Hetalia (Volume 1) (2008) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

People edit see section history

• North Italy - Feliciano Vargas: The title character of the series. He is an energetic and friendly yet clumsy young man, who also happens to be rather cowardly and obsessed with pasta. He is the grandson of Ancient Rome who was once the strongest nation in the world, as well the younger brother of Romano (South Italy). When in trouble, he often cries for Germany's help or insists on surrendering. Though he is bad at fighting, his creativity in art and trade is strong, and he is also a very good cook.
• Germany - Ludwig: A serious and efficient man who always abides by the rules, Germany has to deal with an unreasonable boss along with the troublemaking Italy. He won't stand any mistakes, is a neat freak, and happens to have a rather pessimistic nature. His hobbies include making sweets (including his secret love of baking cakes), reading, and walking his dogs.
• Japan - Honda Kiku: A shy, quiet and hard-working man, Japan doesn't know very much about the outside world and needs time to adjust to other people. But he's very curious and interested in learning things from other nations. His distinct island customs may seem mysterious to others, although he finds them perfectly normal. He tends to have the behavior of an "old man" and was a hikikomori for a long time (Japan had spent about 250 years in isolation). Though he appears horrified at the idea of nudity or intimate contact, he has erotic woodcuts in his possession, which he tries to hide secretly between his non-erotic books. Japan also voiced his preference for 2D girls over 3D girls to England, Greece, and France in one strip, hinting that he has an otaku side. His otaku side is further shown when he decides to buy a Shonen Jump magazine in his preparations for the New Year. Japan seems to be fond of food in general, very similar to China's fondness, his country's food in particular, as evidenced by his annoyance of having his salted salmon taken off Germany's diet plan. He expressed dismay at the increase of the price of eggs due to a bad economy. He also had the urge to touch the Italy brothers' ahoges due to them reminding him of vegetables. It is said that cockroaches are one of the things that Japan hates the most, to the extent where he could cry over them. Although he appears relatively calm most of the time, it is suggested that his anger would be the "scariest". However, it is shown that it's hard for him to get that angry, as he is mostly able to only summon an "unpleasant feeling". He loves animals, especially cats, and owns a white dog called Pochi that resembles an Akita or Shiba Inu, both Japanese breeds. He also eventually gets a rabbit and a guinea pig. He tends to have a weakness for things that are soft and fluffy.

Quotes edit see section history

• “"I'll do anything you say, just don't hit me!"”

  North Italy - Feliciano Vargas

• “"In other words, I'm the hero!"”

  America - Alfred F. Jones

• “"It's not 'learned' it's 'learnt', you git!"”

  England - Arthur Kirkland

• “"Don't you guys have something better to do...like change those lame military uniforms of yours?"”

  France - Francis Bonnefoy

• “"Germany, Germany! I'm in North Africa right now and I can't tie my shoes! Oh, and uh...England is here, too."”

  North Italy - Feliciano Vargas

• “"Compromise? I'm afraid Russia does not offer such services."”

  Russia - Ivan Braginski

• “"Everybody SHUT UP! Speeches will be eight minutes long, no chitchat, and raise your hand in a way that doesn't insult my country in WWII"”

  Germany (Ludwig)

First Sentence edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Anthropomorphization: Giving human characteristics to animals or non-living things. In the case of Axis Powers: Hetalia, countries are given human characteristics.
• World War I and World War II: Hetalia is set during the times of WWI and WWII and the alliances/enemies are shown through how the characters behave around one another and their relationships.
• Stereotypes: Hetalia's character traits are usually stereotypes of the representative countries people. Like for example, Japan (Honda Kiku) is very modest and a stereotype of Japanese people is that they are modest.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by Hetalia (Volume 2).

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Hidekaz Himaruya (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 741

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Some suggestive themes, difficult to understand concepts and historical references, brief nudity, language Recommended for ages 16+

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Comics & Graphic Novels › Manga › By Publisher › TokyoPop
• Books › Comics & Graphic Novels › Manga