Hetalia Archives - User contributions [en]

Italy

2010-11-30T01:58:22Z

174.48.73.158: /* Germany */

:''This article is about the character representing the northern portion of Italy. For the character representing the southern portion of Italy, see [[South Italy]].''
{{Character

|name = Italy
|jname = イタリア
|image = Italy0.png
|imageSize = 200x397
|country = [[wikipedia:Italy|Italian Republic (Repubblica Italiana)]], Northern Italy
|human = Feliciano Vargas (フェリチアーノ・ヴァルガス, ''Ferichiāno Varugasu'')
|age = 20
|gender = Male
|birthday = March 17
|hair = Brown (manga), Auburn (anime)
|eyes = Brown (manga), Amber (anime)
|height = 172 cm (5' 7.7")
|firstvolume = Volume 1
|firstcomic = ''Hetalia: Chapter 1''
|firstanime = [[Episode 01]]
|japanese = [[Daisuke Namikawa]], [[Aki Kanada]] (Chibitalia), [[Axis Powers Hetalia: The CD|Shounosuke Hitachi]] (''Flower Of Iris'')
|english = [[Todd Haberkorn]], [[Brina Palencia]] (Chibitalia)
}}
'''Italy''' (イタリア ''Itaria'') is a main character in the series '''Hetalia: Axis Powers'''. He is the representation of northern Italy and is part of the Axis Powers. He is also referred to as '''Italy Veneziano''' (イタリア・ヴェネチアーノ ''Itaria Venechiāno''). In 2008, Himaruya gave human names to some of the characters and he recieved the name '''Feliciano Vargas''' (フェリチアーノ・ヴァルガス ''Ferichiāno Varugasu'').

==Appearance==
[[File:Italy.jpg|thumb|left|150px|A 'chibi' version of Italy. Shown in Hidekaz Himaruya's blog.]]He has short brown hair and brown eyes, with a curl on the left side of his head, which acts as his erogenous zone when stroked or pulled. He wears a blue uniform, a black shirt and tie, and black boots. In earlier strips, his hair was shown smoother, and his curl was drawn smaller, a change which was noted in a gag illustration. Italy's eyes were depicted as gray in the earliest artwork of him, but quickly changed to brown.

In his first appearance in both versions of the manga, and the first two episodes of the anime, he wore a tan uniform that looked almost similar to his brother's, aside from being drawn as a jumpsuit in the manga (though it was shown as a two-piece suit in the anime).

As a child, he wore dresses, and was often mistaken for a girl by [[Holy Roman Empire]] (and many others). Often when not in uniform, he can be seen dressed in a white sailor suit-style top (with blue collar, necktie, and sleeve bands) and blue shorts.

==Personality and Interests==
Italy is a cheerful, energetic man, who went from being the kin of Ancient Rome, to an irresponsible crybaby. He loves pasta, pizza, gelato, and cheese. Though he relies on Germany a lot, Italy doesn't really listen to what he says. His hobbies include cooking, siestas, painting, and singing.

In the webcomic and the first drama CD, it is noted that he frequently gets stomach pains due to overindulging on gelato. Italy is shown to have a compulsion of stripping off all of his clothes for his daily 3PM "siestas", and usually forgets to put his pants back on after he wakes back up (causing Germany to have to lend him a pair of his own). His public nudity has become notorious enough to where [[Switzerland]] will fire upon him if he catches him streaking throughout his homeland.

He also has the verbal tic of making a "Ve" sound (really said by italians, above all in Emilia-Romagna, whereas you could hear a "Be" in other Italian regions, which is an abbreviation of "bene", "good", and it has the same function of the English interjection "well" at the beginning of a sentence), though in the anime adaptation, he makes other onomatopoeic sounds as well, a more notable one being a chant of "Herahera" (a Japanese onomatopoeia which means "acting foolishly" or "frivolous") .

Though he was relatively weak and timid as a child, he was able to take on [[Turkey]] single-handedly at one point.

==Relationships==
===Ancient Rome===
''Main Article: [[Ancient Rome]]''

The heir apparent to Rome's fortune, the young Italy spent an indeterminate amount of time living and traveling with his grandfather until Rome eventually grew weak and vulnerable due to his empire crumbling.

