Ranked #323

Hetalia Axis Powers

World War I and II are events that will live darkly on in our history books as moments that truly showed the capabilities of man when fighting for what they want or what they believe in.

However, World War I and II are also events that provide much fodder for gags, jokes and satire from the comedy series Hetalia Axis Powers.

If you ever wanted to learn a little about world history and picking up a text seems too daunting a task, then this anime serves as a wonderful solution. With its cheerful atmosphere, sharp dialogue and clever presentation, it gives you a lesson and laugh.

The story covers some of the most pivotal moments in recent history, namely the happenings of the twentieth century. It primarily follows the Axis Powers versus the Allied Powers of the world. Much of it is centred around the World Wars, namely the first. So basically it's the Triple Alliance versus the Triple Entente. It does not detail the more glorified and recognisable aspects of the wars, such as the actual fighting or effects. It looks at the political aspect of the war; the "behind the scenes" parts of it involving each country as an embodiment of its people, government, and culture.

Art for this anime is very bright, with lots of pastel colours. Each country's character design is suitable, and actually shows a little of how we envision their stereotypes to be. Germany is a muscle-bound blond haired, blue eyed man while France has longer hair and a lithe, almost wimpy body in comparison. And Japan has a traditional bowl cut, for example. The designs are appealing but the backgrounds are pretty underwhelming. Considering the time allotment for each episode and the fact that this is an ONA, details in the art and animation are expected to be sparser than in regular TV series or OAVs.

As for the sound, Hetalia Axis Powers has a bold opening piece that sounds a little like the epic opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The ED theme song is a hilarious nonsensical song about wine sung by Italy's seiyuu Namikawa Daisuke.

The characters are caricatures of each country. They have characteristics of each nation's diplomatic stance and also their personalities are formed around foreign conceptions of them (including the stereotypes). Germany is rough, antagonistic, militant. Italy is sort of wishy-washy, weak, likes to flirt with girls, is sort of a ditz and loves pasta. America is portrayed as a self-proclaimed glory hog moronic "hero", France as a sort of blubbering, fruity, loser of a character, and Britain is known for his awful cooking skills and strange fanaticism with the occult.

Even their weapons are based on stereotypes and global perceptions: Japan has a sword, China has a wok, England has the Busby Stoop chair, and Italy has a white flag. One of the best aspects of the characters in this anime is seeing their interactions with one another, as they react and act historically as they had in the past. We see Germany frustratedly bailing out and helping Italy, or Britain taking care of a little America only to have him grow up and fight him, and we see Russia's enigmatic and isolated behaviour when with the others.

Hetalia Axis Powers is a truly entertaining anime. There are lots of cultural inside jokes (such as there being a China Town even literally everywhere in the world), and witty, topical, historical humour. There are one-liners that would kill any History geek. Not to mention, it's also pretty cute with its little Chibitalia segments. (The little artistic Italian toddler saying he wished he lived in the Renaissance is enough to plaster a smile on any fan of the era and of cute anime characters.)

This is definitely recommended if you're remotely interested in the history of the world or even if you're a huge history nut. It will definitely get you to crack up, and none of it is offensive unless you are really uptight or militant about the portrayal of a country. All of it is meant in jest, and more importantly, it is rather clever without sinking into the territory of being reprehensible. Mostly you'll just be thinking, "Those crazy countries! What are they up to now?"

Hetalia Axis Powers will undoubtedly put a smile on your face and some knowledge in your head.

Now who ever said history was boring? read more

NOTE: I do read/follow the scanalations so while I do not think there are any spoilers, it will probably make my review a bit biased.

Story: 9
The series is definitely interesting and unique, but there really is not an overlying story or plot. You're not really going to find much in plot development or anything, as it is more about relaying historical events with a heavy basis on character relations.

Art: 7
While cute (especially with the Chibitalia moments), the artwork and animation is not really all that special. Also, the fact that it is only a webcast (thus far) is not really helpful.

Sound: 7
The voice actors generally fit pretty well; some people who have read the manga probably had different expectations for some of the characters, but overall they are still pretty good. The ED is also ridiculously cute and addictive.

Character: 10
The characters are really the focus of the series: them and their interactions. While some people find find the stereotypes for the series a bit offensive, it is meant in a humorous way, and every country is pretty much subjected to the same mockery/praise. But it is the stereotypes that make the characters great and amusing, because when you see them you really think "Oh, that really is what I can imagine out of some people from ______."

Enjoyment: 10
Despite the fact that each episode is only 5 minutes long, the episodes are extremely amusing. While nothing dramatic has happened yet, the comedy so far has been done pretty well.

However, if I really didn't know much about history, I would not enjoy this series nearly as much as I do. Often it's the small things that make me go "Oh yeaaah, I remember learning that!" that make me smile.

Overall: 9
While the series isn't a masterpiece or perfect so far, I find it still really good. Simply because while it is not heavy on serious drama or anything yet, it is very entertaining and simply adorable.

I would not recommend this series to anyone who is easily offended or does not know much about world history (namely around the WW I to WW II era). read more