Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
leodia
this series aged so poorly. i always thought the concept of personified countries/landmasses/locales was really interesting, the character songs and themes are fun, and himaruya's art in the webcomics is nice. the humour is so blatantly racist and awful though more often than not. it has its moments like how america yells "i'm the hero" and poor canada always getting ignored, but lord.
i watched this series when i was 13-16. coming back to it as an adult, unfortunately i have grown up and see the jokes as racist shock humour or just straight up racist without the humour. as an adult coming back to it i also just cannot get over white seychelles and himaruya retroactively making her darker skinned. i think finding out about that is actually what killed any love i had left for this comic
Read at the source051819
Hetalia is a series that focuses on the anthropomorphic portrayal of a well-known stereotype for each individual nation. Now, representing the countries of the world under a type of persona isn’t a new premise at all. For example, animals are commonly used to represent countries. A famous case could include the United Kingdom and the bulldog. The phrase “British Bulldog spirit” represents the nation’s resilience during the World Wars. The national symbolism gained significance through Winston Churchill, whose personhood was often akin to the symbolism of a British bulldog. This pertains to the main series because symbolism can often represent as stereotypes, good or bad. The fandom itself should be well known at this point, mostly because it often leads to the series itself usually being d…
Read at the sourceKirbyCoded
Hetalia was a phenomenon. It cannot be overstated how popular it was during the tail end of the 2000s up through the mid 2010s. Cosplayers online and at conventions, roleplayers, fan content on Livejournal, DeviantArt, YouTube—it was practically inescapable. You couldn’t move five feet without bumping into some friend group’s cosplay photoshoot or an AMV. If you’re watching Hetalia as of the time of writing this review, it’s a safe assumption that you’re either nostalgic, a general internet or fandom enthusiast, or fourteen. And if you’re fourteen, I implore you to please seek out better gag anime such as Lucky Star, Azumanga Daiou, Way of the Househusband, or, if you’re well versed enough in anime tropes, Saiki K.
That being said, I will not sugarcoat this. Hetalia is… not great, to say…
Read at the sourcethejonion
Hetalia is a bit like Wikipedia. There's lots of fun rabbit holes to go down, and plenty of cool information, but if you start believing without verifying and stop checking citations, you end up with a head full of rubbish. Also, you should probably make sure you're reading it in your native language.
Hetalia: Axis Powers is a short anime adapted from a (mostly) 4-koma comedy manga. It is worth noting that 4-koma comedy manga are notably lacking from many historical textbooks - thus, I'm going to treat Hetalia as a comedy rather than as an educational or historical series, and given how frequently it flubs its history, I think you should too.
The biggest reason I say this is to get you to look at Hetalia as fiction (which it is), spinning jokes based on history and culture, as opposed to…
Read at the sourcemr07
This show on paper is right up my alley - History, personified nations, banter revolving around these topics. But by the end of it I was getting pretty annoyed. The intro and the ending of each episode started to get annoying about halfway through, the constant reiteration of the same old jokes, the annoying sounding voices (I watched dubbed admittedly) it was getting too much. They do explore some newer themes later on which is appreciated, but overall I didn't enjoy this.
It was for the most part pretty surface level humour, I wasn't expected a PHD in history or whatever but some more depth would have been interesting. To contradict what I just said some of the humour revolved around new "factoids" they revealed which were actually quite interesting, but this was too sparse. Of course h…
Read at the sourceBosnom
Hetalia was my favorite anime for a good portion of middle school. I've seen every episode multiple times over, and watched the whole movie for a birthday party with friends, so I am more than capable of saying that this anime is absolute dog shit.
It has great entertainment value on an ironic and nostalgic level for me, but when it comes down to actual content it's..... bad. Zero plot, little to no character development, awful pacing etc. Not good. Though, the voice acting is enjoyable, and the theme song is debilitatingly catchy.
On an unironic level it's a bad show, BUT, if you're looking for something that'll really send you back to your cringey problematic middle school past, this hits the spot.
Read at the sourceSafecove
I am giving this series all 10 because even today it stands as one of my all-time favorite series and will probably never lose that spot. Hetalia Axis Powers was the first series I ever interacted with the fanbase to online and in-person (Granted I avoided the bad apples).
