Hetalia: Axis Powers (anime)

Hetalia: Axis Powers is the anime adaptation of Hidekaz Himaruya's manga, which premiered on Animate.TV on January 24, 2009. Directed by Bob Shirohata, the series is scheduled to run for 76 episodes. It is animated by Studio DEEN. In July 2010, the series made its television debut on Japan's BS11, airing at 23:30.

Most of the storyline takes place between the 2 World Wars, however there are segments taking place in earlier times and the modern day as well. The anime is adapted from the published version of the manga, rather than the original webcomic, so early events like the forming of the Axis Powers have been condensed, though some storylines from both versions of the story have been trimmed or left out completely.

Although originally planned for 26 episodes, it was announced on April 15, 2009, that the series had been renewed for a second order of 26 episodes, bringing the episode count up to 52. The second season of Hetalia began airing on Animate.TV's mobile phone service on July 24, 2009, with its webcast following three days later. A third season was later announced on December 10, 2009, but was later rebranded with the title Hetalia: World Series. It premiered in March 2010.

Though FUNimation Entertainment reportedly had originally passed up the license for the anime in early 2009, the title "Hetalia: Axis Powers" later appeared on a poll of possible titles on their blog. On January 8, 2010, FUNimation announced that they had licensed the first two seasons of the series.

Characters
These are the characters that have appeared, or are slated to appear in the anime:

Axis Powers

 * Italy
 * Germany
 * Japan

Allied Forces

 * America
 * England/UK
 * France
 * Russia
 * China

Others

 * Ancient Rome
 * Austria
 * Belarus
 * Belgium
 * Bulgaria
 * Canada
 * Cuba
 * Denmark (World Series)
 * Egypt
 * Estonia
 * Finland
 * Germania (World Series)
 * Greece
 * Holy Roman Empire
 * Hungary
 * Iceland (Paint it, White and World Series)
 * Latvia
 * Liechtenstein
 * Lithuania
 * Norway (World Series)
 * Poland
 * Prussia
 * Sealand
 * South Italy (Romano)
 * South Korea (animation error in Episode 14)
 * Spain
 * Sweden
 * Switzerland
 * Turkey (World Series)
 * Ukraine

Episodes
Both of the first two seasons span 26 episodes, with the first mostly adapting from Hetalia: Axis Powers volume 1, though some arcs and strips are sequenced out of order from their original placement. A few "Extra Stories" from the webcomic were also adapted into segments, as well as minor portions of chapters 2 and 3 from the webcomic's main storyline. The third season (treated as a new series by DEEN) marked a change in both the tite and episode count, with it consisting of 24 episodes.

Most of the episodes had no titles when broadcast, unless they were shown in a next episode preview with a title listed, as was the case with the fifth and seventeenth episodes of season 1.

The anime is notable for the fact that its episodes are extremely short, with each running approximately 5 minutes in their broadcasts.

Staff

 * Original Creator: Hidekaz Himaruya
 * Director, Storyboarding: Bob Shirohata
 * Storyboard Direction: Yoshinari Suzuki
 * Producers: Mika Nomura, Akihiko Okada
 * Planning: Takeshi Oikawa, Atsushi Iwasaki, Kimie Takahashi, Masaki Yasuda
 * Animation Producer: Keiichi Matsuda
 * Animation Production: Studio DEEN
 * Character Design, Chief Animation Director: Masaaki Kannan
 * Art Director: Maho Takahashi
 * Backgrounds: Studio Tulip
 * Color Settings: Takeshi Mochida
 * Photography Director: Akira Shimozaki
 * Editing: Masuhiro Matsumura
 * Series Composition, Sound Director: Takuya Hiramitsu
 * Music Production: Frontier Works
 * Music Producer: Akira Yoshikawa
 * Additional Music: Conisch
 * Sound Production: Satoshi Hirata, Hiroshi Nishijima, DAX International
 * Sound Effects: Suwara Production
 * Ending Animation: Shiitake Digital
 * Theme Songs Lyrics/Music: SAKI
 * Theme Song Performance: Daisuke Namikawa (Marukaite Chikyuu and Hatafutte Parade)
 * Distribution: Media Factory
 * Series Production by: The Hetalia Production Committee

