Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire
Images
Character Information
Previously Represented	Holy Roman Empire
Physical Age	Unknown, but he is a minor
Gender	Male
Pronouns	He/him
Hair Color	Blond
Eye Color	Blue
Hetalia☆Collezione Profile
First Person Pronoun	俺 (Ore)
Height	7 apples and a tangerine (approx. 95 cm, or 3'2)
Family	Germania (grandfather) Prussia ("self-proclaimed Number One" older brother) Many other siblings
What I Want Now	Holiness, legitimacy for the succession of the Roman Empire, and to be empire-like
What I'm Into	Reading fairytales collected from various places and getting to know Italian culture
What I Want to Challenge Myself to Do	Unite with my siblings and become physically stronger
Debut Appearances
Comic	Chibitalia
Volume	Hetalia: Axis Powers: Volume 1
Anime	Episode 01
Voice Actors
Japanese	Jun Konno
English	Chris Cason
Image Gallery
Uniform Guide

Holy Roman Empire (神聖ローマ, Shinsei Rōma), often abbreviated to HRE, is a supporting character in the series Hetalia. He is the personification of the Holy Roman Empire, who disappeared and later became Germany.

Appearance

Holy Roman Empire from the 2008 trading cards set

Holy Roman Empire is a small blond child with blue eyes. His hair resembles Germany's when not slicked back, and he also shares the facial features of Germania and most of his descendants.

He wears a black hat and matching cloak. Underneath his cloak, he wears a long black tunic with a white jabot, a gold-trimmed black hat, and tan-colored breeches (black in the anime).

Personality And Interests

The grandson of Germania, he seemed strong but had a weak constitution. His main goal was to get Chibitalia to become part of his empire. He was said to have loved "her" so much that his house crumbled and he didn't care.

He later threw himself into the Thirty Years War, but eventually, after long periods of fighting, he was believed to have crumbled and fallen.

Biography

Reborn as Germany

Despite early media being too vague to confirm whether or not HRE and Germany are one and the same, recent strips have strongly implied that it is the case. For extensive information, see Rumors and Misconceptions.

For further information about the character's history, see Germany's biography.

Relationships

Austria

Main article: Austria

Though not shown much, Holy Roman Empire informed Italy that Austria constantly has him studying, which is why he was so smart. It's possible that he is a sort of teacher or mentor to him.

Chibitalia

Main article: Italy Veneziano

He loved Chibitalia (whom he thought to be a girl) and wanted to make "her" part of his empire, but the other child refused to join with him, having seen Grandpa Rome's scars the last time they saw him alive.

When he left to go to war, Chibitalia gave him the panties "she" had worn (though it was changed to Chibitalia's deck broom in the anime) and they promised to see each other again when the war was over. He told Chibitalia that he had he loved "her" since the 900s, and kissed "her" (a scene that was edited out of the published version of the manga but retained in the anime). After that moment, they never saw each other again. Hidekaz Himaruya has promised a "happy ending" to their relationship, but this ending has not been revealed yet.

Prussia

Main article: Prussia

In Awesome Me's Biography, Prussia is said to stand out as a big brother figure to HRE among the barely unified German states. Not much interaction is shown between Prussia and HRE until the latter's end of life, where Prussia takes him in and entertains him while HRE is bedridden. Although World☆Stars Chapter 187 clearly states that HRE's death is near because of his effective dissolution, it is unknown what exactly happened to him and whether or not Prussia bore witness to it.

Prussia holds the same fondness and pride for Germany, whomst in recent years has been confirmed to be the same person as HRE despite not having retained any of his memories.

Appearances

Manga

• Private Concert
• World☆Stars Chapter 187: It’s the First Edition

Anime

Holy Roman Empire in Episode 09

Holy Roman Empire first appears in the Chibitalia segment in Episode 01, and expresses his desire to make Chibitalia become one with him. He continues to appear in the Chibitalia sub-storyline, up until Episode 11, when he runs away after Chibitalia refuses to join with him. The sub-storyline was put on hiatus until Episode 21, where he prepared to leave for war.

In Episode 22, he bid Chibitalia farewell as he headed off to war, though Chibitalia wouldn't let him leave without "her" gift. In the anime adaptation, the scene with the panties was changed to Chibitalia giving Holy Roman Empire "her" deck brush. HRE thought of how he loved Chibitalia since the 900s, and they kissed. A post-credits teaser showed that HRE enjoyed his new deck brush very much. HRE later appears in brief cameos in episodes 39 and 40, dreaming of Chibitalia (only to wake up and realize he was only dreaming).

His design was changed slightly for the anime, with his eyes becoming rounder and brighter in appearance. His breeches were also changed from tan to gray, and the navy blue coloring is used for the rest of his clothing.

The fifth volume of the anime DVD releases includes a version of Marukaite Chikyuu sung by Holy Roman Empire (along with a version sung by Chibitalia). It was released on October 23, 2009.

In the English dub, HRE appears to have an Italian accent.

Musical

A puppet version of Holy Roman Empire appears during one segment of Hetalia ~Singin' in the World~ controlled by Masaaki Hirano.

Songs

Anime Ending Themes

• "Marukaite Chikyuu (Holy Roman Empire)"

Trivia

• In a scrapped scene by Himaruya, France breaks the news of HRE's death to an older Italy and tells him to forget about him (as he's suffered enough in the war).

• It is hinted in the Buon San Valentino strips that Germany may in fact be HRE or have some sort of connection to him. The plot point, however, has yet to be resolved. Himaruya himself tends to avoid directly answering any questions that pertain to whether the two are connected or not.

• Though HRE is referred to as Germania's grandson in the official character profile by Himaruya, the Axis Powers Hetalia trading card game refers to HRE as his son.

• Hidekaz Himaruya has stated that HRE's clothes are based off of the clothes that philosophers wore in the time period that he (HRE) grew up in.

• When asked by a fan what HRE's height was, Himaruya answered that Chibitalia is about "7 apples tall" and HRE is about "7 apples and a tangerine tall". The same was also stated in Hetalia☆Collezione.