Due to what happened to his grandfather, Italy refused to become a new Roman Empire when Holy Roman Empire offered him the chance to do so. Though he didn't emulate Rome's military success, he did pursue the same instinctive talent for art.

===Austria===
''Main Article: [[Austria]]''

Austria took control over a young Italy and helped raise him, with the assistance of [[Hungary]], in Holy Roman Empire's house. In the strip '''In Vienna,''' it is revealed that Austria had originally thought Italy to be a girl along with most others; when he and Hungary learn of Italy's voice maturing, he states that he expected something like this to happen, and buys Italy boy's clothing from then on.

===France===
''Main Article: [[France]]''

A young Italy ("Chibitalia") grew up with a teenage France. The two got along well until Italy was taken to spend time with Ancient Rome. When he returned, France only wanted to gain control of him. They are still on rather good terms, as Italy still refers to France as his big brother and has visited him a number of times. France is also unwilling to harm Italy despite being enemies.

===Germany===
''Main article: [[Germany]]''

After being found in an orange crate (a crate of tomatoes in the published manga and anime adaptations), Italy became his prisoner, then ally. With [[Japan]], they formed the Axis Powers. Despite their differences, Italy and Germany are rather close*

It is hinted, though not outright confirmed, that Germany may be Italy's long-lost childhood love, Holy Roman Empire.

*Italy is openly affectionate towards Germany, always trying his best for him and the Axis Trio as a whole; though failing most of the time. It is shown repeatedly that Italy has no problem crawling in Germany's bed at night or publicly asking how he(Germany) feels about him (Much to England's dismay), as shown in Episode 41 of the anime.
*It is speculated that Germany is actually the Holy Roman Empire in the unfinished comic ''Buon San Valentino ''where it is shown that Germany misinterprets that Italy had confessed to him. After their date gone wrong it is shown that Germany had supposed visions of Chibitalia, which leads to the fact of how Italy says that his first love was a boy, much to Germany's dismay, which leads to this speculation.

===Holy Roman Empire===
''Main Article: [[Holy Roman Empire]]''

As a child, Holy Roman Empire would frequently chase Italy about, demanding that he become a part of the Holy Roman Empire. After Austria gained control of Italy, they resided in Holy Roman Empire's house. Holy Roman Empire was excited, but had a hard time interacting with Italy as he had a crush on him (believing him to be a girl). As a result of HRE's quiet and intense gazes, Italy became very afraid of him at times.

Italy later revealed that the reason he refused HRE's offer to join him in becoming the Holy Roman Empire was because he saw the effects a long life of war had on his grandfather. Heartbroken, HRE leaves his home to go to war after other members of the Holy Roman Empire begin turning against him and Austria. As he leaves, he runs into Italy, and the two say their goodbyes as Italy gives HRE a token of his affection (his underwear in the webcomic version and his broom in the anime). The two share a goodbye kiss and HRE promises that he will return.

In '''Chibitalia in the 15th Century''', HRE does return, but without Italy's knowledge, and only to see if Italy is doing okay, before going back to war. HRE's fate has yet to be confirmed in the series.

===Hungary===
''Main Article: [[Hungary]]''

Hungary helped raise Italy when they were both under Austria's rule, and is considered to be an older sister figure to him. She is also one of the few who knew of Italy's true gender.

===Japan===
''Main article: [[Japan]]''

Japan is shown to often be unnerved by Italy's "shameless" and unusual behavior, even going as far as to order him to "take responsibility" and marry him after having been hugged and kissed by Italy as a greeting. When Italy once drove Japan to his house, his erratic driving skills inspired Japan to invent safer cars. The two have been shown to have a mutual respect of each others' history and artwork, and seem to be friends.

===Poland===
''Main Article: [[Poland]]''

Italy and Poland are shown to be good friends in a few of the "Extra Stories" and ''Comic Diary'' strips, and have known each other since they were small children. It was Poland who gave Italy the idea to make an ejectable seat in [[Germany]]'s Kubelwagon, as he had previously designed an airplane with one (which backfired on him).

