During World War I, gruff Germany finds Italy hiding in a wooden box of tomatoes. Germany takes Italy as prisoner, but instead of war-like interrogation, Italy becomes more of the nuisance and unwanted guest. World War I quickly comes to an end, but World War II is right on its heels! This time, Italy tries his best to become friends with Germany. They soon befriend Japan, and the three of them form the Axis Powers. Meanwhile, America, who loves heroism and hamburgers, tries to form a treaty, as Great Britain reminisces about when America was his loving child.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended!,
By
This review is from: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
What if all the nations of the world were anthropomorphized hunky bishounen (or the very occasional cute bishoujo)? It would certainly change one's view of history, wouldn't it? It's the eve of the Second World War, and Germany is gearing up to invade Poland. Germany is a serious soul who takes both his orders and his vast responsibilities seriously. He has also acquired two important allies: Japan, soft-spoken, hard-working, and a bit naïve because he was until recently a shut-in, and Italy, a cheerful but profoundly spineless soul whose incompetence seems to undermine the so-called Axis Powers at every turn. As a consequence, Italy's nickname is "Hetalia."The title of this popular webcomic turned printed manga Hetalia: Axis Powers by Hidekaz Himaruya is a portmanteau of the Japanese word hetare ("useless" or "incompetent") and Italia (Italy). Despite extensive footnotes supplied by the original Japanese edition and an invaluable new four pages of endnotes exclusive to the Tokyopop English-language edition, this portmanteau is not explained anywhere in the first volume. Fortunately, it's not "need-to-know" information, and Hetalia is an enjoyable piece of entertainment that takes one of the grimmest periods of 20th century history and transforms it into a most bearable lightness of slapstick--and on occasion bawdy--comedy. This is not satirical social commentary. This is fun. It is therefore important not to try to take Hetalia seriously, either for its nuanced view of geopolitics or its depiction of the anthropomorphized countries. Both are consistently disappointing. The countries themselves are based upon broad-stroke national stereotypes--apparently American in origin, according to Himaruya--that are, if anything, divorced from historic context. The cheerful coward (Italy) and the straight man (Germany) make for a classic comic combination, and an ever-growing supporting cast of characters provides virtually endless opportunities for situational comedy, most of it delivered in the popular Japanese yon-koma (four-panel) format. It is very much to Himaruya's credit, actually, that the large cast of characters remains distinguishable. Besides the Italy, Germany, and Japan trio, other recurring dramatis personae in volume one alone include the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, China, Austria, Spain, and more. Each country has distinctive personality traits and character designs. Particular idiosyncrasies include the United States being on good terms with extraterrestrials (obscure reference to The X-Files, perhaps?) and China's penchant for ending every sentence with the nonsense syllable "-aru." Naturally, the characters are all attractively drawn, providing an abundance of surefire fan fodder. In fact, Hetalia is already a heavy-hitting fan-favorite. The animated adaptation has a devoted following worldwide, which is bound to make the manga, handsomely published in a deluxe trim size with eight full-color pages, a popular proposition as well. Readers will come for the characters, stay for the comedy, and perhaps a few will even graduate to serious accounts of global history. At the very least, this is the wackiest story premise to cross manga in a long time--and that's saying something--and even casual readers will find themselves--perhaps in spite of themselves--eagerly wanting more. Recommended. -- Casey Brienza
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pasta?,
By Shimi Mamu "Sierra" (Texas U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
My, how should I begin this review?I'll just say what comes naturally. Right at the begining of the manga, you're greeted with a brightly coloured (and glossy) first page, which I'm glad they did that, since people were worried that Tokyopop were going to turn it into a plain black and white page. The drawing style is pretty cute, depending on what "cute" means to you. The line/script, itself, is very faithful to it's original Japanese and the original Japanese track of the anime. An example of this is that China/Yao's "aru" is present, and England is actually called "England" and not "Britan". Don't let the innocent looking art fool you, for there is an f-bomb in the book, earning this manga a "16 and over" rating, along with other situations. The first half of the book is a Prolouge, a chapter for the Axis (Japan, Germany, and Italy), and a chapter for the Allies (America, England, France, Russia*, and China). Depending on your sense/taste of humour, you'll either laugh or the jokes will fly right over your head. There's also a story (which I really liked) called "Chibitalia", which is basically about a much younger Italy along with characters like Austria, Hungary, and Holy Roman Empire. Then, there is a story about the War of the Austrian Succession, featuring Maria Theresa of Austria, Austria, Prussia, and Hungary. In English, there are a lot of mini-stories and 4-panel stories in this book. All in all, this is an enjoyable book for those who enjoy "Hetalia" and for those who are curious about the series. Just so you know, the book may drag for a while for some people due to some of the manga's jokes being...well, dry. Read, enjoy, and have some pasta while you're reading! (*He's actually "Soviet Union", however, he's named Russia in the series. The profile of Russia even mentions it, if you're curious.)
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hetalia, Volume 1.,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
I really really REALLY love this manga. The bits of history, the comedy, the art style. It's all amazing. I just love all the characters, and how stereotypical they are. Yes, I enjoy the stereotyping, because...well, they exist for a reason, right? Of course, I do realize not everyone in a country acts like their country's personification. I know I don't. But I find it humorous. It's good to laugh at yourself every now and again, and trust me, with this manga, you will.I highly suggest it, especially if you are interested in history and enjoy a good satire.
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