see a rule, I apply it to all unless an exception in the form of an example
or written statement is provided.
What I’m trying to get at
here is that using the former panel to compare America’s health is biased given
his economic situation.
How I interpret it is that
America’s health is stronger as a result of him not getting involved in
constant conflicts. France’s and England’s wallets are bled dry because they’re
consistently at war with each other or other European nations. As such, they
don’t possess the leisure that America experiences in not having to constantly
finance and handle the costs of these wars.
America “prospers” for a
number of potential reasons: he was previously spared from the costs of
international conflict, he entered the war later, he doesn’t have to suffer
from the loss of public infrastructure, and lastly, he began to industrialize again
after the Great Depression. The European nations also industrialized (in the beginning), but this
waned off dramatically as all resources were channeled into the larger war
effort.
Further, we don’t get to see
much comparisons of America’s health during economic recessions or slumps, save
for the Great Depression. Here, he’s notably weaker in spirits, confidence, and
potentially health. He shivers in the face of the other nations’ anger for recklessly
causing the recession.
Either way, the fact that
America is cowering in the face of the other nations’ fury is not him being his
usual self. When he’s at his peak, even when he’s wrong, he doesn’t seem to be
affected by opinions external to that of his own. This might imply that his
health actually declined during the stock market crash.
Nonetheless, because there’s
such a gap in the timeline, we don’t actually know how affected he was by the
political and economic turmoils following his independence and subsequent
isolation from European affairs.
Following that logic, this is
another reason why I believe that America not knowing what a cold is is a consistency
error. While he may be in better health relative to the the other nations, this
can be attributed to his economy. Isolation granted him a lot of privileges that
the European nations didn’t possess, regardless of the slew of economic slumps
he fell into during this time.
B) America attributes a cold with human
illness
As I just mentioned, we don’t
really know much about America’s health state following his independence. We
get snippets of WW1 where he seems to be fine, and we already know that he’s
doing pretty well off in WW2;after
the recession…still, there’s huge gaps that we have to work with here.
Given the economic-political
strength rule, the nation’s health is impacted by the strength of their economy
and stability of their political affairs. If that’s the case, I find it hard to
believe that America never experienced a cold, given how volatile and
fragmented the nation was at several points in history.
Not only that, but I find it
hard to believe that he experienced a cold and wasn’t able to attribute it as
such. Unfortunately, these gaps in the timeline make it impossible to draw any
solid conclusions.
Although, if I had to guess,
America would have had to have experienced a cold when he was still under
England’s rule. We still don’t know for sure if Hima has made America as an explicit
exception to the rule in how he’s affected by political movements or riots.
There’s also the fact that
while not being allowed to see England when he falls ill after the Revolution, America
still shows concern for how serious England’s condition is. If that’s the case,
then he would have had to have had some understanding of what the symptoms of a
personification-type cold entails. Admittedly, it does seem like he underestimates
the seriousness of the cold at first. Then again, the Revolution was an extremely
serious blow to England, a consequence America likely hadn’t seen before.
2) Physical
Strength Resulting from Economic/Political Strength vs Physical Durability/
Stamina
Feyna brings up an interesting point regarding how England at
the peak of his empire is never shown to be physically strong. However, I disagree.
What needs to be differentiated here in my opinion is the nation’s
stature and stamina and their physical strength resulting from economic and
political stability.
You will have nations like Prussia, who’s shorter in height from
malnutrition, but is nonetheless able to get physically stronger as a result of
his country’s situation. In other words, the rule isn’t exclusive. It may not
be super strength like America’s, but as stated before, other factors hinder
this strength. So yes, there is some degree of individualized
characterizations. My argument is that it’s the same rule applied in uniform culminating into different outcomes.
While England is never explicitly shown to demonstrate immense strength,
it’s not shown that he’s entirely weak either. Instead what you’ll see is that
his physical body is weak in handling conflicts and lacks stamina, but he
nevertheless possesses a considerable amount of strength – it just doesn’t last
for long.
For example, as I’ll get into in the next part of this post,
France gains additional physical strength as a result of Napoleon’s conquests.
In the end, with the help of allies, England musters the strength to defeat
France, but collapses right afterwards. He also demands money as compensation. He’s exhausted from the financial and physical stain the Napoleonic Wars caused him.
I think that can be attributed to how thin and small his
physique is. Simply put, England possesses the strength, but lacks consistent
stamina. It’s also important to mention the fact that we don’t get much strips
covering the peak of his empire following WW1.
3) Physical strength is something all nations can but don’t always
achieve [cont…]
With Prussia, we learn that the reverse of the economic/political
rule is also true. Prussia is told by Frederick I that he needs culture if he’s
to stand with the greater nations in Europe, which just so happens to be France
at the time. Prussia then reluctantly admits that his economy and industries are
faltering, implying that he is becoming weaker.
I’ll be quick, but the running gag of this arc is that Prussia [because of France] associates wealth and “awesome” [aristocratic] clothing with physical strength.
He’s tasked with observing France’s culture, and later becomes the latter’s
pupil. Notice the consistency with the reference to the economy here.
The whole premise is predicated on Prussia becoming a stronger
power in Europe, a status in which he temporarily achieves.
Point is, while France and Prussia associate gaudy clothing as indicators
of strength, Austria is the one to point out the fallacy in this perception.
I do recognize that there’s a military morale at play here too.
Still, taken into the context of how the nations have been conceptualized before,
there’s more to take away from this.
The underlying message is that it was never the clothes, but
rather the economic wealth and political dominance that provided them with
extra strength. The wealth was simply a misatribution of this; it allowed for them to dress themselves lavishly
and feel good… a placebo effect if you will.
