Memes in fandom

This is a list of popular memes in the fandom for Axis Powers Hetalia.

Fatty Russia
Refers to art where Russia is portrayed as being somewhat overweight or more noticeably heavier and larger than the other characters.

In canon, Russia himself claims to simply be big-boned, even wearing a shirt that states such in a sketch by Hidekaz Himaruya.

Five Meters
An injoke started by a fan about Prussia during a discussion about the average penis sizes of men in various countries. After stating that Prussia was "five meters long", the joke quickly caught on as a meme and fanworks with Prussia can often be seen referencing "FIVE METERS".

Italy's Erogenous Zone
Started in the original webcomic. Italy's 'erogenous zone' is the curl of hair he has and was discovered when Germany started becoming curious about it, going so far as to touch it. South Italy 'saves' his brother, telling off Germany for doing something inappropriate. From then on, jokes about both Italies' curls have appeared in almost every medium.

Because countries such as Greece, Turkey, Taiwan, Norway, Austria and Korea have similar curls, jokes and plot ploys have been developed from them, though any sign that they too are 'erogenous zones' has yet to be shown.

Marukaite Chikyuu
Because of the different versions of Marukaite Chikyuu sung by each country's respective voice actor, it has become a common meme to either perform a version of the song in

-Japanese but lyrics are changed to suit the country in question

-English but lyrics are changed to suit the country in question

-The language of the country with the lyrics changed to suit the country in question

-A female (or opposite sex) voice with the same lyrics

Gender Bender/Sex Change
It has become common to depict characters as the opposite gender in either fanart or fanfiction (for example, Germany as a female or Hungary as a male). In addition, "canon" genderbent designs exist for certain characters, as Hidekaz Himaruya drew them for fun to see what the nations would be like as the opposite gender.

So far, the Himaruya-drawn genderbends include the Axis and Allies, Spain and South Italy, Hungary, Prussia, and Liechtenstein.

On Pixiv, this meme is referred to as Nyotalia, from the words nyotaika (which refers to male-to-female genderbends) and Italia.

The Axis

 * North Italy's female counterpart has her hair tied back into a ponytail, and has a wild curl of hair dangling down at the side of her head. In one sketch, she wears a more feminine version of a military uniform, with a double-breasted jacket and mini skirt.


 * The female Germany still wears her SS Uniform, but her hair is somewhat messier. In a group sketch, she is shown to wear only a tank top and pants when training, much like the regular Germany.


 * Japan is depicted as a short girl with a bob hairstyle, and has shine to her eyes unlike her male counterpart.

The Allies

 * The female version of America does not have glasses, but instead dresses in a crop top and shorts with a cowboy hat and boots. One illustration shows what appears to be an American flag emblem tattooed on her chest as well.


 * UK, however, does have glasses. She no longer has the signature thick eyebrows, and instead wears her hair in long pigtails. This version of the character is called Igiko (girl Britain) by Himaruya and fans alike.


 * France's female counterpart is an elegantly-dressed woman with her hair tied back into a bun. Her eyebrows appear to be somewhat thick.


 * China wears a qipao dress and has her hair tied up in a set of buns.


 * Russia is a modestly-dressed woman with long beige-blonde hair.

Other "Official" Genderbends

 * The female version of South Italy is drawn with dark, shoulder-length hair held back by a pink headband. Unlike the genderbent version of North Italy, she does not keep her haircurl. She wears a pink dress.


 * The female Spain is shown to be a stylish woman with a pinstripe shirt and her hair tied back into a bun.


 * Hungary's male counterpart still wears the Lake Balaton flower in his hair, but keeps his hair tied back into a short ponytail.


 * Prussia has two versions. The first version has Prussia's hair short and wild (much like her male counterpart) and seems to be much like a tomboy as her clothing appears to remain the same. The second version has Prussia's hair long and more tame and has her pants replaced with a long skirt. It appears that these two versions have been used interchangeably as fans have both named her Maria, a probable reference to Himaruya's remark that Prussia originated as "the St. Maria Order".


 * The male version of Liechtenstein is depicted as a young boy in a long shirt and overalls.

