History AxisPowersHetalia / IToP

This page covers tropes in ''WebComic/AxisPowersHetalia''.

[[AxisPowersHetalia/AToH Tropes A To H]] | '''Tropes I to P''' | [[AxisPowersHetalia/QToZ Tropes Q to Z]]


* IHaveAFamily: At the very beginning, Italy tries this when begging for mercy from Germany. The webcomic/manga notes explain that captured Italians would often claim "I have relatives in [enemy country city]", like Brooklyn with Americans. It even adds: "The correct response is 'So?'".
* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: When a young Russia asked his big sister Ukraine for advice on getting people to do what he says, she told him to "Just bring out the milk-makers!"
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Iceland, to the point where he complains about the other Nordics' eccentric behavior, pretends he can't see magical creatures and tells his Puffin not to speak when other people are around.
-->'''Iceland:''' If I were speaking to a bird, they're gonna think I'm pitiful.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy:
** Spain lets Italy leave during the War of the Austrian Succession.
** Sweden also thinks this about Finland during the Polish-Swedish wars, however he thinks it's too embarrassing to say just in front of Finland.
** [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution England and America]]. There's much fighting before England chooses to let America go.
* IWasJustJoking: When America tells England how great it feels to remember defeating him in the American Revolutionary War, England [[TheWoobie looks as if he's been genuinely hurt]]. America then says that that's a lie, which brings England back to his usual irritated {{Tsundere}} state.
* IconicOutfit:
** England's "Sexy Waiter" and "Britannia Angel" outfits have only shown up a couple of times. The fanart of him in it, though...
** Poland has only cross-dressed a few times in the series, and one of those occasions was Halloween, but fans frequently draw him in skirts and dresses.
* IcyBlueEyes: Germany, befitting his no-nonsense demeanor. Sweden's eyes are piercing as well, though his are more of a blue-green shade.
* IdenticalGrandson:
** Germany looks like Germania with shorter hair.
** The Roman Empire also looks like an older, more mature Italy.
* IdiotHair:
** North and South Italy, it acts as an erogenous zone for both of them.
** Rome has a couple that resemble his grandsons'.
** Korea's is drawn [[ExpressiveHair with a face]], supposedly representing his "Korean spirit."
** America didn't have one at first, but developed one as the series went on. It represents [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nantucket Nantucket.]]
** Similar to America, Austria started out without one. His represents [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariazell Mariazell.]]
** Canada has a long, loopy one.
** Taiwan also has a long one.
** Greece has a sort of curly Y-shaped idiot-hair thing on top of his head.
** Turkey has one similar to Greece on the side of his head, though it's hard to notice.
** Norway has one too, albeit, it's detached from his head and floats with a dot next to it. It's hinted that it represents his fjords.
** Australia has two of them.
** Seborga has an angular one similar to Italy's.
** Kugelmugel has one that looks like a longer version of Austria's.
** Some of the [[http://www.hetarchive.net/characters/prefectures/todouhuken_san.php Japanese prefectures]] seem to have them as well.
** Slovakia has one that sticks up from the back of his head.
* ImYourWorstNightmare: Spoofed in the dub when Germany meets Chibitalia and wonders who he is.
* ImageSong:
** Italy's voice actor, Creator/DaisukeNamikawa, sings the ending themes, and the main eight characters' voice actors have their own respective character [=CDs=], "Marukaite Chikyuu," "Hatafutte Parade," and "Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo" songs.
** Chibitalia, Holy Roman Empire, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Poland, Lithuania, Austria, Prussia, Sealand and Spain also have their own versions of Marukaite Chikyuu.
** Greece, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Chibi!Romano, Spain, Hungary and Prussia all have versions of Hatafutte Parade. Also, Belgium and Netherlands have a duet.
** Hong Kong, Taiwan, Seychelles, Canada and Rome also have character songs. Rome and Chibitalia have a duet, and the Baltic Trio and the Bad Friends Trio both have group songs.
** In the Interval [=CDs=], Prussia, Spain and the Nordic Five have a song on their respective [=CDs=].
* ImagineSpot:
** Japan gets an... interesting one featuring his preconceived notions of Switzerland. There is dancing.
** He also gets one in the Hetalia Academy setting when he remembers Germany drunk and passed out on a table after the newspaper club did research for an article about beers from around the world.
** Germany gets a couple of them in the "Buon San Valentino" story about himself and Italy.
** Denmark gets one while bragging about his history and accomplishments in one strip where the other Nordics are in awe and praising him. In reality, they're completely unimpressed.
** France gets a couple when he imagines England SubbingForSanta; first climbing through a window drunk and nude, and then in pirate garb LickingTheBlade.
* ImmortalImmaturity: Almost all the characters, but China stands out as a 4,000 year old [[strike:Hello Kitty]] Shinatty-Chan lover. Inverted for England, who's grown out of his 'wild youth' (read: piracy on the high seas, and also possibly the actual punk movement in the 80's), which only survives as his foul mouth and his [[{{Tsundere}} quick temper]], and Sweden who grew out of his viking phase a while ago.
* ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty: Most of the nations stop physically aging when they look to be in their early twenties, with a few outliers on the younger side (Iceland and Latvia), and a few on the older side (Turkey, with Greece and France looking to be in their later twenties).
* ImportantHaircut: Liechtenstein cut her hair after Switzerland rescued her so that she would look more like him.
* ImprobableWeaponUser:
** China has used a wok and ladle on more than one occasion, and was also once shown beating up his boss (who is a dragon, mind you) with a Franchise/HelloKitty doll.
** Hungary and her frying pan also count.
** Russia and his magic wand -- er, magic metal pipe of pain.
* InSeriesNickname: Many of which are combined with AffectionateNickname:
** Prussia calls Germany "West."
** Poland refers to Lithuania as "Liet," or "Lithy," as it is sometimes rendered.
** Hungary calls Poland "Po-chan," or "Popo."
** Finland calls Denmark "Ta-san" (from the Finnish name for Denmark, Tanska). He refers to Sweden as "Su-san," (usually rendered as "Mr. Sve") calls Norway "Noru-kun" (rendered as just "Nor") and calls Iceland "Ice-kun" (rendered as just "Ice"). The other Nordics call him "Fin" in return.
** Norway calls Denmark "anko," a term analogous to "onii-chan" (the familiar form of "big brother"). Scanlations generally render it as "Bro." All of the Nordics refer to him in turn as "Nor," and Denmark also calls him "brother" (kyoudai) and "best buddy" (shinyuu).
** Iceland calls Sweden "Svi," from Sweden's Icelandic name, Svíþjóð. He calls Denmark "Dan," short for Denmark's name in Icelandic, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian (Danmark). The older Nordics just call Iceland "Ice."
** Switzerland and Ukraine call Liechtenstein "Liechten."
** Ukraine calls Hungary "Hun-chan" ("Hunny" or "Hunny-baby"), while Hungary calls Ukraine "Uku-san" (rendered as "Raine" by some scanlations).
* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide:
** Austria. He's depicted as being refined and having an aristocratic personality.
** Italy doesn't like fighting, and is an excellent cook and artist.
** China is sometimes mistaken for a girl by fans, and like Italy is shown to be a consummate chef.
** France. Thanks to ArtEvolution he's gotten prettier and prettier, and is depicted as very romantic.
%%* IncestIsRelative: Since it's unclear how nations are born and what their relationships really are, this could be seen as a case of NotBloodSiblings.
* InnocentBlueEyes: Many of the more cheerful, hyperactive, and youthful characters have these, including America, Denmark, Sealand and Ladonia.
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: A gender-reversed version, Italy frequently neglects to put on pants, much to Japan's embarrassment and Germany's irritation.
* InnocentInnuendo: Italy's panicked phone call. "[[BlackComedyRape Germany! Romano's in bed! It won't come out! Ow ow! Take it out!]]" [[spoiler:Their hair got tangled together.]]
* InscrutableOriental: Japan and Hong Kong.
* InsistentTerminology: Estonia has a tendency to introduce himself as the "sixth and newest Nordic member," while Czech Republic and Slovakia are adamant that their separation was ''not'' a divorce.
%%* InsultedAwake: America brings England back from the ''dead'' this way.
%%* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: Most notable with Japan in the dub who speaks in Engrish the entire time, although other characters like Russia and China occasionally get this treatment too.
* IntroductoryOpeningCredits: A variant; in the opening sequence of the first episode, all of the countries are named and their flag is shown when they begin speaking.
* InterspeciesFriendship:
** America and Tony, his alien friend. They've been shown hanging out and playing video games, and America goes to Tony for help regarding the Pict invaders in the movie.
** England and Norway with their respective magical friends as well.
* InvisiblePresident:
