WMG regarding the rest of the official Hetalia: Axis Powers nations (major, minor and periphery ones) goes here.
- When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. According to history, (S)he was a lot like America: (S)he was discovered and fought over a lot by three different nations: Prussia, Austria, and France, enough that it almost started a war between Prussia and France. Unable to make a desicion,(S)he eventually settled the dispute by hopping between all three whenever a ruler passed away. As if this weren't enough, (S)he was put through an enormous amount of trauma during both World Wars, essentially betrayed by the one (S)he loved most: Germany. With French banned, and his/her refusal to speak German, (S)he ended up reviving his/her own language. Even though (S)he was rescued by America and England near the end, the trauma (S)he was put through stayed with him/her to today, as (S)he copes with it with his/her attachment to America.
- Such trauma and uncertainty in his/her life would consequently make him/her develop mental problems, such an anti-codependency complex, an intense fear of those stronger than him/her, a development of imaginary friends that stayed with him/her beyond that of his/her childhood, or even worse: multiple personalities, an inability to function properly (Referred to by This Troper as Crona Syndrome('I don't know how to deal with X')), or even insanity.
Or, in a lighter and softer case...
As crazy as it seems, hear me out. According to a tidbit of history I found on various websites, while the country itself was controlled by Germany, its government in exile worked firmly with the Allies. To me, that meant that while Luxembourg's body was probably with Germany, his/her mind may have been somewhere else. Astral Projection is a type of meditation in which one projects their mind to a place outside the body. If (S)he could accomplish this, (s)he could both serve as a spy and find peace and solitude away from his/her dark situation. In other words, his/her consciousness was working with the Allies, while his/her body would remain in a sort of stasis.
- Ponytail guy is popular all over pixiv and tumblr. To the point where people act him as canon. Plus, the Portuguese fandom probably emailed Himaruya to make Portugal a dude since a girl is an "icky" representation of their country. He'll probably do a ascended fanon.
- ...I fail to see how a female representation of Portugal is "icky."
- Confirmed.
- In the series, Thailand says "ana" after every sentence. In the 1860's, Anna Leowens (of The King and I fame) came to Siam (now Thailand) to teach the royal court about Westernization. Thailand must have liked her so much, he adopted the verbal tic of "ana" to remember her by.
- Actually, it's a real verbal tic said by Thais in certain situations, explained here: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=211093352245163
- Haha, awesome. Of, course, though, the result will be that he'll go badass and nobody will bother to see/hear/notice it happen.
- Some fanfics have painted him in this light.
- On a related note, apparently Lithuania has the world's highest suicide rate. Make of that what you will.
- Lithuania also has the highest homicide rate in the EU but the country has 4.8% of Russians which is really small compared to Estonia and Latvia so I don't think it was Russia "rubbing off" of him.
- You have made my day.
- Ehhhhh....
- Maybe a little around the eyes.
- If the hair was parted like America's I could see it. Maybe he got Netherland's hair, a mix of Sweden and Finland's features (they mentioned finding him), and England's laws, governing ideals, and other features (whathaveyou)... the melting pot in full swing. Perhaps he has a bit from France too, who knows... Canada simply has more noticeable aspects of France and England because he was raised by them longer and the ethnic populations of Canada resemble them the most (French and English Canadians, respectively).
- In Hetalia, everyone has Only Six Faces. Of course they look alike.
- If America started as the personification of any "New _____" colony, it was New Sweden. The Battle For America strip talks about America first appearing to Finland and Sweden in the latter's territory, not in New Netherlands. The strip also implies that America resembles Finland more than England or France (they promptly deny that it matters).
- There were more Finns in New Sweden than Swedes, too.
- It would explain America's obsession with Christmas if 'dad' was 'Santa'.
- Ukraine is the woman-behind the woman-behind the man.
- But Belarus only cares about her brother. She couldn't care less about the others. She would just nuke them all if anything so that they would be out of the way for good.
- Exactly. She will kill the other nation-tans and claim their land, and the world will end up with one country: Belarussia.
- I am more of a mind of him becoming Sicily. It has a culture and economy different from that of the rest of Italy. The people have much pride in their island, describing themselves as Sicilians first and Italians second. They also have their own language. Sicily is different from the rest of Italy to the point that it's an autonomous region. Another fact is that Sicily is home base to the mafia. All these factors point at Romano becoming Sicily, which strongly identifies with the rest of Southern Italy, rather than the Vatican, which has a culture better related to Northern Italy.
- I Always Thought Grandpa Rome became the Vatican. Because IRL The Vatican Resisted Italy Joining The HRE.
- The Vatican is it's own independent nation, isn't it?
- According to the Hetalia Wiki, Vatican exists and is at odds with the Italies.
- Actually, she converted to Islam and changed her name.
- Egypt only converted to Islam after he was conquered by Rome and converted to Coptic Christianity. By that time, Mama Egypt was long gone.
- Ancient Rome is mentioned to have fallen in love with Ancient Egypt at first sight. Odds are, he conquered her, and some time in between the fall of Rome and the coming of Islam was the birth of modern Egypt. Perhaps Egypt died along with Rome circa 500 A.D., followed by a brief century or two of baby!Modern Egypt, who was then conquered and raised by Arabia, and then conquered and taken in by Ottoman!Turkey before that stuff with France and Britain and his "protectorate" status under Iggy. He then gained independence and became a republic under Gamal Abdel Nasser.
