Monaco

Monaco (モナコ, Monako) is a minor character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers.

Appearance
In her initial design, Monaco was depicted with brown hair and brown eyes. In her finalized design, her coloring was changed to blonde hair and dark blue eyes to match France. Himaruya has been coloring France's hair a darker blonde/light brown for a while now, but it is unclear whether Monaco's hair has also changed. Part of her hair is tied into a long side braid with a large hair bow, while her bangs are held back on the right side by bobby pins. She wears glasses and is described as dressing "elegantly". This can be seen in her first profile where she wears a long pink double-breasted coat with a sailor collar attached, over a white blouse with a red neckbow, a pair of white trousers, and tall brown boots. Monaco has a small body, though she is not the shortest character. In a blog post, Himaruya implied that she looks grade school aged.

In other sketches, she is depicted wearing the blouse with a skirt. Her bow was originally colored black, but was changed to red, along with her braid becoming longer and sleeker in appearance in her finalized design. In the 2010 Christmas bloodbath, she tells to Sealand that she has a mole on her chest.

It is mentioned in her official profile that the reason she grew her hair out was because she was thinking about becoming like a Grand Duchess.

Personality And Interests
In her official profile she is described as a smart girl who gives off a proud impression. She speaks like an old lady and her great intelligence has protected her country for ages. A young honor student fond of ballet, she is surprisingly social despite her serious appearance. She has a very anxious character; she constantly worries about world affairs and the economy. Due to her distress about what other countries are doing, she is regarded as the most agitated country in the world.

Known for her beautifully structured casino (which ironically she herself did not build), she focuses most of her energy onto tourism, house interior designing, and cosmetics. She owns a Japanese-styled garden.

She appears to be good at poker, having easily beaten Seborga during the 2011 Christmas event. She's also comfortable when saying about the people who ended up penniless in her house, unsurprisingly because of gambling.

France
Monaco is classified as a younger sister type to France, and she relies on him for diplomatic, military, and various other affairs, so if France ever asks her for a favor she tends to comply. However, she really wants him to stop patting her on the head because it is embarrassing.

In the published version of the America and England strip, she is shown alongside France when he mocks England for not having any friends.

Seborga
Seborga and Monaco are first shown together in a cutaway strip during the 2011 Christmas Event. During the event, Seborga invited Monaco to dinner, which she agreed to, stating it would be fun to eat with him. He then excitedly suggested that after dinner, they enjoy the night scenery and go on a drive, and offers Sunday to be the day for the date. Monaco agrees to all of it, and Seborga is very excited about it. Then, Monaco laughed happily and added the condition that he beat her at poker first, remind him that she is very skilled at it. Seborga seemed used to this behavior, though. Italy then reveals that Seborga lost terribly but that Monaco went out with him regardless, indicating that she did have some feelings for him.

Seychelles
Main article: Seychelles

During the 2011 Halloween event, Monaco and Seychelles were both in the French costume group. Monaco refers to Seychelles as "Seychelles-kun" in the original Japanese to indicate a friendly relationship or Monaco is a kind of senior to the Seychelles.

Trivia

 * Prior to her design and appearance, Himaruya had dedicated a blog entry to Monaco's history and the country's relations with France and the rest of Europe.
 * In the original America and England story, France was depicted beside an unidentified man (or nation). While the published version replaced the man with Monaco, the anime adapted the original webcomic strip featuring the unnamed man.
 * Monaco has a small body, in one frame it is even shown that she has a smaller body than Taiwan. Additionally, a blog post reveals that she is even shorter than Liechtenstein. However, there has been a big change in her appearance when the Hetalia⭐︎Collezione 2021 issue said that her height has increased significantly compared to what was known before.
 * Her birthday corresponds with the date that Monaco first gained its independence.