Axis Powers Hetalia/Characters/The Eastern Europe Soap Opera

The Eastern Europe Soap Opera
"Russia (on Belarus): "Belarus, my little sister. She's a real beauty, and it seems she loves me very much, huh. (She is) A girl with a strong heart and will. In a negative way.""
 * All Love Is Unrequited: The basis of Belarus/Russia/Lithuania. Belarus likes Russia, Russia likes Lithuania (sorta), Lithuania likes Belarus, and it goes downhill from there. Hilariously.
 * YMMV on this one, but Poland fits in here as a sort of appendage to the triangle hanging off of Lithuania. Poor Poland...
 * Beware the Nice Ones: A good rule of thumb here. Even for little Latvia.
 * Big Screwed Up Family: Up to providing a general Dysfunction Junction.
 * Five Bad Band: If the Baltics and Slavs are seen as a parody of this trope...
 * The Big Bad and The Brute: Russia (Psychopathic Manchild version, obviously)
 * The Dragon: Lithuania (rather... unwillingly)
 * The Evil Genius: Estonia (basically, for being the most stable)
 * The Dark Chick: Belarus (who wants to get MARRIEDMARRIEDMARRIED and become The Dragon to Russia's Big Bad), Latvia (Fragile Flower version)
 * Tag Along Team Mom: Ukraine (who actually wants to "defect" real bad)
 * The Sixth Ranger: Romania and Moldova may count...
 * Flower Motifs: Russia is sometimes seen with sunflowers. In one strip, Russia tells Lithuania that he dreams of "living in a warm place surrounded by sunflowers". They put the "dere" in Yandere for him.
 * Latvia attacks Sealand with a Lily of the Valley at one point (which is, interestingly, Finland's national flower), the first hint of his Yandere or Cute and Psycho potential.
 * Rye fields. Just... dear God, the rye fields.
 * Hair Decorations: Both Ukraine and Belarus use hairbands. Ukraine also adds some hairpins.
 * Odd Friendship / Opposites Attract: Poland is cheerful and hyper, Lithuania is gentle and kind. At some point they even were in an alliance, which is pretty much assumed to them having been married. (To be fair, the alliance itself did start with the marriage of their bosses, Duke Jagiello of Lithuania and Queen Jadwiga of Poland)
 * Stalker With a Crush: Belarus, to Russia. Russia himself, to Lithuania.
 * The Chew Toy: Ukraine and the Baltic States -- Latvia and Lithuania in particular.
 * Truth in Television applies for this one, particularly if you toss Poland into the mix as these countries have been the traditional Chew Toy of Europe and have been frequently invaded and conquered. Most of these countries have spent more time under the foot of the more powerful countries for the last millennium.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Ukraine and Belarus are an unusual example. Appearance-wise, Ukraine is the tomboy and Belarus the girly girl, but with their personalities, the roles are reversed with Ukraine being a sweet, gentle Shrinking Violet and Belarus being an angry-looking Yandere.
 * Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Ukraine and Belarus respectively. Although it's hinted that Ukraine might be able to do both...
 * Yandere / Cute and Psycho: Russia, Russia, Russia. Latvia shows signs of this as well, likely because of Russia. Also, Russia's sister Belarus: she is obsessed with her older brother, is often represented with a knife, and shares Russia's penchant of abusing people who show care for her - especially Lithuania... Heck, Belarus is so Yanderiffic that Russia is scared of her!

Estonia - Eduard von Bock
"Hello! I'm the one who usually doesn't stand out, Estonia! Do you remember me?"