(i.e Prussia dressed up aristocratically, convinced himself he
was powerful, and then actually became powerful by initially studying and learning
from France’s culture).
In sum, from France and Prussia, we know that it’s possible for
them to gain additional strength. It would follow, then, that how a nation
gains strength is not quite based on individual variability (as in their
physical body), but rather individual economic and political variability stemming from a uniform rule that allows for this diversity…
4)
Nations suffer differently from economic recessions (yes)
It’s depends on them as individuals (not quite):
I’m basing this answer from what we saw in the Great Depression
strip. Each nation’s health was affected depending on how badly their economy
suffered as a result of the recession.
Hima even went so far as to assign objective numbers to measure this.
It’s not that I don’t agree with Feyna on the fact that America
is overall stronger health-wise in comparison to the other nations. I actually agree,
but I don’t think it’s an individual character trait; I think it’s very much
vested in the function of the economic leisure his political isolation gave him, his influential mass industrial power, and his rise to superpower status following WW2.
He wasn’t strained by conflicts as much (not that he wasn’t at all) as the
other European nations were.
But, given how volatile his domestic politics were, I do believe
he’d would have to been affected by it. Again, we don’t know this for sure,
since the notion of it falls outside the jurisdiction of the strips.
This brings me to my last point:
5) Domestic American conflicts
The rendition that we do get of the American Revolution is too shallow
to draw any conclusions on how America fared during it. We know that he cuts off
ties with Canada, and that England meddled in the whole affair.
Still, I wouldn’t say that America looks perfectly fine in the
panel Feyna provided above either. If you compare his expression from the first
and second panel in the strip, the way he raises his eyebrows and the potential flushing of his face does reveal some
kind of tension or strain.
Either way, this is just me being nitpicky. I would want to see
more coverage of the American Civil War before I would feel comfortable
commenting on America’s health and well-being during the course of the conflict.
Considering how inconsistent America not knowing what a cold is
with regards to the rules listed above, I honestly do think that it was just a
consistency error – it’s a fairly old strip, after all.
The following post aims to flesh out Japan’s
character, proving that he is not as flat, “emotionless”, and uninteresting as
some fan characterizations have portrayed him to be.
Instead, like Himaruya
does with many characters in the series, Japan’s character is full of unique
binaries and complexes; the character has a struggle and/or conflict, and, over
the course of the series, that character learns to overcome them, or, at the
very least, mitigate them better. Point is, the character develops and grows over
time, criteria which forms the roots for a solid and enjoyable
characterization.
That said, let’s go over them.
1)Misconception: He’s always in isolation and prefers
it.
Source: Hetarchive, Netherlands and Isolationist Japan + Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 16.
While Japan’s characterization may have initially
focused on his isolated state (e.g., before he opened himself to Western
influence), his struggle entails learning how to work with others and form
intimate friendships. Several examples from the manga have shown just how
selfless, considerate, and kind Japan can be. It makes for a great contrast
with his previous isolated self, where he refused to meet with other nations.
What truly makes this struggle so interesting is
that even though he preferred isolation at the time, Japan was lonely. An
earlier strip shows him having an unexplained ability to telepathically
communicate with other nations.
Ex: He establishes communication with Chibitalia in a dream. Note
that this occurs far before they ever met in person (which was during WW2). It
is unclear whether Italy remembers this encounter with Japan, as the matter has
not been touched on since.
Source: Hetarchive, Little Ita’s Dream.
The only hint is from a strip in World Stars, although it doesn’t mention the connection explicitly.
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 15.
Nonetheless, as Japan breaks his isolated state,
new habits develop.
Ex: He
gets into tourism and enjoys visiting other nations to experience their
culture. He even breaks the fourth wall and gives tips to the reader – a lot of
these tips came from Himaruya’s own firsthand experience of being a tourist.
Source: Hetarchive, World Stars Chapter 23.
Ex: During
the Industrial Revolution, Japan travels all the way to England to help teach
him his way of making ceramics.
Ex: He
often visits America. He even stayed there long enough to be considered a
roommate at one point.
Source: Hetarchive, Volume 4.
2)Misconception: He’s emotionless
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, different
cultural rules of display make Japan appear “emotionless” for lack of a better
word. He’s not as expressive in displaying his emotions, and unlike Western
countries, physical contact - as simple as hugging – is a challenge for
him, as it was something he had to get used to.
Ex: When
he first meets Italy, he becomes uncomfortable and awkward when the latter hugs
him. Yet, he still enjoys their friendship (e.g., they bake together, spend
their New Year’s Eve…etc).
Source: Hetarchive, World Stars Chapter 15.
Ex: He
also has a very strong friendship with England and travelled there to visit the
former’s new butler café.
Source: Hetascanlations, World Stars Chapter 133.
Ex: When
duty obligates him to betray China in WW2, notice how Japan apologizes beforehand. His
eyes glaze over as he’s forced to harm the man who raised him. Others have
perceived this glazed look as Japan being merciless; however, placed in
the context of him asking for forgiveness before the act, I interpret it as him
disassociating to avoid feeling pain.
Source: Hetarchive, The Story about the early days of China and Japan.
3)Misconception: He doesn’t have any character
quirks.
This is also false. Japan has quirks, most of which
have to do with him enjoying cute things.
Ex: He
offers to give Germany’s dog a bath and gets carried away…
Source: Hetarchive, Volume 5.
Ex: His
reaction when he spots England and America wearing cat ears is also pretty
telling to his weakness for all things cute.
heyytalia