===Prussia===
''Main Article: [[Prussia]]''

Prussia is shown to like Italy very much, considering him "cute" and going as far as to ask him on a date, only for Italy to be oblivious to his question (as he was fixated on Prussia's bird).

===South Italy (Romano)===
''Main article: [[South Italy]]''

The two brothers grew up knowing of each other, but they never actually met face to face. Italy eventually went off to live with their grandfather for some time, while South Italy stayed behind. After [[Ancient Rome|Grandpa Rome]] had died and Italy came back, South Italy and the other boys became bullies to him. The two were separated again at the end of the Italian War, when Italy was claimed by the Holy Roman Empire and [[Austria]], while South Italy was sent to live with [[Spain]] because he was too difficult to deal with.

In the present day, the two brothers do not get along very well; South Italy occasionally refuses to acknowledge his brother's existence, though Italy is more than eager to be around his older brother. As a child, South Italy often felt jealous and inferior to Italy, due to the younger brother inheriting their grandfather's talent for art and cleaning, while he could do neither well. He also felt that his brother took after their grandfather in appearance more. Despite this though, he is shown to have at least a subconscious care for him, becoming upset when his brother implies he does not admire him, and sharing a bed with him. Usually, when it is hinted that he cares about Italy, something happens that angers him and he instantly reverts back.

Although South Italy seems tougher than Italy, both are actually cowardly and ineffectual. South Italy refers to Italy as Veneziano, and Italy and others refer to South Italy as Romano, in order to avoid confusion.

==In the Anime==
[[Image:ItalyAnime.png|200px|right|thumb|North Italy in the anime. He is on the right in this image.]]

Italy appears in [[Episode 01]], towards the end of the meeting. He offers to speak, but when he is called upon, he lets out a cry of "PASTA~!" instead of presenting data.

He is formally introduced in [[Episode 02]], after Germany finds him hiding in the tomato crate, and is taken captive, but eventually kicked out and sent back home after he annoys the other man with a stereotype-filled song about Germans. Italy later returns to work for Germany after becoming poor, and eventually becomes his ally in the lead-up to WWII.

In the anime adaptation, Italy's hair is changed to auburn, while his tie is colored blue. His eyes were also changed to amber, a more "golden" shade than what they appear as in manga illustrations.
==Name==
The exact inspiration behind his human name was not stated by [[Hidekaz Himaruya]], though it is to be noted that '''Vargas '''is a Spanish surname and not Italian (though it has Latin roots, like both languages) but it is believed that ''Vargas'' may have been derived from the artist [[wikipedia:Alberto Vargas|Alberto Vargas]], who was famous for his WWII "Vargas Girls" pin-up art. Likewise, '''Feliciano '''''(''which comes from'' "felice", happy one'') is an uncommon given name in Italy, and is more common as a surname. It is possible that it might have been inspired by the Italian calligrapher [[wikipedia:Felice Feliciano|Felice Feliciano]].