- My personal theory is that Mama Egypt died when Ancient Egypt lost its culture. The Romans basically reverted Egypt to a classical culture based mostly off that of Ancient Greece. Therefore, for my theory, I believe that Mama Egypt committed suicide after Grandpa Rome conquered her, wanting to die a queen and not a slave. She did, however, leave behind her son to be come the modern Egypt.
- Seconded. I also now have a mental image of Finland with a rifle and Russia looking uncharacteristically nervous.
- Perhaps Russia tried repeatedly to break into Finland's house, only to be shot at from seemingly nowhere, foiling every attempt?
- Okay, the above needs to happen. I don't care if it's canon, or in a fanfic/fancomic, it just needs to be done.
- Some fanfic author out there has to see this, or maybe has already written one or at least knows of one?
- On a related note Sniper!Finland is a fairly popular subject of fanart.
- Links, please. On another related note◊ (mildly NSFW due to gratuitous use of the F-Word).
- Your wish is my command. Fivefan arts and two cosplays. And on a related note, a fan fic.
- Finns with Fearsome Forests ?
- Perhaps Russia tried repeatedly to break into Finland's house, only to be shot at from seemingly nowhere, foiling every attempt?
- plaited hair, blond hair, does Katyusha/Ukraine remind you of the Ukrainian Prime Minister?
- your mileage may vary, though. Still...
- Her name's not Katyusha and her hair was only braided in childhood. She's shown being hysterically obedient to her boss-of-the-moment, while Tymoshenko and former president Yushchenko had a significant falling-out.
- Jossed. The Voice Actor for the HRE is male. If that was female, at least that theory would hold water.
- Jossed definitively. Not only is HRE constantly referred to as male, there's even a strip where he runs away from Chibitalia because of an erection.
- This seemed completely ridiculous at first, but then I pondered it for a bit. Perhaps instead Liechtenstein is actually a boy, forgot about the past and for some reason thinks s/he's a girl and made a very convincing trap to the other countries, explaining why s/he was "mistaken" for a boy in that one strip. This could however be Jossed as she has an official genderbend. Another observation is HRE has Monochromatic Eyes which Liechtenstein has and Germany does not. But in all honesty, these are all most likely coincidences and I would still bet my money on HRE = Germany considering the author's standards, unless an Ass Pull for Rule of Funny occurs.
- Liechtenstein is female, there's just way too much evidence to question that one. And considering there's also a mountain of evidence for HRE being a male, this theory is Jossed for good.
- You might think that, but given the fact that a Rule!63 verse exists, one could theorize that mainverse HRE and 63!verse HRE swapped places and then became the respective Liechtensteins in their new verses. And yes I know this version of the theory is ridiculously unlikely, but it amused me so I couldn't resist suggesting it.
- In connection, the explanation goes along the lines of why Prussia (as East Germany) still would be alive after the fall of the Berlin wall. The nations, perhaps, are more representative of their cultures than of their specific landmasses. As long as major cultural differences exist, then so will that particular nation-tan. And, since North and South Italy are still quite different places that make up a whole, they both represent their country simultaneously.
- It's possible that South has the same status as Prussia: Berlin and Brandenburg are both found in East Germany, after all...
- If Belgium represents European Union, as most of European institutions are based in Brussels, it can be a consequence of the financial crisis. It would mean that she takes the damages of 27 countries.
- Could also have something to do with the current linguistic divide/constitutional crisis in Belgium - if her people are that divided they can't form government, that could have an impact on her strength.
- That would explain Egypt's light skin but a guy invading his uncle?
- Eh, pretty much all of the royal families of Europe are related but they still kept attacking each other for centuries. A nation attacking his uncle would be downright fitting.
- Considering that Rome was in love with Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece... I would consider this definitely possible.
- Egypt does NOT have light skin. That's only because DEEN whitewashed him along with many others. Himaruya draws him swarthy.
- ..They already knew the earth was round in the middle ages.
- Artistic License – History
- Italy also did have pasta during that time, although only bolognese sauce was invented recently. They most likely did have bolognese back in the middle ages (since all they need to do is add tomatoes and meat balls to pasta and anything else of their liking), but it probably wasn't called bolognese, or it possibly was. I don't know much about the history of Italian cuisine so I could be wrong. The above tropers already disproved the "predicting the earth is round" theory so there's no need to get into that.
- Honestly, I preferred something like Oswald, or 'Oz' for short, since that's what Australia's nicknamed anyway, at least from what I've seen when watching Formula One.
- Ladies and gentleman! Introducing: Bruce "Oz" Oswald, AKA Australia!
- Somehow I would have thought Australia's last name would be Kelly, after Ned Kelly. How can you NOT name Australia after the father of Badassery in his land? Also the surname Kelly is in the top ten most common surnames in Australia still, so it is contempory too.
- Bruce Oswald "Oz" Kelly. We all win.
- Ladies and gentleman! Introducing: Bruce "Oz" Oswald, AKA Australia!
- Alternatively, Australia's name is SAXTON HALE!!!
