Canada

Canada (カナダ, Kanada) is a character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. In 2008, Himaruya gave out human names to some of the characters and he received the name, Matthew Williams (マシュー・ウィリアムズ, Mashyū Uiriamuzu)

Appearance
His hair is wavy, and depicted at times as being two-toned: A lighter blond on top, with more of an orange (or darker blond) shade on the bottom and tips. He has violet eyes, though they have also been colored blue in some of the official art featuring him. At least one figurine depicts him with completely orange hair. The anime depicts him with shorter, straighter hair, and a slightly different shade of blond than his brother. His eyes, unlike in the manga, are somewhat darker blue. He also sports a curly ahoge off the top of his head.

Canada wears a heavy tan winter coat and pants as his military uniform, though when he's dressed casual, he is usually shown wearing a hoodie (sometimes depicted with the Canadian flag emblem on it), and a pair of jeans. Like his brother, Canada wears glasses, though he also sports a pair of goggles on his head at times (such as when wearing his uniform). The picture at the right depicts him in his younger days, presumably in his early teens.

Although often drawn as shorter and smaller in fanart, official art makes it clear that he is either the same height/build as his brother, or very close to it.

Personality And Interests
In contrast to his brother, Canada is shy, sensitive, and hates fighting. Despite this, he is often mistaken for his brother and has found himself in trouble for incidents that America has caused. When he's not being mistaken for his brother, all the other nations tend to forget that he exists. He is also passive aggressive and was once able to make America cry by arguing with him for over three hours and pointing out every single one of his faults. It is also implied in a chapter he loves maple syrup as he is shown offering America some for his coffee. Canada also has a fondness for ice cream, as it was shown in one chapter, he easily forgives Cuba's bashing when he offers the treat.

He has a pet bear named Kumajirou, but even it forgets about him. In return, Canada cannot ever remember his bear's exact name.

America
Main Article: America The two brothers grew up separately as children, until England eventually took Canada on a trip to meet America, who wound up becoming bored with him and forgetting him shortly into their first meeting. In a separate strip, America is seen riding Canada's bear, while carrying Canada on his back.

In their adulthood, America is the source of his constant troubles, due to the fact that people get their identities mixed up and he gets blamed for fights that America started or is spoken to as America. However, during an argument, Canada was able to reduce him to tears when he went on a 3-hour rant about all of his flaws. Despite this, the two seem to have a healthy relationship, as their arguing and America's frequent forgetting of him can merely come off as sibling rivalry. America tends to visit his house on occasion and is seen to be the one Canada spends the most time with.

Cuba
Main Article: Cuba

Cuba, as well as numerous other nations, initially mistook Canada for America and beat him up. Later, he apologized with a peace offering of ice cream. The two get along well, though Cuba still sometimes mistakes Canada for his brother.

In The Anime


Canada and Kumajirou appear in Episode 19, at an Allied Forces meeting. But due to his "invisibility effect", the other Allies do not realize that he's there with them.

His design was slightly altered for the anime, with his violet eyes changed to a deep blue and his hair drawn slightly shorter and straighter, as well as colored dark blond and missing its gradient effect. His casual hoodie, often assumed to be red (though colored light green in one official picture), is also colored teal.

He is voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi, who also voices America in the anime. In an interview with PASH magazine, Konishi said that he played Canada's voice as very quiet and "barely above a whisper", in contrast to the louder brother.

Name
There is no definite source for his first name, Matthew. Across Canada, Matthew has been a greatly popular name for newborns in recent decades, often in the top three most frequently given first names. Coincidentally or not, the caravel sailed by John Cabot from Bristol to North America in 1497 was named Matthew. John Cabot and his crew have reached bonavista, Newfoundland (which was not a province of Canada until 1949). In fanworks, his name is occasionally spelled Matthieu or Mathieu, acknowledging past and present French influence on Canada.

