The big news in Hetalia at the moment is that it’s been liscenced by Funimation (alongside Sacred Blacksmith, which nobody cares about). I’ll discuss that in more detail later on in the post but let me just start off with: About Bloody Time. Hetalia might sell just about enough to make up for the losses they will inevitably make with Sacred Blacksmith.
Pictures this week taken from Hyper Parfait because no site seems to want to list this as a DDL and I’m not capping pictures from Youtube anymore.
I dunno, maybe it’s because I’m in a bad mood or something, but this episode of Hetalia just did not interest me. Japan and America are just not that funny together. It seems like they should be though. Plenty of history between them, two conflicting personalities, it’s all a recipe for success and yet it rarely is. I can hardly blame this on Japan either because he providing the single moment I actually laughed at loud at Japans obsession with kawaii~~. Ah how the Japanese must have exploded at their first sight of rabbits. Before the rabbits invaded, the Japanese were the manliest nation on the planet. But then they showed the warriors rabbits and suddenly they all became girly men who liked cute things. In fact, Japanese men’s fascination with moe stems back to the introduction of rabbits into Japan.
CURSE YOU RABBITS. THIS MOE-CENTRIC BOOM IS YOUR FAULT!
*cough* yeah since I have nothing intelligent to say I’ll move onto the licence. Firstly I hope gg don’t receive a C&D notice. Not because the show won’t be subbed, because I’m sure there are some fangirls out there more than willing to translate Hetalia, but it’s because I don’t trust what they’d do with it. Sparkly writing anyone? Helpful translators notes that include lines like ‘kyaaaaa~’? Calling the countries by their ‘real names’? Yeah, I really don’t want that. The second point is the dub. Now I know there would be people out there really pissed off if they did this, but I would love a dub where they gave all the characters silly accents. Can you imagine how extra funny it would be for Japan to call England ‘Engrand’, or how much funnier France would sound if all his wooing of the other countries was done in an over-the-top french accent? Oh god, just thinking about some of those earlier scenes with silly accents is making me laugh.
This is the last we’ll see of Hetalia until sometime in late February. Most fans will despair. I, on the other hand, need the break. Maybe it’s just because I’m blogging the thing but that third season announcement drained me a bit. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that, although I think if some of the Hetalia fans grew any fonder of this show they would explode. Anywho, see you all in February and for a (hopefully Chibitalia free) third season of Hetalia 
35 Comments
Hmm… Yeah, this episode wasn’t that great. Defiantly better in the original strips.
But I dunno about fangirl subbing being all that bad compared to gg. On more than one occasion gg has completely changed the meaning of a sentence in their subs. It’s entirely possible that the general level of accuracy would stay the same. The real rabid (scary) fangirls also avoid translating for the most part so if that happened I figure we’d be fairly safe.
Either way I’m very happy that I’ll be able to buy the DVDs by the end of this year. (And I agree with you on the accents. That would make me OH SO HAPPY.)
Now, we just need to find out people who would do said dubbing ;D
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER FOR AUSTRIA PLZ
Hmm, I always like the strips better than the anime, personally…though, I’ve been behind for a season and a half, without plans to continue. The licensing basically killed my desire.
I think that anyone who is a good enough fan of this to want to translate it, would be smart enough to a) understand that “Kyaaa~” is not an acceptable footnote and b) Could take it as a suggestion.
Personally, I think an accented dub would be annoying.
I don’t exactly think fangirls who understand enough Japanese to translate would be stupid enough to add “kyaa~” For the most part, the fans I see are pretty mature…
Personally, I wouldn’t mind a dub as long as Vic Mangina gets to screw up all the roles (there’s no use complaining about him dubbing someone, because he’s everywhere) or 4Kids dubs it and we’ll have hilariously censored footage.
Best part of this episode was the bunny. It still lacked bunnies. Need more bunnies. Manga had more bunnies. MANRY MEN LOVE BUNNIES.
–shot–
Hmmm…I for one completely love the voices that the characters have already…and I can’t really imagine anyone contesting my lovely Russia’s voice. No. NEVAR. So I kinda want the discs to be all in subs. Hey…and maybe they can get the tankobon licensed here, too? *hopefully*
@luffyluffy: Tho, yes, I can totally see Austria pointing a sword at Gilbo (who has just stolen the lovely Silesia! Oh noes!) And saying that immortal line; ‘I’ll be back!’
Austria:…-shoots–
This REALLY needs over-the-top accents.
No Vic, please.
If they MUST, then make him… Bulgaria or something.
…You know what, forget that. If he’s there I want to see him TRY to deny the homo. Oh lol.