- Alternatively, maybe the Vatican (being historically younger) is the Italies' little brother or cousin, he simply has a case of less-delayed aging so he looks more like their grandfather by now. He prides himself on looking older and uses it to his advantage!
- The Catholic Church came out of Rome and was always a powerful political entity even before it officially became the Vatican.
- I can actually see him being older that Rome, at least using Hetalia!Logic. As the Vatican received its name from an older name for the site on which it stands. In ancient times a low, level region on the western bank of the Tiber River was known as Ager Vaticanus ("Vatican Field"). This name is believed to be derived from Vaticum, the name of an Etruscan settlement which vanished centuries before the earliest Roman history. The origin and meaning of Vaticum is not known for certain. In Latin vates mean "prophet", and vaticinatio, "prophecy." Some authorities have theorized that Vaticum, which was outside the limits of ancient Rome, was so called because a legendary priestly king once revealed oracles to his people there. Over time the name Vatican came to refer specifically to a nearby hill rather than to the land area near the river, and was used as a graveyard by the Roman Empire.
- The Catholic Church came out of Rome and was always a powerful political entity even before it officially became the Vatican.
- Not to mention Ivan the Terrible causing some more trauma in there too.
- They have the same Idiot Hair, just like the Italies have the same ones as their grandfather Rome.
- I don't see why not, considering old notes did say he was in love with her...
- History doesn't agree with you much... Turkey originally came from central Asia, before he moved through the entire continent, invaded Constantinople(which also put an end to Byzantium), renamed it Istanbul, etc. It even says he used to be brothers with Japan on his profile, which sort of explains him being 'protective' against Greece. Greece used to be part of the Ottoman Empire, but the Idiot Hair seems like something Mediterraneans have, so I'm guessing Turkey got his when he settled in where he is now.
- The fact that he came from Asia doesn't really stop him from becoming Greece's dad later on... Also, Egypt and the other Mediterranean nations don't have that curl. Minus a hatless TRNC in an unfinished sketch, and he can be considered Turkey's kid too.
- There is a good reason why Taiwan has the same VA as China's. By altering her voice, Taiwan can get away with cosplaying as China in UN meetings. After all, Taiwan called herself the Republic of China. However, the real China found out about her ruse and begged the other nations to kick her out of the UN.
- It's more likely that the rest of the Allies and the UN simply didn't recognize the change of government China went through after his civil war, resulting in the communist PRC (America, leading the others, opted to continue recognizing the ROC through Taiwan. It was no secret to any government that the Nationalist side only controlled a few islands, after all. The change in UN recognition likely occurred after China convinced America and his Boss, Nixon, to recognize China's government and not Taiwan's.
- "Hellenistic Greece" is actually a period of Ancient Greece. And by your logic, Greece should be named Helen as well, since the country's official name is Hellenic Republic, "Hellas" being the Greek word for Greece. (Needless to say, the words "Hellas" and "Helene" are not related.)
- And he didn't find out America was actually a boy until Florida was handed over.
- Actually, there are theories that America was named the feminine Latin version of Amerigo, from Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian who demonstrated that the landmass discovered by Columbus (a Genoan, not a Spaniard) was not Asia as they had previously thought, but a whole new previously unknown (to them, at any rate) landmass.
- Which would, by extension, make America/Alfred an Alternate Universe Chris. Hey, it kind of works......!
- Not quite. Chris is Meg's younger brother, and Canada is younger than America.
- On a joke theory, but there's been no statement over which of the two is older. It will completely depends upon which colony birthed the eventual country. Considering how early European maps had identified a 'Canada', he could easily be the elder one.
- Nope. America started to become what it is today on July 4th, 1776. Canada didn't form until 1867.
- By that logic, America wouldn't have been born until the revolution began (which obviously wasn't the case). The French founded Canada back in 1534 which, even if we take America's birth as the earliest colony founded within his future territory, makes Canada nearly a century the senior.
- But America was discovered in 1492. Shouldn't that make America older than Canada?
- You're confusing the Americas with the US, and discovery with colonization. Columbus landed in what is now the Bahamas, and he pillaged but he didn't colonize. Even if he did, it wouldn't have affected the development of the character America. Even Columbus wasn't the first to discover the Americas, that honor is more correctly attributed to Vikings. Who, by the way, landed in what is now Canada.
- But the vikings landed on what is now Newfoundland and Newfoundland was its own colony separate from Canada until 1949. And was in effect the last province to join Canada since Nunavut was created from the NW Ts which were already part of Canada.
- It's still Canadian, now, which was the point they were trying to make.
- Not quite. Chris is Meg's younger brother, and Canada is younger than America.
- Does this mean Sealand is Stewie?
- No, because following this logic Britain would be Brian, and name ONE person who has EVER shipped Sealand and Britain.
- Then what about everyone else's ahoges...?
- Alternatively, is actually made of Spiral Power.
- Or something much, much worse.
- The problem with that theory is that the Fem!Korean was put into Himaruya's short-lived comic MoeKan. Unlike Hetalia, which is an Affectionate Parody, MoeKan is pretty insulting in regards to Koreans (that is, when put in comparison). Like the Koreans investigating Hetalia when the anime was announced, they'd probably investigate MoeKan and get even madder.
