Axis Powers Hetalia?

[l4justice]

What is everyones thoughts on the series?

I personally enjoy it

[Mangosteen]

I Love Hetalia!!
The characters are awesome, and the way they tell the stories is just so entertaining! n-n
I also love cosplaying from it~ they have casual, they have suites, PJs, uniforms~ I just love it!!
I even like how every episode is 5 mins long XD

The fans for it are alittle crazy though~ But that is no reason not to watch/read it =DD

Very much one of my favorites!!

[l4justice]

I Love Hetalia!!
The characters are awesome, and the way they tell the stories is just so entertaining! n-n
I also love cosplaying from it~ they have casual, they have suites, PJs, uniforms~ I just love it!!
I even like how every episode is 5 mins long XD

The fans for it are alittle crazy though~ But that is no reason not to watch/read it =DD

Very much one of my favorites!!

Cool

[nemisis47]

I like the fact all the characters represent stereotypes of all the countries and its a very funny albeit weird anime. I like America and Italy. Pasta and Burgers anyone? One day (probably next year) I plan on cosplaying America.

[l4justice]

Cool Nemesis. I'm hoping to be Italy in the future

[rini]

i have a problem with hetalia in that, like much of japanese history, is glosses over...well, history. it shall be interesting to see how it treats WWII, and japan's atrocities during that time. also, the holocaust. how are they going to treat the rape of nanking, for example? korean comfort women? the bombing of pearl harbor?

japan doesn't actually teach WWII history, nor its complicity in war crimes and genocide of WWII. japanese kids don't know who hitler was, or that 6 million jews were murdered (along with hundreds of thousands of roman catholics, poles, gays, romany, and anyone else that the 3rd reich didn't approve of).

i've also seen/heard a lot of incredibly stupid/borderline offensive stuff at conventions this season. you might have heard about the dealer at katuscon selling nazi merchandise. i personally heard at a convention a girl saying she's going to dress up as hitler/germany and "show people how it's really done." there's the cosplayers dressed up as germany with tramp stamps reading "arbeit macht frei" ("work sets you free." it was the sign above the auschwitz concentration camp entrance.)

sure, there's some humour there, but there's also an ASTOUNDING amount of ignorance. and, even though i'm prolly the most un-PC person you'll ever meet, even i draw the line at making a joke out of genocide. especially by a people that perpetrated it.

(btw, i recommend _maus_ as a great comic about WWII.)

[bombthistrackk]

i've also seen/heard a lot of incredibly stupid/borderline offensive stuff at conventions this season. you might have heard about the dealer at katuscon selling nazi merchandise. i personally heard at a convention a girl saying she's going to dress up as hitler/germany and "show people how it's really done." there's the cosplayers dressed up as germany with tramp stamps reading "arbeit macht frei" ("work sets you free." it was the sign above the auschwitz concentration camp entrance.)

Now that is really sad. But history is all about remembering and what we can do in the future to make that not happen again.. Sure it isn't really educational but hey, most of it is all for laughs and humor.
Yeah, I agree with the whole "history is glossed over" in Hetalia but it engages the watcher to somewhat do their history research to learn about the real facts that happened.

[Mangosteen]

I think that is pretty crazy how somone would actually want to dress up like a hitler/Germany ^^;;...Yes these are the kind of fans I was talking
about~

Also I cannot remember where I read it, but I recall reading that both the manga and the anime are NOT based on historical events.  Of course that is not to say that it is historically un accurate.  Hetalia was made for entertainment purposes, so it would make sense why history is glossed over like that.  Main point stressed~ is to not take it seriously.
I like it. Other people like it. Other people don't like it. It's all opinionated.

And Hetalia also has yet to even touch any of the holocaust or bombing issues (if they are going to anywayz~) but since the begining~ I have been wondering how that would play out in the world of Hetalia.

[rini]

Also I cannot remember where I read it, but I recall reading that both the manga and the anime are NOT based on historical events.  Of course that is not to say that it is historically un accurate.  Hetalia was made for entertainment purposes, so it would make sense why history is glossed over like that.  Main point stressed~ is to not take it seriously.
I like it. Other people like it. Other people don't like it. It's all opinionated.

but, don't you think it's the responsibility of the creators of hetalia to do that? isn't it huegly irresponsible to be funny about war, and not tell the actual history? i'm not joking when i say that WWII is not taught in japanese schools. japanese kids do not know what the holocaust is. they don't don't know japan's own complicity in war crimes of WWII. they don't even _know_ that japan was allied with the axis powers of WWII. a lot of kids think that japan was on the allied side, and either don't know about pearl harbor, or think the chinese did it.

don't you think it's a disservice to people, and downright offensive to those that suffered during these events, to have a comedy made of them? or, just have the actual facts ignored? and, by saying, "it's just an anime." or, "it's just entertainment," don't you think you bear some complicity in keeping history ignored, generations of people ignorant, and war crimes forgotten?

where do you draw the line between "entertainment" and downright racism and revisionist history?

