Axis Powers Hetalia/Fridge: Difference between revisions

* It seems like almost every character with a recurring role has their own version of either Marukaite Chikyuu or Hatafutte Parade. The Axis and Allies have one of each, of course, but characters with shorter appearances are starting to get them, too - like Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Greece, Turkey, even Sweden, who's only been in three or four episodes so far. And considering the size of his fanbase, and the fact that he was introduced in the second season, before both Sweden and Turkey, shouldn't Canada have his own version of the theme song? Well, obviously not - they forgot about him again!

** Although, he did receive his own character song, titled "Canada Complete Introduction"

** It's actually not, when Russia's leader suggested that Belarus unite with Russia, only 20% of Byelorussians voted in favor of it.

*** However, sometimes a nation-tan's actions are meant to reflect their government instead of their people, and the Belarussian government is rather in favor of the Union State.

** Regardless of the validity, it also turns out that apparently, Belarus and Russia are technically one...''since 1997.''

** The second case occurred with the "Rainy Day" strip. I already found it cute due to the [[Together Umbrella]] scenario with Greece and Japan (and yes, I'm a [[Yaoi Fangirl]] who ships these two hard), but it wasn't until I read a certain LJ post that I realized that Japan is also wearing a raincoat in the same strip. Which means that he didn't ''have'' to share Greece's umbrella but did anyway, even though he almost certainly knows what the act signifies in his own culture. The [[Ship Tease]] in that strip just got a whole lot more [[Squee|squeeworthy]]. --Solandra.

* [[Tsundere|Romano's]] constant insults towards other nations' [[Foreign Queasine|foods]] (Germany and potatoes; Switzerland and cheese) is often [[Up to Eleven|turned up to eleven]] in fanfics by making Romano basically insult anyone who doesn't exclusively love [[Trademark Favorite Food|tomatoes]] and pasta. When I learned about the term [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=polentone polentone], food-based insults officially became [[Fanon|canon]], and there was much rejoicing.

** In order to give someone a [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]], you have to know them very well. And who could know America better than his own brother?- [[Tropers/Animenutcase|Animenutcase]]

** This is real life, too. If you look up the other wiki page for US - Canada relationship, it mentions the two having one of the most stable and mutually beneficial international relationships in the world. Heck, I could probably go on a rant with all the information I've gotten on how much they share. Heck, go watch the video "Tom Brokaw Explains Canada to Americans"; it's a great reflection on the relations between the two. -Ashley

* In the dub, Poland is less of a Valley Girl than a gangster / gayngster, saying things like "yo, bro-ski". At first I was disappointed at the masculinity. Then: Oh my goodness. Could it be a subtle reference to Polish ghettos?!

* [[Tropers/Juice Box Hero|This troper]] was reading some of Himaruya's old notes. One of them said that Sweden was 100% gay, but "only acts that way around Finland." At first I thought it was some weird form of [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]. Then on the LJ fan community for the Nordic characters, I learned about the (Finnish) stereotype of all Swedish men being gay. Himaruya, you sneaky bastard.

** But it doesn't stop there; consider how it's shown that Turkey doesn't like seeing Greece with Japan at all. Now consider how Turkey's resentment might not be simply that his crush likes his hated rival better than him, but that when he finally allowed himself to fall in love again after the terrible events with Ancient Greece, her son, the living reminder of the fact that his previous love loved someone else more than him, is the reason for his current love ''also'' loving someone else more than him. [[Love Hurts|Damn.]] It would also explain Japan's aversion to choosing one of them over the other in spite of the obvious bias (other than his [[Japanese Politeness]], of course); he must have heard both sides of the story and recognized that each one of them is not the bastard the other one believes he is (why else would he be friends with them, if they weren't both good at heart?) - but also that the deep and very emotionally-seated reasons behind their hostility means that it would take a miracle for them to realize that themselves - and that if he ''does'' choose Greece, it would be like twisting the knife further for Turkey. ''Damn.'' It makes so much sense that it's not even funny. --Solandra.

* For a long time I assumed that the reason there are two Italies was just because Italy was the main character and so Himaruya wanted to be able to focus on more aspects of Italian history. But originally, the series was a retelling of World War Two. And in 1943, half of Italy ended up under the allies, while the other half was occupied by Germany. Of course Himaruya created two Italies; how else could he have portrayed that? Of course, he abandoned the actual story long before it reached 1943, but Romano had already been created by then, so he stayed on in the cast. -- [[User:Arla Grey]]

***** Also, Italy was divided for a MUCH LONGER TIME than the north and south of America.

* Same troper. The whole England/UK thing has never exactly bugged me, and the explanation of England representing them all at meetings makes perfect sense. But then his full name is put down as 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. This threw me slightly, until it dawned that since England no longer exists as a seperate entity, then yes, that is the official name it falls under. So it would be his full name, but it would also be his brothers' full names (possibly with their respective extra names stuck on at the end like the Italies).

* When this troper first saw the scene where Latvia sold Russia's old clothes (thus causing a major freak out among the Baltics), she first thought it was just an excuse to portray the Soviet Union as a [[Big Screwed-Up Family]]. But after taking a bit of Russian history, she realized that Russia has [[Freudian Excuse|a reason]] to be freaking out about people messing with his clothing. During Renaissance times, the Russian czar forced his citizens to wear more "European" clothing... [[Disproportionate Retribution|or, you could just pay a fine whenever you travel anywhere and eventually have your clothes cut to an "appropriate" length when you can no longer pay the fee.]] Nice job going for the [[Berserk Button]], Latvia.