- Alternately, Fem!Korea might be retconned as the North, if only for the FIFA World Cup-related strips.
- Of course with Moldova being introduced, it was theorized that Romania will somehow look like Moldova. And besides, Wallachia was the core of Romania in Real Life.
- Also, the Italy brothers are actually half-brothers and have different moms.
- This could be a good guess, as Romano was revealed to have Arabian blood, which explains why his hair and skin is darker than Veneziano's.
- The series seems to very purposely side-steps direct descending, though. It could simply be allusion to the fact that that there are many, many things which lead to a nation being formed, and that the 'relatives' only were a prime aid in that. Considering characters never mention parents (I've never seen any talk of it, but then I could have skimmed over that), maybe none of them actually have those relations...
- Greece does. Ancient Greece has been referred to as his mother repeatedly.
- I have also long thought that the European countries were related but rather more recently (relatively speaking) then the above. Two words: Migration Period. The Roman Empire almost certainly played a part as well.
- I would like to point out that the Celtiberians and the La Tene cultures both predate the Roman Empire by centuries. However, your point still stands.
- I wouldn't be surprised if both applied, although that could lead to inbreeding jokes. Either way, it'd explain why a lot of European history (Ex: the England vs France thing) tends to feel like a series of family arguments and feuds that have got really out of hand.
- I drew up a family tree◊ for Western Europe, to the best of my ability. I left out some familial links that would be important, and I didn't do the Slavic countries or Scandinavia, because that's beyond my comprehension of how they relate to each other. Tell me what you think.
- I like it. It has a few areas that I'd argue on, but those would probably be just nitpickingnote . Scandinavia would probably fit in as a direct relative of Germania. Germanic culture started in Scandinavia and far-northern Germany, so the current Scandinavian nations would likely be cousins or uncles of the Germanic nations seen in the strips.
- Russia and his sisters would also be related to the Nordics, specifically Sweden.
- I have also long thought that the European countries were related but rather more recently (relatively speaking) then the above. Two words: Migration Period. The Roman Empire almost certainly played a part as well.
- As a New Zealander I fully support this, if only for the Rule of Funny.
- Jossed. Hetaween 2013/2014 confirmed that he's male.
- But it's already been said that Quebec-kun lives with Canada somewhere.
- No, that was just a nightmare Canada had. There may or may not be an actual Quebec character.
- Provinces are canon, first off. But, with how much Quebec enjoys rebelling against/clinging off/annoying the rest of Canada, he probably has a lot of nightmares about his wayward province.
- No, that was just a nightmare Canada had. There may or may not be an actual Quebec character.
- And it's alluded to that Montreal is his vital regions. In terms of land mass, though, Quebec is the largest province, and it's pretty much in second place for most everything else. I, at least, can't really see that such a huge part of the country would be represented as a single (if prominent) hair while 'lesser' provinces/territories would by default have to represent huge sections of the body.
- Then which part of Canada represents Ontario?
- Canada hasn't been expanded on, so it's impossible to know for certain. But, considering Ontario contains the financial center, capital, largest population, etc., it's probably his head.
- Then which part of Canada represents Ontario?
- I don't know about Quebec. But there are a few provinces who I could easily picture as certain body parts for Canada. Ontario=the head. Alberta=the ahem uh groin( Alberta seems very masculine). Saskatchewan=the stomach(because it produces so many of the crops)
- Actually perhaps Quebec could be the heart since it was the first colony and the maple leaf which is often used to symbolize Canada only grows in mass quantities in Quebec?
- Personally, I always saw Canada being diced up like this. Quebec being the neck goes to that My Big Fat Greek Wedding quote: "The man is the head (of the house), but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants."
- Kumajiro could represent the territories
- We probably just haven't seen the other provinces/territories because they haven't been necessary to the plot, considering it's already been established that things like province-tans exist. It could be Canada/Kumajiro are like North/South Italy, while the provinces work under them.
- I don't think that English Canada could be represented by just one person if the territories and Quebec get their own representation. I think it would make more sense if that were the case to have the regions of Canada represented separately i.e. BC,Ontario, the prairies, the Maritimes, Newfoundland, Quebec, Territories.
- At least have Newfoundland have its own state-tan. I mean it was the last province to join and the last bit of land that Canada aquired. And Newfoundland was a separate colony during both world wars and it is also where the vikings landed way back when.
- They're also both heavy drinkers.
- Hmm, historically speaking, the term 'England'was used well before the Viking invasion (it literally means 'land of the Angles' after all), so England-the-person would have been around before then too. On the other hand, the Angles themselves came from an area which now covers parts of both northern Germany and southern Denmark. Other contributors to the population at the time that England came into being were the Britons and Romano-British, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians (maybe, no one's 100% sure about that one). The Saxons were from what is now Germany, while the Jutes homeland is believed to also include part of Denmark. As for the language, Old English was the language of the Anglo-Saxons, although odds are that it had the same root as old Danish, hence the similarity. The culture was much the same as well, IE: fight-happy and with the same gods (although their names were slightly different, eg Woden instead of Oden ect). In short, England's family tree is really flipping complicated, but I can see how he'd be more closely related to Denmark then Germany. Not sure how direct they'd be though, maybe it'd be more like uncle (Denmark) and nephew (England) or cousins rather then brothers.