Staff (FUNimation)

 * ADR Director: Scott Sager
 * Script: Chuck Huber, Jamie Marchi
 * Line Producer: Mike McFarland
 * Brand Manager: Charlene Ingram

Voice Cast (Japanese)

 * North Italy (Veneziano), South Italy (Romano): Daisuke Namikawa
 * Germany: Hiroki Yasumoto
 * Japan, Cuba: Hiroki Takahashi
 * America, Canada: Katsuyuki Konishi
 * England/UK: Noriaki Sugiyama
 * France: Masaya Onosaka
 * China, Narrator (Chibitalia and other segments): Yuki Kaida
 * Russia: Yasuhiro Takato
 * Austria: Akira Sasanuma
 * Hungary: Michiko Neya
 * Spain, Bulgaria: Go Inoue
 * Switzerland: Romi Park
 * Liechtenstein: Rie Kugimiya
 * Poland, Latvia: Kazutada Tanaka (later credited as Kokoro Tanaka)
 * Lithuania: Ken Takeuchi
 * Estonia, Prussia, Greece: Atsushi Kousaka
 * Belarus: Urara Takano
 * Ukraine: Yuki Masuda
 * Sweden: Keikou Sakai
 * Finland: Takahiro Mizushima
 * Denmark: Hiroshi Shimozaki
 * Norway: Masami Iwasaki
 * Iceland: Ayumu Asakura
 * Turkey: Takahiro Fujimoto
 * Sealand, Tony: Ai Orikasa
 * Chibitalia, Chibiromano, Young Austria: Aki Kanada
 * Holy Roman Empire: Jun Konno
 * Ancient Rome: Hozumi Gōda
 * Germania: Kishô Taniyama
 * Young America, Young Japan, Kumajirou: Ai Iwamura


 * Narration and English Vocals ("America's Cleaning Of The Storage" previews, "German Simulator" dialogue): Jun'ichi Kanemaru

Voice Cast (English)
Note: As the voice actors are not listed in the credits of the dubbed versions, this information was taken from official pre-release announcements by FUNimation.
 * North Italy (Veneziano): Todd Haberkorn
 * Germany: Patrick Seitz
 * Japan: Christopher Bevins
 * America, Canada: Eric Vale
 * England/UK: Scott Freeman
 * France: J. Michael Tatum
 * China: Clarine Harp
 * Russia: Jerry Jewell
 * Austria: Chuck Huber
 * Hungary: Luci Christian
 * South Italy (Romano): Ian Sinclair
 * Spain: Dave Trosko
 * Switzerland: John Burgmeier
 * Liechtenstein: Cherami Leigh
 * Prussia: Jonathan Brooks
 * Poland: Joel McDonald
 * Lithuania: Josh Grelle
 * Latvia: Ryan Reynolds
 * Estonia: Mike McFarland
 * Belarus: Monica Rial
 * Ukraine: Lydia Mackay
 * Sweden: TBA
 * Finland: Clint Bickham
 * Greece: Vic Mignogna
 * Cuba: Bob Carter
 * Sealand: Maxey Whitehead
 * Chibitalia: Brina Palencia
 * Holy Roman Empire: Chris Cason
 * Ancient Rome: Christopher R. Sabat
 * Narrator: Jamie Marchi

Soundtrack
The first season of the anime series spawned eight image song CDs, each one for a member of the Axis Powers or Allied Forces. Each CD contained two songs and a mini-drama CD segment. A full-length single version of the first ending theme, Marukaite Chikyuu (English title: The Rotating Earth) was released on March 25, 2009. The single to the second ending theme, Hatafutte Parade (Wave a Flag and Parade) was released on June 23, 2010.


