(Hetalia Axis Powers #02)Hetalia Axis Powers, Volume 2[Paperback] on January 11, 2011

ヘタリア Axis Powers #2

by Hidekaz Himaruya

All of the fan favorite world powers are back to...celebrate Christmas? How will Germany react when he finally meets the famous Roman Empire only to discover he's exactly like his grandson? And what other hijinx will the Axis Powers get into?

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Comics, Historical Fiction, Comedy, Humor, Historical

Unknown Binding

First published December 31, 2008

About the author

Hidekaz Himaruya (日丸屋 秀和 Himaruya Hidekaz, born May 8th, 1985, in Koriyama, Fukushima) is the creator of the series Hetalia: Axis Powers (originally titled Axis Powers Hetalia in the webcomic run). He is sometimes affectionately called Papa Hima, by Hetalia fans.
Himaruya started the original Hetalia webcomic while he was attending Parsons School Of Design in New York City and continues the series in the present. He is currently an art design major and makes posts about his day-to-day life on his blog the Bamboo Thicket, along with the latest character designs and sketches.

Besides Hetalia, his website Kitayume (which started on June 19th, 2003) showcases his other manga projects and artwork. His latest series, Chibi-san Date, currently runs in the magazine Comic Birz by Gentosha Comics (which also published the printed versions of the Hetalia manga).

Himaruya lived in New York from late 2006 until some point in early 2009, when he moved back to Japan following the release of the Hetalia anime and his contract with Comic Birz.

In the earlier days of the Kitayume site (2003-2007), he used the name Kazuyoshi Himaruya (日丸屋 和良 Himaruya Kazuyoshi), which most notably appears in the credits of the Gakuen Hetalia demo.
Estonia's character design is based on his appearance, although his hair and eye color is different.
On his blog and update logs from the archived versions of Kitayume, Himaruya mentions that he is a fan of South Park and Happy Tree Friends. In some instances, he has referenced the song Let's Fighting Love (from the South Park episode Good Times With Weapons) by using the phrase and replacing "Fighting" with another word of his choice, such as: "Let's Flying Pan-ing Love" and "Let's Englanding Love".
He is also a fan of the horror visual novels Higurashi When They Cry and Umineko no Naku Koro ni by Ryukishi07, which coincidentally, both received animated adaptations by Studio DEEN.
Himaruya's hobbies (mentioned on the bio page at Kitayume) include photography, architecture, and collecting postcards.
The programs he uses to color and ink his artwork are: SAI Painter and Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.
He allows the usage of images from his site, show, and blog as long as no profit is involved, and encourages fans to create their own original characters, fan videos (MADs), or cosplay inspired by his works, though he actively discourages fans from copying CDs. Selling any of the downloadable site games for profit is also prohibited.
He's admitted to having a rather questionable naming sense, and encouraged the fans to call the gender flipped nations by whichever names they chose to.

Reviews

[Jennifer Lavoie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the reason I like this manga so much is because it makes history interesting. Granted it's not 100% accurate, but picturing the countries represented as people makes leaning history much more interesting to me. I start to actually care about them. I enjoy the notes at the end of many of the panels in this manga as well because of the historical facts. A lot of the things added are not known in history unless you really dig, but Hetalia makes this interesting nuggets readily available.

There are times when I feel like people may be offended by what is said about their country, but all countries are made fun of, and that's what makes it so funny. America really is a pain in the butt, and I feel bad for Canada! I need to get the anime, and I hope there is a volume three. Holy Rome and Chibitalia were adorable in the first volume, and this time it was Switzerland and Liechtenstein. (And the facts about Liechtenstein actually made me stop reading for a few hours and spend time online looking up information about the country. It's fascinating that the entire country has a smaller population than my hometown, which I've always considered small at 60,000!

[Dorian Jandreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

YAY. I just finished. WOW. So amazing book. I read it in Russian and it was amazing to read and see what was showed in theanime and what is in the manga. I am so happy I read this book. I cannot wait to get 3rd book from USA in English and read it like a zombie. And I cannot wait when 4-5 books will translated into English that I could reserve them on amazon and get faster. I really hope the author will draw even more books and create even more seasons of anime. I am in the highest madness of Hetalia right now.

