Brief Description: Italy, once home of the strongest empire in the world, has changed. This is the story of Italy, now a cowardly pasta-loving fool, and his friends (other personified countries of the world) as they live through strange moments in world history.
(Source: ANN http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10179) Release Date: 2009
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.
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.
Other scenes that might cause some concern are:
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.
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!
Note: *Hetalia episodes only last about 5 minutes each.* Also, this is a rating of the Funimation English Dub of Hetalia: Axis Powers (not World Series, etc.)
Violence / Gore:
Not much. Comedy violence. Though this is a historical (of sorts) anime, the portrayal of wars and battles is usually quite mild and even funny rather than violent. i.e. a chibi character with small arrows poking out of their back.
Nudity / Sexual Content:
Girls with large bosoms (one character makes noises when she moves due to her breast size). Some characters are shown shirtless. One episode where France is shown almost nude, but is covered by a leaf. Characters sit nude in a hot tub together.
Holy Rome is in love with Italy. Both are boys. This takes place when the two are chibis (very small, children) and Holy Rome is not aware that Italy is a boy - Italy at the time is dressed in a girly outfit and has a pre-pubescent, girly voice.
Italy also tends to wind up in the bed of other guys (usually Germany's bed, and this makes Germany angry). Italy constantly comments on his love of women, though, and his relationship with other guys in the show does not seem to be anything romantic.
At one point Germany receives a phone call from a panicked Italy who sounds as though he is in a sexual situation with a male, but it winds up his hair is just tangled with his brother's hair due to a fight.
The dub does make random references (usually France) about boy/boy relationships. This is not the brunt of the series, but it is portrayed often enough to be of note. Usually this is done in a non-serious way as an attempt to be comedic. Actually, Hetalia is a completely non-serious show, so it is possible to disregard any awkward references as random prattle.
Potentially problematic theological themes:
Christmas is shown from the point of view of various countries, and America is shown to care more about the food than the meaning behind it. Since the anime portrays countries as stereotypes, some lines portray countries to be part of (or not part of) a religion. i.e. Russia is called "godless." England occasionally tries to "curse" people with magic.
Other potentially problematic themes:
As far as the dub goes, yes - there is random swearing. It can be anything from mild swearing to words that sound like major swears. An alien sounds like it is saying the f-word. In the Paint it White movie, the f-word is used by the alien, then repeated by other characters. Hetalia moves at such a quick pace that it is easy to disregard some of the words said (honestly, you might not always realize they said anything).
*Hetalia is a humorous anime. It can be crude and awkward, but may teach you a thing or two about history by the end of it. Each country is shown to have strengths and weaknesses, and it is interesting to learn about the differences and similarities among them.