KolKolKol
Russia's chant when he is upset, threatening someone or taking pleasure in someone else's misfortune. It is often seen in the webcomic strips and a hoarse 'KolKolKol' can be heard on the Hetalia drama CDs or in Russia's version of Maru Kaite Chikyuu. Russia's 'KolKolKol' in the anime is more 'cutsey' than those in the drama CD's and in his Marukaite Chikyuu. 'KolKolKol' can often be seen in comments from fans.

e.g.

'Poor France D: I'm sure Russia enjoys that D:'

'KolKolKol I bet he does c:'

Ve~ and Pastaaaaaaa
'Ve~' is a sound North Italy makes (for no apparent reason). Seeing 'Ve~' or 'Pasta' (with numerous a's) in fan comments is quite common, with the use of 'Pasta' spawning from North Italy's obsession with the food and his dragged out 'pasta' in the first episode of the anime.

Aru
Ending sentences with 'aru' is common among fans of the character China or people who refer to him.

e.g

'Chuugoku can really handle that wok, aru :D'

Ending sentences with 'aru' is a supposed Japanese stereotype of how Chinese people speak, thus the character China often ends his sentences with 'aru'.

Let's Get Married or MarriageMarriageMarriage
'Let's get married' comes from the 'Russia's Older and Younger Sister' strips where Belarus breaks a doorknob that 'dared separate' her from Russia and says 'Now then brother, let's talk about marriage! Let's get married! Let's get married! Let's get married! Let's get married!' and her seemingly constant obsession with marrying Russia. 'Let's Get Married!' or 'MarriageMarriageMarriage' can be seen in fan comments refering to Belarus.

Maple and 'Who?'
Canada sometimes utters 'Maple' for no specified reason, though it is notable he says it when being tormented e.g. when Cuba mistakes him for America. Fans will often insert a token 'Maple' into comments talking about Canada.

Fans also commonly comment with 'Who?' when talking about Canada. This is a reference to Canada's polar bear, Kumajirou who can't remember who Canada is and always asks 'Who?' and to the other countries overlooking Canada.

e.g.

'OMG! Is that Canada I hear in the next episode?'

'....Who? XD'

Nice --
On YouTube, it is quite common to find videos of Hetalia characters doing a continuous pelvic thrust in their underwear to the song 'I Like Your Booty (But I'm Not Gay)' by Dana Swanson and Nick Ingkatanuwat. The meme started from The Aqua Teen Hunger Force and the string of Hetalia videos started with 'Nice Florida'.

Currently existing versions-

America - Nice Florida

Russia - Nice Primorsky

Sweden - Nice Stockholm

Japan - Nice Kansai...?

UK- Nice Big Ben

Prussia - Nice Königsberg

Germany -Nice Frankfurt

Greece - Nice Thessaloniki

France and UK- Nice D0ver!

Germany, North Italy and Japan - Nice suji9!

Lithuania - Nice Neringa

There is also a gag Canada version entitled 'Nice Toronto' though all that is seen is the Canadian flag as the background, as a reference to how no one notices Canada.

There is also a live action China version - Nice Beijing(s)

Dance Dance World Revolution
Again, this meme started with America and was originally created by 'yuumei' on deviantART and is accompanied by music by NIGHTkilla from Newgrounds.

The meme features the country in question dancing from side to side with their national flag in each hand with little icons e.g. Hello Kitty for China or Tomatoes or 'Ve~' for Italy flying from the flag each time they wave it. Some countries have numerous versions and their videos can be found on YouTube and/or deviantART.

Versions currently exist for America, UK, France, Turkey, Greece, Japan, Germany, Prussia, Austria, North and South Italy, Finland, Sweden, China, Canada, Norway, Russia, Hungary, Iceland, Switzerland.

RomaHeta
RomaHeta is a series of fanvideos that circulated on Nico Nico Douga, that play out as an RPG featuring characters of the Axis, the Allied Forces, Prussia, Belarus, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Canada, Austria, Spain, and South Italy.

In the series, Japan creates a game that can send people to the second dimension. However, this proves to backfire when it sucks him and a bunch of other nations into its programming, trapping them in the computer. In order to return to their world, they must beat the game.

While training, it is revealed that the Japan in their party is an "error" and an evil duplicate, and that the real Japan has actually remained outside of the computer (though he assists the others from outside the game). America attempts to gather all of the other trapped nations, but the Allies and Axis soon face off against each other. It is revealed that some of the nations have become contaminated with a type of virus. While Germany, Prussia, and Spain are healed, Russia is unable to be cured and is revealed to have been behind the manipulation of the fight, having worked with the evil duplicate of Japan (with Belarus following after him).