rape of nanking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_nanking
comfort women: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_women
holocaust: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust
armenian genocide of WWI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide
greek genocide of WWI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_genocide
rape of belgium of WWI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Belgium (cos, i love babies skewered on pikes!)
and, lets not forget stalin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin

that's just a very teeny, tiny bit of history that's not even talked about. hell, i don't even know if it's taught in our schools anymore. how many kids know about the armenian genocide? or, the hell that was created through the construction of yugoslavia, and the resulting civil wars of the 1990's and genocide there?

read up on what was going on in spain, as the facists came to power in the 1930s, and the spanish civil war in the 1940s. read up on the anti-jewish pogroms, and the beginning of jewish genocide that stalin perpetrated on the russians, starting in the 1920s. then ask yourself, how someone in good conscience could make a comedy out of something like that?

[nemisis47]

Hetalia Hitler?! What the hell was that person thinking doing a offensive cosplay like that? I for one though I know my history, think all Hetalia is its just cultural satire of other nations in a WW2 like setting. Its only a comedy anime, not a serious, engaging show about war ala grave of the fireflies, robotech and planettes.

[Mr. Crys]

but, don't you think it's the responsibility of the creators of hetalia to do that? isn't it huegly irresponsible to be funny about war, and not tell the actual history? i'm not joking when i say that WWII is not taught in japanese schools. japanese kids do not know what the holocaust is. they don't don't know japan's own complicity in war crimes of WWII. they don't even _know_ that japan was allied with the axis powers of WWII. a lot of kids think that japan was on the allied side, and either don't know about pearl harbor, or think the chinese did it.

don't you think it's a disservice to people, and downright offensive to those that suffered during these events, to have a comedy made of them? or, just have the actual facts ignored? and, by saying, "it's just an anime." or, "it's just entertainment," don't you think you bear some complicity in keeping history ignored, generations of people ignorant, and war crimes forgotten?

where do you draw the line between "entertainment" and downright racism and revisionist history?

rape of nanking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_nanking
comfort women: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_women
holocaust: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust
armenian genocide of WWI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide
greek genocide of WWI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_genocide
rape of belgium of WWI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Belgium (cos, i love babies skewered on pikes!)
and, lets not forget stalin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin

that's just a very teeny, tiny bit of history that's not even talked about. hell, i don't even know if it's taught in our schools anymore. how many kids know about the armenian genocide? or, the hell that was created through the construction of yugoslavia, and the resulting civil wars of the 1990's and genocide there?

read up on what was going on in spain, as the facists came to power in the 1930s, and the spanish civil war in the 1940s. read up on the anti-jewish pogroms, and the beginning of jewish genocide that stalin perpetrated on the russians, starting in the 1920s. then ask yourself, how someone in good conscience could make a comedy out of something like that?

Although I get your point, I don't think such incite is necessary. If you look at almost every anime or even childrens cartoons you can see how they poke fun at racism, sexism, violence, or whatever that is offensive that quite a lot of people like; which would include you. (not saying that any of that stuff is truly funny, but the moderation put into the shows is what makes it funny) Sure, it is a comedy about WWII but that kind of stuff is made all the time to try and ease the horrible issues that happened and yes, they aren't historically correct because it doesn't need to be. Hetalia is a funny and childish way to show the stereotypes of the world and their relationships in between each other not a history lesson. I don't want to sound mean and i'm very sorry if I came off that way, but it doesn't make much sense to get mad at a WWII spoof when there are plenty of different discriminate, and violent parts of history that have been made into various shows/comedies. Now as for the extremists >>; They need to be locked away or get some sense beat into them because that isn't part of the show, but apart of their sick minds. Like I said before I respect your opinion I just thought i'd clarify how it isn't suppose to be full of facts and be serious but a fun way to see their interactions with one another not about the killing and such.

Sorry moderators if I got off topic soo..
>3> I really enjoy this show <3

[rini]

Although I get your point, I don't think such incite is necessary. If you look at almost every anime or even childrens cartoons you can see how they poke fun at racism, sexism, violence, or whatever that is offensive that quite a lot of people like; which would include you. (not saying that any of that stuff is truly funny, but the moderation put into the shows is what makes it funny) Sure, it is a comedy about WWII but that kind of stuff is made all the time to try and ease the horrible issues that happened and yes, they aren't historically correct because it doesn't need to be. Hetalia is a funny and childish way to show the stereotypes of the world and their relationships in between each other not a history lesson. I don't want to sound mean and i'm very sorry if I came off that way, but it doesn't make much sense to get mad at a WWII spoof when there are plenty of different discriminate, and violent parts of history that have been made into various shows/comedies. Now as for the extremists >>; They need to be locked away or get some sense beat into them because that isn't part of the show, but apart of their sick minds. Like I said before I respect your opinion I just thought i'd clarify how it isn't suppose to be full of facts and be serious but a fun way to see their interactions with one another not about the killing and such.

