Hetalia: Axis Powers

***Hetalia: Axis Powers*** () is a Japanese webcomic by Hidekaz Himaruya. It has been made into a manga and anime series. The stories are based on political and historical events. The characters are personifications of countries and that play off both good and bad cultural stereotypes. The main characters include Italy, Germany, Japan, America, England/Britain, France, Russia, and China. The anime has a large fanbase throughout the internet and are known as "Hetalians".  

The main events happen in World War II, but many others happen during different time periods. The series uses satire and humour to show events. Interactions between the countries are shown as social and romantic, as well as misunderstandings. 

## Characters 
### Axis Powers 
Italy Veneziano (イタリアヴェネツィアーノ Itaria Veneziāno), or Italy (イタリア Itaria) is the main character in Hetalia. He is shown to be bright, happy, and a bit of a quitter. He is the grandson of Ancient Rome, and the brother of Italy Romano. Veneziano represents the northern part of Italy, while Romano is the southern part. He is cowardly and flies the white flag a lot, which means he was surrendering. 

He is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in Japanese, and Todd Haberkorn in English. In a portion of the show where he was shown as a child, he was voiced by Aki Kanada in Japanese, and Brina Palencia in English. In 2008, he got the name Feliciano Vargas.  His brother got the name Lovino Vargas.

Germany (ドイツ, Doitsu) is a supporting character in Hetalia. He is serious and hard-working. He can get angry at times, but it is shown he is actually very sweet inside. He has an older brother, Prussia, who represents the former country Prussia and the eastern part of modern-day Germany. Germany represents the west part. 

He is voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto in Japanese, and Patrick Seitz in English. In 2008, he got the name Ludwig. He does not have a canon last name, but his brother does. Prussia received the name Gilbert Beilschmidt.

Japan (日本, Nihon) is a shy and reserved supporting character. He gets very uncomfortable when others get close to him. He is quiet and tends to stay out of conversations.

He is voiced by Hiroki Takahashi in Japanese, and Christopher Bevins in English. In 2008 he received the name Kiku Honda.

### Allied Forces 
America (アメリカ Amerika) is energetic, ignorant, and loves food. He considers himself the "hero" and is quite obnoxious. He has a brother that represents Canada.

He is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi in Japanese, and Eric Vale in English. As a child, he was voiced by Ai Iwamura in Japanese and Luci Christian in English. In 2008, he received the name Alfred F. Jones, and his brother received the name Matthew Williams.

United Kingdom/England (イギリス Igirisu) is irritable, cynical, and sharp-tongued. He possesses large, bushy eyebrows. He is known for being a terrible cook, and has the ability to see supernatural creatures and perform magic curses.

He is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in Japanese and is voiced by Steven Kelly. He was formerly voiced by Scott Freeman and Taliesin Jaffe. In 2008, he received the name Arthur Kirkland.

France (フランス Furansu) is carefree and overly-romantic. He often makes sexual passes at other characters. Despite a long history of military defeats, he believes he is gifted with "charms" and supreme cooking skills.

He is voiced by Masaya Onosaka in Japanese and J. Michael Tatum in English. In 2008, he received the name Francis Bonnefoy.

Russia (ロシア Roshia) is the tallest of the nations, and has a muscular build. Although he is seemingly kind, his brutal history has severely traumatized him and left him with child-like cruelty. Many of the other nations are terrified of him.

He is voiced by Yasuhiro Takato in Japanese and Jerry Jewell in English. In 2008, he received the name Ivan Braginsky.

## References