- Poland (because duh)
- Norway (Look at him/her?)
- Finland (There must be a reason why Sweden calls him/her the wife)
- China(?) (This is more for the sake of having a Token Girl on the main characters side, but considering how girls are treated in China, I wouldn't be surprised..)
- I can't speak for the others, but Poland has been naked in canon. Considering France, America, and an intoxicated England were all present as well, if Poland wasn't male there would have been something said.
- China, too, has been seen without a shirt/in a wife-beater/naked at some point, and he was definetly a male. Plus Himaruya himself has stated his gender outright. AND he has a Gender Bender self, so...
- Link to Himuraya's statement or it didn't happen. I thought he said China was androgynous?
- And I quote from China's character sheet: "Lampshaded in his entry on the official character chart: 'The only female member of the Allies. Not.'"
- The identification map listed him as such, but it also did that to Lithuania and Poland who have been repeatedly confirmed to be male. I wouldn't put much stake in it, anymore.
- "He" could just be referring to himself as male to pass as male, and the others either don't know or are keeping it a secret. Maybe he's just androgyne and flat chested? His gender bender self is a boy dressed as a girl, to fit in with the other countries.
- One of Finland's innumerable objections to the marriage is that he's male, and (although not PC) the term 'wife' in a relationship is often used as a sign of dominance.
- Norway had an entire strip where he (as well as the other Nordics) referred to him with male terms. It was pretty much the point of that particular comic.
- A coverup? Or maybe mistaken sex?
- A cover up from who? For what reason? There's no point. And the Nordics (most of them, anyway) have been together for well over a millennia. Especially considering one of them is a hyperactive loud-mouth with little regard for other's wants, it would have come out and stayed out.
We still don't know China's sex for certain, but these speculations are getting out of hand. Yes, there was gender confusion in the series, but it was on two young children (who we already knew the real sex of, by the way) when all the discussion is on grown men. Just because you can apply such a concept to a few characters doesn't mean that everyone who isn't super-manly should be automatically suspected. - "We still don't know China's sex for certain"? Oh for goodness' sake, HIMA HIMSELF refers to China as male. Calling him big brother and comparing him to an old man...what more proof do you need?
- Explains his win at the 2010 World Cup. No wonder why Germany, Prussia, and the Netherlands are eager to make dinner out of the poor cephalopod when Paul's bets are against them.
- Don't forget Argentina. They were actually passing around recipes.
- Well...
- Argh, now I can't either. Then maybe Melissa is Ancient Greece!
- Hey, hey, spoilers!
- But with Korea, they cut out all of the strips. If they foresee a serious problem with any character, they'd probably just follow the exact same pattern.
- Particularly to avoid the Unfortunate Implications of portraying a group who isn't exactly happy with your series as subhuman.
- To clarify, the original troper was thinking of something more preemptive, as with the anime storyline with China and kid Japan where they replaced Tibet with a panda.
- But with Korea, they cut out all of the strips. If they foresee a serious problem with any character, they'd probably just follow the exact same pattern.
- Jossed. There are strips where Hong Kong and Taiwan have major appearances, but they have yet to be adapted in anime form. That said, both characters have made cameos in the anime without any significant changes.
- What about America's total dumbness? And the Sisters?
- America is pretty ignorant around most countries, so Finland probably gets the impression that America is dumb. He gets further flanderdized in the comics for the sake of humor. The Sisters were thrown in as Fanservice when Denmark read the comic and complained that there were no chicks.
- So Humon is really a living Hetalia cast member?!
- This troper adores this theory, but Finland pretty much said it himself that he views Belgium as mature and cheerful. So how come Scandinavia and the World's Belgium is, well...
- The story is being published on Denmark's account, so it could have been Denmark's idea of a joke, just like how the sisters were thrown in so Denmark would continue publishing the comics.
- America is pretty ignorant around most countries, so Finland probably gets the impression that America is dumb. He gets further flanderdized in the comics for the sake of humor. The Sisters were thrown in as Fanservice when Denmark read the comic and complained that there were no chicks.
First off, they have the same surname in their human names. The only other two characters who this applies to are the Italy brothers, and they are the same country. Generally speaking, different countries who are siblings have different surnames. Sealand isn't really a country, of course, but this is still pretty odd.
Second, while countries such as America and Australia were discovered, and people settled there, Sealand was built. Other places would have been claimed by someone else if England hadn't, but Sealand wouldn't have existed at all if it weren't for him.
So why does it call them brothers? I've got a few possible explanations.
- England so far has only ever referred to his family as 'brothers', and that seems to be the general thing to claim new nations as. So why, when a new 'nation' appeared who looked like him, would he assume anything but that this was another little sibling? As stated, we don't know how these things work in Hetalia, so it's quite possible that he hasn't even realised.
- So far, the only nations known to have direct offspring are Rome, Germania, Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Greece. These all have one thing in common: they're dead. Think about it, if something happened to you, and everyone else it had happened to was now dead, you wouldn't be particularly keen to acknowledge that the event had happened.
- England basically disowned Sealand. Yes, he still looks out for him, but he rejected him. Rejecting a brother, while bad, isn't as bad as rejecting your own child. Either to keep up appearances with others, or to soothe his own guilty conscience, England calls Sealand his brother.