** When the President of the United States appears, his face is obscured by the caption bubbles or we just see the back of his head.
** A similar phenomenon occurs when Germany is talking to his "boss". As with Japan when he's talking to his "boss". China's "boss" is a giant dragon. ...or edited to appear as such.
** Averted when Austria, Prussia, and Spain talk to their own "bosses" (Empress Marie Therese, King Friederich II and Queen Joanna of Castile, respectively), whose faces we can see clearly.
** Also when Italy becomes aligned with Russia, Italy's "boss" is clearly seen, though Russia's is only shown from the back.
** Ukraine's boss is also briefly shown clearly.
* InvisibleToNormals: England's and Norway's [[FairyCompanion "friends"]] can't be seen by normal people or other nations.
** ''World☆Stars'' revealed that Iceland can see them as well, but in the interest of [[IJustWantToBeNormal appearing as normal as possible]], pretends that he can't.
* IsItSomethingYouEat: [[DrivesLikeCrazy Italy]] made this comment while driving Japan home once.
-->'''Japan:''' A-ah! I mean, is it OK with the traffic laws - Eek!
-->'''Italy:''' No? Traffic? I've never eaten that sort of thing.
** Also occurs in a ''World☆Stars'' chapter when Romano gets sick of working for America and calls Spain, hoping to mooch off of him.
--->'''Romano:''' Ever since I started living with my little brother, everything's turned to shit! You're making shit loads of money like everybody else, right? You know… with that whole industrial revolution thing?…
--->'''Spain:''' Ohh…
--->'''Spain:''' Industrial Revolution? Haha, Boss has not eaten anything like that before!
* IslandHelpMessage: The Axis carve a large S.O.S. in the sand when they end up stranded on That F*cking Island.
* ItsAllAboutMe: America falls into this occasionally, despite his good intentions. Poland was this early on, but got more considerate over time. France also has a few of these moments, and has referred to the other nations as "insignificant characters."
* ItsAllJunk: America tries to pull this with the gifts given to him by England, but can't bring himself to do it.
* JapaneseRanguage: Japan is the most prominent example of this in the English dub. Most of the other Asian nations also have accents, but less obvious with the R's.
* JawDrop: Happens to Germany when he saw Prussia doing a Bollywood dance number with India during the 2011 Halloween event.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** Russia terrifies everyone, but loves his big sister and seems to genuinely want the best for his people.
** America is obnoxiously blunt and full of himself, but when he first realizes how nervous Japan is about having contact with the outside world, he purposely makes his fake fortune-telling method give a good outcome to give Japan confidence.
** England's a grouch who presumably wasn't much fun for any of his siblings or those stuck with him during his empire days, but he genuinely adored America and wanted to protect him, plus he seems quite friendly with his former colonies now. There's also how affectionate he is to his fairy friends.
** Germany's a DrillSergeantNasty who's pretty tough on his allies...and will also run to their rescue should they ever need help, and who, despite his constant complaints, never abandons "useless" allies.
* JesusTaboo: Averted, he appears sometimes. At one point, he appears to Prussia (who was still the religious order of the Teutonic Knights at the time) who was remorseful about touching Hungary's breasts.
* JustAStupidAccent: In the dub, whenever non-English speaking characters are shown talking to each other or their nations, they speak in English with an accent.
* KansaiRegionalAccent: Many of the countries speak a unique Japanese dialect, although this is to emphasize character traits more than anything.
** Spain has a heavy Osaka accent.
** Cuba speaks with a Kawachi accent, a rougher variation of the Osaka accent.
** Belgium speaks in Shiga dialect.
** Poland has a Nagoya accent.
** Sweden has a ''very'' heavy Tohoku dialect.
** Norway and Iceland's Tsugaru dialect.
** Hong Kong's Gyaru-o dialect.
** Denmark's Ibaraki dialect.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Japan's WeaponOfChoice, of course.
* KindaBusyHere: At the end of the 2009 Christmas Bloodbath, France gets interrupted from the final battle by a phone call from Italy.
* KindheartedCatLover: Greece is always surrounded by cats and adores them, as a parallel to the high numbers of stray cats in real-life Greece.
* {{Keet}}:
** Sealand is small, cute, and hyperactive.
** While they're older than most examples, Italy and Poland have a lot of these traits, like being cute and cheerful.
** America and Korea aren't small or colorful, but they also have shades of this trope.
* {{Kitsune}}: Japan dresses as one for one Halloween.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Korea is usually saying he invented things, like education. Also, Poland used to treat Lithuania like his lackey and tried to make Liet live like him. Many of the nation-tans have [[CulturalPosturing a moment acting like this]] (They are all good at heart, though).
* TheKrampus: Hungary dresses up like this every Christmas to scare Italy. He still hasn't figured out that it's her.
* LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine:
** A scientist giving a lecture on the effects of eating tomatos was wearing one.
** Germany also wore a white lab coat when he was doing research on a substitute for coffee.
* TheLancer: England is the StraightMan and sort of TheRival to America, ''[[NotSoAboveItAll sometimes]]'' TeamDad and OnlySaneMan of the Allies.
* LargeHam:
** Rome is not only physically tall and muscular, but also loud, enthusiastic, and sometimes over the top in terms of personality.
** America can be this at times, especially when he's declaring himself the hero.
** Cuba has moments of this as well, such as the time when he and Canada were taking pictures together and Cuba's suggestions started getting over the top. Dynamic yoga, anyone?
** Kugelmugel's introduction: He starts yelling about art and rolling around on the ground. It even scares the other micronations away from trying to talk to him (at first, as he joins their group later).
* TheLeader: America claims to be this.
** Denmark loudly proclaims himself to be the leader of the Nordics, and takes the job ''very'' seriously. The other Nordics don't really acknowledge him as such, though.
* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: Austria in episode four.
* LemonyNarrator: In the dub, where she sometimes talks with a ValleyGirl accent. The Narrator is very informational in the original.
--> "Oh! Pretty music!"
--> "Even Godless-er China."
--> "Gay Christmas... I mean, French."
--> "'Hoist the main sail and [[BringMyBrownPants get me my brown pants]]' and 'holy crap a talking muffin!' I love those jokes"
--> "Apparently, neutrality means stay the F*** out!"
* LethalChef:
** England. No surprise. This trope is played with in the show and is a major plot point in the movie.
** Sweden's surströmming (fermented baltic herring) can make others think that he is this.
* LetHimChoose: In the comic that introduces Colonial America, England and France decide to have America choose which of them he wants as his big-brother. America sees a dispirited England in a CornerOfWoe and chooses him over France.
* LetsSplitUpGang: What the characters do in the movie when infiltrating the spaceship.
* LickingTheBlade: France once imagined England coming through a window while dressed as a pirate and licking a bloody sword blade.
* LightBulbJoke: Once with Poland.
* LightningGlare: When Tony and England met for the first time, it was pretty obvious that they didn't like each other. Well, obvious to everyone except [[TheDitz America]].
* LikeIsLikeAComma:
** Poland speaks in this manner.
** In the dub, the narrator speaks like this for an episode.
** Some scanlations have Hong Kong speak like this, as a way to reflect the Gyaru-o dialect he speaks in Japanese.
* LimitedWardrobe: The characters often have a certain iconic outfit that they wear most of the time, but there are also times when they wear other clothing, making this a ZigZaggingTrope.
* ALizardNamedLiz: Kumajirou: "Kuma" means "bear" in Japanese. WordOfGod also says that if he'd been named in English, his name would be ''Will-bear.''
* TheLoad: Italy, oh so very much towards his fellow Axis members, especially Germany.
-->"Germany, Germany, help me! I'm in north Africa right now and I can't tie my shoelaces! Oh... and also England is here!"
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: A full list can be found [[http://www.hetarchive.net/characters.php here.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because of the sheer number of countries (past and present) on the planet.
* LonelyTogether: "The Anglo-Japanese Alliance Between Two Lonely People," anyone?
* LovableCoward: Italy in a single phrase.
* LoveBubbles:
** A variation occurs inside Germany's head in the Valentine's Day comics when [[GhostInTheMachine the workers]] get swamped with numerous heart-shaped objects that they've never seen before.
** Italy tends to have hearts coming from him, but this is often towards Italian things (such as food and their traditions) as opposed to another character.
* LoveHurts:
** In the ChristmasEpisode, a drunk England suddenly snaps out of his stupor when reminded of how he spent a hundred years trying to get over the pain of his unrequited love. (He didn't succeed; [[{{Tsundere}} he just moved on to another stage]].)
** Belarus breaks all of Lithuania's fingers not even ten minutes into their date. And he [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter doesn't seem to mind]].
** Prussia [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial isn't lonely! Really!]]
* LoveTriangle:
** TriangRelations type 2: Lithuania has a crush on Belarus, who completely abhors him. Russia's favorite subordinate is Lithuania, who is terrified of him. Belarus wants to marry Russia, who is terrified of ''her''. [[PsychoticLoveTriangle It's very... twisted, indeed.]]
** Type 3: Greece --> Japan <-- Turkey. Complete with the two ends of the triangle arguing about which one of them Japan pays more attention to. Japan may prefer Greece over Turkey (fandom certainly thinks so, and you [[ShipTease can't]] [[BirdsOfAFeather really]] blame [[DidYouJustHaveSex them]]), but he remains evasive of any questions about the matter.
** Type 4: Austria and Hungary are an OfficialCouple, but it's hinted that Prussia has feelings for Hungary. That's likely the most canon take on their relations, but fandom enjoys playing with all possible combinations of the [[FanNickname Frying Pangle]], sometimes even making it a Type 7 or [[OT3 Type 8]] in their works.
** And then there's the America/England/France LoveTriangle. While you'll definitely find it in {{Fanon}}, canon is quite subtle about it. One could argue that the reason for this is that England is a ''huge'' {{Tsundere}}, America gives mixed signals and France is, well, [[AnythingThatMoves France]].
* LuckyCharmsTitle:
** The Delicious★Tomato Song.
** Hello★China.
** Casino ★ Show Time!
** ''World☆Stars''
** ''Hetalian☆Jet''
* LuminescentBlush: Most characters have this on constantly, especially in the earlier manga editions and seasons one through four of the anime.
* MadeOfIron: Sealand is literally this. When he punches out [[spoiler: France #23 from the AlternateUniverse]], he states that he's able to do so because he's made of steel.
* TheMafia: They once demanded some of Spain's imports from Romano. WordOfGod also says that one of the reasons Romano is grouchier than his brother is because he's had to deal with the Mafia more.
* MagicalRealism: Hints of it, especially regarding the nature of the characters and how they come to be. When a young soldier asked France about his true nature this is what he said:
-->'''France:''' If it's hard to understand, imagine a ship! The government is the mast, citizens are the wind and they swim on the sea of time, or so it says. If the mast stands straight and good wind blows, the ship goes forward. Well, sometimes it gets stranded and that was it. [[NonAnswer Something like that maybe?]]
* MagicWand: England has one that can be used to make the other nations into kids.
-->'''France:''' [[OhCrap Oh, you naughty wizard boy!]]
** Russia declares that he's going to use one to go after Estonia after he accuses him of hacking his blog, [[spoiler: but it's actually his metal pipe.]]
* MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext:
** Whenever the characters are stranded on That F*cking Island and Rome appears singing a song.
** Anything involving the mochi.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Arguably Austria to the Holy Roman Empire. Subverted in that he's not evil at all, even though his stuffiness seems to give the impression.
* MangaEffects: As the series started out as a Japanese webcomic, you can expect to see a lot of these.
* MarshmallowHell: {{Inverted}}. During the 2013 Halloween Event Italy went around resting his head on other nation's chest. He was successful with the guys but not so much with the girls.
* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Hungary and Austria. In the 2011 Halloween event, Hungary even dresses up as a prince and gets Austria to be her princess.
* {{Masquerade}}: It's strongly hinted that not everyone knows of the Nations' existence or at least their true identities. This is even touched upon in a strip involving France and one of his soldiers.
* MassOhCrap: In the movie, the others do this when England states that he put [[LethalChef his home-made scones]] into the gift bags they gave the Pict.
* MatryoshkaObject: When helping deliver presents after Santa went missing, Japan put boxes nested inside larger boxes into his gifts.
* MeddlingParents: How China acts toward Hong Kong, if not all of his siblings.
* MediumAwareness:
** England stares daggers (well, arrows) at Russia. Russia then grabs and eats them.
** In chapter four of ''World☆Stars'', Germany swatted at Italy's {{Bishie Sparkle}}s.
* {{Meganekko}}: There are a few male versions.
** Austria has an refined personality and wears glasses purely to enhance his appearance.
** Estonia is intelligent and quite competent with computers and electronics.
** Thailand is sweet, cheerful, and always smiling.
* {{Meido}}: As a young child living with Austria, [[WholesomeCrossdresser Italy used to wear maid outfits]]. Especially in the Chibitalia chapter, which lampshades the trope when the Holy Roman Empire is seen with a portrait of Chibitalia and is asked if the model was a servant. This may be a historical in-joke, though. See WholesomeCrossdresser below.
* MementoMacguffin:
** Holy Rome keeps the broom that Chibitalia gave him. (In the webcomic, it was "her" panties.)
** America still has the toy soldiers that England made for him.
** Possibly the iron cross necklace that Germany gave Italy when they decided to be allies.
* MessyHair: England, and it was even worse when he was a child. Iceland's hair is described as being this, and Greece's hair is this way too.
* MisplacedRetribution: Canada is frequently the target of this because he looks almost identical to his brother America, though the countries that are pissed at America wouldn't harm Canada if they knew the difference. That he's very soft spoken means he rarely is able to stop the abuse or convince the other countries (rightfully angry at America) from beating up on him.
* MisplacedSorrow: When England 'dies' in the hospital after an accident involving the panjandrum, America gets teary eyed and tells him he can't go because he owes him a 'crap-ton of money'.
* MistakenIdentity: Poor Canada is frequently mistaken for America on the occasions that the other nations even notice him.
* ModestyTowel: Variation in the ChristmasEpisode; Spain pulls a shower curtain towards himself and barely covers his crotch.
* MoeAnthropomorphism: The ''other'' [[{{Moe}} foundation]] the series was built on.
* MoeCouplet:
** Sealand and Latvia. Sealand helps Latvia not be a twitching emotional wreck and Latvia keeps Sealand grounded to reality.
** America and Japan. America can come across as obnoxious and pushy at times and Japan as dull to some. Put them together, however, and America becomes the cheerful, eager friend who gets Japan to open up to new things and Japan the calm, mature one who balances out America's boisterousness. Plus, in spite of the obvious OppositesAttract potential, many people prefer them as [=BFFs=] rather than lovers in the Western fandom.
** Greece and Japan, whose relationship seems to be mainly based on them both being quiet {{Kindhearted Cat Lover}}s who soften or endear each other's negative traits and are unlikely to ever fight. You can make a drinking game out of the number of times they're described as "[[CuteKitten cute]]" or "{{moe}}" by fans, seriously. (Not that that's a ''bad'' thing, mind you.)
** England and Japan, too, they seem to get along well and are very respectful of each other's cultures, even if they find them confusing at times.
* MomentKiller:
** America has a tendency to do this around England.
** His voice actor did this during the 2011 Seiyuu event when Creator/AiOrikasa asked the guys to give the audience a New Year's kiss.
--->'''Creator/HirokiYasumoto:''' [pointing to the camera] Over there? Why don't you come closer? [walks to the edge of the stage and crouches down so he's closer to the camera]\\
'''Creator/KatsuyukiKonishi:''' [just as Yasumoto is about to start] We can see your underwear!
* MonochromaticEyes: Japan, Liechtenstein, Norway, and the Holy Roman Empire have eyes that are matte colored and not as expressive as the other characters.
* MonochromePast: In season one of the anime, when America remembers growing up with England, the {{Flashback}} sequences are shown in an old-fashioned sepia tone.
* MoodWhiplash:
** The comics about the American Revolution, Lithuania's sleepover at Poland's house and Bloody Sunday.
** There are quite a few milder examples than the ones given above as well. Episode 50 of the anime(the one with the table-turning) contains one between America and Japan. When America asks Japan if there's anything bothering him, Japan proceeds to pour his heart out, sharing with America how excited yet apprehensive he is about learning Western culture. Then he concludes by asking if they (Japan and America) will be able to get along from then on. Ouch.
* MoodDissonance: At one point, the Allied countries spread gossip about Germany. In the context of the anime, its treated like a highschool gossip moment... except one of those ‘rumors’ involves the existence of Auschwitz.
* {{Mooning}}: When Italy calls France in the middle of the night because he's afraid that his friends will leave him, France sarcastically suggests that Italy show them his ass. The next night, Italy called back crying again, claiming it didn't work. France couldn't believe that he had taken the suggestion seriously.
* MoralGuardians: Pulled the show off regular TV airings to other electronic distributions. Nationalist Korean netizens reacted to a Japanese parody of Korea being broadcast about as well as you might expect. Some of the English and Japanese fandom reacted to ''that'' about as well as you'd expect, too.
* MortalityEnsues: What apparently happens to the characters when their nation ceases to exist, but ShrugOfGod makes it difficult to be certain. In any case, they do eventually die, but it's unknown how long it takes.
* TheMovie: The Plot? [[TheGrays Alien]] [[AlienInvasion Invasion.]]
* {{Muggles}}: We sometimes see normal people hanging around and interacting with the nations.