 * Hetalia Character CD Vol.1: Italy: Released March 25, 2009, contains the mini-drama It's Us Brothers! and the songs Let's Boil Hot Water and The Delicious Tomato Song by Daisuke Namikawa (as Italy Veneziano and Romano).


 * Hetalia Character CD Vol.2: Germany: Released April 22, 2009, contains the mini-drama I Made Posters! and the songs Germany's Anthem (I Am German-Made) and Einsamkeit by Hiroki Yasumoto (as Germany).


 * Hetalia Character CD Vol.3: Japan: Released May 27, 2009, contains the mini-drama The Ghost Culture Of England And Japan and the songs Country Where The Sun Rises, Zipangu and Excuse Me, I Am Sorry by Hiroki Takahashi (as Japan).


 * Hetalia Character CD Vol.4: UK: Released July 29, 2009, contains the mini-drama England Catches A Cold and the songs Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman and Pub and GO! by Noriaki Sugiyama (as England/UK).


 * Hetalia Character CD Vol.5: France Released September 30th, 2009, contains the mini-drama Medieval England's Clothes And Hair and the songs Embrace The Très Bien Moi and Paris Is Indeed Splendid by Masaya Onosaka (as France).


 * Hetalia Character CD Vol.6: USA: Released November 25, 2009, contains the mini-drama England And The Ghost At America's House and the songs W・D・C～World Dancing and Hamburger Street by Katsuyuki Konishi (as America).


 * Hetalia Character CD Vol.7: Russia: Released January 20, 2010, contains the mini-drama Let's Talk About The G8 Members and the songs Winter and My Heart Has A Light by Yasuhiro Takato (as Russia).


 * Hetalia Character CD Vol.8: China: Released March 24, 2010, contains the mini-drama Asian And Western Festivals and the songs Hello★China and Aiyaa Four Thousand Years by Yuki Kaida (as China).

An additional character song, entitled Ren・Ren・Renaissance♪, was released with a guide to the character songs. It is sung by Hozumi Gōda and Aki Kanada (as Grandpa Rome and Chibitalia).

Interval Drama CD
Shortly after the announcement of season 2, the character CDs for UK through China were pushed back, in part due to an "interval" character drama CD being announced for the series:


 * Hetalia Drama CD Interval Vol.1: The CD Of The Awesome Me: Released August 26, 2009. Contains drama segments mostly focusing on Prussia and a song by Atsushi Kousaka (as Prussia).
 * Hetalia Drama CD Interval Vol.2: Boss CD: Released July 7, 2010 but the date got pushed back and will be released sometime in 2010. Contains drama segments mostly focusing on Spain, and a song by Go Inoue (as Spain).

Hetalia: Sound World
Another soundtrack was announced for release in November, as a limited-edition holiday CD. It contains 27 tracks, including a cover of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town by the Axis Powers.

DVD Releases
In its original Japanese release, the first season was collected into four DVD volumes, which were available in both standard and limited-edition deluxe releases. Each deluxe release contained a bonus CD with two alternate versions of Marukaite Chikyuu:


 * Volume 1: Released April 24, 2009, collecting episodes 1-7. Bonus CD contains "Marukaite Chikyuu" (Germany version and re-arranged Piccolina techno remix) by Hiroki Yasumoto and Daisuke Namikawa.


 * Volume 2: Released May 22, 2009, collecting episodes 8-13. Bonus CD contains "Marukaite Chikyuu" (Japan and UK versions) by Hiroki Takahashi and Noriaki Sugiyama.


 * Volume 3: Released July 24, 2009, collecting episodes 14-19. Bonus CD contains "Marukaite Chikyuu" (France and America versions) by Masaya Onosaka and Katsuyuki Konishi.


 * Volume 4: Released September 25, 2009, collecting episodes 20-26. Bonus CD contains "Marukaite Chikyuu" (Russia and China versions) by Yasuhiro Takato and Yuki Kaida.

