Episode 30: The Ghost Culture Of England And Japan

The thirtieth episode of Hetalia: Axis Powers was broadcast on August 14th, 2009. It adapts The Ghost Culture Of England And Japan, an Extra Story that was reprinted in volume 2 of the published manga.

Plot Summary
A footnote reads that it is 1902 and that the Anglo-Japanese Alliance has been signed. England stares in amazement at "Mt. Fuji", but Japan informs him that the mountain is only an ordinary one.

England And The Tengu Chair
England wonders what the strange red gate atop the mountain is for. Japan answers that it's a "Tengu Chair" and that in the old days, monsters called "tengu" appeared a lot to cause mischief for people (A footnote is given about trees and rocks being marked as "Tengu Chairs" as he relates the story). A shocked England asks if the tengu is bad, but Japan says that they can't really be labeled as bad since they're also mountain gods.

England, now looking back at the mountain, claims to see a tengu and that it's waving at them. He waves back, while Japan can only stare at him in disbelief.

England At The Hot Spring
The laughter of a little girl is heard inside Japan's house, as England tells Japan that the noisy kid is starting to get on his nerves. Japan apologizes and says that he lives alone, thinking to himself that England must be hallucinating from exhaustion. He suggests that England take a bath before their dinner.

As he undresses for the hot spring, England muses on how strange Japan seems to be acting and figures it must be a "culture shock" and if he did something weird. He approaches the hot spring, where a kappa and a small onion-headed creature become startled by his presence. They apologize to him and say that they'll get out, but England says that he doesn't mind them being there.

He apologizes for asking them a question right as they met, but expresses interest in Japanese culture and asks if they could teach him about it. The kappa agrees, and tells England that the sushi that foreigners think of was actually a recent invention. The "onion-head" in turn recommends fish from Kanazawa.

Japan notes that England was in the bath for a very long time, but England explains he was busy having fun and conversing with the other two guys in there. He bids Japan good night. As England leaves, Japan repeats that he lives all by himself.

Kappa And England
England, sleeping under a blanket with the Union Jack on it, is awoken by the kappa (who has a large sack slung over his back, with the onion-head sitting atop it). The kappa thanks England for being friendly to them, while England expresses interest in taking another bath with them.

The kappa answers that he would love to, but that he'll be heading deep back into the mountains. He explains that he and the onion-head wanted to enjoy the bath one last time before their departure. A flashback sequence is shown of the kappa retrieving a ball for a young girl, as he states that back in the day, some humans feared them while others believed in them and could see them. However, in the new era, nobody acknowledges their existence anymore and they have become mere superstition. The kappa says that he even used to be able to speak with Japan. England asks why the creatures can't just stay, but the kappa answers that their era has ended, and that he was happy to spend a final night with England.

As the creatures depart off into the woods, the kappa tells England to take care. England says that they should go for another bath sometime, to which the kappa agrees. As he watches them depart, the young girls' laughter becomes audible again. The ghost of the little girl runs past England and off to the woods. England becomes irritated, realizing that she was the one making all the noise earlier, and chases after her.

As England can be heard trying to catch up with the ghost, a visibly-disturbed Japan is awoken from his sleep by the racket and says that he's sick of saying that he lives alone.

Character Appearances

 * Japan
 * England/UK
 * Kappa
 * Onion-Head
 * Giggling Girl/Zashiki-Warashi

Voice Cast

 * Japan: Hiroki Takahashi
 * England/UK: Noriaki Sugiyama
 * Kappa: Hozumi Gōda
 * Onion-Head: Takahiro Mizushima
 * Giggling Girl/Zashiki-Warashi: Yuki Kaida

English Dub Cast

 * Japan: Christopher Bevins
 * Britain: Scott Freeman

Trivia

 * In the hot spring sequence, a small bit of dialogue where the kappa offers to wash England's back was excluded from the adaptation, as well as a mention of England drinking sake with the creatures.


 * Another detail removed from the anime version is England receiving the kappa's "Miracle Cure" medicine and showing it to Japan, which causes him to become unnerved. In the manga, the departing kappa also asks England to give Japan a cucumber seed.


 * The version of Marukaite Chikyuu used at the end of this episode is Japan's.