America

Alfred F. Jones (アルフレッド・F・ジョーンズ, Arufureddo F. Joonzu) is a main character in the series Axis Powers Hetalia/Hetalia: Axis Powers. He represents America (アメリカ, Amerika) and leads the Allied Forces.

Appearance
He has short blond hair, with an ahoge, representing Nantucket, sticking up and blue eyes. He wears a tan uniform and a brown bomber jacket with a '50' on the back (for the fifty states). His glasses are said to represent the state of Texas. Alfred is often shown holding a hamburger or a large-size soft drink (usually a cola) and flashing a thumbs-up.

When Alfred initially appeared in the webcomic, his hair was drawn smoother, parted in the center, and he had no ahoge. Eventually as the art style changed, Himaruya added in the strand and made Alfred's hair slightly wilder. Alfred also was shown to have his pants tucked into his boots in older designs, but more modern artwork depicts him wearing his pants over the boots.

Personality And Interests
Alfred is a cheerful, energetic, yet somewhat conceited young man who is obsessed with heroes, justice, and freedom. He has the habit of sticking his nose into everyone else's business, which causes him to have difficulty making friends. He loves hamburgers and junk food, and can even eat strange and inedible things due to inheriting Arthur's sense of taste (or lack thereof). Alfred is also known for not being aware of how "the atmosphere" is when he's around others(which, at one point, he was told to read it), but it has been noted that it's not that he lacks the ability to "assess the situation", he simply chooses not to. His profile states that his hobbies are sports, games, and making movies. Furthermore, in the side-story Black Ships Have Come, in introducing himself to Kiku, he states that his hobbies are "quick-draw, archaeology, and adventures" (which is translated to Kiku as Alfred's hobby being lechery). He possesses an abnormal amount of strength, shown even as a child by easily swinging a full-grown buffalo around, and has been once seen running around dragging a heavy SUV, belonging to Arthur, behind him for an hour in order to ask permission to borrow it.

Alfred is shown to be ignorant of the geography outside his own home, believing that maps of the United States are a "world map" and believes that he can simply get to other countries by car travel. He is shown becoming concerned about his weight in the strip Supersize You! and it is mentioned that he's invented strange diet machines as well as becoming obsessed with exercise (which has caused him to become paranoid about his rising weight, as he is unaware of his building muscle). As Alfred is obsessed with heroes and happy endings, he hopes that his future will be that way.

Though he is friends with an alien named Tony, he doesn't believe in Arthur's magical friends, the fairies or unicorns.

Arthur Kirkland (England/United Kingdom)
Main Article: Arthur Kirkland

Alfred was discovered as a small child by Arthur, who adopted him and raised him as his younger brother, caring for him with adoration and teaching him how to be a nation. When the Revolutionary War came, Alfred declared his independence and split from Arthur, creating a huge rift between the two that still is present, if only less severe. As part of the Allied Forces, they manage to work together, although Arthur often disagrees with the unusual ideas that Alfred presents and Alfred teases Arthur about everything from his cooking, his style of dress, and his "old" age. They are shown to be always bickering but it is hinted the two friends truly care for one another.

Matthew Williams (Canada)
Main Article: Matthew Williams

Alfred's kind-hearted brother, who is frequently overshadowed by him and has even been mistaken for Alfred more than once. Alfred and the other nations also tend to forget that he exists, but there are times, such as in Episode 44, where Matthew comes to talk to Alfred, and Alfred has no trouble recognizing him and seeing him. They seem to have a healthy sibling relationship, despite Matthew's passive aggressive resentment and Alfred's cluelessness. Matthew is also the only character to have the ability to reduce Alfred to tears.

Kiku Honda (Japan)
Main Article: Honda Kiku

Because Alfred is always interfering in others' affairs, his only real friends tend to be Kiku, Toris, and Arthur. They both share a love of technology and videogames and are frequently at each others houses to play them together.

Toris Lorinaitis (Lithuania)
Main Article: Toris Lorinaitis

After falling into poverty due to WWI, Toris started to work for Alfred as his housekeeper, finding himself a happy freedom in the process. Once the Great Depression fell, Toris found himself having to return back home with Ivan.

It seems like Toris actually cares for Alfred since in Episode 29 he asks Ivan about him, although a trembling Eduard interrupts to remind him that he can't talk to Ivan about Alfred.

In the Anime


Alfred first appeared at the beginning of Episode 01 where he announced his plan to stop global warming. In Episode 06, he briefly appeared where he was spying on the Axis Powers and later roasting marshmallows. In Episode 07, he was attempting to announce his plan to take down the Axis Powers, but no one could understand him, due to him eating and drinking while speaking. He appears again in Episode 09, fully explaining his plan of being the hero while the other Allies serve as support.

Alfred had a brief cameo in Episode 11, as he attempted to talk to Arthur about something, but wound up confused when he saw that the other man appeared to be interacting with thin air. He later appears in the supermarket line in Episode 14, laughing rather loudly.

Alfred's childhood is spotlighted numerous times in the anime, including Episode 25 and Episode 39 and Episode 40, which tells of how Francis and Arthur battled each other over his ownership.

In a minor difference from the manga design, the '50' was left off of Alfred's jacket in the anime adaptation.

Trivia

 * Although commonly referred to as America, some merchandise refers to him by the full term United States Of America, or simply U.S. for short.


 * His birthday corresponds with the Independence Day of July 4th, 1776, when the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain.


 * "Jones" is one of the most common surnames in the United States (as is "Smith" and "Williams"). "Alfred F." is most probably an allusion to Alfred E. Neuman. It is also possible that his name is a reference to the USS Alfred, the first ship to fly the Grand Union Flag. The man who hoisted the flag was John Paul Jones. It is also possible that 'Jones' refers to the action movie hero Indiana Jones, as Alfred has stated that one of his own hobbies is archaeology. It is unknown if the "F" has significance in a full middle name, or if it was just added as a stylistic choice.


 * In some fanart, he is often portrayed with a bunny, as "U.S.A." can also be "usa", which means "bunny" in Japanese. The child version of Alfred was also shown to have a bunny following him, when he first met the older nations.


 * According to Himaruya, Alfred's personality was based off of his teacher's. The same teacher is said to have a strong disinterest in world geography. Meanwhile, Alfred's appearance is based off of that of a Canadian that Himaruya met when he went to America.


 * In a set of character notes, it is revealed that Alfred has mingled a lot with Germanic blood, and that he was insecure for having no history of his own (having not been born with the native populations) before Arthur adopted him.


 * It is a source of debate among fans as to whether it is Alfred or Matthew that is the older of the two brothers (with Hidekaz Himaruya having not confirmed a set age difference between the two). A common fanon assumption is that the two are twins, due to their similarities and the fact that Matthew is easily mistaken for Alfred (due to having the same face), though the two do not share the same day of birth, though supporters of the twin theory point out the nations' birthdays merely refer to their date of independence or unification, and that a "nation" may not have an official birthday in the same sense as humans.


 * Notes in the special edition booklet for Hetalia: Axis Powers volume 3 revealed that Alfred was originally intended to be smarter and more cocky, but evolved into a louder heroic-wannabe type of character. Himaruya noted that in retrospect, the original character personality would have been harder to use.