Prussia

Prussia (プロイセン, Puroisen) is a character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. In 2008, Himaruya gave human names to some of the characters and he received the name Gilbert Beilschmidt (ギルベルト・バイルシュミット, Giruberuto Bairushumitto).

Appearance
Prussia has light-colored hair and red eyes, though he first appeared in color images (circa 2007) with dark blond hair. His hair varies between platinum blond, white, or silver, while his eyes have also been depicted as pink or a dark red hue. He is seen in many images with a yellow bird upon his head which he appears never to notice.

He wears a deep blue (Prussian blue) military uniform, akin to a Luftwaffen Fliegerbluse with a Knights Cross of the Iron Cross on his tie. In the WWII-set Buon San Valentino, he is shown to wear a Waffen SS uniform like his brother.

Personality And Interests
Prussia was born to fight the same type of battles as Austria, but was a hooligan who did nothing but fight and avoided any marriage. He will do anything to become strong, and has an arrogant attitude, believing that he is the best and still more "awesome" than others, although he hasn't really succeeded at his goal. Although he proclaims to like being alone, he is seen crying when he sees Hungary and Austria together in the Christmas Rampage 2007 strips. It was stated that this loneliness stemmed from that he felt like an enclave rather than an actual nation. Germany once said that Prussia "knows little about common sense." Deep down, it is said that his true nature is that of a punctual and diligent soldier, though his bad manners (especially during his "transition period") mask it.

He is very loyal to his leaders, and had a special attachment to Frederich II, known to him as "Old Fritz." He continues to hope that Old Fritz will watch over him and that he'll be proud. It is said though, that he tends to become rather depressed if Fritz is brought up due to this attachment.

Prussia often refers to his younger brother Germany as "West," and hates Russia. He doesn't get along well with Austria, and also seems to very much enjoy the company of Italy.

It is revealed that he had kept diaries since he was formed, which led to him having an entire library of journals. Almost all of them start with passages that read "I'm so cool/I was so cool today." He also seems to be fond of cute things, and buys things such as stuffed pandas, as seen on his April Fools Blog. In addition, on his blog, he says he's fond of sleeping, fighting, Old Fritz, and eating, his fondness for eating being displayed in his going to England to eat lunch, him "only accepting" France's ability to cook well, and his desire to get food from Italy and Austria with his brother in their Counting Sheep CD.

He seems to have a tendency to sneeze and find himself bored with or distracted from tasks, especially reading, although he claimed to be "a wiz at cleaning" and also seemed to be good at gardening, so it's possible his skills show when he is less distracted. In his and Germany's Counting Sheep CD, after sneezing and growing bored of counting, Germany insists he continue to count, causing him to continue, also raising the possibility that he can continue to do things despite his own odds (boredom) if encouraged.

Austria
Main article: Austria

Prussia takes pleasure in annoying and humiliating Austria in whatever way he can, and fought against him in wars in the past, seizing Silesia for himself in the War Of Austrian Succession (the strip of which contained Austria saying the infamous "vital regions" line).

On numerous occasions, he finds himself alone and crying. Prussia will mention that he is happy alone unlike a certain "stupid aristocrat". In the Christmas Strips, Prussia has to tell himself that he would rather be alone than with others ''"because clustering is for the weak. Yeah, like that stupid aristocr--". ''Prussia often speaks negatively of Austria.

In the present day while living with his brother, Prussia freeloads off of Austria and has a habit of stalking him. Also, in Prussia's blog, it is implied that either Prussia and Austria are both living together in Germany's house, and that Austria hangs around the brothers very often to sort out their messes and spends a large fraction of his time with them. In the Maria Theresa arc of the anime, Prussia often attempted to make Austria beg for mercy during the battle. He also mentioned wanting a painter to come and paint Austria's face after he had lost the first battle, so that his failure could be etched into history.

Germany
Main article: Germany

Though the two are brothers, they do not appear together in most of the strips (as Prussia's earlier appearances were before the foundation of the German Empire). Germany is shown to be annoyed by his brother's wild attitude and his tendency to buy strange things, as seen in the April Fools' blog event and drama CD. Prussia refers to their familial tie as "unsavory". It's revealed, in his and Germany's Counting Sheep CD, that he does find himself wanting to do "big brother" things for him, sometimes.

Hungary
Main article: Hungary

The two have had a rivalry since childhood, when Hungary believed herself to be a boy (as did Prussia). It is said that she loathes Prussia due to him making fun of her hardships since that time. She is also known to hit him with her frying pan when she catches him bothering Austria, and had appeared at his bedside fully armed with a spear to threaten him to give back Silesia after he had seized it.

Prussia had also noticeably groped Hungary when they were children, though he was unaware of her true gender at the time and simply thought he'd grab a weak spot. After realizing the truth, he became disgusted and upset that he might have committed a sin, and was utterly horrified by his actions. His realization led him to confessing his "sin" in a chapel and begging God for forgiveness.