Shortly after the announcement of season 2, four more DVD volumes were solicited and released:


 * Volume 5: Released October 23, 2009, collecting episodes 27-33. Bonus CD contains "Marukaite Chikyuu" (Holy Roman Empire and Chibitalia versions) by Jun Konno and Aki Kanada.


 * Volume 6: Released December 22, 2009, collecting episodes 34-39. Bonus CD contains "Marukaite Chikyuu" (Switzerland and Liechtenstein versions) by Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya.


 * Volume 7: Released February 25, 2010, collecting episodes 40-45. Bonus CD contains "Marukaite Chikyuu" (Poland and Lithuania versions) by Kazutada Tanaka and Ken Takeuchi.


 * Volume 8: Released March 25, 2010, collecting episodes 46-52. Bonus CD contains "Marukaite Chikyuu" (Austria and Prussia versions) by Akira Sasanuma and Atsushi Kousaka.

Hetalia: Axis Powers Fan Disk
A special DVD, Hetalia: Axis Powers Fan Disk, was released on May 25, 2010. It contains full-length compilation versions of Chibitalia and America's Cleaning Of The Storage, plus an unaired episode (Episode 53.5: The Diary of The Awesome Me (part 2) with Prussia) and a music video collection. The DVD also contains teaser footage for the theatrical film, Hetalia Axis Powers: Paint It White.

A bonus CD included with the special Animate edition contains another version of "Marukaite Chikyuu", sung by Go Inoue (Spain).

Hetalia: World Series DVD Releases
With the rebranding of the third season of the anime, the first four DVD volumes were solicited under the World Series label. Each deluxe release also contained a bonus CD, with two different versions of the second ending theme, Hatafutte Parade:


 * Volume 1: Released June 25, 2010, collecting episodes 1-6. Bonus CD contains "Hatafutte Parade" (South Italy and Germany versions) by Daisuke Namikawa and Hiroki Yasumoto.


 * Volume 2: Released August 25, 2010, collecting episodes 7-12. Bonus CD contains "Hatafutte Parade" (Japan and UK versions) by Hiroki Takahashi and Noriaki Sugiyama.


 * Volume 3: Released October 22, 2010, collecting episodes 13-18. Bonus CD contains "Hatafutte Parade" (France and America versions) by Masaya Onosaka and Katsuyuki Konishi.


 * Volume 4: Released December 22, 2010, collecting episodes 19-24. Bonus CD contains "Hatafutte Parade" (Russia and China versions) by Yasuhiro Takato and Yuki Kaida.


 * Volume 5:


 * Volume 6:


 * Volume 7:


 * Volume 8:

FUNimation Boxsets
The English-language dub of the first two seasons of Hetalia was released in two boxsets:


 * Season 1: Released September 14, 2010, collecting episodes 1-26. The special edition contains a bandanna with the Axis Powers.


 * Season 2: Released October 12, 2010, collecting episodes 27-52. The special edition contains a bandanna with the Allied Forces.

Hetalia: Axis Powers - The Complete Series
Released March 6, 2012 in a 4 DVD Box set, total runtime is 270 minutes.

Special features include:
 * Episode 2 Commentary (Italy & Germany) “The Flower Apron”
 * Episode 9 Commentary (U.S.A. & Russia) “The Cold War”
 * Episode 12 Commentary (France & U.K.) “Nice Dover”
 * Episode 16 Commentary (Japan & China) “Far East Brothers”
 * Show Comments by Director Bob Shirahata, Part 1 -3
 * Director Bob Shirahata & Atsushi Kosaka (Prussia) Talk (JPN w/subtitles)
 * Atsushi Kosaka (Prussia) Commemorates the Announcement of the Hetalia Movie (JPN w/subtitles)
 * Director Bob Shirahata & Aki Kanada (Chibi Italy) Talk (JPN w/subtitles)
 * Director Bob Shirahata & Daisuke Namikawa (Italy) Talk (JPN w/subtitles
 * Audio Commentaries
 * Textless Songs
 * Trailers