The story and the characters were all enjoyable to me, even ones that I didn't care much for like Austria, he was still a good character and had moments where he made me laugh and smile (＾▽＾)
I still remember learning all the lyrics to the outro & the hatafutte parade songs back in middle school so the sound is S class tier for nostalgia
So if you want a fun short series this is def for ya °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
Read at the sourcenashimotowo
its like the stereotypes song but with queer baiting and sexy men.
not going to lie england makes me feel funny in my pants.
if he were real id give him a kiss on the mouth if i could. like a good 30 second one, but he'd have to kiss back or it'd just be like i was pressing my mouth on his face for 30 seconds which gets awkward quickly. not that i've ever been in that situation.
the five minute episodes and 1-2 minute skits are great if you have a poor attention span (like me) and need some reoccurring dopamine rushes. and thank god theres 52 or so episodes of it! the faced pacing works well with the shows comedic timing and in-your-face country almost-but-not-quite yaoi action.
my only criticism is that england doesnt get enough screen time. and sometimes they all talk over each ot…
Read at the sourceIt2ly
There's something about this anime that just keeps luring me back in. I have been in the fandom for from 2017 to 2021 and have not gotten out of it not even once, I have never gotten rid of my huge obsession with Hetalia. Even have defended it on several occasions and feel like its one of the best animes in the entire world....and heres why
The story is not linear, its all over the place, and my brain is all over the place so I quite enjoyed it. The story's main focus is on WWII however, but it also goes to any bit of history at any random point and Its just so fun to learn about history at random in such a funny way too. Yes, the story focuses on WWII and everyone claims that the show makes the axis look good, but this is far from the case, its canon that countries in this anime do not r…
Read at the sourcebluesunnyfox
The story revolves around Italy, Germany and Japan, the Axis Powers. Italy is funny and joyful to be around, Germany has a romantic interest in him but is annoyed by his actions. The romance builds up during the episodes, so it doesn't feel empty and you empathise with them. I really felt the chemistry between Chibitalia and the Holy Roman Empire Japan is a shy introvert who meets new people in the series and I love his voice in the series.
It also focuses on the Allies. America was pretty much a jerk and I couldn't decide if I liked him or not. England was a self-righteous "gentleman" and I liked him and I also love his voice. China wasn't in the series a lot, but he is patriotic to his country and comes off as pretty confident. I actually felt sorry for Canada because no one acknowledg…
Read at the sourcemicsss
A very enjoyable series indeed. With 5 minutes episodes, Hetalia: Axis Powers manages to give the public a very light and funny experience.
Turning countries into people is not a new idea, but still, it is brilliant: we are talking about overly exaggerated stereotypes which provide us a good laugh through all their short adventures.
It's important to remember that Hetalia doesn't always represent historic facts correctly, so the relationships between the countries are different, and the way the show portraits them is full of fantasy. Some could say that historical accuracy is important when talking about the past, but a comedy show, as light as this one is, can't possibly provide that.
Actually, knowing well history could make it even funnier, seeing how the show changes things to make t…
Read at the sourceTanner0259
Let me first state that this series isn't for everyone, especially now days. Looking back on the series as a whole I can see why people might think this series is offensive. However to my own personal tastes I don't believe it is as offensive as people make it out to be. Yes it portrays all the different countries in the show in a way that appears racist, however I believe it to be portraying them in a more stereotype kind of way but to some now days that would be racist. However if it was like that then the creator would of been biased to their own country and show them in a positive way right that's not a stereotype. However they didn't they portray all the countries in a stereotype way and to me that makes the show fair and back when this came out which was as a web comic. Portraying pe…
Read at the sourcexXBluesummersXx
[Note: This review will encompass essentially all of the series, not just Axis Powers with the exception of the Paint it White movie, Beautiful World and World Twinkle.]
Many people look back on Hetalia as a sort of cringe-worthy period of anime fan history, and with good reason. However, this isn't something that should stop you from watching the series (unless you wish to pursue the very open, extreme love for the anime that many people had back in the day, which I don't recommend - not from personal experience, but it does give off a lot of second-hand embarrassment) especially if, like me, you are a fan of culture and history.
First of all, you must understand that Hetalia is based on a webcomic of shorts making light of historical events and cultural stereotypes that happened to ge…
Read at the sourceFireDemon2021
Rapid :fire: Review
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Title: Hetalia: Axis Powers
A/M: Anime
Synopsis: Have no idea what happened in the great World Wars? Fell asleep in history class? Have no fear! Hetalia is here to give you a fun, quick rundown of what went on between each of the countries in the most quirky way possible, by having each country represented by a person!
