Japan
| Kiku Honda 本田菊 | |
|---|---|
[[image: |150px|center|]]
| |
| Name: | Japan |
| Human Name: | {{{human}}} |
| Alternative Spelling(s): | N/A |
| Age: | Unknown |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birthday: | February 11 |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Height: | 165 cm |
| First Appearance (volume): | {{{firstvolume}}} |
| First Appearance (strip): | {{{firstcomic}}} |
| First Appearance (anime): | Episode 01 |
| Japanese VA: | Hiroki Takahashi, Ai Iwamura (Young Japan) |
| English VA: | N/A |
Kiku Honda is a main character in the series Axis Powers Hetalia. He is the representation of Japan (日本,Nihon), and is part of the Axis Powers.
Contents
Appearance
He is a petite man with dark hair and dark eyes, and is often depicted wearing a white naval uniform with black and gold accents. His first appearance in both the anime and published manga shows him briefly wearing a more ornate version, with gold epaulets and frog clasps down the front of the jacket. When he first appeared in the webcomic, he wore a standard gray/black uniform until sometime after joining the Axis.
In some of Himaruya's official art, his hair is dark brown and his eyes are a lighter brown, though he is usually colored with black hair and darker eyes.
Personality And Interests
A quiet and hard-working man, Kiku does not know very much about the outside world and needs time to adjust to other people. His distinct island customs may seem mysterious to others, though he finds them perfectly normal. He tends to have the behavior of an "old man" and was a hermit for the longest time.
Relationships
Wang Yao (China)
Main Article: Wang Yao
Having been discovered by Yao as a small child, he was raised by the older boy and taught how to use kanji, which he used to create the hiragana alphabet from. Kiku eventually turned on him and attacked him with a katana, leaving him with a disfiguring scar on his back.
Im Yong Soo (South Korea)
Main Article: Im Yong Soo
The two don't get along very well, Yong Soo claiming to hate him but always copying his style and taking credit for others' work (even going as far to claim that "tsundere" originated in Korea). He also has an unusual obsession with wanting to touch Kiku's "breasts".
In The Anime
Kiku first briefly appears in Episode 01 at the "Meeting Of The World". He agrees with Alfred's ridiculous solution for global warming, much to the annoyance of Vash.
After making a cameo at the end of Episode 03 as a teaser, he is formally introduced in Episode 04. Some of the moments that originally occured at this point in Axis Powers Hetalia volume 1 were moved to the later Episode 15, while other things (like Kiku seeing the world as an RPG) were dropped entirely.
In Episode 06, while stranded on an island, Kiku suggests to Ludwig that they call their team "Suujiku". They decide on the term Axis (Ein Achse in German) instead.
Since the anime is based more off the published version of the manga than the original webcomic, Kiku does not wear his black uniform in his introduction, instead wearing the decorative version of his naval suit before he becomes part of the Axis Powers.
