Talk:Terminology in Hetalia: Axis Powers

Created another new page, based off of a section in the Japanese wiki, but with more supplemental stuff then they've got there (just the terms and minor definitions). There are probably more that could be added!

The family section was a tad tricky due to the conflicting official sources on Germania and his relation to his offspring, so "descendants" will have to do (even with them being anthro-nations ans all XD). It's also a tricky matter whether to list HRE and Germany as separate offspring or not under Germania, due to the ambiguity. If anyone has any other ideas for this, feel free to add on! Ceras SanMarina 08:38, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Another great page idea! Icelilly 01:09, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

Just a question, where does it say Canada and America are blood brothers? Or Russia and his sisters or any of the others excluding the obvious e.g. Rome and the Italies? Just wondering where it's said in the comics or on the blog.--Elegentmess 02:35, January 7, 2010 (UTC)

That's a good question, actually. It's a bit tricky to figure where to list some of the relations, and the Japanese wiki for the series seems to have a little trouble trying to figure the "blood" relations out for some. I think in Russia and his sisters' case, there's Kievan Rus' for a link between them (territory, people and all). For America and Canada...hmm. I think that's where it depends on historical-related headcanon or something of that matter. Himaruya's said he's "America's brother", but we don't really know of any age difference in the series. It's often assumed Matthew's younger since he seems "lesser" (and more moe perhaps), though Canada would be historically older.

"Blood" is a tricky thing to think of anyway when you get to the "blood brothers" like the Italies. North and South evolved quite differently from the start there, and it was interesting to see that Himaruya noted the Arabic influence for Romano in that old diary trivia. In short: We don't really know of America and Canada's "blood" relation in canon, it seems to be something that's been left up in the air for the fans. Hope that helps! Ceras SanMarina 21:35, January 7, 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for clearing that up! It just always confuses me since (I know it's something stupid to base it on considering that every nation doesn't have one) Canada and America have different last human names. Both Italies have 'Vargas' and Sealand and England have 'Kirkland' but Canada has 'Williams' and America has 'Jones'.--Elegentmess 06:29, January 8, 2010 (UTC)

The whole Kievan Rus situation is a lot more complicated than you might think, Ceras. Kievan Rus wasn't really a creation of Russians, a lot like Normandy wasn't a creation of the French...

...let me digress for a second and say that this is why I don't believe Francis was present at Hastings in 1066. The Normans were Vikings originally from Orkney and the Hebrides who conquered that area of what is now France in the 9th Century, then intermarried with the local population and gained a bit of French polish. In my head-canon, Normandy is Norway's nephew and unrelated to France.

So what does that have to do with Kievan Rus? Kievan Rus was, in Hetalia terms, set up by Berwald as a convenient trading center, then became Katya's homeland. That's why I've insisted that she's Kievan Rus; I like to think she and Berwald have a bit of a Vash/Lili thing between them. That being said, are Ivan, Natalya, and Katya blood-related? They are. They represent the three main divisions of Slavs who are now known as "Russians": the Great Russians, the Little Russians, and the White Russians (Ivan, Katya, and Natalya respectively).

The different last names for siblings, including the Russians and America/Canada, can be explained by ethnic and national identification. Little Russians (Ukrainians) and White Russians (Byelorussians) identify themselves as being distinct from Great Russians and always have (including their languages, which are similar but distinct). The same goes for Americans and Canadians, especially the latter. On the other hand, people from North Italy and South Italy all regard themselves as Italian, and the Bates family regard themselves as British (which explains Sealand's last name).

This was long and boring and the result of not enough coffee and long work hours, so I hope I didn't confuse anyone. Next time, I explain why the German siblings don't have the same last names. The Spie 15:48, January 9, 2010 (UTC)