Related Materials
Storyboard Guides have been released in conjunction with the anime, detailing the storyboard sketches that were used in production:


 * Hetalia Axis Powers: Storyboard Guide Vol.1 (Season 1, episodes 1-13)
 * Hetalia Axis Powers: Storyboard Guide Vol.2 (Season 1, episodes 14-26)
 * Hetalia Axis Powers: Storyboard Guide Vol.3 (Season 2, episodes 27-39)
 * Hetalia Axis Powers: Storyboard Guide Vol.4 (Season 2, episodes 40-52)

The third is notable for also containing storyboards to scenes that were scripted but unused in the second season of the anime, including one involving Sweden that would have been in Episode 33.

A guide to the first season of the anime, Hetalia Fanbook: World Wide Walking, was also released. It would be later followed by another official guide to the anime, released in April 2010.

A Character CD Guide also exists for the series, detailing the production stories behind the making of the character songs of the Axis and Allies.

Sheep-Counting CDs
Another wave of CD-related merchandise hit in 2010, though unrelated to the character CDs and soundtracks. Manufactured by Honeybee, the Hetalia x Goodnight with Sheep Series is a series of CDs designed to help people fall asleep by having the voice actors for the characters count off the numbers of sheep.


 * Hetalia x Goodnight with Sheep Vol. 1- Italy: Released August 27, 2010. Features Daisuke Namikawa (as North and South Italy).
 * Hetalia x Goodnight with Sheep Vol. 2- Germany & Prussia: Released August 27, 2010. Features Hiroki Yasumoto and Atsushi Kousaka (as Germany and Prussia).
 * Hetalia x Goodnight with Sheep Vol. 3- Hungary, Austria, Holy Roman Empire, and Italy: Released August 27, 2010. Features Akira Sasanuma, Michiko Neya, Jun Konno, and Aki Kanada (as Austria, Hungary, Holy Roman Empire, and Chibitalia).
 * Volume 4: Released September 24, 2010. Features Hiroki Takahashi and Yuki Kaida (as Japan and China).
 * Volume 5: Released September 24, 2010. Features Yasuhiro Takato, Urara Takano, and Yuki Masuda (as Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine).
 * Volume 6: Released September 24, 2010. Features Masaya Onosaka and Go Inoue (as France and Spain).
 * Volume 7: Released October 29, 2010. Features Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya (as Switzerland and Liechtenstein).
 * Volume 8: Released October 29, 2010. Features Katsuyuki Konishi and Noriaki Sugiyama (as America and England/UK)

Theatrical Film
A theatrical adaptation of the series was announced on September 24, 2009. The film remained shrouded in secrecy, though its full title was eventually revealed to be Hetalia - Axis Powers on the Silver Screen: Paint it, White. It was released on June 5, 2010. It marks the animated debut of Iceland.

A promotional single for the film was also released in conjunction with it, entitled Mein Gott. It is sung by Atsushi Kousaka, the voice actor for Prussia (who plays a minor part in the film, though used for advertisements and merchandise pertaining to it).

The original soundtrack to the film (Silver Screen Hetalia: Sound World) was released on June 9. It also includes the theme song for the film, sung by the voice actors of the Axis and Allies under the name World 8.

Controversy
The anime was originally slated to broadcast on Kids Station on January 24, but the television airing was cancelled due to "various circumstances". It is believed that the South Korean protests of the series (and reported death threats to the TV station) played a part in the cancellation. The protests arose when an online petition was created to ban the series, due to complaints that the South Korean character was an offensive stereotype. The South Korean government proceeded to declare the series a "national crime", though Kids Station responded that there was no Korean character in the series.

A preliminary character design of South Korea, however, was shown in the early promotional images for the series, suggesting that at one point, he was slated to be included. South Korea could also be seen in the first ending sequence, among the other characters on top of the world. But with the switch in ending themes, his character was immediately removed from the globe.