Anime Club

Hetalia: The Axis Powers: Real Politics…

Hello everybody! Today we have the political satire anime Hetalia: The Axis Powers.

HETALIA: THE AXIS POWERS

DIRECTOR: Bob Shirohata

WRITER: Hidekazu Himaruya

GENRE: Comedy, History

ORIGINAL RUN: January 24, 2009 –March 5, 2010

NUMBER OF EPISODES: 52 Episodes

COUNTRY: Japan

Hetalia: Axis Powers is the first part of the Hetalia series. Originating as a web comic, the series has spread to many different kinds of media. We will be checking out all of the series in the Hetalia franchise.

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. 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 Hetaria portion of the name is probably mocking Italy, as Hetare means “Useless.”

Hetalia: The Axis Powers mainly focuses on Italy and his allies Germany and Japan. When it doesn’t it focuses on the Allied forces which include: America, Britain, France, Russia, Canada, and China. Of course these are wildly stereotypical depictions of their individual countries, but there is a guarantee that you will laugh. I want to point out that the episodes are only five minutes long, which is much shorter than other anime. Luckily, this allowed me to watch the majority of the show in one day. If the episodes were any longer, I think the characters would get on my nerves.

What did get on my nerves was that there really isn’t any plot to the show. It is just a comedic and historical representation of politics during and around WW1 and WW2. Some episodes was just the same shit over and over, just like they were re-using footage and stories to try and be funny. There could have been plenty of other directions they could have taken with plenty of the episodes, even if they only had five minutes including credits.

PROS:

  • Great use of sterotypes.
  • Enjoyable characters.
  • Episode Length.

CONS:

  • Stupid story arcs.
  • Repetitive themes.

SCORE: 7.5 / 10

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Brandon Stuhr

Who am I? Just some guy who decided to start writing on the Internet years ago and now operates his own brand and site. Owner/Operator of Modern Neon Media, I make all kinds of niche content to suit my interests at the time. DIY Enthusiast, Brewmaster extraordinaire, and avid freak for geek culture. Follow on my socials for a more "on" version of me.

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