Thinking in Progress

fluffy-pillow:

funnythoughtbubble:

funnythoughtbubble:

I started watching Hetalia about a month ago and I’m enjoying it. I’m thinking of drawing fanart and diving into the fandom. But honestly… I’m feeling nervous. There’s so much stigma surrounding the series and I have at least one friend who really really hates it. It…

Fluffy-pillow (I don’t know how you’d like to be addressed) I thank you for your insight. I read several of your other Hetalia related posts and I found them thoughtful and even educational.

Back to the matter at hand: I’ve decided I should be honest and not hide my enthusiasm for the Hetalia series from my friends. As another of our fellow fans advised, “You don’t have to like everything your friends like.” There are plenty of differences in tastes between us but I like to think that even my friends who dislike  Hetalia will know that I as a person would not be the type to make fun of tragedy. As you mentioned, Hetalia makes jokes about the facepalm moments in history. There are plenty of modern examples of that- of course there are examples in the past. In my opinion, even some of the fan made art or writing that addresses more serious events can be done in a serious, well-researched way, that pays due respect to the weight of the events.

I also like to think that when I say I ship characters, my friends will know that I don’t mean it in a creepy “The two countries must become one and all the people from one must marry people from the other.” way. (That would be insane.) Sure I like the Italy and Germany pairing in Hetalia a lot, but I like the characters together that way not the actual real life countries. Besides, the country characters in Hetalia are not really meant to be THE countries the way I see it. They’re used to represent the countries for the sake of the gags but these characters are still their “own selves” in a way. After all, they maintain consistent personalities despite all the changes to the lands they represent, they don’t always agree with their bosses, and there are plenty of scenes in which they are accompanied with other nameless people meaning they don’t represent the entire population. When I say I like “ItalyxGermany,” what I really mean is I like “FelicianoxLudwig”.

Wrapping up: I think Hetalia is clever and fun. Some fans go in a bad direction with it but there are just as many who are thoughtful and educated. Hetalia reminds me about all the wonderful diversity in the world to check out. Hetalia can help remind us that we’re all human and nobody’s perfect. Forget hiding my enjoyment in the closet from friends who will most likely just shrug it off. I’m going to go ahead and draw fanart and comics for it. If it inspires me to crack open a history book or research another culture then great. The inspiration went full circle then.

Fluffy-Pillow, FP, adress me the way you like it. 

XD I never just rant, I clearify, therefore I have to work with some proper examples. Good to know that my posts are somehow educational. 

I wouldn’t really talk with my IRL friends about Hetalia, because… too much to explain. ;)

If I would ship something it would propably be APH!Germany and APH!Russia, but only with a historical background as a story line. I tend to ‘ship’ the most destructive shippings. It’s always the same no matter what fandom I join. What does that mean? APH!Italy is a funny character and I enjoy him in Hetalia, but he’s so cheerful that it’s quite disturbing. XD 

And I agree that the characters are stereotypes and yet have their own personality. If APH!Germany would represent the policy of Nazi Germany, he wouldn’t care that much about APH!Italy. So yes, he has got his own personality, but I have to admit that he represents the Germans quite good. When I saw his look for the first time I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or worry. It’s pretty clear what kind of stereotype he represents with his appearance. Thus, I was really happy to see that his character is pretty normal (Some people say that he’s repressed and has some issues, but I think he’s normal). When I’ve watched the first episode of Hetalia I felt really annoyed by that argument between the other nations and all I could think of was, please can somebody finally exercise one’s authority? And then APH!Germany appeared. I laid on the floow laughing and couldn’t breathe. Anyway, I think he represents my awkward people very good. But then again he’s one of the most fleshed out characters and we see a lot of different character traits. And I would say that he’s also WWII!Germany or better the stereotype of an officer (general) of the Wehrmacht. He questions some decisions of his superiors, but follows the given rules in the end without much of an argument. And even if it’s not a topic in Hetalia, I’m pretty sure that he would also commit the same war crimes the Wehrmacht committed while WWII, because they ‘followed the rules’. Maybe it’s just me who thinks that his character is pretty accurate, but from knowing my people and studying history I would say that he does indeed represent the German nation, but he’s also Ludwig, a ‘human being’ who’s searching for somebody to trust. 

But two things I want to add. 1. We don’t really mash the potatos, they’re already mashed… it’s called Kartoffelbrei. And 2. If you ask people from East Germany they would tell you that the West Germans can’t form a queue like normal people, they always try to be first. ;)

I tend to ship characters that start out as friends. APH!ItalyxAPH!Germany obviously fit that trend. I find APH!Italy funny and cute but then again I like plenty of “cheerful and sweet-type” characters. I know Feli’s cowardice and terrible battle abilities make up half the jokes in Hetalia, but I also think that this weakness could be a strength in some situations. He’s an odd one, and I’ll probably try exploring his character along with Ludwig’s in the future when I write and draw.

Your thoughts on Ludwig are very interesting. I understand how you feel when you say he represents the awkwardness of your people well. I feel very similar as an American about Hetalia!America. It’s safe to say that Albert is my favorite character in Hetalia. He’s passionate, funny, and he has spunk. He’s ridiculous at times, but he really feels like a good fit for America. The first time he said “I’m the hero!” I burst out laughing. Nobody here actually says that but I can see how it’s fitting for the America character. We really value heroic figures. More than once a president has declared us to be something like “the policeman of the world.” ie The Truman Doctrine, Bush’s declaration of “War on terrorism.” etc. (Of course, this attitude has led to both good and bad outcomes.) It’s really funny that APH!America says this so often in a WWII setting since we hesitated to enter the war at first. The economy was still recovering from the Great Depression and memories from WWI were fresh in people’s minds. Of course all that hesitation disappeared once Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

I also get an extra kick out of APH!China and England because I have ancestors from those countries. (My father’s eyebrows ought to be drawn just like APH!England’s are.) Don’t get me wrong, I’m an American girl for sure, but you could say I have some familiarity with thoughts from these other cultures through my family members.