"Voiced by: Atsushi Kousaka (JP), Mike McFarland (EN)"


 * Adaptation Dye Job: Has light blond hair and Green Eyes in the manga, but dark blond hair and deep blue eyes in the anime.
 * Author Avatar: Himaruya had once mentioned that he's the closest to Estonia based on looks and personality. It would certainly explain why all the weird stuff happens to him...
 * Big Brother Complex: Towards LATVIAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
 * Bishie Sparkle: Gets this in a couple of strips for some reason.
 * Brother Pennybags: Estonia is the rich one of the Baltic states and always happy to help them out. One strip is an advertising pitch for more tourism. He is also described as a Honors Student and 'reeks of money'.
 * Hollywood Nerd: Has quite the knack for computers.
 * Hollywood Hacking: He does his hacking via being epic.
 * Horse of a Different Color: He casually rides around on Mochimerica. Yes.
 * I Just Want to Be Nordic: Since the Hetalia Blood Bath 2010, he has been constantly reminding many that he wants to be a Nordic, most of the time by stating that he is one.
 * Megane
 * Only Sane Man: Seems to be the most stable of the bros.
 * Spell My Name With an S: Eduard vs Edward, von Bock vs. von Fock.
 * The Beast Master: Sort-of... if you count the Mochis as his pets.
 * Badly Battered Babysitter: These mochis are, well, very unruly...
 * Weirdness Magnet: First the mochis, then the Nyotalia girls...

Latvia - Raivis Galante
" If you don't have friends ... things will...your heart and body will.. it'll be so tough...* sob* "

"Voiced by: Kazutada Tanaka (JP), Ryan Reynolds (EN)"


 * Adaptation Dye Job: Generally depicted with light blond hair and violet eyes in the manga, but has dark blond hair and bright blue eyes in the anime.
 * And Call Him Latvia: See Shrinking Violet.
 * Blue Eyes: In the anime.
 * Cross Dressing Voices: In the CD dramas, he's the only Baltic voiced by a female: the aforementioned Rie Kugimiya.
 * Averted in the anime series, where he's voiced by Kazutada "Kokoro" Tanaka (Poland)
 * But played straight in the dub where he's been confirmed to be voiced by a girl (named Ryan Reynolds...no, not that one)
 * Cute and Psycho: Slightly hinted as one in the Lily of the Valley incident.
 * Cute Shotaro Boy: The boy is Moe beyond belief, even for this series.
 * Purple Eyes: In the manga.
 * Shrinking Violet: To the extreme. When Russia wonders why Latvia's always twitching when he's around, he grabs Latvia and demands he stop. Latvia does... but goes into a coma and almost dies. Cut to Estonia's horrified screams.
 * Teens Are Short
 * The Alcoholic: According to some notes and the desktop mascots. Despite being too young to drink in human age.

Lithuania - Toris Lorinaitis
"Ever since returning, I've been worked to the point of no sleep... It must be because Russia is pissed off..."

"Voiced by: Ken Takeuchi (JP), Josh Grelle (EN)"

"Finland: He's usually so kind, but in battle his aura and face change."
 * Adaptation Dye Job: His hair is much lighter colored in the anime.
 * Apologises a Lot: In Hetalia Blood Bath 2010, to the point of not even listening to what Poland was trying to tell him through the phone.
 * Blue Eyes: In the anime.
 * Cowardly Lion: According to this strip.


