Anime Reviews
Hetalia: Axis Powers
Hetaria Akushisu Pawāzu (Axis Powers ヘタリア)
TopazRaven's Rating: 10 / 10

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This page shows only TopazRaven's
rating for this title.

 Content Overview
Violence: 3 / 10
Nudity: 4 / 10
Theo Theme: 3 / 10
Neg Them: 3 / 10

TopazRaven's Review
Note: It's been awhile since I watched this anime, but I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode. Below I'm going to give a somewhat more detailed analysis of why I rated each subject the way I did.

Violence/Gore: Despite the fact this series is based off of world history and World War I and II in the first two seasons, the violence level is surpisngly low. Any violcence is almost always comical and I think the worst scene you'll get is the character for Hungary smacking someone over the head with a frying pan. There is little to no blood in these scenes, but there are times when some of the characters will look a bit beat up, as in covered in dirt and undetailed bruises if the particular episode you're watching is focused on a war. For example the episode about the war of Austrian Succession. In the end Hetalia is supposed to be a parody/comedy. You won't actually find many serious moments in this show.

Nudity/Sexual Content: I wasn't really sure what to rate this one at first so I'm glad I got the chance to write more about this here. For the most part I honestly do think Hetalia is rather clean compared to some other anime. There are a few instances of fanservice. Any nudity is mostly from the male characters and usually not below the belt so to speak. Nudity is usually brief and you never really see everything.

spoilerThe most awkward scene is probably when you see France's behind for a little bit as he is completely naked. The reason for this being that part of the episode is centered around the Olympics and Greece had explained to France that in Ancient Greece the men always performed naked. So apparently France felt the need to promote said old traditions. His front is covered by a leaf in least and for the most part you only see his torso. In the same episode he does attempt to strip a freaked out England, but is interrupted by Switzerland who shoots a bullet between them, making a comment that he doesn't want to see anyone naked. There is also an episode with a scene of England in a hot spring when he's visiting Japan and you see him take his clothes off and a moment where you see some of Hungary's breast as her shirt is half open, though it should be noted she didn't actually realize this at the time. For the most part any nudity is brief and undetailed.



France is put off as a pervert most of the time who will hit on both men and women, the anime is quite tame with this compared to the manga. The character for Ukraine is also a woman who has a large chest, so whenever she is in a scene jokes are usually made about her breast. To the point where they make noise whenever she moves. Though it should be noted despite this that Ukraine seems like a sweet, kind woman and is always dressed modestly. So yeah, I won't lie, this anime can be mildly perverted and crude at times. If you don't like jokes of that sort you might want to avoid this title.

I've noticed most people avoid this show because they think it is a yaoi anime. That's simply not true. There is some hinted BL, but it really isn't enough for this anime to even be shounen-ai. Hetalia isn't a romance title. Not even the canon straight pairing (Austria and Hungary) is explored much. I've actually only ever watched the Japanese sub in it's entirety. I've seen some of the dubbed episodes, but not all of them. From the ones I've seen it seems the dub had a lot more fun playing off the boy love and speech was added that wasn't in the sub.

spoilerFor example when America and England were fighting in one episode and France mentioned something about releasing sexual tension or Germany telling Italy he loves him in German when Italy asked if Germany hated him.



Other scenes that might cause some concern are:

spoilerSweden tends to refer to Finland as his wife. Both are dudes. Finland always denies such claims however and doesn't like being referred to as anyone's wife. Germany and Italy often share a bed, however they are always clothed and Germany is often freaked out when he wakes up to find his friend sleeping next to him. Holy Roman Empire had a crush on Italy when they where children. They kiss in one episode, however it should be noted HRE actually thought Italy was a girl at the time. I think that's it, but I might be forgetting something. None of these things bother me, but I understand I tend to be more liberal and less easily offended then some Christians might be.




Potentially problematic theological themes: We do get a look into some Eastern religion when it comes to most episodes based on the characters for Japan or China. It should be noted that England also apparantly practices black magic and sometimes attempts to curse people with such powers. Either he isn't as good with magic as he claims or something is working against him because his plans usually backfire on him somehow. I'll admit black magic freaks me out a little and I wish it wasn't being used by one of my favorite characters from the series, but for the most part it is used in a comical way. I usually enjoy fantasy magic as long as it isn't being used for evil. Christianity is never portrayed as evil and is never really explored. God does pop up a few times though, but I didn't really feel He was being portrayed in a negative light.

spoiler One episode God appears to Hungary and tells her she must strike France over the head with a frying pan. She is hesitant to do so, wondering what France could have done to deserve this until she notices him standing outside of Austria's house watching him while he's playing the piano whilst making some unsavory comments about him becoming 'French territory.' Hungary then proceeds to unleash her wrath on him. In another episode Rome seemingly comes back from the dead to visit his grandson Italy. Rome mentions at one point he's so glad God let him come to visit.



Other potentially problematic themes: There has been some minor cursing every now and then, but it's rare. God's name is never used in vain that I can remember.

Overall Rating: I'm sure there are plenty of people who will disagree with me about rating this series a 10, but I just really love this anime. For the past two years it's more or less been the only anime I'd been following and it actually helped me learn a lot more about history. Granted the show can be inaccurate, so don't count on it for a thorough history lesson. What I mean is an particular event would show up in the anime and then I'd go look it up. I usually did end up learning something new. This show has helped magnify my love of history even further then it was before and I just generally enjoy the idea of personified nations. The fandom for this series is also particularly wonderful if you can tolerate the yoai and yuri fangirls. Often the fandom can give the series a more dark and serious meaning so it's always rather fun looking up fan-art.

Meanwhile I realize I'm completely terrible at writing reviews, this is my first actually, and I may have forgotten a few things. None the less I hope I did this right and that this helps you out if only a little. If you don't mind any of the things listed above I fully recommend this anime to you!
Added: July, 2011