As everyone says:
Stephen Colbert as America
and Jon Steward as Canada
ffffffff
/useless comments
Many of the translators for Hetalia are pretty reliable and I doubt they would do that. Why would anyone ever get it in their minds to use their human names anyway? That’s never happened in a translation, and many nations don’t even have one (assuming that’s what you meant by ‘real’ names?). Considering how much gg doesn’t care about Hetalia’s translation another translation might benefit it. I trust fangirls more so than gg regarding Hetalia right now (and I normally like gg).
Also, about your comment on the accents, your comment is pretty much what most people have been hoping. Everyone wants silly accents. I think more people would be disappointed if there were no silly accents. I think it’ll be perfect for some characters and very strange-sounding on others, but I guess that depends on how thick they make the accents sound. It would be a crime to not give England an accent. Thinking about what accent they’ll give Canada kind of worries me, though.
Also, I’m hoping for more Chibitalia. I still want to see the strip where Chibitalia kicks Turkey in the face, although that one’s seperate from all the others…
Owh, i get it now, that’s why every time i see on a japan magazine library forums, there’s always bunnies! (cute lil’ moe bunny and stuff)
And one last thing, is Chibitalia really end?
I’m quite sure that’s already FINISH… or maybe not on 3rd season?
Don’t they already have accents to begin with? I’m not very sure because it’s in Japanese… but I can kinda here accented Japanese sometimes. Maybe that’s just me and my weird hearing.
Well, I’m a little against adding over-the-top accents to the dub, since it might be funny at first but grow annoying later on. I don’t know, though. I guess we’ll have to see.
And America should have multiple accents.
Well, I’m kinda torn on accents. I dont want to see them /too/ thick.. ya know? I want to see the dub be taken seriously too!
… Then again, this is Hetalia.
.… Germany better not sound like a Nazi from Indiana Jones…
.…. I want Crispin Freeman to voice him <:3
I really hope gg doesn’t stop the subs. Excluding a few moments (“I sound like a fag!”) They’ve been awesome to us fans.
Well at least from what I’ve seen.
I have varying opinions on the licensing. I’m also easily influenced by others, so I can see what everyone’s pros and cons are. This leaves me with no opinion, because I never want to be biased toward a ‘side’. But, I am happy that hetalia is getting recognized. Maybe it’ll help more people loosen up.
Guess it’s just a wait and see sort of situation.
You lot may scoff at the idea of ‘helpful’ translater notes but it does happen. I’ve seen kyaaa~ before, although it was on a manga (I think it may have been Pandora Hearts although don’t quote me on that) but even on anime fansubes I’ve seen things like ‘hur hur, he was masturbating orz’. I trust gg because I’ve seen their work before. I’m less trusting of random group because you have no idea how they might translate it. BTW I don’t think it’s a worry because you would think if Funi were to hand out a C&D they’d have done it by now. But do remember there are thick translaters out there.
@Siri
if gg mess about with a sentance I rarely notice anyway because I don’t know Japanese (at least, nothing beyond weeaboo level). So long as the sentance in coherant then I quite often don’t mind what the original was meant to be. I have, and always will be until I learn Japanese, at the mercy of those who translate.
@mefloraine
Anime > Manga in everything. Mwahahaha, go my biased views, go!
@Kiseki
Just becasue someone is bilingual doesn’t mean they can’t still be an idiot.
@ksfwolfe
OK, that would be absolutely hilarious. Everything gets funnier when you add on a funny accent
@heyheyho
This hate for Vic I’ve seen before. Something about the guy being homophobic or something? Anyone willing to explain this to me?
@fable
Yeah when you consider how many accents are in the one country you wonder which version of the accent they’d use. Take England, if you were to use the stereotypical posh english accent it mightn’t work so well because England is never portrayed as that in Hetalia. Neither would the drrrraaaawwwwl of Texan America because he’s portrayed as hyperactive. Tough choice for Funi
@Faye9617
I bloody hope it’s finished. I think I made it rather clear by this stage how…annoyed I would be if they re-appeared (understatement)
@Elysium
I know China certainly has an strong accent but that’s probably easy because Japanese know all too well what a Chinese speaking Japanese sounds like. As for getting annoying, it depends how well they do the accents. Maybe going too OTT would get annoying. We’ll have to wait and see I guess
@luffyluffy
Yeah, the more I read the more torn I get. No dub would be horrible though and probably put me off buying the series at all. Whoever dubs it I’m sure will have mountains of fun though.