- Regular people don't seem to have any idea about the personified nations. Since England and Sealand's official 'ages' are twenty three and twelve respectively, Sealand calling him 'Dad' among ordinary people would look very weird. Going with an above theory on human names, it may be very important to keep their true identities secret, so England makes sure that Sealand can't let slip anything that may raise unwarranted interest by not telling him the truth.
- If it hurt when a brother left him, how much worse would it be with a son?
- But he originally liked that brother. Sealand... not so much.
- Or he's just pretending to hate Sealand because it doesn't want to get hurt. He clearly cares about him.
- But he originally liked that brother. Sealand... not so much.
As an extra to any of these ideas, England could have had a change of heart (or realised the truth) by now and decided to tell Sealand the truth, but changed his mind when he saw that Sealand was happy with Sweden now.
- I think the problem is, not just with this theory, what makes a nation directly descended and what makes them just related is confusing. Case in point: Norway and Iceland.
There is no evidence of people on Iceland before Norwegians settled there, which would seem to make Norway his parent. Despite this, they're brothers. In the same way, there were no people on Sealand until somecraziescitizens from the UK decided to settle there. If a relationship like that of the Nordics is firmly fraternal (somehow), I don't see a reason Sealand would be different.- Yes, it is very confusing, and as I said there isn't really evidence, it's just speculation. But as I see it, there is a difference, in that even if Norwegians hadn't settled in Iceland, the body of land would still have been there. Sealand is located on a manmade construction, which would not have been there if the UK hadn't built it. But there is no real evidence as to why this would make things different, so it is only speculation.
- Regarding the Nordic situation, the second explaination given above would probably apply there as well. When having kids is seen as a sign that your days are numbered the last thing you'd want to do is tempt fate. Plus this troper has always figured that familial relationships in Hetalia were usually more of a state of mind then anything else. As for Sealand, that kid is pretty much one of a kind (he's the only man made nation for a start) so it's entirely possible that the usual rules don't apply, whatever said rules may be.
- I think the problem is, not just with this theory, what makes a nation directly descended and what makes them just related is confusing. Case in point: Norway and Iceland.
- If its based on average height then Canada would be the second tallest which would coincidentally also work in regards to country size because he's the second largest country on the planet.
- Average Canadians are nowhere near the tallest...
- Confirmed in the Hetalia Collezione book, which officially list his height as the highest of any character, with Russia as second.
- (number two) Her settling down into a maid and marrying/maintaining a relationship with Austria, whose gentle, refined demeanor makes him probably the male character most unlike Turkey.
- (number five) Her reaction to Austria being sexually harassed and the whole Yaoi Fangirl Covert Pervert thing.
- This theory makes too much sense for my liking. I will say that I seem to remember Hungary having a happy little giggle to herself at the end of the strip mentioned, which doesn't seem like all that natural a response, even if she didn't fully understand what had happened.
- Headcanon. ACQUIRED.
- Best WMG ever.
... and once Switzerland was convinced to put his gun away, the next scene would be of Switzerland doing his normal "lessons" on Neutrality. Only now, Austria is sitting beside Liechtenstein and taking notes. Happily ever after... until the Iron Curtain falls and Austria joins the EU. *BANG*
- Okay (minus that last bit), if that never gets into canon, then it needs to be a fan strip, because seriously... aww.
Being separated from your ex-wife (who you were forced to divorce) by a giant fence must suck. It's been noted on The Other Wiki that Austrians and Hungarians living near the border felt the isolation far more intimately than most places (except for, obviously, Germany). As well, Austrian and Hungarian officials symbolically cut the barbed wire of the Curtain to signal the end of the Cold War. Cue the tearful reunion.
Upon reunification, Gilbert lost the "GDR" title, but likely continued to be "East" due to cultural and geographic reasons. And now, Austria wonders if he'll ever be rid of him...
A reason why Romano could have picked up on more could be that the bosses restrict how much access they're allowed to human media. With Italy having two nation-tans and N.Italy apparantly being their representative Romano may sometimes get forgotten about and be able to sneak looks at what's going on in the world.
Romano doesn't want to leave his brother alone with Germany and Japan, so he sticks around, even though he doesn't want to. Eventually, however, he decides he can't support them any longer, even if it does mean leaving Italy, which is why the allies were able to get Southern Italy first.
Also it would be awesome.
- Jossed. Fem!Austria doesn't wear glasses.
- I can see the history behind this one, since Poland did have pieces of what became Ukrainian and Belorussian territory. However, it seems more likely that he took over pieces of their territory to act as a buffer against all of them, rather than try to start a new empire (the last time he tried, he ended up losing Lithuania to Russia, followed by losing his own independence).
- History would disagree with you, after the Great War, Poland wanted to rebuild the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which would attack Russia (Germany wasn't seen as a threat after WWI), but Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus didn't want any part of it.
- Well, she was originally supposed to be a guy, I think. Poland was gonna be a girl, but instead he was made into a crossdresser. So anything's possible.
- I agree that they look more female than male. I hope they are, because Hetalia needs more girls.
- Also, New Zealand was the first country in the world to allow women to vote. I hope New Zealand's a girl. A kickass one at that.
