Episode 42

The forty-second episode of Hetalia:Axis Powers was broadcast on November 6th, 2009. It adapts Russia's Older And Younger Sisters from volume 2 of the published manga.

Plot Summary
Russia introduces the viewers to his two sisters, Ukraine and Belarus. He describes Ukraine as being very reliable, and Belarus as very pretty. However, he adds that both of them are a little weird, but trails off as he becomes depressed and and insists that they're only "just a little" weird.

Russia sits at a table in despair as England becomes startled by his change of mood.

Ukraine
Russia introduces Ukraine again, as a button pops off of her blouse due to the large size of her breasts. He mentions how the weight of her breasts have caused her to complain about having stiff shoulders, and that she's a bit poor.

Russia and Latvia travel to her house in hopes of getting payment for gas from her, but find that she won't come to answer the door (although Latvia notes that he can hear her breasts bouncing). Inside the house, Ukraine's boss orders her to not answer the door. A tearful Ukraine hopes to pay Russia back soon when she's rich, as she starts to sew her blouse back up.

Russia spotlights Ukraine again, mentioning that she is often targeted due to her huge chest, and that she can be silly and a crybaby.

Ukraine approaches Russia and Latvia in a field and informs Russia that she brought the freshest milk (while Russia pokes Latvia in the face). She then remembers that her boss ordered her not to speak to Russia anymore, and runs off crying, her chest bouncing all the way. She apologizes and hopes that they'll be able to meet again someday. Latvia though, wonders what the entire scene was all about. Russia watches his big sister leave, looking saddened.

Belarus
Russia spotlights Belarus. He describes her as pretty, but notes that she seems to like him a lot.

In the next shot, Russia cowers in his room in fear. Belarus bangs on his door, expressing interest to "become one" with him, as well as disgust that he could like someone other than her. She claws at the door, leaving long and deep scratches in the wood, as she orders him to open it up and let her become one with him (as they're "destined" to). Russia screams for her to leave.

Russia spotlights his sister again, referring to her as strong-willed and tenacious, but in the worst way.

Back in his room, Russia becomes startled as Belarus manages to rip his doorknob off and fling it across the room. She stands in the open doorway and informs him that she got rid of the doorknob that was separating them. The camera pans in closer to show a wild-eyed Belarus, as she suggests that they get married, repeating the word "married" over and over in a mad mantra (as a final close-up of her eye is shown). Russia again screams for her to leave.

Russia's Older And Younger Sisters
A miniature chart of Russia and his sisters' relations is shown: Ukraine wants to become accustomed more to the rest of the world, while Russia wonders why she keeps avoiding him. Belarus however, wants to become one with her brother, though her brother finds her scary.

A narrator explains that Ukraine is Russia's older sister and that she is always getting caught up in some kind of trouble. An SD Ukraine is shown, as the narrator explains that she began to distance herself from Russia after becoming independent (in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union) and has recently been getting along with America and some European countries. As she's poor, she must work hard on the farm every day.

An SD Belarus is shown next, as the narrator explains that she is known for doing the craziest things and causing her brother to be troubled. The narrator describes Belarus as having the reputation of "the last dictatorship in Europe" and being skilled at the "carrot and stick" policy. Though her economy is horrible, she spends her effort on the agriculture and figures that things will be fine if her people get to eat.

The narrator then explains Belarus' fascination with her brother, as SD versions of both Belarus and Russia are shown. The narrator states that Belarus loves Russia so much that she is close to having forgotten her own native language. Russia does not like the idea of marriage as he feels that nothing good can come out of the two of them being together, but that it will also be bad if she becomes friendly with America, which would leave him in a tight spot.

Character Appearances

 * Russia
 * Ukraine
 * Belarus
 * England/UK
 * Latvia

Voice Cast

 * Narrator: Yuki Kaida
 * Russia: Yasuhiro Takato
 * Ukraine: Yuki Masuda
 * Belarus: Urara Takano
 * England/UK: Noriaki Sugiyama
 * Latvia: Kazutada Tanaka
 * Ukraine's Boss: Atsushi Kousaka

English Dub Cast

 * Narrator: Jamie Marchi
 * Russia: Jerry Jewell
 * Ukraine: Lydia Mackay
 * Belarus: Monica Rial
 * Britain: Scott Freeman
 * Latvia: Ryan Reynolds

Trivia

 * In the manga, Russia and England were dressed in casual clothing as the story took place in the present day, and Latvia was also shown in casual clothing when Ukraine attempted to give milk. In the anime, all three characters are inexplicably dressed in their WWII military uniforms even though it is supposed to be after the fall of the Soviet Union.


 * In each of the spotlight segments, the backgrounds are colored to resemble each of the characters' flags: Russia's background is in white, blue, and red (the colors of the flag for the Russian Empire as well as the post-Soviet Union flag). Ukraine's background is in blue and yellow, while Belarus' is in red and green.


 * Belarus' color scheme was slightly altered from her last two appearances in the anime: In her cameos in both Episode 01 and Episode 37, she was depicted wearing a black dress and a navy blue hairbow. In this episode, the colors of her clothing were changed to match up with her manga color scheme (a navy blue dress and a white hairbow), though her hair color did not change. In the manga, Belarus is often depicted with platinum blonde hair, while her hair in the anime is visibly dark blonde.


 * Originally in the footnote about Belarus, there was a reference to the country's relations with America after the Soviet Union. Belarus was described as having become a "little sister" and an annoyance to America.


 * In the original mobile Animate.TV broadcast, the episode ran an extra 32 seconds due to pre- and post-show bumpers with Italy, as well as an ad for France's CD.


 * This episode is the first to feature eyecatches of both Belarus and Ukraine, as well as being the first episode to use Russia's version of Marukaite Chikyuu as the ending theme.