==Trivia==

*The birthdate given in his profile, '''March 17th''', corresponds with the date of the formation of the "Kingdom Of Italy" (''Regno d'Italia'') in 1861. As Italy is shown in the strips to have existed for centuries before, it is likely that the brothers use the date of the Italian Unification to celebrate their birthdays with, as a unified Italy. The formation date of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana'') is actually '''June 2nd'''. South Italy is confirmed to be the elder of the two; despite this, some fans continue to mistake them for twins due to having similar hairstyles.
*Though Italy was represented with the flag for the '''Kingdom Of Italy''' in the original webcomic, the published manga and later media use the modern Italian flag.
*His full nation name, '''Italy Veneziano''' (or just "Veneziano") is derived from ''Venezia'', the Italian name for '''Venice''', a city in Northern Italy. In the strips, he is simply referred to by the others as '''Italy''', with his brother only referring to him as '''Veneziano'''. The name '''North Italy''' is also used to differentiate him from his brother.'' ''In Italian'', ''the word'' Veneziano ''has the meaning of "venetian", "native of Venice", but, unlike his brother's second forename, it is no existent male first name''. Veneziano ''can also be seen as a sort of pun for the similar-sounding Japanese phrase "''Venezia no''", which would mean "of Venice".
*Though his name is derived after Venice, he only seems to represent the Republic itself in the strip where he fights the Ottoman troops. In footnotes to strips such as ''The War of Austrian Succession'', it is shown that he has also been used to represent other northern areas of Italy such as [[wikipedia:Duchy of Milan|Milan]] and [[wikipedia:Piedmont-Sardinia|Piedmont-Sardinia]], before the unification of Italy.
*In the strip '''Let's Assist The French Economy!''', his right nipple is revealed to represent '''Corsica''' and winds up claimed by [[France]]. His right pectoral area is also said to represent both '''Savoy''' and '''Nice'''.
*In '''Contrary To The Italian Image''', it is revealed in a footnote that Italy suffers from the medical condition ''phimosis'' (which makes it difficult for the foreskin of the penis to be retracted), due to Italy ranking #2 in frequent cases of it.[[File:Italy_original.jpg|thumb|An early design of Italy.]]
*In the webcomic strip '''Italy's Big Brother''', Germany reveals that Italy happens to share Germanic blood with him (presumably due to the German conquests of Italy after the fall of the Roman Empire). This noticeably angers South Italy, who was later said to be of Arabic blood by Himaruya.
*In a note, Himaruya stated that Italy was not entirely weak, but due to him being cowardly and scared, he does not use his strength. However, as Chibitalia, he was shown at one point to be strong enough to defeat Ottoman forces that were invading the Adriatic Sea (referencing how Italian naval troops were thought to be stronger than the ones on land). In another illustration, the female version of Italy is shown to display an incredible bout of strength when angered, much to the surprise of her male counterpart.
*In the special booklet included with the third volume of the published manga, it was revealed that Italy's personality was originally intended to be modeled after that of '''Noto Kanazawa''' (an unlucky, often-bullied character from a previous Kitayume comic), and that his curl was a last-minute addition to the design to make him look cuter. As the manga progressed though, the character of Italy became more carefree and absent-minded.
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Anime Characters]]
[[Category:Manga Characters]]
[[Category:Male Characters]]
[[Category:Axis Powers Characters]]
[[Category:European Characters]]
[[Category:Mediterranean Characters]]

Rome/Germania

2010-11-30T01:48:22Z

174.48.73.158:

{{stub}}
==In the Anime==
There is little known about the relationship involving Rome and Germania other than the fact that Germania had served the role as Rome's bodyguard,a dn was also the same person that had taken his life. It is shown in the anime and manga that Germania is constantly annoyed by the fact that all Rome talks about is usually wine,women, and fighting. Due to the fact that there is not much told about their relationship,let alone the characters themselves, this couple is more of a minor pairing at the time being, but the fan base is slowly growing.

Rome and Germania are shown together in [[Episode 60]].
[[Category:Pairings]]
[[Category:Pairings Dealing with Rome]]
[[Category:Pairings Dealing with Germania]]

Korea

2010-10-17T20:50:37Z

174.48.73.158:

{{Character
|name = Korea
|jname = 韓国
|image = Korea.png
|country = [[wikipedia:ROK|Republic Of Korea (Daehan-minguk)]]
|human = Im Yong Soo (任勇洙, ''Imu Yon Su'')
|age = 15-16
|gender = Male
|birthday = August 15
|hair = Black (manga), Brown (unused anime design)
|eyes = Brown
|height = Unknown
|firstvolume = Volume 1
|firstcomic = ''Korea Joke Series''
|firstanime = [[Episode 14]] (non-speaking animation error - other scenes cut from series)
|japanese = N/A
|english = N/A
}}
'''Korea''' (韓国, ''Kankoku'') is a character in the series '''Hetalia: Axis Powers'''. He represents the country of '''South Korea'''. In 2008, Himaruya gave out human names to some of the characters and he received the name, '''Im Yong Soo''' (任勇洙, ''Imu Yon Su''; Korean: 임용수). He was originally slated to make an appearance in the anime, as evidenced by an early character design on the site (which was later removed), but was cut from the series, due to becoming controversial enough to warrant online protests, and for the series to be declared very offensive by the South Korean government for in their thoughts was his clothing was incorrect, his birthday was wrong, his behaviour was to be a pervert, not understandable, and his praise for Japan were the main reasons; as Hetalia is staged in WWII where Korea was forced to become [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_under_Japanese_rule part of the Japanese empire].