** An early story showed Italy conspiring with one of his soldiers. When the Germans went to bed, he and his entire army pulled a ScrewThisImOuttaHere.
** At one point, England tries to take advantage of this by blending into crowds in Italy.
** When Germany gives up beer as part of a diet, his soldiers are shocked.
** This is touched upon in the strip ''[[http://www.hetarchive.net/scanlations/nonlinear.php?vais Though I may depart, you shall remain]]'' when one soldier wonders what exactly France is, as the poor sap says that France hasn't aged since his grandfather's time.
** France brings a French actress to the ''Manga/HetaliaHetaween2013'' party, and a Danish diplomat and his family accompany Denmark and the Nordics to the same party.
* MouthyKid:
** Sealand can be this occasionally, especially when he's trying to get others to acknowledge him as a real country.
** Wy does this at times, especially towards Sealand and Seborga.
* MultipleDemographicAppeal: The fandom is often stereotyped as being made up of teenage girls (possibly because they're usually the ones [[MostFanficWritersAreGirls producing most of the fanwork]]), but there are a lot of male fans, along with fans in their 20s, 30s, and even 40s.
* MustacheVandalism: When Chibitalia went to live with Austria, he wanted to do some painting but was only able to find a jar of ink and a big brush. So he added a mustache to a portrait of Austria.
* MustHaveCaffeine: Austria gets very grumpy when he is deprived of coffee.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Considering that all of the characters are [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personifications]] of their countries, this is very much in effect. Examples include WWII Germany, who expresses open disgust at some of the orders he's been given, but has to follow them anyway. Or Russia's growing anger at Stalin despite being more or less fine with communism. They aren't bound to a particular government, leader or ideology as they represent their people as a whole. Which includes their ideas/cultures/beliefs/what-have-you in general. Plus, autocratic governments can hardly be considered representative of their people in the same way as democratic ones, so it makes sense for their countries to hold different opinions to their rulers - and also to be unable to stop them. Dictators don't hold elections.
** The first chapter of ''World☆Stars'' paints the nations like this:
--->"They accept their fate as it is, and let their bosses order them around."
* MysticalWhiteHair: Iceland, with him being able to see magical creatures and such.
* MythologyGag: In the dub, Creator/ToddHaberkorn voices Britain when he's a kid instead of Scott Freeman -- possibly a nod to the fact he was supposed to voice Britain before North Italy had to be recast.
* NakedApron:
** England's "sexy waiter" outfit, which was inspired by an actual business in the UK.
** Hong Kong during the 2010 Christmas event.
** Spain, America, and Prussia all wore them in the 2011 April Fool's event.
** In the 2013 Halloween event, Himaruya drew several characters wearing them as an apology for being late with updates.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Has been used more than once. Italy and France in particular get this treatment.
* NationalStereotypes: The ''other'' other foundation the series was built on, although the characters themselves go beyond this. Said stereotypes are either subverted or expounded upon, revealing the basis and history behind them.
* NationsAsPeople: The main characters are all {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of nations.
* NatureLover: Finland is revealed to be this in ''World☆Stars'', and Norway's character song ''My house is… Quiet. ~With the Trolls~'' alludes to him being this as well.
* NaughtyNurseOutfit: France blackmails England into wearing one during the 2011 April Fool's Day event.
* NeatFreak:
** Germany is obsessive about cleanliness.
** Austria as well, although while Germany will actually fold his dirty clothes, Austria will simply drape them on a chair.
** Netherlands hates messy gardens and doesn't let anyone touch the kitchen because of this.
** For all their differences, this is something that [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/12306300.html Prussia and Germany have in common.]]
* NecktieLeash: Norway strangles Denmark this way.
* NervesOfSteel: England isn't the type to buckle under pressure or get scared easily, as WordOfGod notes. At one point he walks right up to a ''tank''. Moldova mentions he has a high tolerance for terror in the ''Manga/HetaliaHetaween2013'' event.
* NiceGuy:
** Lithuania is the premiere example; he's very kind and considerate, and one of his profiles has called him "a really good person."
** Finland is very friendly and sweet-tempered.
** Canada is very gentle and friendly...though he's more often than not overlooked by others.
** America is a variation: He's good-hearted and friendly, but doesn't bother to read the atmosphere, thus stepping on others' toes. One strip revealed that he's jealous of Canada's "rare personality" that enables him to get along with everyone.
** Sweden is this underneath his intimidating aura.
** Macau's profile mentions his "ungreedy nature," and he's protective and friendly with his siblings, even attempting to defuse arguments between them.
** Spain is extremely kind, to the point of exhibiting saintlike patience with the ''very'' {{Tsundere}} Romano.
** Cyprus is peace-loving, and the OnlySaneMan in the midst of Greece and Turkey's constant fighting.
* NiceHat: The Holy Roman Empire. Turkey combines it with MaskPower. Prussia is sometimes seen wearing one too.
* NighInvulnerability: The nations can be injured, although it takes a lot more to hurt one of them than a normal person and they heal very quickly, but they can't be killed as long as their country still exists.
* NightmareFetishist: Finland's desire to make a hotel room with an "ambiance that makes you want to scream," Belarus' interest in ghosts and the occult, and surprisingly ''Italy'' with his taste for gory horror movies.
* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Used in a Halloween strip as [[spoiler: Japan tells America to use Russia as a receptionist in order to scare England.]] Otherwise, countries are often shown as being very scared of anyone who'd beaten them before or who has a reputation; hence why many freak out whenever they are asked to interact with Germany or Russia. Also, the Italies are afraid of England and Southern Italy appears to be terrified of France.
** Romania invites the Italy brothers to a concert at his place, with the stipulation that they must give him some of their blood... [[spoiler: It's just a campaign to encourage blood donation.]]
* NoCartoonFish:
** Most animals are drawn cutesy like the rest of the characters, but fish are [[http://i43.tinypic.com/11h9amt.jpg usually shown]] in a more realistic style.
** Averted in season five of the anime, where the fish were just as cartoony as the other animals, although some of the anime artwork still plays this straight.
* NonActionGuy: The Italies, Austria, and Luxembourg are like this.
* NonHumanSidekick:
** America has been shown with his alien friend Tony. He also has a pet whale and a cat.
** Japan and his dog Pochi.
** England and his magical friends.
** Norway and his magical friends as well.
** Germany has three dogs. Although Berlitz is the only one who has appeared in the series.
** Greece is almost always shown with various cats.
** Finland and Sweden have a pet dog named Hanatamago.
** Canada and his bear Kumajiro.
** France has had several birds, all of them named Pierre.
** Iceland has Mr. Puffin.
** Prussia has a little yellow bird that he is frequently shown with.
** Netherlands has a rabbit.
** Australia is often shown with a koala. He apparently has a pet kangaroo as well.
** Similar to Australia, New Zealand is often drawn with a sheep, and has a pet kiwi bird.
** While they haven't appeared in the series, official art often shows Egypt with a jackal and/or falcon.
* NonIndicativeName: The [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/468316.html Italian Armored Division]].
* NoodleIncident: Early in the series, both Germany and America made a reference to England wearing a carnival dress and swaying his hips, but nothing else about that incident has been revealed.
** Nikko Nikko started out as an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Ordinary Middle School Student]], but was ''somehow'' able to become a Micronation personification. Even Japan is baffled by how he did it.
* NoSell: A young Russia calls down General Winter for help when he's being attacked by Sweden, Denmark, the Teutonic Knights and Mongolia...only for it to have no effect on them since they were all born in a cold area and are used to the cold.
* NoSenseOfDirection: Austria, to the point where he has even gotten lost inside Germany's house.
* NoSocialSkills: Germany, who has to consult books ''constantly.'' Russia doesn't know how to make friends in a non-forceful way, and writes anonymously to France's radio show for advice on how to do so.
* NoSwastikas: Averted; they can be seen in the last chapter of Volume One of the published manga.
* NotBloodSiblings:
** Liechtenstein is Switzerland's adoptive little sister.
** England and America, along with the other nations who were part of the British Empire.
** China with Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong.
* NotDrawnToScale: While some characters are always drawn taller than others, the exact difference between their heights isn't kept consistent.
* NotGrowingUpSucks: TRNC can't grow up, apparently because he's only been recognized as a country by Turkey.
* NotMeThisTime: France usually pulls some sort of prank on the other nations during the holidays, so when the others caught up with him during the 2011 April Fool's event, he said this when admitting that he wasn't the mastermind behind the pranks.
