Online comic, Manga
"Think of it like WWII, except every country is a pretty boy instead. A hilariously stereotypical pretty boy. America loves burgers, Russia is into the vodka, and China has pandas and a Wok.
"It is centered mostly around Italy, who has both a North and South character. The Hetalia portion of the name is probably mocking Italy, as Hetare means 'Useless'...."
Unlike almost everything else the Lemming does these micro-reviews on, several linking services think this online comic has 'adult' content, or isn't suitable for pre-teens.
They're probably right. There's a bit of rather rough language in "Hetalia: Axis Powers" - and it is politically incorrect. Really non-PC, not the sort of tepidly daring stuff I remember from "Politically Incorrect" and other mainstream forays into the world we share.
Did I mention, it's funny!? That's my opinion, and that of one of my daughters. She's the one who steered me to "Hetalia: Axis Powers" in the first place.
The character Germany seems to be the most likable of the lot - and he has problems with his boss. America is over-energized and has a hero complex, Italy has a thing about pasta, and China - I'll let you work that out for yourself. That's assuming that you want to risk exposure to this comic.
Here's a sample, from commentary, of the sort of heartless insensitivity you'll run into: "Because he boiled pasta even in the middle of the desert, Germany had to bail him out when he ran out of water and was dying of thirst."
I can't recommend "Hetalia: Axis Powers" to anyone who
- Is offended by national stereotypes
- Has gone through sensitivity training
- Thinks "Hogan's Heroes" isn't funny
- Subscribes to any magazine with "Oppressed" in the title
It seems to start here.
A sample (some are in color):
"Here, the Italian front, where Italy and Germany continues to stare down each other..."
(from Equivalential, LiveJournal, used without permission)
I understand that it's being translated into English. And, that an anime version got into the planning stages, but was scrapped. For obvious reasons.
2 comments:
Just surfing the web and came across you hetalia post and Ive got to tell you, Hetalia anime was never scraped. Episode 51 of the second season came out last tuesday. And the english dub of it was baught by funimation and they are currently casting.
As you can most likly tell Im a huge fan of the show so I watch it in japanese with subtitles
Anastasia,
Thanks for the comment - and update. Some production studio had a remarkable amount of chutzpah: and I'm glad to hear it.
Enjoy the subtitles!
I've been watching Bleach and Princess Tutu that way: and find that there's much to be said for being able to hear the original language - with its intonations, emphasis, pacing and all the rest - while getting the surface content in a language I understand.
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