==Appearance==
Korea has short black hair, with a flyaway curl on the right side of his head. The curl is often drawn with a face in the middle, to represent his "Korean spirit". He dresses in a white and navy blue hanbok with long oversized sleeves, though it appears to be a mixture of the male and female styles of hanbok as well as hanbok from different eras of Korea, and his ''jeogori'' seems to be in two pieces rather than one.

His actual height is not stated, but it is mentioned that he is significantly taller than both of his "brothers", and that he happens to be very muscular due to his experience in the military.

==Personality And Interests==
Korea is a free-spirited type, obsessed with video games, dramas, studying abroad, and the internet. He always claims credit for others' inventions, and feels that his older brothers should call him their older brother.

Though he is fundamentally serious and likes to put the family first, he can't keep his hands off his brothers. He often uses phrases like, "Da-ze!" or "Uri nara mansae!", which means roughly "Hooray for our land!". When speaking to elders, however, he adopts more formal and polite speech.

It is said that he loves kimchi so much that he took it up into outer space, causing [[France]] to become pissed off.

Korea has also been shown to be very good at drawing, as can be seen in a comic strip with [[China]] in which he tried to teach his older brother how to draw anime.

It is also shown that Korea is very bright seeing that he was able to create the Mind-Reading Binoculars perfectly when [[Japan]] failed to do so. But the same comic strip also reveals how clueless he is when he tries to use the binoculars to see what China was thinking of him, only devastated to see that China is glad that Korea took the stuffed animals because he didn't want them. Korea concluded that "Korea didn't make them" because he believed they didn't work.

==Relationships==
===China===
''Main Article: [[China]]''

He is obsessed with China and wants to be acknowledged by him, but his feelings are unrequited. When he "invented" a pair of mind-reading binoculars and saw that China despaired of his very presence, he believed that they were broken and as a result, he denied making them.

In another modern strip, he and China worked together in animation production.

===Japan===
''Main Article: [[Japan]]''

Korea claims to hate him, but is constantly copying his style and creations, and believes that he has ownership over his breasts. At one point, he wanted to dig a tunnel to connect both their countries. He tried to justify his complicated relationship with the claim that ''tsundere'' originated from him.

In the original ''World Conference'' strip, it is shown that he will go out of his way to disagree with any of Japan's opinions, preferring to side with [[America]] instead - even when Japan and America have already agreed.

==In The Anime==
[[Image:KoreaAnime.jpg|thumb|left|The unused South Korea anime design, later removed from the official site.]]

Korea was originally part of the cast for season 1, and was shown in various promotional images for the series, as well as appearing in the official site's lineup of characters.

However, several South Korean citizens, after learning of the existence of the series, found the character to be mocking and in poor taste. Reasons for the controversy ranged from the character's bluffing and perversion (which was taken as a slight against Korea for its claims about ownership of the [[wikipedia:Liancourt Rocks|Liancourt Rocks]], which Japan also claims ownership of), to his hanbok being drawn incorrectly.

An online petition was launched to get the series banned, and over 16,000 signatures were collected. The case gained enough media attention to be brought before the government of South Korea, and the series was deemed to be a "national crime".

Kids Station, the TV network that was to air the ''Hetalia'' anime, responded that there were never any plans to include a Korea character in the series. Despite the claim, the protests continued and the anime adaptation wound up pulled from Kids Station's lineup due to "various circumstances". It is believed that reported death threats (and a bomb threat) from the protesters may have played a part in those circumstances, though it is unknown exactly how many of the reports were of serious threats and how many were just netizens trolling their "intentions" on sites.