* NotSoImaginaryFriend: Magical creatures exist, but most nations lost the ability to see them as they stopped believing in them. England, Norway and Iceland are the only ones shown to still be able to see them (and Iceland pretends that he can't). Everyone else thinks they're talking to thin air if they see them interacting with them.
* NotWhatItLooksLike:
** An early story had Germany receive a panicky call from Italy, who kept yelling things like, "Germany, help!" "Big brother, stop! Ow ow ow! It won't come out!" After rushing over, he discovered that Italy and Romano have merely gotten their [[IdiotHair Idiot Hairs]] tangled together.
** Japan was shown coming over to Germany's house one night to borrow something, only to hear him and Italy talking about liking each other and thinking, "I can't even begin to imagine what is going on in there." After hearing a loud crash, he rushes in to make sure that Germany and Italy are fine, only to see Italy (who is mostly naked) laying flat on his back with Germany (who is completely naked) face-down on top of him. ItMakesSenseInContext.
** During the 2011 Halloween event, Germany (dressed as a Roman soldier) asks Japan (dressed as a slave) if the SlaveCollar and attached chain he is wearing is too heavy. Japan explains that it actually was quite light, and asked if Germany wanted to hold it. Taiwan happened to walk up to them right at that moment and wonder what was going on.
** In the 2013 Halloween event, Bulgaria dressed up as [[Manga/AttackOnTitan Eren]] for the party, but Romania insisted that he can't show up wearing that and tried to force him to change his clothes with some help from Poland. Monaco walked in and saw the two of them taking off Bulgaria's clothes.
* NowOrNeverKiss: A variation occurs in the Chibitalia storyline, when [[spoiler:Holy Roman Empire kisses Chibitalia on the lips before leaving Austria's mansion, since they don't know if they'll ever see each other again.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Subverted when Germany thinks Italy is pretending to be TheDitz to trick him early on in the series. He's wrong.
** Latvia ''might'' be doing this, as his volume 4 profile says he's "hidden his true strength and ability to handle things easily."
* ObligatorySwearing:
** America and ''especially'' mochi America, thanks to the stereotype that Americans swear a lot.
** The dub is often raunchier than the original anime.
** This is pretty common in fanfiction, especially with DarkerAndEdgier stories.
* ObliviousToLove: Italy is this to Germany in the Buon San Valentino comics.
* OcularGushers: Italy did this when he first met Germany and was begging the latter to not hurt him.
* OccultBlueEyes: Norway, who can see magical creatures and is implied to be able to do BlackMagic.
* OddFriendship:
** Germany and Italy, it's even been discussed by other characters who can't figure out why those two are such good friends.
** Poland and Lithuania are also opposites in terms of personality.
** America and Japan, whose friendship is often used for CrazyCulturalComparison.
** Norway and Denmark, being a calm, stoic and practical-minded DeadpanSnarker and an unfailingly energetic, adventurous and boisterous PerpetualSmiler, respectively.
** Finland and Sweden, with Finland being talkative, expressive, and exuberant, while Sweden is straightforward, stoic, and rarely speaks. Though as Sweden is friendly and playful deep down, it could be a case of BirdsOfAFeather.
* OhCrap:
** America when he discovered that he had gained weight.
** Holy Rome when Chibitalia collapsed while they were cuddling.
** Russia in the 2010 Christmas event when [[spoiler:General Winter was instantly defeated.]]
** When Iceland was telling a ghost story during the 2013 Halloween event, France remarked that Iceland had unique phrasing and asked him if he would like to get together for a poetry reading. After looking horrified, Iceland rushed through the rest of the tale.
* OfficialCouple: Austria/Hungary, who were married at one point and are still close despite being divorced.
* OffModel: Some moments in the anime. One that comes especially to mind is when they show Chibitalia with [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chigiiii.png what's supposed to be a younger Romano in episode 2]], it happens fairly frequently with [[Creator/StudioDEEN DEEN's]] [[http://ohgodnohetaliaanimeart.tumblr.com/ anime artwork]] and was lampshaded in the dub.
--> '''China:''' [showing his Emperor various animals] This is ''supposed'' to be a camel.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Seems to be how the nations get around. Lampshaded in the 2010 Christmas event when Cuba called Germany and told him to come over right away. Germany informed him that there was no way he could get a plane chartered in time, at which point Cuba expressed surprise that he couldn't just teleport.
* OlderThanTheyLook: ''All'' of the nations. They're centuries old, but most of them look to be in their late teens to mid-late twenties ''tops.'' Special mention goes to China, who's ''4000,'' and Japan, who's hinted to be an old man despite his very youthful appearance.
* OnceKilledAManWithANoodleImplement: In the dub, Germany claims to have killed a man with his own mustache and a grape.
* {{Ondo}}: The end of the movie shows the characters doing an {{Ondo}} dance with the aliens.
* OneManArmy: Every single character, in an unusually literal example, although it is subverted once in a while. There are occasions where we see nations with their troops.
* OnlySaneMan:
** Germany for the Axis Powers and England for the Allied Powers. If you stretch the definition of "[[BrainsAndBondage sane]]" a bit, that is.
** For the Allied Forces, China sometimes reaches this level and acts as the voice of reason when England proves that he's NotSoAboveItAll, especially when fighting with [[SitcomArchNemesis France]].
** Estonia for Eastern Europe as well.
** Iceland of Nordics considers himself this, but in practice his slightly bratty nature has him come off as a grumpy killjoy instead.
** And Hong Kong of Asia. Macau is this as well, in his attempts at defusing fights between his siblings.
** Wy for the micronations, too. It seems that every character group has one.
** Cyprus for the Southeastern Europe group, as he's constantly trying to get Turkey and Greece to get along.
* OnlySixFaces: Averted for the most part in the manga (more often than not, the anime plays this straight) as there are variations in the characters' facial features. However, as [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters more and more characters are introduced]], similar features started popping up. Himaruya acknowledged this when he pointed out [[http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-963.html the similarity between Prussia and Sweden's faces.]]
** Himaruya also acknowledges that Kugelmugel looks like a short Iceland with braided twintails.
* OnTheNext: An "on the next episode of ''Hetalia''..." preview was used a couple of times in the first season of the anime.
* OnTheNextEpisodeOfCatchPhrase: This was used once in a while in the anime.
--> "To be continued... ''maybe''.''
* OppositesAttract:
** Despite all their differences, Germany and Italy have remained friends, and the "Buon San Valentino" story hints that Germany may have developed romantic feelings for Italy.
** Poland and Lithuania as well, although whether or not the two are just friends or something more is left ambiguous.
* {{Otaku}}:
** Many aspects of Japan's personality are references to Japanese otaku culture. He's a fan of anime and manga and is into 2D.
** France has been shown to be a manga fan. A sketch showed him and Japan shopping for manga together, during one of the live events Japan told him that if he didn't start behaving he wouldn't let him have any more manga, and he once imagined Germany as Light from Manga/DeathNote. JustifiedTrope since France imports more manga than any other nation.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Bulgaria dresses as one for ''Manga/Hetaween2011'', opposite Romania dressing as a demon.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Romania dresses as one for ''Manga/Hetaween2011'', opposite Bulgaria dressing as an angel.
* OurFairiesAreDifferent: England and Norway are friends with them, and are drawn with them in a few instances.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Romania and Moldova's designs are influenced by this, with their CuteLittleFangs. England also dresses as one for one Halloween.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Italy and Germany dress like this for one Halloween, and [[spoiler: Luxembourg wins the ''Hetaween 2013'' costume contest with a wolfman costume put together by Hollywood professionals.]]
* OutOfFocus: Unavoidable since there are LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters. This mostly applies to nations other than the main eight, especially ones that were introduced later in the series. Often remedied by ADayInTheLimelight. It's also related to ArtifactTitle above, with the Axis Powers no longer having the spotlight to themselves.
* PandaingToTheAudience:
** China is often seen with a panda cub, wears [[GoofyPrintUnderwear panda-print boxers]], and even has a panda shaped birthmark.
** Hong Kong appears to love pandas as well.
** Russia will dress up as a panda when he's stalking China.
** An early episode showed China introducing Japan to a talking panda. [[note]]In the original webcomic, China introduced Japan to Tibet. This was changed in the anime, possibly to avoid controversy like what happened to Korea.[[/note]]
* PantyShot: We once got one of Hungary, courtesy of France.
* PaperThinDisguise: The disguises work, it's how the characters ''act'' that gets them caught.