 * Diving Save: In the Battle of Tannenburg, Lithuania saves Poland just as Prussia is about to bring a sword down on his head, as well as having a knife against Prussia's throat. Poland lampshades the trope when he remarks on how Lithuania was "totally late".
 * Doubles as a Crowning Moment of Awesome
 * Dogged Nice Guy: To Belarus, even when she hates him and makes it very clear.
 * Evil Detecting Dog: Used to have one as a kid, and the puppy barked and whimpered at the sight of... Russia. Who apparently wasn't crazy back then.
 * Friend to All Living Things: In the outsourcing strips he is shown befriending the Whale and Tony, the alien.
 * Good Scars Evil Scars: He has several, assumed in fanon to be due to Russia's abuse (it has been hinted, but not stated outright in the comics). Which Poland discovers in the bath.
 * Green Eyes: In the manga.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Poland.
 * Horrible Judge of Character: Lithuania and Poland's friendship comes off as extremely one-sided, and though Lithuania is frequently exasperated by Poland's antics, he still works hard to stay with and protect him. After all, the alternative is Russia.
 * Following the 'Liet's Scars' strip, and the original 'Meeting of the World' strip (in which Poland confronts the much feared Russia in Lithuania's defence), alongside the new character profiles, it seems that their friendship is much less one-sided than in the initial strips. Poland's character has changed over the years, and he is much less selfish in the newer strips.
 * A scanlated strip has a dream sequence in which a younger Lithuania tells Poland that he hates him for being so selfish. Poland's response? "I, like, totally don't care what [Lithuania] thinks of me. Even if you, like, hate me, it totally doesn't change that I like you." Then he says that he'll try to be less selfish. The expression he uses in Japanese can also just as easily mean 'love'.
 * When on a date, he seems to remain completely oblivious to Belarus' antics.
 * In Series Nickname: Poland calls Lithuania "Liet"; it comes from Lietuvos, the endonym for Lithuania.
 * Love Martyr: Lithuania's one-sided crush on Belarus certainly comes off as this trope. He constantly overlooks her violent tendencies... hell, he was perfectly okay with her breaking all of his fingers.
 * Actually he just didn't notice, and Belarus' violent tendencies either, it's made apparant that he didn't realize the condition his fingers were in til Poland pointed it out and even then he just assumed that his fingers could bend that way while Belarus broke his remaining nonfractured fingers.
 * Not So Above It All: Sure, most of the time Lithuania is portrayed as a genuine Nice Guy amongst the insanity of Russia and Poland, but he does occasionally express frustration, particularly with Poland.
 * Spell My Name With an S: So was it Laurinaitis, Lolinaitis, Rolinatis, or what? Also, Toris? Taurys? Tauras?
 * Or Tolys, which exists and is actually Lithuanian.
 * Tolys is only a shortening, and the names it shortens are extremely uncommon anyway.
 * Stockholm Syndrome: A common Fanon interpretation when paired up with Russia.
 * Wimpification: He often gets written as such by fans, usually due to his Yamato Nadeshiko tendencies.
 * To wit: You know you're wimpified when you're regularly shown being topped by a crossdresser that loves ponies and talks like a Valley Girl.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: He qualifies as a male version: he's sweet, hard-working, good at cooking and housekeeping, and a massive Woobie.
 * Yank the Dogs Chain: He never seems to get what he wants. Because of Russia, Poland and Lithuania are split apart. For a while, Lithuania works for America and much prefers that life, but the Great Depression hits and he has to go back to working for Russia. When he finally gets a date with his crush Belarus, she breaks his fingers.

Poland - Feliks Łukasiewicz
"Do you think our wheat would sell more if we dyed it, like, blue?"

"Voiced by: Kazutada Tanaka (JP), Ryan Bijan (EN, Hetalia: Axis Powers), Joel McDonald (EN Hetalia: World Series)"

"Poland: I'll invoke Poland's rule! It'll always be my turn!"
 * All Nations Like Ponies! Totally!
 * Ambiguously Gay: Poland is hyperactive, talks like a valley girl, and occasionally crossdresses. Obviously his sexuality isn't stated (but since most of the other countries are male...).
 * Calvin Ball: When playing Chess:


