I remember a year or two ago, I heard about this quaint little series. While I'm not really interested in webcomics (I'm into Ménage à 3… and that's it), I did check out the anime on Netflix… and at the time, it was something I instantly regretted. I hated this show like you wouldn't believe, and it started to make me act venomous, to the point where I got banned off a website… multiple times, for quarreling with Hetalia fans.
Now, I regret my behavior, and recently, I even gave Hetalia a second chance. On my first shot, I watched five episodes (by the way, the episodes are 5 minutes long, which even now I consider a negative), and on my second try, I went up to 25. My views on Hetalia (the anime, not the webcomic) have gone up, but there are still some minor things that bother me.
As mentioned, the episodes themselves are 5 minutes long, which to me is a sign of laziness on Studio DEEN's part. You couldn't have made the episodes longer? Another flaw is that most of the characters all look too similar, as if they all have the same character model, but with different clothes, hair, and such. I've actually unfavorably compared this to The Transformers, which has more diverse characters design wise (granted, some characters are just palette swaps of others, but at least they have the excuse of being based off of toys). I also wasn't too impressed when they decided to drag a character's backstory (specifically America) out to five episodes (I think), when they could've just dedicated one episode to backstory. Lastly, the overabundance of male characters over females (to quote Ghost, "THERE'S NOTHING BUT MALES OVER HERE!") makes this series seem like one big dish for Yaoi fangirls to eat out of... and I'm not exactly a Yaoi fan.
That being said, even with its flaws, Hetalia does have its charm, despite the unorthodox humor. It's no Excel Saga (unfortunately, Hetalia lacks the blessings of the comedy god that is Nabe Shin), and it isn't for everyone (especially not people who are knowledgable in WWII, thanks to the abundant inaccuracies) but it's not a horrible show like I thought it was at first, and I might watch the rest of it when I have the time. My recommendation? Just give it a shot and see if you like it first.
Something that brings back memories...
I remember a year or two ago, I heard about this quaint little series. While I'm not really interested in webcomics (I'm into Ménage à 3… and that's it), I did check out the anime on Netflix… and at the time, it was something I instantly regretted. I hated this show like you wouldn't believe, and it started to make me act venomous, to the point where I got banned off a website… multiple times, for quarreling with Hetalia fans.
Now, I regret my behavior, and recently, I even gave Hetalia a second chance. On my first shot, I watched five episodes (by the way, the episodes are 5 minutes long, which even now I consider a negative), and on my second try, I went up to 25. My views on Hetalia (the anime, not the webcomic) have gone up, but there are still some minor things that bother me.
As mentioned, the episodes themselves are 5 minutes long, which to me is a sign of laziness on Studio DEEN's part. You couldn't have made the episodes longer? Another flaw is that most of the characters all look too similar, as if they all have the same character model, but with different clothes, hair, and such. I've actually unfavorably compared this to The Transformers, which has more diverse characters design wise (granted, some characters are just palette swaps of others, but at least they have the excuse of being based off of toys). I also wasn't too impressed when they decided to drag a character's backstory (specifically America) out to five episodes (I think), when they could've just dedicated one episode to backstory. Lastly, the overabundance of male characters over females (to quote Ghost, "THERE'S NOTHING BUT MALES OVER HERE!") makes this series seem like one big dish for Yaoi fangirls to eat out of... and I'm not exactly a Yaoi fan.
That being said, even with its flaws, Hetalia does have its charm, despite the unorthodox humor. It's no Excel Saga (unfortunately, Hetalia lacks the blessings of the comedy god that is Nabe Shin), and it isn't for everyone (especially not people who are knowledgable in WWII, thanks to the abundant inaccuracies) but it's not a horrible show like I thought it was at first, and I might watch the rest of it when I have the time. My recommendation? Just give it a shot and see if you like it first.