And all the drawings, everything. I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. :3

[Lyd's Archive (7/'15 to 6/'18) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars for occasionally unclear art
My reaction when I got this book


Natalya, the book is over.
Me: UWAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!
In some respects, this was better than the anime, but the anime is much clearer in its art. However, the book does a better job explaining the history.

[shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, superb. I was a bit disappointed about the lack of USUK in this one, but it had a bunch of GerIta and Giripan to compensate for my missing OTP. It made me laugh throughout the entire thing--I couldn't put it down. Absolutely stunning, and great artwork, Himaruya! I love you~<3

[woydat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lepsza od 1, trochę mniej chaotyczna.

(Twój stary Germania i twój stary Cesarstwo Rzymskie idole; większość bohaterów powinna trafić do psychiatry...)

[Krzesla Hexe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straszne, w ogóle nie ma Roderyka Kamieńszlachetny, ale twój stary Germania idol

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art keeps getting better and better. Still funny as hell. Can't wait for Volume 3!

[Starbubbles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was yelling so much as this volume. It really hit home what I discuss in my major all the time; how does an author, film-maker, educator, balance entertainment and being historically accurate? I would say that the balance has tipped in favor of entertainment. It was infuriating to read what should have brought historical value to an entertaining (or what should have been entertaining) strip and have it fizzle with some errorounus "fact."

Things that should have been true, but weren't:

Rome's "Mystrious" Disappearence
It wasn't all that mysterious. Between being spreading the empire out too far, political curruption, the centralized power of the government collapsing, oppressing people, and money running out, it would have been more impressive if it survived that. It really doesn't take a genius to connect those kinds of dots.

Germania
You mean the Gauls? You mean the people that Rome oppressed and refered to as Barbarians? They led an uprising and invaded right when Rome's government was loosing power. I guess a similar comparison would be Spain invading the Mayan Empire during their decline. So when you think about that comparison, and how no one would consider the Spaniards to be Mayan gaurdians, why would Germania be considered as such? Maybe it was because some did serve in the military. It could have also been that there were cultural exchanges between the two (such as both having some odd love affair with ham).

Spiritualism in the US
It would have been nice if there was mention that senices were very common during the 19th century. Look into the Fox Sisters for even more ghostie fun.

Maple the Flower
It's a tree. It's known for its syrup (made from its sap), not really its flowers. Honestly, please refer to it as a tree. Just having a blossom does not qualify a plant as a flower.

The UN
Why is it never mentioned that the United Nations was formed after World War II? Himaruya makes it sound as if these conversations and interactions were common throughout history. The UN was developed to open lines of communication and work out difference between nations before it erupted into a massive war. This would imply that communication (for various reasons) was not happening before WWII.

England's Vendetta against France
It would be foolharty to side with a nation for the sole purpose of going against a hated nation. The arguement presented was two different wars and England siding with different people (with the only consitiancy being that France was the enemy) for each of those wars. England isn't exactly known for getting along with others well. But with other nations involved, there is the issue of territory, access to resources, and a lesser emphasized fact, a good portion of royalty in Europe was related. A change in another country for who was in-line for the throne could vastly change international relations, as well as what family could be in-line for their own country. (Case and point would be with William of Orange. If that wasn't political manuevering, I don't know what is.)