- Their new◊ drawings◊ is even more ambiguously feminine. But they have no hair-decs, which usually signifies countries as a girl. Maybe the mangaka's breaking the rules?
- Well, Norway is a male and he has a hair-dec◊, eh? It could go either way, but this troper is definitely hoping for a female.
- Very possibly JOSSED, if this is anything to go by.
- Jossed for sure, as he was confirmed to be male in Hetaween 2013/2014.
- Canada's accomplishments were considered British because the nation was a commonwealth at the time. This status makes him on par with countries like Australia and South Africa, who also don't get much more than a nod despite their efforts. In Hetalia terms, I'd say Canada probably rarely (if ever) was allowed to attend those meetings, and he was instructed later by UK. When he managed to get in, he probably had no option but to keep his mouth shut (which we see). That he fought in attacks isn't unlikely, but they would still be British efforts because he was British.
- Also, the idea of 'they show up, therefore they are main characters' kind of makes Red Shirts main characters, too.
- Well, this is Hetalia, the line between "Main Character" and "Red Shirt" can get pretty blurry. The argument was really that Canada being under British rule for much of its history (note: this is just me being pedantic, but Canada was a "Dominion", part of the British Empire - later the "Commonwealth") and later with American influence taking its place, which is why he was so meek and thus overlooked at the meetings. England never told him not to talk, he just couldn't see him at all, just like the rest of the characters couldn't see him.
- Despite the large cast, the 8 main characters have always been well defined. I think, considering Canada's role in the series and his invisibility through history, 'minor character' is a very fitting term.
- The theory might not be so much that "Canada shows up, therefore he's a main character", so much as "Canada may have been a main character", but we just never saw him due to his invisibility, and was thus shunted down to Red Shirt status. It's basically a play on the concept that for all the many countries that played important parts in WWII, only 8 are recognized as the "main players". It's a joke with the punch line "Canada represents everybody else!". Oddly enough, Canada is included as one of the allies on the Hetalia character page on The Other Wiki. It makes more sense to say that he's considered one of the Allies, but only as a Sixth Ranger with very little focus.
- Also, the idea of 'they show up, therefore they are main characters' kind of makes Red Shirts main characters, too.
- Although she's indeed supposed to be representative of both regions of Belgium, she was actually merely representing the Walloons, since her official language back then was merely French.
- Or, she only represents Flanders, as she is described as Holland's sister
- While she used to be a lot more united due to Catholicism acting as a common focus for the country and the Francophones suppressing the Dutch-speakers, since the decline of religion and the resurgence of Flemish as a language she's feeling in two minds about everything.
- Confirmed besides the smacking of America/France with her paddle.
He used to look a lot more like France, but the advent of the Loyalists borne from the Revolution caused Canada to transform from a predominantly French-based colony to several English and French ones. This is also the reason why Canada didn't gain too many features from England or his siblings: the majority of those Loyalists saw themselves as British North Americans, and thus Matthew took on an appearance similar to colonial Alfred. Perhaps the only exception to that is Canada's reddish blond hair in his original artwork, which could have been gained from Ireland or Scotland. The fact that so many Loyalists were American-based was part of the reason why the Americans thought that the 1812 War would be a cakewalk; it makes sense that it would also cause other countries to mistake the lesser-known brother for the more famous one.
- Canada is the fourteenth colony. They were actually invited to the Continental Congress in 1775, but they declined, along with Georgia. Georgia had a change of heart and came to the Second Continental Congress in 1776; Canada didn't.
- I think Russia is Crona. We've already seen that russia used to be a woobie, and he was bullied by General Winter when he was younger, and then he snapped and became violent during the bloody saturday event.
I also like to imagine that only England and Australia know her real gender. England doesn't realise that no-one else does, and doesn't understand why they mock him for putting her in dresses as a child, and Australia is just having a massive laugh at everyone's expense.
- Adding to this, Australia likes to flirt with her to see how everyone else reacts. Not to say that he's not sweet on her.
- semi-Jossed. The latest Hetalia episode gave New Zealand a male voice actor.
- Jossed for sure. He's confirmed to be male.
- Alternatively, the "Poland" we know isn't the actual personification of Poland, just a man who became immortal through a method other than becoming a nation and started filling Poland's place in world meetings and such because the real Poland was too busy attending church.
- It is probiley more likely that this "black America" is West Africa instead and she was a girft from England but she is know wather America's closest friend or his lover
- Jossed. There was an economic map drawn of modern Europe, and when it came to Romano he was sick and seemingly injured because of what the mafia was doing to him. In Hetalia terms, they're probably equivalent to bullies who beat him up for his lunch money every day. Bullies with guns.
- They were shown once, when Romano was trying to make Spain better. They tried to make him do what they wanted, which is apparently how it usually is. On that occasion though, he was determined enough to beat them.
- He has the capacity to beat them, that much is obvious, maybe he just lets them push him around until they get out of line.
