I consider myself pretty literate/knowledgeable when it comes to the world of Japanimation -- oddly enough, I had never even heard of Axis Powers: Hetalia until a friend of mine ranted about the series' obsessive fans. I figured any series that inspires rabid fans warranted a closer look. And as a daughter of a History professor and lover of ancient and international culture and history, I couldn't wait to start watching. :)
World History tends to be kind of... dry. If you don't have much imagination, it just ends up being a big mass of dates and battles. Recently I took a break from Naruto and began watching an anime that has become very popular during the last year –Axis Powers: Hetalia (APH).
This series (of which I've only seen the first season) is SO politically incorrect. It is a broad collage of stereotypes, insanity, inanity and more stereotypes (and all of this is in keeping with the point of the show), which is a humorous look at WWII. Can you laugh about that war? Perhaps the more important question is, should we? I think, as with most things, it's a question of how things are presented and how the more difficult topics are handled.
The main historical events portrayed in this work occur between World War I and World War II. The series often uses satire and comedy to address well-known historical events as well as historical and cultural trivia. Historical, political, and military interaction between countries is allegorically represented in APH as social and romantic interaction between the characters; the web-comic (original) version in particular depicts military and economic incursions using various innuendo.
In APH, countries are represented by characters, and every character is a mass of stereotypical flaws-- with Japan, primarily, and Germany, to a lesser extent, being the notable exceptions. The character of Japan is a brilliant, hard-working, very polite young man, though shy and not as well acquainted with the rest of the world as he perhaps should be. Germany is a hardcore stickler for the rules, who shows little emotion; like Japan, is smart, hardworking, and prone to get results.
The other nations/characters, however, do not fare so well. Italy is a charming, rascally but inept and a useless coward who surrenders at the first sign of danger; he is obsessed with pasta, and produces white flags as his contribution to the war effort. America is a bit of buffoon, who is fond of declaring that he is "the Hero", talking with his mouth full, and eating unlimited hamburgers -- while proposing absurd solutions to world problems (like, creating a super hero to defeat global warming). France is a self-important, militarily inept, excuse-making fellow with a passionate dislike of England and a history (which he pooh-pooh's) of failures and stealing other people's thunder. England, meanwhile, despises his former ward, America, as well as his rival, France; England's cooking is notoriously bad, and ridiculed throughout the show. Russia is a sadistic young man who is frequently plotting evil against his fellow nations. China is a power-hungry nation that produces great food; etc.
Is it funny? Yes, at times. In fact, at times, it is hilarious. Things like the Holocaust, war crimes, racism, etc., weren't discussed; and so, in a parody world where those things don't happen, it seems ok to laugh.
I’ve read a lot of reviews recently that point out the sympathetic view of the Axis Powers, particularly Germany and Japan, some even going so far as to argue that Germany and Japan are the only countries that are noble – all others are greedy and arrogant. I disagree with this. APH does not glorify WWII Germany or Japan; they are just as greedy and misguided (and hapless) as the rest of the world, we as the viewer just pity them because they have to tolerate Italy.
So, all in all, it is Italy that gets the short end of the stick in this manga, but the Italy stereotyped in APH is much more positive than any depiction on television today. Despite this, Italy’s just plain adorable!
And it's all in good fun -- the stuff that goes on is based on real historical events, but filtered through a satirical anime/reality-show lens. The dialogue is gut-splittingly funny, peaking with Italy's song about Germany ("Even though I'm your prisoner, you give me food/and it doesn't suck like English food!"), and there's goofy slapstick and cultural references aplenty.
But there are also some more somber moments, such as America reminiscing about the War for Independence and his painful rift with England, or China thinking of how he found and raised Japan. I also enjoyed the scenes between Lichtenstein and her “big brother,” Switzerland. And while all the characters are national stereotypes, the writers succeed in making each one endearing and likable... well, except maybe Russia. He's just creepy.
General Reception
Both volumes of the printed manga version of APH have topped The New York Times manga best seller list. Volume 1 topped the list on October 10, 2010 and Volume 2 topped the list on January 16, 2011. Volume 1 has been in the top ten for twenty-one weeks and Volume 2 for fourteen weeks. Reader reviews of the British magazine NEO gave positive to mixed reviews for the anime version.
One reviewer, Ellis Wylam, said that: "The animation is very colourful and cheery, and makes you astonished how they managed to create something so hilarious, fun, light-hearted and enjoyable out of a World War." However, Wylam also said that: "Unfortunately, some jokes (particularly in the first episodes) didn't make me laugh hysterically 'laugh out loud', as much as was expecting when I bought the DVD. However, the humor seemed to develop in later episodes, making you give out giggles that translate as "did he actually just say that?!
The second reviewer, Lara Garnermann, said that: " APH is an extremely intelligently written anime, suited to anyone with an interest in world history or international politics, and of course anyone who wants to laugh for 26 episodes straight." However, the third reviewer, Rohan 'Amuro' Hine, was more critical saying: "It is a very funny series, but a lot of jokes will go over your head, due to Japan having different stereotypes than us. For example, while we think the French are white flag waving cowards, in this, it's Italy who is the coward, and hides behind Germany for protection. And some jokes can go over your head if you don't have a PHD in history as well."
A review for the second season of APH, also in NEO by Matt Kamen gave the DVD of the season four stars, each for the program and the DVD extras. Kamen wrote that: "Despite its risqué jokes and abundance of national stereotypes, APH thankfully manages to stay on just the right side of casual comedy racism - maybe that's why we don't feel too bad laughing uproariously at the dub, particularly Japan's heavy "Engrish" accent! It's best not to ask too many questions of this show - instead, just sit back and enjoy while APH conquers your world.”
For instance, the opening scene of Hetalia has various countries of the world gathering together at a conference. The countries are introduced by their flags—trying to decipher which countries were which while trying to follow the lightening dialogue was dizzying! Some are easy to recognize, like America, Britain, Russia and Greece, but I had to confirm which character was Poland, Latvia, Estonia, etc. Hetalia makes the viewer think…and now I knew the flags of Poland, Latvia and Estonia after only three minutes into the series.
And while the series definitely provides little tidbits of historical knowledge, it’s hard to take Hetalia’s tongue-in-cheek history lessons as gospel. But it does make me smile to see teenagers suddenly interested in World History and international culture and politics. I’m all for it it Hetalia plants the seed which grows into a deeper and long-lasting interest in history.
Long Live Hetalia!
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