 * Character Development: Starts as very selfish and childish, starts to mature later. He's one of the few who stand up to Russia, after all, and does so to protect Lithuania.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: We’re going to go defeat a dragon-!!, to which Lithuania replies, "I thought it was just one of your usual stories, that I can’t keep up with, that takes place in your own special realm..."
 * Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny: In Hetaween 2011, he tried to bring a horse to the party, and then spends the entire time sitting on a toy horse, running after butterflies, looking at flowers and being generally distracted before falling asleep, still on his toy horse.
 * Cultural Posturing: Poland used to treat Lithuania like his lackey and tried to make Liet live like him. Without any bad intentions, yeah, but still not the best thing.
 * Dandere: He's anti social to strangers but with people he knows he's talkative.
 * The Determinator: Hinted at being one in his character profile: no matter how much he gets beaten up, he keeps rising back "like a phoenix". Plus, it's accurate.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: According to Prussia. He's not really that far off.
 * Dumb Blonde: Played for laughs mostly. Then again, the Ship to Ship Combat tends to exaggerate it.
 * Green Eyes
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Lithuania, obviously. As to whether or not it crosses the line to Ho Yay (they were once married) is up to you.
 * I Surrender Suckers: In the Battle of Tannenburg, Poland uses this against  to let   attack and disarm him.
 * Like Is Like a Comma: He uses this manner.
 * Keet
 * Platonic Life Partners: Kinda hinted to be this with Hungary, which is supported by the historical connections between both nations. She refers to him as "Po-chan", to start.
 * Shrinking Violet: Variation. He seems to be outgoing and cheery when around people he's close to, but when confronted with someone he doesn't know, he sometimes backs off and clings to or hides behind the nearest person.
 * Spell My Name With an S: Guys, it's Feliks.
 * Justified: The letter "x" doesn't exist in the Polish alphabet.
 * The Other Darrin: In English.
 * Tsurime Eyes: Not a Tsundere, but eh, he counts.
 * Valley Boy: Like, totally, emighawd. He can apparently ditch it if he wants to.
 * In Hetaween 2011 this proves to be contagious.
 * What Could Have Been/Gender Flip: He was initially intended to be the first female, while Hungary was to be male.
 * Wholesome Crossdresser: "Aren't those girl's clothes?" Also his Sexy Santa Dress.
 * Wimpification: Fanfic frequently does this to him due to his crossdressing tendencies. Or, in other words, when Liet isn't made into an uke Fragile Flower, it's because Poland has fallen victim to it instead.

Belarus - Natalia Arlovskaya
"Damn doorknob, getting between me and my older brother! [Rips it out] Brotheeer, that obstinate knob is no more. Now then, let's get married married married married..."

"Voiced by: Urara Takano (JP), Monica Rial (EN)"

"Belarus (after seeing that ): "TOO BAD I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING, YOU BALL SUCKER!""
 * Abhorrent Admirer: Oh, Russia. Of course, he acknowledges that his little sister is a very pretty girl - it's just her Knife Nut tendencies that make her abhorrent.
 * Adaptation Dye Job: She is best known for being a platinum blonde in the manga illustrations and assorted merchandise, though the anime gives her dark blonde hair.
 * Annoying Little Sister: Not only to Russia and Ukraine, but according to some manga notes, America also views her like that since he had to take care of her for a while.
 * Blue Eyes: Although occasionally she gets Purple Eyes in a few illustrations and some fanart.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: Seems to have gotten this characterization as of late.
 * Boobs of Steel: Fanartists like to give her these (It runs in the family), though YMMV in canon.
 * Brother Sister Incest: Belarus adores her older brother Russia and wants to marry him, much to Russia's horror.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl / Yandere: And bloody how!
 * Cluster F Bomb: In the 2010 Christmas event she's shown to have quite the potty mouth.

"Belarus (to Denmark): "I'LL TEAR YOUR DICK OFF!""
 * also, during Hetaween 2011:

"Belarus: Dear brother... Why will you not give your signature to our marriage papers? Have you already chosen another one to give your signature to? ...YOU! IT'S YOU! THIS WAS YOUR DOING! UNFORGIVABLE! UNFORGIVABLE! UNFORGIVABLE!
 * Combat Stilettos: Her military uniform includes high heeled boots.
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita: Dresses like one.
 * Emotionless Girl: Or at least, she acts that way most of the time. When not around Russia, that is.
 * Expository Hairstyle Change: As a little girl she had short hair, and has let it grow much longer since then.
 * Flipping the Bird: She sent this to Denmark when he was mouthing off that his group would win the costume contest during Hetaween 2011.
 * Girl With Psycho Weapon: In the first volume of the manga and the first episode of the anime, Belarus is seen holding a knife to Latvia. Since she's a Yandere, well...
 * Hair Decorations: Wears a ribbon on her head, which is later revealed to be a headband.
 * Hair Trigger Temper: She's not a nice person to have around, unless Russia's in the area.
 * Hot Blooded: When it comes to Russia. Or someone competing against Russia.
 * Improvised Weapon: In the 2011 Halloween event, she attacks Denmark with a coat hanger.
 * Madness Mantra: "Let's get married, married, married..."
 * Miss Swears A Lot
 * Nightmare Fetishist: If you meet her in the Latvia and Sealand desktop mascot program, she seems rather preoccupied with ghosts. She also brings up the Winchester Mansion and the Mary Celeste.
 * Perpetual Frowner: A rare female example, since she's too nuts to be a Little Miss Snarker.
 * Playing Against Type: Urara Takano, who more often than not plays Cute Shotaro Boys or Onee Sama types.
 * Contrast with Monica, who is very much in her element. That said, those parts were a departure for her at the time, so she's growing into a new "type" here.
 * Plucky Girl: In Russia's words, she is one. "In a negative way", he adds.
 * Proper Tights With a Skirt: Used with her normal outfit, her Hetaween costume, and even in a rejected Gakuen Hetalia design.
 * Single Target Sexuality: She's very much "Russia-sexual".
 * Spell My Name With an S: Is it "Natalia" or "Natalya"? Some will just Take a Third Option and call her "Natasha", the diminutive of both names in Russian.
 * As well as "Arlofskaya" vs "Arlovskaya".
 * Is it Belarus, Belorussia or Byelorussia?
 * Stalker With a Crush: Towards Russia.
 * Strange Girl: So much.
 * Subliminal Seduction: Subverted in that she seems to be trying this during the 2011 Bloodbath by watching Lithuania sleep with a Battle Aura around her, telling him to revere Russia. Oddly enough, it seems to work in that he has a dream about him.
 * The Unfavorite: She treats the other Baltics so badly because she thinks she is Russia's Unfavorite because of them. Hell, she's even jealous of Ukraine, even though this might be more of The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry.
 * This Is Unforgivable: Mentioned in her and Ukraine's Image Song, Carrots And Sticks.




 * Tomboyish Ponytail: During the 2011 Bloodbath.
 * What Could Have Been: According to this blog entry, Belarus originally was supposed to be a brunette and quite more mellow and stable. A remnant of this idea can be seen in her first colored manga appearance, where her facial expression when threatening Latvia is a little less severe, while her hair and eyes are both colored brown.
 * Volume 3 notes also revealed that Himaruya played around with the idea of a Tsundere Belarus who was hot-tempered and constantly nagging.
 * Another instance of an early and cuter Belarus design can be seen in a School Days -parodying doodle by Himaruya, entitled "Soviet Days".
 * When She Smiles: In the latest Christmas series, one of Finland's tasks is to get a shot of Belarus smiling. Once convinced that Russia is watching the show, she gives us this (before assaulting Finland). Wow.
 * She also gives a very small, almost unnoticeable smirk at the end of the 2011 Halloween Event that is also very adorable.

Ukraine
"I'm sorry, little Russia! I'm sure we'll meet again! Waaaaah!"

"Voiced by: Yuki Masuda (JP), Lydia Mackay (EN)"


 * Adaptation Dye Job: Some manga illustrations show her with a darker, more yellowy blond hair color while the anime gives her platinum blond.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: From her newest profile: "She may look like a crybaby, but is in fact Russia's fearsome sister who will stand her ground to the last."