The state of Latvia did not officially exist until the fall of the Soviet Union, though it started to be known as a region in the 18th-19th century, which would fit with Lativa being so young. Before the area that is present-day Latvia came under the control of other nations, it was home to four different Baltic tribes: the Curonians (Courland), the Latgalians (Latgalia), the Semigallians (Semigallia), and the Selonians (Selonia). Their languages eventually died out (though its debatable if Latgalian did, as there is a "dialect" of Latvian called Latgalian that is similar to old Latgalian), and the lands they inhabited make up four of the five cultural regions of Latvia (the fifth is Livonia, land of the Livs, a Finnic tribe).
Latvia is the son of one of these extinct Baltic states, likely Latgalia.
- I don't know... Canada tended to get furious whenever Britain chose America over him.
- Alberta having been created on the same day as Saskatchewan would be one of Ukraine and Canada's twins and well Manitoba has loads of Ukrainians too. Perhaps the prairie provinces are all their children?
- As well as one of the Japanese feudal clans.
- He's not posting clans, but he already has put feudal domains into the comic.
- They both have long platinum blond hair
- They're both 'strange girls'
- They're both somewhat creepy
- So, uh, what about Lady Gaga's ex Matthew Williams?
- Belarus x Canada?
- I always imagined England wouldn't have been a great parent to Australia, after his experience with America, so I can see Australia developing a bit of an inferiority complex and feeling a need to prove what a good little brother he is, which could evolve into an obsession. Since Australians are probably the people most likely to get a warm welcome by Brits, England probably decided he'd take whatever affection he could get.
- I think Australia will be a devoted little brother who loves to tease England. Because honestly English tourists are hilarious, their ascents and how they buy stuff with Australian flags on it. In cricket (and anything else were its Auzzie's v the Pomms) it only matters if we beat the English, ever heard of the Ashes? What I wanna see is Australia's relations with America. Because in the post-WW2 era Australia was influenced most by the Americans. I can just see Australia in the anime deciding that England had fucked him over one time too many and realized how cool America is, and started following and copying America instead. (cant you imagine England wondering what happened to his little shadow?)
- You guys do realize that Australia was just allying himself with the major power at the time, right? We worked out that if there actually was an attack on us, Britain would probably not be strong enough to help. So Australia became America's 'sidekick' in hopes of protection. Something I wonder about is our Canada relationship - I'm hoping Australia can see Canada, but that would be ruining the Canada effect now wouldn't it? However, I think the only reason Australia tried to be 'British' was because England was sorta his only/main nation role model.
- What about the non-UN member nations? It would be hilarious if Taiwan was the one leading them.
- I wouldn't be surprised if Iceland joined the siblings. Then again, they were literally having some intimate picnic time while just about everything around them was going to Hell and back.
- Semi-confirmed. While his gender wasn't a Running Gag, he eventually was confirmed to be male.
- Desperate for attention, Canada clung to the closest thing to a name he'd ever received.
- Sort of already averted. According to legend, when the French asked the Aboriginals what 'the land' was they said kanata, meaning village, and that is what they put on the maps. Apparently there was very little dispute over the name of Canada
- On that note, maybe Poland does as well. He may be confident and troublesome with those he knows and trusts, but he's painfully shy otherwise and scared of new people.
- Nobody knows he exists except Japan, England, Iceland, Sweden, Latvia, Wy, and the other micro nations. That's now. In a few hundred years, nobody will know he exists, except maybe England. After he sinks in the ocean (you know it will happen).Seagull: Who're you?Sealand: I'm Sealand!
- And Germany grew a heart due to spending time with Italy. (Of course, that just begs the question: if Holy Rome is now a Heartless, then what happened to him?)
It is debatable whether the Micronation-tans were really regular kids who were gifted with nation-hood. They could as well be former regions that never became full nations but settled to represent the Micronations near to them. Kugelmugel in particular seems to be around for much longer than his micronation. His outfit is odd for a kid "born" in the 1970s by a modern artist, he gets outbursts whenever he ponders about art but otherwise is quiet and acts mature. The likelier origin story goes as follows:
- He was "born" as Bukovina and later adopted into the Austrian Empire, which later became Cisleithania. Given how much Austria could boss other nations under his wing around, Bukovina's role was high-demanding, pressuring and exhausting, but that kid was eager to earn the respect of his "big brother". When Austria-Hungary dissolved in 1918, Bukovina was given to Romania. During World War II, his home was split between Romania and the Soviet Union, forcing Bukovina to flee to Austria. The rest is history.
- Callous unconcern for the feelings of others: "I wish you could see your face right now, it is hilarious!"
- Gross and persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social norms, rules, and obligations: "irresponsibility" is clear in his laissez-faire attitude to preparing for Russia's potential invasion, and "disregard for social norms" is clear in his crossdressing when he's the personification of a conservative Catholic country.
- Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, though no difficulty in establishing them: Lithuania sticks around with him, but is constantly frustrated by him and wakes up screaming about him being a bad friend, so partial credit.
- Very low tolerance for frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence: he doesn't seem to fit this one.
- Incapacity to experience guilt or to profit from experience, particularly punishment: he's very casual about declaring that he likes Liet even if Liet hates him and doesn't seem to care either way, and despite numerous bad past experiences he doesn't seem afraid of Russia at all in the opening episode.
- Marked readiness to blame others or to offer plausible rationalisations for the behaviour that has brought the person into conflict with society: again, he doesn't really seem to fit this one as he doesn't blame others so much as shrug off disapproval entirely.