"Can Get Along on His Own"
This one was so infuriating that let's break it down.
"England gave Americans exemption from taxes, religious freedom, and free trade."
What? If we want to give the benefit of the doubt, that's 1/3 true.
"Exemption from taxes"
Seriously? Taxes were lower in America than in England, and higher tax rates and new taxes were enstated to pay for the Seven Years War. Lesser known fact, the British footed the majority of that bill when it was fought in America.
"Religious Freedom"
It wasn't exactly granted to America as if from some enlightened thinking on the UK's part. If this were true, England would have done so with much less hardship. Well what about those pioneering pilgrams who trudged through the Atlantic to establish a land of religious freedom? Well, they had been sort of kicked out of England, and were on the verge of annoying just about everyone else in Europe. (Okay not really, but they were increasingly feeling that there was not a place in Europe, er, holy enough, hmm, met their standards -yes, let's go with that- enough so they began looking elsewhere, to the New World.) Through some connections, they gained a charter from England to establish a colony. Yes, they created their owns laws and regulations, but they were still subject to the English crown. Oh, but what is more often forgotten than all of that was that it was the Catholic and Jewish populations that really pushed to keep religious freedom around.
"Free Trade"
False. A major driving force for the American Revoluntion was the desire for free trade. Capitalism was emerging, and it would be advantagous for the Americans to be able to trade with other countries without tariffs. I guess if by free trade, Himaruya meant that America was free to trade England, then yes, America had free trade. All of the English colonies were established for their resources, and their eventual benefit for the mother country. To ensure this, high tariffs and taxes were placed on non-english goods, therefore trade was far from free.
"This is one of the reasons why America developed a reputation as the "land of the free."
For these freedoms? I guess you could say that, but they were officially established with the passing of the Constitution. So when it is coupled with the pervious statement, it would imply that from its conceiption, America was the freest utopia on the planet.
"As different countries came together and left their mark on America, it developed its own unique culture."
True. But it started out as diverse, it's not as if America started off as British then became more colorful. Examples!
New York - Dutch
Floria - Spanish
California - Spanish
Lousiana - French
"It was not long before America's industrial power rivaled that of England."
Eh. It was a long time. Let's face it, part of the Civil War was fought over what industrialization meant to and for Americans. The North saw the South as keeping the nation from progress. That was 1860! Industrialization began a lot earlier than 1860, let's just leave it at that.
"As an added note, England only had control over America for about 10 to 20 years total."
I just got a headache. Please multiply that by 10. I can't tell you how long a sat there trying to figure out how the time frame of ten to twenty years came about. Was it the decade the colonists were displeased about tea, stamps, and sugar being taxed? Was it after the "20" years that all 13 colonies were established? I really couldn't figure it out. You could argue that America wasn't America until after the Revolution, but by then, America was independent. I'm not all that great with British history, but I'm fairly certain that between Queen Elizabeth (who was the one who started chartering colonies) and King George (who went from being respected to hated, and well lost America), it was more than a decade or two.


It eventually got to the point where I could no longer read the "facts" that were being presented, and I was left with read this for purely entertainment value. I have no idea if pet rabbits were so sought after that they were a taxable item. I guess you just have to take all the information presented here with a grain of salt.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Canada. :)
This is great collection of short bits with the personification of the nations of the world. I'd been looking for Volume 1 for a while but couldn't find it. I recently found this volume and decided to start with it. There is a lot of humor using distinct national cultures and some national peculiarities to create characters that embody each nation. The situations are often a humorous take on some historical event or relationship. This is the most educational, fictional entertainment I can remember reading.

[Aneris · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Relectura)
En este tomo muestran mucho las relaciones de hermanos. La de Suiza y Liechtenstein que son un amor. La de Rusia, Ucrania y Bielorrussia que me dan mucha pena las 2 por diferentes motivos. Y por último la de Estados Unidos y Canadá que son infumables juntos.
Disfruté mucho las cortitas apariciones de Germania y Grecia igual, bebés.

[Sora Fujihara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun volume of Hetalia. I really liked the character bios, it was smart to have them all together in the front this time. As well as having a table of contents page as there was unfortunately no page numbers...

[Erikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Hetalia. It makes me smile in any format. This book also featured a big section on poor forgettable Canada, so that was nice.

[Ursula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 2 was just as delightful as Volume 1!

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

my baby girls..........

[Natalka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fajna. Można się sporo historii nauczyć.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this for the nostalgia. I was really into the fanbase when I was 15ish. But the reading experience is very disjointed. Non-linear little scenes between random countries.