So potatoes are mashed before you even get them? I suppose Ludwig couldn’t bear to eat them any other way. XD Also, does this queue problem suggest that West German’s would be the ones to cut in line at the store?

As for the America jokes you see in Hetalia… We don’t eat nothing but hamburgers. We have all types of food- Chinese restaurants, Italian, Greek, Mexican- you name it. But yes, there are a lot of McDonald’s and similar places around here (also a lot of Starbucks coffee). I personally love a good burger, but I’d get sick of them if I ate them all the time. (Sometimes watching Hetalia gives me cravings for them.) I do have some friends who drink nothing but soda (which worries me for their health) but there are plenty of us who only have it here and there- usually when we really are eating hamburgers since they taste good together. XD (Or pizza- pizza is really well loved.) There have been plenty of movements to encourage children to go outside and play instead of sitting indoors playing video games to combat childhood obesity.

It is true that American portions of food tend to be large. This doesn’t happen everywhere (especially not at fancy restaurants) but I hear that at times American portions are overwhelming to visitors. The best explanation I can think of for the large sizes is that we really like to get “a bigger bang for your buck”. Basically, people like the idea of getting more for less money. Some people are able to eat everything in one sitting but plenty of us will split a large something with our friends or family or we’ll take home what we didn’t eat and have it as another meal later on. I almost always get two meals out of one burger.

The joke in which APH!America ends up having to look at a map to find Japan is sadly, not too far from the truth. The joke is an exaggeration of course- if you asked the average American where Japan is, they would know the answer. However, if you asked them where Latvia is, many of them would scratch their heads. They’d be more likely to know if they had relatives from the area, studied Europe in some form, or were into traveling. Plenty of us though honestly can’t name every other country out there. (Including myself honestly. Shame. Shame. I have a roommate from Latvia and the first thing I did when I found out was look for it on a map.) You’d probably get many different answers if you asked why this is.

funnythoughtbubble:

I started watching Hetalia about a month ago and I’m enjoying it. I’m thinking of drawing fanart and diving into the fandom. But honestly… I’m feeling nervous. There’s so much stigma surrounding the series and I have at least one friend who really really hates it. It…

Fluffy-pillow (I don’t know how you’d like to be addressed) I thank you for your insight. I read several of your other Hetalia related posts and I found them thoughtful and even educational.

Back to the matter at hand: I’ve decided I should be honest and not hide my enthusiasm for the Hetalia series from my friends. As another of our fellow fans advised, “You don’t have to like everything your friends like.” There are plenty of differences in tastes between us but I like to think that even my friends who dislike  Hetalia will know that I as a person would not be the type to make fun of tragedy. As you mentioned, Hetalia makes jokes about the facepalm moments in history. There are plenty of modern examples of that- of course there are examples in the past. In my opinion, even some of the fan made art or writing that addresses more serious events can be done in a serious, well-researched way, that pays due respect to the weight of the events.

I also like to think that when I say I ship characters, my friends will know that I don’t mean it in a creepy “The two countries must become one and all the people from one must marry people from the other.” way. (That would be insane.) Sure I like the Italy and Germany pairing in Hetalia a lot, but I like the characters together that way not the actual real life countries. Besides, the country characters in Hetalia are not really meant to be THE countries the way I see it. They’re used to represent the countries for the sake of the gags but these characters are still their “own selves” in a way. After all, they maintain consistent personalities despite all the changes to the lands they represent, they don’t always agree with their bosses, and there are plenty of scenes in which they are accompanied with other nameless people meaning they don’t represent the entire population. When I say I like “ItalyxGermany,” what I really mean is I like “FelicianoxLudwig”.

Wrapping up: I think Hetalia is clever and fun. Some fans go in a bad direction with it but there are just as many who are thoughtful and educated. Hetalia reminds me about all the wonderful diversity in the world to check out. Hetalia can help remind us that we’re all human and nobody’s perfect. Forget hiding my enjoyment in the closet from friends who will most likely just shrug it off. I’m going to go ahead and draw fanart and comics for it. If it inspires me to crack open a history book or research another culture then great. The inspiration went full circle then.

chininini:

fluffy-pillow:

… The Pact of Steel Ribbentrop (Germany) and Ciano (Italy) signed back in 1939 wasn’t a sign of their undying love. And no, the Axis weren’t some kawaii-desuuu~ bishis, who had fun in the African desert. They were dictators and mass murderes. And besides, I…

^THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION… It really sums up why I don’t know if I can actually enjoy Hetalia out in the open with my fellow fans or if I need to hide it away in the closet for fear that what I think will be misunderstood and accused of being a racist or something. *headdesk*

Example at hand: Hetalia ships? Okay or no? Is it okay to call real live events in history “anniversaries” for pairings when the real life event involved a treaty that contributed to war?

When I first heard of Hetalia I thought, “I might watch it- it looks like fun. But I don’t think I’ll ever ship any couples because that would be too weird.”

Then I watched it, and dang it all, I honestly ship one (two?) couple(s). Not in a strange “I think the two countries must become one.” or “Everyone from that country should marry everyone from the other country.” way. That would be crazy!  But I like the two characters as people based upon the countries… I ended up liking their relationship a lot. Surely there’s a way to ship while still being respectful to real life and history. There’s gotta be! Right?