"Russia: Nobody's answering the door.
 * Bifauxnen: She was recently drawn in a Mad Hatter Halloween costume and, while she still looks obviously female, she pulls off the look very well.
 * Blue Eyes
 * Boyish Short Hair: She has the looks, although she does dress it up a bit. It contrasts with her younger sister's much longer hair and style of dress.
 * Cry Cute: Is it any wonder?
 * Even the Girls Want Her: The fourth volume has shades of this with Liechtenstein admiring Ukraine in her traditional clothing, while blushing relatively heavily and Hungary teasing her to wear an incredibly Stripperiffic costume.
 * Expository Hairstyle Change: As a little girl, . Now she keeps it short.
 * Fan Nickname: To make up for her lack of a proper "human name" fans call her Yekaterina "Katyusha" Braginskaya, her surname being the female variant of Russia's last name (Braginsky) and Yekaterina (Catherine/Katherine) being a common enough name for Slavic females.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Russians call three things 'Katyusha': girls, headbands... and rocket artillery.
 * In a recent blog entry, Himaruya listed Irunya, Maria, and Sofia as suggested names for her, along with Chernenko as a possible surname.
 * Flower in Her Hair: Wears a wreath of flowers with her traditional clothes.
 * Fragile Flower: Her aforementioned economy-related woes and failure to get more friends outside the Baltic and Soviet circles often leave the poor girl quite... distressed. And tearful.
 * Gag Boobs: In the anime, Ukraine's enormous breasts go constantly "boing" and make strange little noises as she moves. Obviously this is highly symbolic; it is a well-known fact that Ukraine has huge tracts of land. *rimshot*
 * Gainaxing: Obviously, the anime takes it and cranks it Up to Eleven. With beach ball bouncing sound effects!
 * Gainaxing: Obviously, the anime takes it and cranks it Up to Eleven. With beach ball bouncing sound effects!

Latvia: Is that her? Do I hear booby bounce?"

"Ukraine: "Bring out the milk-makers!"
 * Hot Chick With a Sword: Carries a saber in a sketch of her military uniform, possibly hinting at some hidden Lady of War tendencies.
 * Because she's often pictured with a pitchfork in official art, Fanon tends to portray that as her Weapon of Choice.
 * I Have Boobs You Must Obey: In a recent strip when Russia is being beaten up by Sweden and Denmark, he goes to his sister for advice on what to do. Her response?

Russia: "I don't think it's really going to work for me...""

"Liechtenstein: "Wow... You look beautiful wearing your traditional costume, Miss Ukraine!""
 * In Series Nickname: Hungary calls her Uku-san. (Changed to Raine by some scanlators.)
 * Naive Everygirl: And boy, is she The Chew Toy because of that.
 * Perpetual Poverty: She's often seen freaking out about her poor economy.
 * She Cleans Up Nicely:

"Russia (on Ukraine): "She has a big heart and is often targeted because of it. She's a bit of a crybaby too.""
 * Spell My Name With an S: Ukraine vs. the Ukraine.
 * Stripperific: Not her but the group of females that often protest bare for some reason.
 * Team Mom: Ukraine was this for Belarus and Russia when they were children; she gave Russia a scarf once when he was cold, and he still wears it as his trademark. She's also said to be the one who fixes her siblings' Yandere screw-ups, and is among the few nation-tans that Russia shows his almost nonexistent deredere side to.

""In present day Ukraine's news there is quite high probability of breasts showing up.""
 * Also takes care of Poland in the Halloween Event, so it may be implied that she is also this to the rest of the Eastern Block nations.
 * Tempting Fate: In Volume 4, a younger Ukraine teaches Russia her magic words to help her fight. These end up being "Just bring out the milkmakers."


 * Tender Tears
 * What Could Have Been: Ukraine was to originally have a more average-sized chest, but in contrast, her personality would have been less dignified and she was to be even more unlucky.
 * Speaking of, she sounds more "mockingly sorry" than "honestly sorry".
 * Speaking of, she sounds more "mockingly sorry" than "honestly sorry".