Pros: -Fantastic and unique concept
-While not all the jokes land, the ones that do are hilarious and unexpected
-While voice acting is purposefully clownish, the distinctions in region are accurate and helpful in maintaining the plethora of cast members
Cons:
-While the quickness of the show is appreciated, sometimes the story is blown by without you even grasping what it was tryin…
Read at the sourceabhiss
This animation is by far my favorite, mainly due to its historical background, that deals with history and culture alike. I am a huge History geek and It was unbelievably fun way to learn about history. For those who do not think of it as a History animation, I can give you one tip. The true history is in the detail, and if you are a true history nerd like me you will notice it straight away. Like "rock those shorts like a hugo boss" mainly because german nazi soldiers were made by hugo boss, or when america come in super late during war in Africa and claiming they won, when England already won it themselves. Therefore I believe it is a very accurate anime that shows history in the most fun and enjoyable way.
The animation at the begining was quite meh, but then it actually developed real…
Read at the sourceXxXSunflowyrXxX
What if countries were personified as people? This is the premise of this cute little series.
The main character is Italy, he's adorable, the textbook definition of innocence. Annoying but endearing clinginess to other countries.
Very stereotyped characters. Not much substance to them. The story is pretty basic, just the characters messing around to the vague plot of WW1 and 2, pure filler.
Devoid of any substantial plot, but unbelievably entertaining. Just mindless cuteness and hilariousity. But insanely fun nonetheless.
Each episode is only five minutes, which adds to the uniqueness and simplicity of the show. Very easy to knock out three or four at a time. Or one on the go if you need a quick smile or two.
The art style is pretty basic, focusing on the more adorable side more than…
Read at the sourceLuxuriousHeart
There is nothing worse than wasted potential...
This is the most disappointing anime I've ever watched. Not kidding, this was a great idea, but the execution was so bad!
Good
The great thing is the idea of the story. The idea of countries being personified and represented by humans is so unique and refreshing. I've rarely seen it done in any media, and I think it's the only one in anime. It could have gone in many directions. It could have been an amazing educational and fun thing that would've merged well together. It could have been a hilarious satire of our modern day world. It could have gone in other directions that I can't even think of. They instead chose THIS for the direction to go in. I literally can not. I still rate it a 4 because it's a great plot bunny. I just wish someone…
Read at the sourceangelsreview
Hetalia is a show that partly needs no introduction as it has become a large part of Anime culture. For those new though, Hetalia is an anime based on the personification of different countries. Each country is a stereotype of what Japan sees for them, and they don’t hold back punches. Heck, they don’t even hold back punches on their own country with their many quirks.
The story line is a bit confusing as it jumps to different scenes rather fast. It’s easy to forget what had happened before in one of the on going scenes when it was about two or three episodes before it though if your marathon-ing it, that won’t be a big problem. Sadly, this also makes the show much harder to review, added to the fact that each episode is like 5 minutes. For this first season, it takes place around WWII w…
Read at the sourcememetendo
This may be the only anime I will ever review. There was a point where I was a bit obsessed with the series and I've come here to defend it.
TL;DR It's so bad, it's actually amazing, and it's not meant to be anything but such.
Axis Powers Hetalia (which I will be abbreviating as "APH") is a satirical, historical comedy about amphomorphic countries. Each character represents a different country of the world and their interactions represent historical events, focusing mostly on the events of WWII.
Story 6/10
Art 4/10
Sound 8/10
Character 9/10 Enjoyment 10/10
Overall 6/10
Before I dive in, it's CRUCIAL to know that the series is based on a webcomic that became way more popular than it should have. Both the manga and anime are really a collection of comic strips and there is not supposed…
Read at the sourceSchmuel0311
I watched this show and all of the other seasons in summer, and I was honestly disappointed because of all of the hype and then I just seen this. My friend is in love with the show and I don't see why...
STORY: 1
Story? Story?! This anime has no story whatsoever. It's basically like a slice of life anime but a bit different. It's just the axis powers, sometimes the allies, going on about their daily business in WW2. (yet a lot of the episodes show 0 war themed content...)
ART: 3
I'm going to be honest, I hated the art. But I can't give it a one because this was based off of a webcomic by Himaruya and it's his older art. I still feel like it could be better but since it was a webcomic by some random guy that happened to get popular, I can't judge it. (because beginners at webcomics have a…
Read at the source