Though he appears in the ending theme, Korea is noticeably absent from the actual anime. A brief animation error in [[Episode 14]], depicting him as part of the supermarket line from behind, shows evidence that he was originally animated into the series, but that [[Studio DEEN]] had to remove any references to him, presumably due to the protests. The part he played in the rest of the episode was completely removed, as was a brief cameo he would have had in [[Episode 01]].

The ''Cast Commentary'' track on the third drama CD, [[Hetalia Drama CD: Prologue 2|Prologue 2]], contains an appearance by the seiyū '''Kaoru Mizuhara''', in the roundtable discussion of recording for the characters in both the drama CDs and anime. Mizuhara's section was thought to suggest that she was to voice Korea in the upcoming anime version, though a translation revealed that it was only a "what if" type of idea if she was cast in the anime, with a "[[Monaco]]" character being suggested first.

In his unused anime design, Korea's dark hair was changed to a chestnut brown shade, and the "Korean spirit" in his haircurl was removed. The navy blue part of his hanbok was also changed to violet.

==Name==
The Western ordering of his name would be ''Yong Soo Im'', while the Eastern odering is ''Im Yong Soo''.

Though the correct Korean rendering would be '''Im Yong Soo''', the variants '''Im Yonsu''', '''Im Yong Su''', and '''Im Yun Soo''' have been seen in some Japanese fanworks. Some spellings of his human name included '''Ren Yong Soo''', '''Lim Young-soo''', and '''Lee Young-soo''' (derived from how the name is spelled out in katakana) . The full human name ''Im Yong Soo'' means "brave and great" in Korean.

==Trivia==
[[Image:FemaleKorea.PNG|thumb|right|The original female South Korea.]]
* An initial character design by Hidekaz Himaruya reveals that Korea was originally going to be a female character. In the early design, the female South Korea is depicted wearing a hanbok with long, flowing oversized sleeves. Her hair appears to be tied back into braids. Further liner notes in the special edition of ''Hetalia: Axis Powers volume 2'' suggest that the female Korea was to be an aspiring idol who decided to travel to the United States. The design for the female Korea was later reused for the character [[w:c:kitayume:Sena|Sena]], the lead of another, short-lived webcomic by Himaruya, entitled '''MoeKan'''. Himaruya's initial design of a male South Korea had no haircurl, though some later preliminary designs presented a Korea that looked more melancholy than how he appeared in the series.
*Korea's birthday was originally listed as being '''May 1st, 1919'''. The date was later retconned to '''August 15th''' (no year given) by the time the published version of the manga was released. The retconned birthdate corresponds with the date for the [[wikipedia:Victory_over_Japan_Day|Korean Liberation Day]] in 1945, as well as the date for the formation of South Korea in 1948.
*Although referred to as simply '''Korea''' most of the time, the nation name being listed as '''Daehan-minguk''' ('''Republic of Korea''') on his original profile first indicated that he is meant to represent the southern half, which also tends to be referred to as simply '''Korea'''. Since he has only appeared in the modern day-set strips so far, his flag also confirms that he is South (though the original Korean flag was similar before the split). In 2007, Himaruya stated that he had a male '''North Korea''' character in mind that would be a musician who was fond of reading and dancing, as well as being more timid in personality than South Korea. However, it is unlikely that he will appear any time soon due to controversy, as well as a friend of Himaruya's (on whom he was based) having moved away. The unused female South Korea design is sometimes substituted by fans as a possible "North".
*While the nation of Korea has been around since 2333 BC, Korea is portrayed as seemingly the youngest of the Asian nations (though he claims they should call him their big brother). It is currently unknown if he represented ancient Korea and the Three Kingdoms in the past as well, or if a character (or characters) for them will exist.
*Though Korea has been cut from the anime series, he briefly appeared as a chibi in the ending song [[Marukaite Chikyuu]].
*Korea is said not to be aired soon in the anime do to controvery that many Korean citizens feeling offended to how Korea was potrayed, even though was said to be one of the main characters and was to appear in the first episode of the world conference.
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[[Category:Male Characters]]
[[Category:Manga Characters]]
[[Category:Asian Characters]]
[[Category:Anime Characters]]