[Loes Truijens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, just a fun volume of hetalia, you can never go wrong with it

[Angelika Tomasevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

basically

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hetalia is very much a love-it-or-hate-it type of series. While I can definitely see why a lot of people don't like it, I happen to be among the group that do. The sense of humor is definitely based around national stereotypes, as would kind of need to be the case with this premise. If you have a reflexive dislike of that sort of humor, you're probably not going to like this series very much. It also discusses some aspects of history while leaving some others - usually the more depressing and gruesome ones - out of the discussion. I can understand how that can be an issue for some, but at the same time, the very understandable reason why they aren't generally included (or don't have their full ramifications discussed) is because they aren't funny, and this is a humor series. Both of those concerns I see as issues with the premise, and if you dislike the premise, you're probably going to dislike the series. That said, if you can tolerate some of the more awkward components of the premise, the end result is very amusing. The sense of humor, while based around national stereotypes, isn't fully reliant on them (although some of the ways it's not may also rub people the wrong way - *cough*fanservice*cough* - and the style of humor is quirky without being out-and-out offensive. It's clear that Himaruya means no malice toward any of the countries portrayed, and the good nature of the humor shines through its weirdness and controversy, similar to the just-ended Colbert Report. The drawing style is also different from what I'm used to - much more sketchy than some of the more polished series I've read. It allows for some very interesting textures and shading, but it does backfire in more than one place where actions that looked like they were supposed to set up punchlines were unclear to the eye and left the punchlines they set up to fall flat.

Having seen the anime, I definitely think manga is the best format for this series, as many of the characters talk over each other and speak very quickly - even in the manga the tempo is apparent. The manga allows the reader to take in the images and dialogue at their own pace and move to the next comment when they're ready, rather than being rushed through dialogue faster than the brain can take it in.

Overall, it's a unique premise with some controversial aspects that, if you can weather them, makes for an enjoyable romp through history and around the globe.

[Alysse Peery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hetalia Axis Powers, or APH for short, is a comidic parody of history, revolving around the personifications of countries. Orginally based off a webcomic by Hidekaz Himaruya. The story mainly follows the Axis and Allied powers of World War II, but often branches off to other events, time periods, or countries. Don't look for any cronological consitancy here, often jumping from ancient times to modern day and everything in between. It is a fairly entertaining read for those who enjoy history and are not easliy offended. One of the advantages to reading the manga version is that the artwork is much more finished than in the webcomic. Either way it is still quite cute following more antics of out beloved countries some how reflecting historical events in the process.

As far as the art is concerned, I am a fan of Himaryua's art style, and although a case of "only six faces" for some, I enjoy his wonderful colouring style and the sketchy feel of the lines. This becomes more apparent latter on though, so the earlier art may be cleaner and more angular.

[Mati · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crazy manga about anthropomorphic personifications of some of the countries during World War 2 and trough the history, which interact with each other in various short absurd comedy stories inspired by various historical facts and country clichés. The stories are mostly inspired by WW II, which is clear from the name of the manga. One would say that certain things should not be used even as inspiration for the comedy manga.
However the portraits of each country are sometimes painfully accurate. Pity that there is no Czech state represented.

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone in Hetalia is such a cute little sweetie bean and I want to be friends with all of them ;7;
Anyway, it's a good series =7= But if you've been told before that you can't take a joke, this series probably isn't for you :U They don't joke about super-touchy subjects like the Holocaust or anything, but still, if you're a sensitive person, I'd think twice before deciding on reading this.
But I love this series -7- especially Belarus

[Andrea Aguilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat, organized and the translations are well made, along with fun facts about all of the nations. I always get really excited when I happen to stumble on some new strip that I had somehow overlooked in the archives, so there's that too.

I love what Tokyopop is doing to this once obscure manga and hope to continue seeing more awesome volumes from them.

[Piotr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sort of surprised. As much as I loved the first volume and was eager to read another ones, some time has passed, I've finally decided to start the 2nd volume and... I didn't like it that much. For me it wasn't as funny as the volume 1 was... Or maybe the same would be now with volume 1? I don't know...

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[La Revistería Comics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Más divertido que una clase de historia.
Más bonito que una clase de geografía.
Más creíble que un noticiero.
Todo eso y más es este segundo tomo de Hetalia, en una genial edición argentina que incluye páginas a color.

[Liriope · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great manga with lovable characterizations of the countries <3

[Mati · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recenze u původni japonské mangy - Cio :P

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liechtenstein appears :D! And there's GreecexJapan and AmericaxJapan moments all over the place here <3

[Loz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this better than the 1st one.

I still find the art a little hard to make out sometimes, but I really enjoy the random information!