Italy
Main article: Italy

Prussia is shown to like Italy very much, only referring to him as "Italia-chan", considering him 'cute' and even going as far as to ask him on a date in the drama adaptation of his blog event, only for Italy to be oblivious to his question, having been fixated on Prussia's bird. In Prussia's Cleaning game, choosing to go to Italy's house to clean resulted in it being stated that he had clear ulterior motives. Upon arrival he found him sleeping (something he said he would obviously doing at the time), and began to stroke his head, saying that he was reminded of the Risorgimento as he did so, happily dreaming about him and Italy on a gondola in Venice.

Japan
Main article: Japan

While their only canonical meeting was in Prussia's Cleaning game, in which he helps him clean after Japan misinterpreted his demands as enthusiasm, Himaruya has stated that their relationship is near inseparable, and that it was something he wanted to show in Prussia's April Fools blog, but didn't get to. It's also notable, that Japan calls him "Prussia-kun", emphasizing this. Prussia possibly goes to Japan's house very often, as he said that he "usually" has tea and manjuu when he goes. When they finished cleaning, to show his gratitude, Japan gave him the cakes he had previously been asking for, however the work exhausted Prussia, so he could "only" eat 34.

Also stated in the game, was Prussia's enjoyment of reading manga(he had attempted to learn to make his own, but he sneezed and abandoned the project), something he possibly got from befriending Japan.

Poland
Main article: Poland

Though the two have not appeared in many strips together, it is said that their relations are rather rocky due to Prussia having invaded and gone on a rampage. A glimpse of their past is shown in the Polish-Swedish Wars strips, when Finland mentions the Battle of Grunwald. Prussia was shown to have nearly defeated Poland (and having threatened to kill him) until Lithuania intervened and defeated the Teutonic Knights (after having pretended to flee).

In the Anime


Prussia briefly appears in Episode 10, during the era of "The War Of Austrian Succession." He is shown beating up Austria until France comes along and takes over.

Prussia later returns in Episode 24, where he's once again seen teasing Austria, this time hindering his attempts to impress Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Prussia has a much bigger role in Episode 79 when he is shown trying to convince his brother Germany to drink the beer being offered around. Prussia then proceeds to pester Germany with different methods such as threatening to enforce a rule where Germany has to go around the city wall of Rotenburg naked.

In the anime, his hair is platinum blond and his eyes are a deep red. His cross and gloves were removed, and his tall boots were initially removed as well but reappeared in Episode 79.

Although it is widely believed that he was voiced by the seiyū Subaru Kimura, no one was credited for the role of Prussia in the Episode 10's ending credits, and it was later revealed that Atsushi Kousaka had actually voiced him (doing an impression of Kimura's voice for Gian, from the series Doraemon). According to a Comic Birz interview, Hidekaz Himaruya approved the casting of Prussia, having anticipated that Kousaka would fit the character.

Name
His surname was also often rendered as Weillschmidt, though it has fallen somewhat out of use as it doesn't exist as a German surname, while Beilschmidt does. Beilschmidt also means "axe smith" and there is speculation that the jumper Rolf Beilschmidt may have been inspiration.

Trivia

 * TeutonicKnight prototype.gif birthday was given for Prussia in his first official profile, which lead to some fan speculation that Himaruya did not give him one due to Prussia having been dissolved (and thus no longer existing as an actual nation). However, in the anime guide WorldWideWalking, his birthday was finally listed as January 18th, which corresponds with the foundation date for the Kingdom Of Prussia (January 18th, 1701).
 * As a child, Prussia was originally part of the St. Maria Order, and then became part of the Teutonic Knights until some point in his teens, before finally growing up to become Prussia (after some other, unspecified stages of his life).
 * The type of flag used to represent Prussia is the one for The Kingdom Of Prussia, which lasted from 1701-1918. It was succeeded by The Free State Of Prussia, its final incarnation before it was dissolved de jure by the Allied Forces in 1947.
 * There is much fan speculation surrounding his potentially being East Germany, given that he calls his brother "West" and despises Russia. A production note by Hidekaz Himaruya also lends evidence to the theory, stating that Prussia was under Russian control after WWII and was stuck having to work jobs that made him no profit. A scrapped Hetalia game idea by Himaruya has also given some weight to the theory: In the game, the nations are instead humans living in New York City. One of the characters was described as an East German man, and had a very similar personality to Prussia. But as this game never went any further, it is also uncertain.
 * A sentence in the third volume of the published manga lends evidence to the idea of him being the Kaliningrad Oblast, as it is mentioned that he had become an enclave of Russia (though it is also said in the same sentence that he lives with his brother).
 * An old sketch by Himaruya depicted a much different representation of The Monastic State Of Teutonic Knights. Instead of a younger Prussia, the Teutonic Knight has long, dark hair and a beard.
 * In a production note, Himaruya stated that he also initially designed a Prussia that looked more like a long-haired Poland, and that his personality was to be a lot more mature and pitiful.
 * According to Himaruya, although Prussia is older than Germany, he is shorter in comparison due to having poor nutrition.
 * In 2010, Prussia starred in the online mini-game Osōji Prussia, in which he cleaned the homes of various characters. In response to questions raised by some of the dialogue in the Germany segment, it was clarified that Prussia is a "retired" nation that passed on his skills and traits to Germany, and may in fact disappear and die out over time.