The Italy brothers are later revealed to have also been corrupted by the virus, and the other characters must destroy the altar they guard to free them. However, the destruction of the altar only triggers a transformation in the two, who power-up into white robed, "holy" forms and attack the others. Though Romano is eventually taken out, a still-infected Veneziano must be restrained and is nearly killed by the statue. The ghost of Holy Roman Empire intervenes to save him.

The Allies move on to Russia's base to destroy another mind-control artifact, but have to fight both Russia and Belarus. Russia is about to kill America, but Belarus sacrifices herself and reveals that she was secretly working with America to save her brother from the evil Japan. This causes Russia to go catatonic with shock.

It is later revealed that Belarus survived the attack, as the evil Japan manipulates another nation. Belarus and Liechtenstein journey into Russia's mind and manage to free him from the mind-control, but the evil Japan reveals his newest ally to the other nations: Canada.

The "holy" versions of the Italy brothers quickly became popular in fanart on Pixiv as a result of the video series, along with the names of the spells used in the game (ie: Romano's Rosario Impale and Spain's Passionate Breakup attack)

Servant Of Evil Series
Another meme present on Nico Nico Douga and YouTube involves the creation of MADs based off of the Vocaloid song "Servant Of Evil" and the other songs related to it.

In the original song, Rin Kagamine is the "Daughter Of Evil", a tyrannical ruler who has caused much death and chaos under her rule, causing a revolution to occur. Her brother and servant Len, who knew of her kinder and gentler side in addition to her cruelty, decides to switch places with her and be captured by the villagers she wronged. The "Daughter Of Evil" (in actuality Len) is then beheaded, while Rin is left free to run, but distraught by her brother's death.

In some cases, the MAD author will also do videos based off of the two sequels to the song: "Regret Message" and "Re_birthday". However, this is not always the case. It is rare to find MADs based off of the original "Daughter Of Evil" song which preceded "Servant".

In the Hetalia versions, sibling pairs are usually used to further mirror the songs. Fanfiction and fanart have also been done with this theme.

North and South Italy
In a MAD based off of "Servant Of Evil", Italy plays the part of Rin, while Romano plays Len. Italy sees that his brother has become interested in Spain (in the role of Miku Hatsune), and orders Romano to kill him. In the end, Romano decides to switch places with his brother when the revolution occurs, and has his head cut off by Prussia (in the role of Meiko). Austria, who is also included in the storyline, plays the part of Kaito.

The "Regret Message" followup contains Italy reminiscing over happier times spent with his brother, and the wish that they both secretly expressed in the end: To be reborn and meet again.

The artist of both videos had also done a doujinshi based off of the "Evil" story, which was used as the basis for a short "Re_birthday" video, in which Romano is reborn.

America and Canada
America and Canada have also been featured in MADs, though their roles are subject to vary. In one particular MAD (Aku no Maple), Canada is the "evil" twin and America is his servant.

The North American brothers are the most common to be used in fanfiction based off of the series.

Germany and Prussia
Germany and Prussia have also been used to portray the siblings in MADs, though depending on the author, either Germany or Prussia may be the "evil" one.

Caramelldansen
Probably the most expansive meme in relation to anime. Caramelldansen features  character(s) 'bouncing' their hips from side to side while opening and closing their hands above their head in time with the beat of "Caramelldansen"  by the Swedish group CARAMELL, as remixed by SpeedyCake. Hetalia characters are usually featured individually, in pairs, or in a group (e.g., the Nordics or Baltics). While there are a large number of variants, there exists a 'Perfect Edition' which features all characters that existed at the time of its creation dancing with characters they have interacted with in the webcomics.

Anime Endings/Openings
A relatively common meme in anime fandom, but seems to have boomed in the Hetalia fandom. Anime endings/openings are animated by fans to portray the Hetalia characters in place of the actual characters in the series. Some examples of these include the Hetalia version of the Azumanga Daioh opening and the Hetalia version of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N095fGlt7gw Baccano! opening].

Commercials
Commercials are animated by fans to portray the Hetalia characters. The best examples of this is a series of fan animations of the Apple iPod dances with black silhouettes of the Hetalia characters and the Hetalia recreation of a pocky commercial.