AU (Alternate Universe) Versions
'NOTE: A great deal of the information surrounding the AU versions of this character are purely fanon ideas - headcanons, if you will. Little official information has been given on the alternate universes; please do not believe any of the details not stated to be confirmed as canon to be official.'

Read more on the alternative versions of Canada, listed or not listed below, at: Memes in fandom

Nyotalia/Genderswapped (Nyo!)
Voiced by: Kasumi Nakamura (seiyū) 

Himaryua has stated that he likes the name Marguerite, or Meg in short form, Williams for her, though a commonly given fan name would be Madeline, or Maddie (chosen because of its similarity to "Mattie", an abbreviation of "Matthew") Williams. She has the appearance of a younger girl with long, darker blonde, slightly curly pigtails tied with bows and accessorized with two pink maple leaf-shaped clips and a red beret. Her eyes are the same shade of violet as nyo! France's and she wears glasses, like her male version. Her outfit consists of a professional-looking navy shirt like nyo! France's, but with a matching skirt, a red maple leaf-patterned hoodie and lower light brown boots. Her equivalent of Kumajirou looks virtually the same but with a small, light pink flower in her fur. The female Kumajirou's name is Kumarie. Nyo! Canada is normally seen only with maple syrup.

Canada's female counterpart is said to be equally as shy but extremely mild-mannered and polite. She's normally shown to be babied by nyo! France and doesn't seem to get along as well with her world's America and the male versions do. Kumarie is also rumored to be scarier than Kumajirou. Fans normally portray the female Canada as even more timid than the male version and a lot more passive-aggressive, even when pushed far. She's also normally given more opportunities to demonstrate her intelligence by the others.

Second Player/Another Color (2p!)
Despite being one of the few characters who were given an official design, 2p! Canada has not been very celebrated in the fandom. However, the male OC version was very well-recieved and remains one of the most popular Second Players to date. 2p! Canada's chibi illustrations show her with hair that is a light blonde and let down rather than put up in two pigtails, and is clipped back on one side by a large red maple leaf-shaped pin. She wears a red Canadian Mountee's uniform with a short black skirt and also keeps her glasses. The male version appears rather scraggly, with his blond hair messily tied back into a ponytail and having bags under his eyes, as well as being unshaven. The wears a Mountee's uniform or a red lumberjack shirt, and his version of Kumajirou is a large, rabid polar bear. They're often shown with a barbed wire hockey stick or a cigarette.

Because of his popularity in the fandom, the male 2p! Canada has a very developped character. With next to no canon leads to his personality, 2p! Canada is normally shown to be cold and irritable, and to just hate people in general. He doesn't take well to being forgotten, and is not hesitant to beat those who insult him, piss him off, or poach on his land illegally within an inch of their life. However, he can still be shown as compassionate when trying to help others, and is often depicted having a soft spot for his First Player. The female version is hardly ever recognized by fans, though she appears to have a similar personality. Their names are often said to be Mattieu, Matt or James/Madison or Marguerite Williams.

Character songs
Canada's Complete Introduction

We Wish You A Merry Christmas (featured)

Trivia

 * His birthday, July 1st, corresponds to the national holiday of Canada Day, when Canada first became independent on July 1st, 1867. Although, full independence wasn't gained until August 1982.
 * It is a source of debate as to whether America or Canada is the older of the two brothers. Hidekaz Himaruya has yet to confirm the age difference between the two. A common fanon assumption is that the two are twins, due to their similarities and the fact that Canada is easily mistaken for his brother. They do not share the same birthday, but birthdays are based on independence rather than birth.
 * Canada is one of the Allied Forces during the second world war which would bring the total of Allied powers in the story to six, is the third strongest Western Power, and contributed a lot in the war, but being under so much British Influence much of Canada's efforts were considered British efforts, which can be considered a contribution to Canada's invisibility. This could also explain why Canada isn't often seen amongst the others when the Allies are acting together.
 * In both the Japanese and English versions of the Anime, Canada is voiced by the same actor that voices America.