** Germany simply wore a suit and glasses while undercover in France, and was only caught because France noticed that he was mashing his potatoes rather than slicing them.
** England changed his clothes (and later his hairstyle) when repeatedly trying to escape from Italy. Germany kept catching him and dragging him back, the first time because his unstylish clothing stuck out, the second time because he wasn't flirting with the pretty girls walking by, and the third time because he ordered British food at a cafe.
** Sealand once sneaked into a G8 meeting disguised as Canada, complete with a fake IdiotHair and white teddy bear. He's only found out because he starts loudly criticizing and insulting England.
* ParentalSubstitute: Turkey acted as this to a young Greece and Egypt, and Denmark was this for a young Iceland (as well as a BigBrotherMentor). Sweden is this for Sealand after he buys him off eBay.
* PeekABangs: France in later volumes of the manga and season five of the anime, thanks to ArtEvolution.
** Luxembourg's bangs cover his right eye completely.
* PermaStubble: France, Rome, Turkey, and Croatia all sport this.
* PerpetualFrowner: As they're [[GermanicDepressives Germanic nations]], Germany, Switzerland, and Netherlands have this as their default expressions. Sweden, Iceland and Norway are like this, as well as TRNC. Germania is this to the point that when he tries to smile, he physically ''can't''.
* PerpetualPoverty: Moldova, whose economy is only 1/30th the size of Greece's. All he wears is a patchy coat, and apparently can't even afford underwear.
* PerpetualSmiler: Spain, Denmark, Portugal and Seborga are very cheerful and constantly smiling. Russia is this...[[PsychopathicManchild in a bad way]].
* PersonalitySwap: Germany and Italy (try to) switch personalities in one strip just for the heck of it.
* PhenotypeStereotype: Most European nation-tans north of Italy are blond with blue or green eyes. Somewhat TruthInTelevision, as studies shown that the [[http://www.vagabondish.com/wp-content/uploads/blond-map-europe.jpg percentage of blondes in Europe]] increases the further north you go.
* ThePhilosopher: Greece, and he'll talk at great length when he gets in this mood.
* PhysicalScarsPsychologicalScars:
** China has a large one on his shoulder from when Japan stabbed him in the back with his katana, which symbolized the first Sino-Japanese war.
** Lithuania's back is covered in scars. It's implied that he got them from Russia during Soviet occupation.
** According to Chibitalia, Rome's body was eventually covered in them from all the battles he fought.
** Netherlands and Hesse also have scars, but we don't know their significance yet. Although we do know the Netherlands got his from Spain.
* PickyEater: A hungry Chibitalia once outright refused food that Holy Rome brought him for this reason.
* PimpedOutCape: Hutt River wears a purple one, even when he's relaxing at the beach with Australia, Wy, and New Zealand. It's actually his home's royal outfit.
* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Russia and his sisters sort of invert this. Ukraine is recognized for her blue overalls, Belarus is recognized for her indigo/blue dress, and Russia is more associated with purple or pink. His scarf is pink in the anime.
* PinkySwear: Used to symbolize Germany and Italy's Pact of Steel.
* PinPullingTeeth: Germany does this when trying to demonstrate to Italy how to use a grenade. Italy tries to mimic him, but it [[ThrowThePin doesn't work out so well]].
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Sealand, a SuperStrongChild made out of steel.
-->'''Sealand:''' My punches are really strong! Do you wanna see?
-->'''Ladonia:''' No, don't!
* PipePain: Russia's [[WeaponOfChoice preferred weapon]].
* PityTheKidnapper:
** Germany takes Italy prisoner, but kicks him out at the end of the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI First World War]].
** A running gag in the series, as anybody who captures Italy is going to regret it very quickly.
** Another one for the Italies is they pretty much regret that their trap worked on England.
* {{Pixellation}}: In the manga, it's sometimes used to censor someone's speech if it's foul or disturbing. In the anime and movie, it's used to censor images of characters/objects from other anime series.
* PlatonicLifePartners: Czech Republic and Slovakia are this (through the platonic part is [[ShipTease somewhat ambiguous]]), and Hungary and Poland are hinted to be this.
* PlayboyBunny:
** Near the end of ''Paint It, White'', America took a turn at making the aliens feel welcome by bringing them to a Vegas-esque casino complete with young women wearing these outfits.
** In the 2013 Halloween event, one of the sketches that Himaruya posted as an apology for being late featured Hungary dressed up as a Playboy Bunny.
* PlayfulHacker: Russia occasionally "tinkers" with his computer, and once hacks Finland's phone to get it to ring constantly in an attempt to get him to spend time with him. Estonia also accuses Russia of hacking his blog and turning it into a fansite for himself. [[spoiler: He didn't, and was...[[BerserkButton upset at Estonia]] [[PipePain for thinking so.]]]]
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Young nations (and grown up North Italy) tend to have abandonment issues.
* PleasePutSomeClothesOn:
** Italy is often told this, usually by Germany.
** When France decides to revive the Olympic games, he shows up in the nude. Cue England walking in and promptly freaking out.
** In the 2010 Christmas Bloodbath, China is horrified when Hong Kong whips off the maid dress he had been wearing.
* PlentyOfBlondes: With a few exceptions, the majority of the European and North American nations are blond.
* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: The plot of the ''Paint It White'' movie deals with this.
* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: For the most part, although there are a few strips that avert this.
* ThePollyanna: Spain and Romania remain cheerful and upbeat, despite the fact that they've had a rough time of things in the past.
* PornStash: Germany apparently has one. Italy found it and later blabbed about it to the Allies when he was captured.
* PortmanteauCoupleName: Can be either a combination of their country names in English, their country names in Japanese, their human names, in-universe nicknames, or a mix-and-match of any of them.
* PostVictoryCollapse: After beating France on one occasion, a very battered England was shown exclaiming "I won!" and promptly passed out.
* PottyFailure:
** Romano when he was little. Not only did he wet the bed, but Spain came home one day and discovered that he wasn't able to make it to the bathroom in time.
** America apparently wet the bed as a kid. While sleeping during a meeting, England muttered "You wet the bed again, Amer-" causing America to hit him, waking him up.
* PowerTrio: The Axis can be seen this way. Germany is [[DrillSergeantNasty Superego]] (rational), Italy is [[{{Keet}} Id]] (emotional), Japan is [[JapanesePoliteness Ego]] (middle man). Although they don't always [[ComicTrio act this way]].
* PrincelyYoungMan: Austria has an aristocratic personality, is in charge of the house, has refined taste in food, plays classical music, and is referred to as a "young master" by the others.
** Luxembourg qualifies as this as well, as he "exudes elegance" and speaks in a "prim and proper" manner.
* {{Privateer}}: There are a couple of strips which detail the story of England's privateers. Basically, England found a few pirates that were causing him trouble, and told them to "go beat up that Spain guy." They did, allowing England to get the upper hand over Spain. Whenever Spain complained to England, he would just apologize and say that the pirates were causing him trouble, too. That is, until Spain went over to England's house and saw him giving medals to the privateers. Whoops.
* ProperLady: Liechtenstein. She's humble, kind, quiet, deferring yet not completely submissive to her brother Switzerland, very mature for a young nation, and quite competent at housework.
* PsychopathicManchild:
** Russia. [[WordOfGod The author]] did state that Russia has a Child-like cruelty to him. He has [[{{Moe}} such a sweet face]] and is [[CuteAndPsycho always smiling...]] [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] to a ridiculous extent in the fandom, seeing as he says creepy things and stalks people frequently but very rarely actually ''does'' anything.
** His little sister Belarus, a beautiful young woman with an unhealthy fixation on her big brother and a very immature temperament, also falls under this.
* PsychoticLoveTriangle: A rare "closed" variant - Belarus wants Russia, Russia wants Lithuania, and poor Lithuania wants Belarus...
* PublicBathhouseScene:
** Has been used a few times in connection with Japan. In one strip, England meets up with Japan just as he is leaving a bathhouse.
** Another story had the Axis in a bath together.
** Rome loved bathhouses, and one strip showed him leaving one. Unfortunately for Germania, he neglected to put on any clothes afterwards.
* PublicDomainSoundtrack:
** Austria has played Chopin's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRO05WcNDk Nocturne No 9 Op 2]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iFpJ8kLVqo Nocturne No 4 in F, OP 15 No1.]]
** When Germany sees Austria breaking a mug, the first movement of Beethoven's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRgXUFnfKIY 5th Symphony]] plays in the background.
* PuniPlush: The art style is very soft and rounded.
* PuppyLove: Chibitalia was initially afraid of Holy Rome, but eventually returned his feelings.
* PurelyAestheticGlasses:
** WordOfGod states that Austria wears glasses to make himself look more interesting, not because he needs them.
** America's represent the state of Texas, which is why he isn't shown wearing them prior to Texas becoming part of the US.
** Germany is occasionally shown wearing them, mostly in the Hetalia Academy setting.
** There have been multiple times where Himaruya draws characters wearing glasses simply for {{Fanservice}}.
----

* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide:
** Austria. He's depicted as being refined and having an aristocratic personality.
** Italy doesn't like fighting, and is an excellent cook and artist.
** China is sometimes mistaken for a girl by fans, and like Italy is shown to be a consummate chef.
** France. Thanks to ArtEvolution he's gotten prettier and prettier, and is depicted as very romantic.

%%* IncestIsRelative: Since it's unclear how nations are born and what their relationships really are, this could be seen as a case of NotBloodSiblings.
* InnocentBlueEyes: Many of the more cheerful, hyperactive, and youthful characters have these, including America, Denmark, Sealand and Ladonia.
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: A gender-reversed version, Italy frequently neglects to put on pants, much to Japan's embarrassment and Germany's irritation.
* InnocentInnuendo: Italy's panicked phone call. "[[BlackComedyRape Germany! Romano's in bed! It won't come out! Ow ow! Take it out!]]" [[spoiler:Their hair got tangled together.]]

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy:
** Spain lets Italy leave during the War of the Austrian Succession.
** Sweden also thinks this about Finland during the Polish-Swedish wars, however he thinks it's too embarrassing to say just in front of Finland.
** [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution England and America]]. There's much fighting before England chooses to let America go.
* IWasJustJoking: When America tells England how great it feels to remember defeating him in the American Revolutionary War, England [[TheWoobie looks as if he's been genuinely hurt]]. America then says that that's a lie, which brings England back to his usual irritated {{Tsundere}} state.

