Romania (ルーマニア, Rūmania) is a supporting character in the series Hetalia. He is the personification of Romania.
Appearance[]
Chibi Romania from 2023
Romania is a young man of average height with wavy, shoulder-length strawberry blond hair, pale skin and red (sometimes pink) eyes.
He also has a distinctive pair of pointy fangs, though most of the time only one of them is shown protruding from his mouth. This characteristic is shared with Moldova.
Even before Hetalia☆Collezione[5] officialized many characters' heights, a blog post[2] from 2014 mentioned that Romania was 172 cm tall.
Personality and Interests[]
Romania loves black magic, folktales (referencing stereotypes of Romanian vampires and demons), strange and mysterious things, making him to come out as an eccentric character plus the fact that he's an expert in magic and fortune-telling. In reality, he is a friendly and mischievous person who is said to be very good friends with Bulgaria and often quarrels with Hungary.
Apparently, when speaking of fairies, Romania also has his romantic side too. He has the appearance of a jokester, when he is actually a hard worker who reads the atmosphere well. He is nearly as infatuated with Roman culture as Germany; this may be why he desperately tries to prove his descendancy from Rome, to no avail.
Relationships[]
Ancient Rome[]
- Main article: Ancient Rome
Romania is very passionate about being another descendant of Rome, and is said to be very knowledgeable about later Roman Emperors.[6] Bulgaria also tried to join in on the topic when Romania was discussing it with Italy Veneziano, which left the latter rather confused even though he seemed receptive to Romania's justification.[7]
However, Italy Romano does not approve of the idea, firmly believing he and Veneziano are the only legitimate grandchildren of Rome (even blaming Veneziano for "questioning the obvious").[7] In World☆Stars Chapter 163,[4] despite the many points raised by Romania about why he should be a legitimate heir of Rome, Romano gets defensive and resorts to denying Romania's claim based on the fact that he doesn't have the characteristic hair curl shared by Rome himself, both Italy brothers, and in-universe Roman Emperors. This leaves Romania bummed out about being rejected so quickly.
Bulgaria[]
- Main article: Bulgaria
Romania and Bulgaria are shown to be best friends who often push each other around jokingly. The two are often grouped together (along with Hungary) in the European Union, and together make an appearance in the Halloween 2013/2014 Event, where Romania tries to persuade Bulgaria from wearing a Survey Corps' costume to the party. When Moldova chooses to spend the party with Russia, Bulgaria consoles Romania by offering his jacket, on which Romania immediately refused.
When they lived together in Russia's house, Bulgaria has created a song about doing chores and Romania joins him to sing it with others, terrifying Russia along the way.
England[]
- Main article: England
England and Romania in Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!! First Half
Romania and England are both inflicted with the same interest in magic. While England opts more for tame mythical beings, Romania is more prone towards vampires and gore ones. They are both shown to be the members of the Black Magic Club in Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!! First Half where the Newspaper Club interviews them.
Hungary[]
- Main article: Hungary
Hungary and Romania's relationship is described as a "cat-and-dog" relationship, in which they constantly fight since the Transylvania issue. Hungary is said to name all of her dogs after famous Romanians, and dislikes being grouped with him and Bulgaria in the EU. In Romania's case, Hungarians are often used in his jokes.
Moldova[]
- Main article: Moldova
Romania is Moldova's doting older brother, and cares for him immensely as seen in the Halloween 2013 Event, where he is shocked at how Moldova's carefree and childish personality is quickly replaced by a very adult-like demeanor. Even so, he's very sad when Moldova chooses to spend the party with Russia rather than with him.
Appearances[]
Manga[]
- Christmas 2011 Event[1]
- Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!![3]
- World☆Stars Chapter 163[4]
- World☆Stars Chapter 505[8]
Other[]
Anime[]
Romania's anime debut in Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!! First Half
Romania makes his official debut in Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!! First Half of the anime, in which he is part of the Witchcraft Club. He is interviewed by the Newspaper Club and tells them about the Witchcraft Club's secret activities, much to England's chagrin. This is Romania's only speaking role so far.
He appears again in the crowd in The Weirdos・Part 1, seated next to Bulgaria (or Turkey depending on the frame, due to a continuity error).
Trivia[]
- It is implied that Romania is based on stereotypes of Vlad Țepeș (Vlad Drăculea), a Romanian ruler who was the inspiration for Dracula.
- In Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!![3] (Axis Powers Volume 4) adapted in Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!! First Half, Romania is a member of the Witchcraft Club (Hellfire Club in the English dub) of World Academy W.
Notes[]
- ↑ Romania was never part of the Soviet Union proper, but was a satellite state until the 1960s (hence the SR for Socialist Republic instead of SSR for Soviet Socialist Republic). Click here for more information. In the sourced strip from the Christmas 2011 Event, Romania and others are seen working for Russia and living at the "communist boarding house", which is a clear reference to the Soviet Era.
- ↑ In the sourced strip from the Christmas 2011 Event, Romania confirms that Vlad the Impaler (nicknamed Vlad Dracula) was his boss, meaning that he already existed as a personification back then. However, modern Romania did not exist at the time as Vlad the Impaler was Prince of Wallachia, thus confirming that Romania and Wallachia are the same person.
- ↑ Although no date was canonically given, and since most Nations' "birthdays" align with their national day, it is likely that Romania's would parallel Great Union Day, which celebrates the Great Union that happened on December 1, 1918.
- ↑ A height of 172 cm would be considered slightly below average for a man in Romania.
- ↑ A more casual form of ore (俺) that evokes a foolish, poorly educated person from a rural region. Moldova uses the same pronoun.
- ↑ Romania confidently claims to be one of Rome's grandchildren, although Italy Romano firmly rejects that idea (more information and sources in the Relationships section). Despite Romano's opinion, it is plausible that Romania is a descendant of Rome since the Roman Empire extended to most of Dacia, almost completely encapsulating modern-day Romania. The Romanian language also belongs to the Romance languages family, just like Italian.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Himaruya, Hidekaz. December 26-27, 2011. "クリスマス2011 – その3 [2011 Christmas – Page 3]" Japanese. English.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. November 18, 2014. "あばばば [Abababa]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Himaruya, Hidekaz. June 30, 2011. "学園ヘタリア 進め！新聞部！！ [Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!! ]" Axis Powers ヘタリア 4 [Hetalia: Axis Powers 4]. Gentosha. ISBN: 978-4-3448-2233-7(JPN), 978-1-5703-2150-4(ENG). English.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Himaruya, Hidekaz. April 18, 2016. "163話 [Chapter 163: Making His Claim Vehemently!]" ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars]. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. November 4, 2021. ヘタリア☆Collezione [Hetalia☆Collezione]. Page 118. Shueisha. ISBN: 978-4-0888-2870-1(JPN). English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. October 20, 2014. "古代ローマとドイツさん [Ancient Rome and Mr. Germany]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. October 22, 2014. "してきたんだわ [And this is what I’ve been doing.]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. January 25, 2024. "505話 [Chapter 505]" ヘタリア World☆Stars [Hetalia World☆Stars]. English.