but, i think it _is_ necessary, because people obviously don't _know_ what happened, and most certainly not the japanese, to whom WWI and WWII are jokes. how can you watch these characters knowing that they represent some of the worst atrocities ever committed? how does your brain reconcile a comedy with the actual facts? i do not understand that. it's prolly that i'm an historian, and countries during this period represent very real, factual circumstances. for example: haha, isn't russia funny, but never mind that stalin started his jewish pogroms, the genocide of the cassocks, and murdered up to 10million of his own countrymen?

i've seen comedies from this period, but they never ignored the horrors of war, unless they were attempting to be revisionist. a great example is "black adder goes forth", which was set in WWI. and, you know how it ends? they go over the top, and everyone dies. cos, that's the reality. another great comedy was charlie chaplin's "little dicator", which was a parody of hitler and the 3rd reich. and, you know how that ends? everyone dies. cos that's the reality.

you're going to cosplay belarus, but do you even know its history? how many millions died during WWI and WWII? that its jewish population was decimated by himmler's final solution, and that 1/3 of its total population was killed during WWII? knowing that now, does it make you view the character any differently?

[Mr. Crys]

but, i think it _is_ necessary, because people obviously don't _know_ what happened, and most certainly not the japanese, to whom WWI and WWII are jokes. how can you watch these characters knowing that they represent some of the worst atrocities ever committed? how does your brain reconcile a comedy with the actual facts? i do not understand that. it's prolly that i'm an historian, and countries during this period represent very real, factual circumstances. for example: haha, isn't russia funny, but never mind that stalin started his jewish pogroms, the genocide of the cassocks, and murdered up to 10million of his own countrymen?

i've seen comedies from this period, but they never ignored the horrors of war, unless they were attempting to be revisionist. a great example is "black adder goes forth", which was set in WWI. and, you know how it ends? they go over the top, and everyone dies. cos, that's the reality. another great comedy was charlie chaplin's "little dicator", which was a parody of hitler and the 3rd reich. and, you know how that ends? everyone dies. cos that's the reality.

you're going to cosplay belarus, but do you even know its history? how many millions died during WWI and WWII? that its jewish population was decimated by himmler's final solution, and that 1/3 of its total population was killed during WWII? knowing that now, does it make you view the character any differently?

To be quite honest? No. Every single "character" or country has their own horrid histories, like America, which i understand and with this show i'm not really thinking about all the historical significance because if I wanted it, I'd watch the history channel or research (which I have plenty of times during watching the show) and i'm happy that they don't show it for children to see. Its great that your a historian who whats all the facts played out so everyone knows, but history isn't everyone favorite thing (personally, I enjoy learning the history of the world) but for this simple show I don't think having all the facts is really needed. and hey! if you don't like it then you don't have too haha i can't tell you your wrong in your opinion since it doesn't have historical truths that you, as a historian, want, but I can tell you that this isn't meant to have all of that. Its more of a pg rating of the World Wars. >>;

[nemisis47]

I actually am a bit of a history buff as well, but in this show, they take the certain country's history and geography in account when making the relationship between them. For this show, to cosplay or like a certain character on here, history don't matter. But its a interesting look at certain points in history thanks to the countries characters. I chose to cosplay America due to day 2 of NDK is 9/11 and its a appropriate cosplay for it. 2. To actually see what the hetalia cosplay scene is like thanks to my friend extrepid for making me interested in this scene thanks to her awesome Italy. And 3. America portrayed on here he is a cool character and he's funny as well. And it don't represent America bad at all. During the America cleaning his closet ep., it briefly shows his characters history in tandem with the countries history. Such as the American Revolution,  The suit that is shown he tried on looked like a lot like Abe Lincolns suit he wore when he was assasinated and among other things. If you're a history buff, you'll see all the symbolism surrounding the characters. In fact, the reason for Germany being a slicked back blonde with blue eyed dude is because of the whole arien belief Germans had during the Naziism era of WW2.

[Rippy The Nekomatta]

I'm a history fan too, but again, its just a stage on Stereotypes. 

[nemisis47]

Hey guys, Hetalia is officially back and this time under the name Hetalia World Series and some really awesome fanboy news...There is gonna be a Hetalia Movie. A anime movie that is. Comes out 6/10.

www. hetalia.com/movie

Omg I love America's new look! Gonna plan that one as a cosplay possibly as well.

[Mangosteen]

I am so excited for the movie n-n  I hope its longer than 5 mins haha XD

I hope Prussia has a bigger part in it like the books!

[GingerMoon]

I must say, it was rather interesting reading through what was posted, and all the thoughts on the series so far, negative or not~ =) To date Hetalia is the most intense fandom I've been a part of, its either full of complete wank (pardon the phrase), or a lot of fun~

But I very much so enjoy watching and cosplaying it 110% and more~! =D

I'm also rather excited for the movie (less excited about FUNimation getting the Dub, though)~!

Did anyone hear about what happened at Anime Boston with the Hetalia cosplayers~? =/ Now THOSE are the fans that really need to get a grip...

[Seras]

I love Hetalia!!!! Doitsu! Italy! They are my favorite countries to watch! XD

[nemisis47]

I didn't actually, what happened with the AB hetalians?