** So, it wasn't really "Renaissance times" but Peter the Great in the early eighteenth century (definitely Early Modern Europe, bordering on Modern Europe). Also, it wasn't all citizens, it was nobles. And, if the Nation-tans are meant to represent the people, not the monarchs, then this makes no sense, since the vast majority of the nation (nobles especially) hated these measures and they were reversed after his death. Of course, later, European styles became fashionable among the nobility (having a number of Emperors and Empresses who spoke only/mainly French or German helped too), but then we get into the messy issue of whether Nation-tans represent their people (who would be mostly the peasants, and still very much unaffected by this change in fashion) or their political body (who would be mostly the nobles and very much affected). Still, in either case, the whole Peter the Great thing would have been a short-lived problem for Russia, one that would most likely play out in the series by having him complain that his boss made him shave his beard and wear funny clothing that he didn't much like.

** Well, Japan is in a similar situation as whaling in regards to tuna fishing, so I've always assumed that the nekotalia episode was pretty much literal.

* This troper had always wondered why Poland seemed to have an obsession with ponies (at least, that’s what the fandom has now made him out to look like), and where that idea came from, until I learned that it could’ve maybe have stemmed from the fact that during the 1939 German invasion of Poland, the Polish forces fought the German Tanks with CAVALRY (and actually managed to put up a really good fight against the German forces). Himaruya must have translated that one fact into his comics as Poland buying a new pony (or several new ponies, according to the Funimation Dub) in response to England’s question about his war preparations. My theory is that from there, the fandom just decided to illustrate Poland as being pony-obsessed. - [[Chinese Drama Troper]]

* So, this could totally be a [[Captain Obvious]] thing, but bear with me, it only really hit me today. Anyway, we all know that Germany and Prussia drink pretty much nothing but beer, and England is a big believer in going to the pub. Could also be stereotyping without any deeper meaning, but it could be a brilliant little poke at the relationship between Germany, Prussia, and England. The name "England" actually comes from "Angle Land" since the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded England not long after the fall of Rome. The Angles and Co. were Germanic tribes. England is Germany and Prussia's cousin, so that's why all three of em are serious about their drinking!

* At first, I thought that the plot of the movie was a [[Jumping the Shark]] moment, with the aliens and all. But then again, what else other than an alien invasion will get the nations of the world work together?

**** Okay, now explain why child rearing would be ''anywhere'' near historically accurate in a comedy series that skirts around fighting so much. It was actual [[Fridge Horror]] to this troper at least.

**** [[Values Dissonance]]. Some of what Japan calls acceptable parental behavior and [[Comedic Sociopathy]], other countries tend to call child abuse and torture.

**** YMMV ctd. This Troper agrees with the above about the possibility of a [[Culture Clash|culture clash]]. I'm English myself and was raised, as my granddad would say, 'by hand'. If I did something my parents wouldn't agree with, a smack to the back of the legs etc. (not particularly painfully or overly used, it was more of a shock tactic) would be their way of stopping it. Even now my parents sometimes use it (I'm a teen) but more jokingly, and also things such as a 'naughty step' are used for time-outs in certain countries, which would probably be the equal to aforementioned putting of Chibitalia in a shed (kind of), in my own personal opinion.

***** [[Nightmare Fuel|There are things he could have done without seeing that Chibitalia wasn't a girl.]] (Would like to add that I don't think Austria would be sexually abusive in any way to Chibitalia - he was definitely kind of a jackass, but not that bad - but this is a Fridge Horror page and the possibility hit me.)

** I think there's is quite an ordeal about killing your own citizens if you think about it, Russia's [[Start of Darkness]] being the prime example. In Germany's case could be a really painful experience to kill all those Jewish German citizens to some level, I think some of that was hint with subtly in a conversation with Finland:

{{quote| '''Finland''': Eh, so even [[Adolf Hitler|your boss]] have troubles too, Germany-san?<br />

'''Finland''': Oh, but don't you worry that [[Those Wacky Nazis|he might throw you in jail]] [[Beleaguered Assistant|if you complain too much about him?]]<br />

'''Germany''': [[Moral Event Horizon|In what world do bosses imprison their own countries]], [[Like You Would Really Do It|I ask?]]<br />

* Englands reaction to America growing up seemed like the normal joke of 'oh those kids grow up so fast when you're not looking'. Until you think about chibitalia. Italy was a kid for at least a few hundred years it seemed. Maybe for a country America did grow up freakishly fast.

** Fairly positive that there were notes in one strip stating that America ''did'' grow very fast, so to England it would probably be like leaving your ten year old for a month and finding they've aged several years on your return. So yeah, it is quite sad for them.

* Liechtenstein's near-death situation after [[World War I]] is not doubt tear-inducing. But then you consider the fact that until 1918, the principality was under the protection if not influence of Austria/Austria-Hungary...only to be abandoned to the post-war chaos even though it really had no significant role in said war. So in other words, this implies that Austria and Hungary left her to die alone...or at least ''forced to...''

* Why is Italy carrying Machiavelli's corpse around in a suitcase?

** Because the one with Da Vinci's corpse was at the cleaners! But now that you mention it, it does sound kind of creepy.

** No wonder Romano's so grumpy!

* According to Germany, Italy will die if someone holds his hands still for too long (or, in the dub, if he "accidentally learns French"). How the hell did he find that out? Now consider the fanon that nation-tans [[Good Thing You Can Heal|can regenerate and resurrect unless their entire country is destroyed]] ... Whoops.