Hetalia: Yay or Nay?

Hetalia. The anime that everyone loves. So funny, so stereotypical, so adorable. What isn’t there to love about this cute little japanese series? Personally, I think this show is fluffy and hilarious, along with (surprisingly) educational. The characters are perfect and are exactly what you would picture a stereotypical insert-nationality-of-your-choice-here to be like. The drawing is flawless, with a style that fits the anime, and the script is so funny that you’ll spend the whole time laughing ridiculously at your computer screen. And, to top the already towering cake with a single cherry, the voice actors for the show have the most amazing accents ever, making each character particularly distinct and also creating one of the most fun shows to cosplay.

Prussia, Hungary, Austria (from left to right)

Hetalia is essentially a show in which every country in the world is personified into the most stereotypical character possible. So, there is a human representation of Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Japan, America, Canada, France, etc. These characters then go through events in world history as people, getting into hilarious trouble and strange situations. We see Japan, Italy, and Germany form the Axis Powers and have small scuffles and difficulties with the Allies (Russia, France, UK, America, China, and Canada). The educational part is that you unwittingly learn about WW1, WW2, and other parts of history through the adventures of our cute countries. The important thing to remember when watching this anime is that it’s not meant to be offensive, so don’t take it personally when North Italy can’t actually do anything and is a coward, or when Canada gets forgotten by everyone, or when France is a creepy pervert who tries to marry the UK (I swear this is a real thing from real history).

Now, like any show that has ever been made, Hetalia has it's mild problems. Yes, it could be considered slightly racist, it's literally nothing but sterotypes, it could be considered rude/disrepectful, and it is sometimes confusing due to the repetition of certain scenes or sentences. The show is kinda racist because the characters are mostly white, but unlike a regular TV show, the people are countries, so there isn't much that could have been done. Especially since the storyline (in the first season, anyways) centers around WW1 and WW2, which concerned European and North American countries. But, there are other storylines that could be explored involving South American or African countries, which would help to add a bit more colour to the characters. So, like any pop culture element, Hetalia has it's bad (or rather, less good) side.

To conclude, I believe that Hetalia is an excellent anime, with equal parts humour and history that combine deliciously to form something that everyone in the family (over 13!) can enjoy. While it may not be perfect (and really, what is) it certainly comes close, and that's good enough for me!

Analysis of Hetalia Characters

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