** Sweden also thinks this about Finland during the Polish-Swedish wars, however he thinks it's too embarassing to say just in front of Finland.

** Austria. He's depicted as being refined and have an aristocratic personality.

** Also in occurs in a ''World☆Stars'' chapter when Romano gets sick of working for America and calls Spain, hoping to mooch off of him.

* ImYourWorstNightmare: Spoofed in the dub when Germany meets Chibitalia and wonders who he is.

* IHaveAFamily: At the very beginning, Italy tries this when begging for mercy from Germany. The webcomic/manga notes explain that captured Italians would often claim "I have relatives in [enemy country city]", like Brooklyn with Americans. It even adds: "The correct response is 'So?'".
* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: When a young Russia asked his big sister Ukraine for advice on getting people to do what he says, she told him to "Just bring out the milk-makers!"
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Iceland, to the point where he complains about the other Nordics' eccentric behavior, pretends he can't see magical creatures and tells his Puffin not to speak when other people are around.
-->'''Iceland:''' If I were speaking to a bird, they're gonna think I'm pitiful.

* {{Kotatsu}}: When Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an alliance, they were shown relaxing around a Kotatsu. The manga notes pointed out that "The signing took place in Berlin, so there was actually no kotatsu there, of course."

* PurpleEyes: Many characters have these, many of which are connected to something [[SupernaturalIsPurple supernatural or magical]] (Finland being a Santa Claus-type figure, Russia being connected to General Winter, Austria invoking PurpleIsPowerful with the Habsburgs, etc.).

** China has used a wok and ladle on more than one occasion, and was also once shown beating up his boss (who is a dragon, mind you) with a HelloKitty doll.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Considering that all of the characters are [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personifications]] of their countries, this is very much in effect. Examples include WWII Germany, who expresses open disgust at some of the orders he's been given, but has to follow them anyway. Or Russia's growing anger at Stalin despite being more or less fine with communism. They aren't bound to a particular government, leader or ideology as they represent their people as a whole. Which includes their ideas/cultures/beliefs/what-have-you in general. Plus, autocratic governments can hardly be considered representative of their people in the same way as democratic ones, so it makes sense for their countries to hold different opinions to their rulers - and also to be unable to stop them. [[CaptainObvious Dictators don't hold elections]].

* IncestIsRelative: Since it's unclear how nations are born and what their relationships really are, this could be seen as a case of NotBloodSiblings. Fans interpret pairings such as America/Canada, Russia/Belarus, and the rest in different ways, depending on their preferences.

* InsultedAwake: America brings England back from the ''dead'' this way.
* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: Most notable with Japan in the dub who speaks in Engrish the entire time, although other characters like Russia and China occasionally get this treatment too.

** Macau's profile mentions his "ungreedy nature," and he's protective and friendly with his siblings, even attempting to diffuse arguments between them.

** And Hong Kong of Asia. Macau is this as well, in his attempts at diffusing fights between his siblings.

* MoodDissonance: At one point, the Allied countries spread gossip about Germany. In the context of the anime, its treated like a highschool gossip moment... except one of those ‘rumors’ involves Auschwitz.