Hetalia: Axis Powers (Japanese: ヘタリア Axis Powers, Hepburn: Hetaria Akushisu Pawāzu) is a Japanese webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by Hidekaz Himaruya. The series' main presentation is as a comedic allegory of political and historic events as well as more general cultural comparisons. Characters are personifications of countries, regions such as Hong Kong, and micronations. Both positive and negative cultural stereotypes form part of each character's personality. Hetalia (ヘタリア) is a portmanteau combining hetare (ヘタレ, Japanese for "useless" or "pathetic" in a cute or endearing way) and "Italia" (イタリア, Italia, Japanese for "Italy").
The series started with a focus on World War II, although presently it has broadened beyond that. Most of the comics take place during other historical events, modern holidays, or at no specific time whatsoever. The manga and most recent season of the anime run on the title "Hetalia: World Stars." The character roster is large, but the main cast is still primarily the countries which made up the Axis powers and Allies of World War II—namely Italy (North Italy in particular), Germany, Japan, United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Canada.
The series often uses satire and light-hearted comedy to reinterpret well-known events as well as less common historical and cultural trivia. Historical, political, economic, and military interaction between countries is generally represented in Hetalia as social interactions and misunderstandings between the characters.
Himaruya originally created Hetalia as a webcomic, and so far six tankōbon have been published by Gentosha Comics, the first on March 28, 2008, the second on December 10, 2008, the third on May 20, 2010, the fourth on June 30, 2011, and the fifth on July 31, 2012. English translations of the first two volumes have been published by Tokyopop in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Both printed volumes published so far have topped The New York Times manga best seller list. As of May 2012 the English-language version of the manga was published by Tokyopop via Right Stuf Inc. The series was later adapted into drama CDs, and an anime series created by Studio Deen has also begun streaming online. As of January 8, 2010, the anime series' international distribution is being handled by Funimation. Hetalia is very popular and has a cult following.
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