@apollo pompano
gg’s work has generally been pretty damn good on Hetalia, but yeah, there’s been a few times where I’ve thought ‘the character didn’t actually say that…did he?’. As for loosening people up, I can bet you anything there will be some extra buthurt folks who can’t take the joke, maybe even the same people as before, kicking up a fuss when the reviews on ANN come out.
TONS of people got super angry about the dub, but I’m actually pretty excited about it for the same reason = ridiculous accents! That’ll just make everything WAAAAAAY funnier and I totally can’t wait. My only fear is that Vic M. is going to play America (ohpleasegodno). That’s it. Other than that, go at it FUNi!
And yes Scamp, to answer your question, Vic is a total and complete anti-yaoi crusading homophobe. He even holds panels and crap on it at major coventions, and gets angry anytime someone INSINUATES that so and so might be gay for so and so. He’s insulted entire fanbases which.… is not how you get popular xD;; Don’t get me wrong, yaoi fangirls can be annoying, stupid, and over the top (something that I can say because I am one and try my best to not be like any of them in any way;;;) but insulting them and their opinion openly and in their face is not the way to go. Especially with shows like this, where there are obvious homosexual insinuations (in this case for comedic effect or just trying to be cute); you need to be more poliet to your fandom, or they’ll stop supporting American releases because ‘they’re all jerks’ and FUNi will loose big $$$
Wow… I actually like Vic… He did Edward Elric, didnt he?
Yes, I know, just saying that most of the ones that I see are the more mature ones of the fandom.
i agree, i wasnt terribly thrilled with this episode. in fact i paused the anime to watch something else, even though this is only 5 min. usually i love america but i guess him and japan dont make the explosive mix i was expecting ;/
i would love silly accents in the english dub! they shouldnt be too stereotypical and over the top, though. i would definitely miss germany’s voice, though D: that would be hard to replace ;(
LMAO @ heyheyho’s suggestion to make stephen colbert voice america. that would be beyond perfect. too bad it will probably never ever happen ;_;
weird…i never heard of vic mogwhatever being a homophobe. the footage i’ve seen of him in cons make him appear.…suspiciously effeminate-ish? and a stalker of male internet celebrities…lol o___o
Is that so? But i’m still curious about Holy Roman Empire tough…
Many people say there’s a rumor that Holy Roman Empire is Germany… 0___0 *Shocked*
@kunikochan
OK, the Vic is a homophobe is something I’m going to stay out of. I’ve done a quick google search and found some angry people on both sides. Learn something new everyday I guess
@gw_kimmy
ZOMG, someone discussing the actual episode! Just kidding, it’s just the episode was so dull everyone just went straight into discussing the merits of a dub and people reacting to my comment of dumb fansubbers
Aw, I liked this episode.
America wanting to reassure Japan that he’d be okay out in the world after coming out of isolation, and throwing the table’s “answer” so Japan would be reassured… that was sweet.
I’m glad (and surprised, frankly) that Funimation (or anyone) picked Hetalia up for licensing. The weird five minute-episode format, along with the general controversy over a WWII-centric comedy coming from the Axis perspective… well. I shudder to think at what an English dub is going to sound like, though.
I LOVE BOTH DUB SUGGESTIONS: ARNOLD S. AS AUSTRIA, AND STEPHEN C. AS AMERICA ♥ ♥ ♥
@Scamp: Yeah that’s for sure the way to go. Generally I stay out of this kind of thing too (especially since I’m more of a subs kinda person than a dub; dubs are fun and all, just for curiosity, but after that I really don’t care :/) but I was just answering your question. I don’t hate Vic; I think he’s a talented voiceactor that made a wonderful Tamaki and Ed Eltric, but it’s just… he’s in EVERYTHING FUNi does, and that gets a bit annoying. Plus his voice just… wouldn’t fit America at all so I’m really hoping he isn’t casted as such, even though I know that’s probably going to be the case Dx Oh well, guess we’ll just have to wait and see~
@Luffyluffy: suprised me too, and yes he did. Again, I don’t hate the guy (sometimes those fangirls DO need to be put into their place) but he can go a bit overboard too. Oh well.…
@Faye9617: Well historically yes, because the HRE (under Austria) were Germanic states that ended up becoming what is now Germany (and what was parts of Prussia) :/
@Jan Suzukawa
Hey, you’re back! I was wondering where you’d gone. Hetalia is indeed a bit of an awkward title to pick up but at the same time it’s hot property. If it was the other way around and Sacred Blacksmith was 5min per episode and could be taken the wrong way I dare say they mightn’t have picked it up.
@kunikochan
I love a dub when it adds something different, which mainly comes down to accents. That’s why I’d love to see some bizarre dub for Hetalia. Also, I think Hetalia could find an audience outside traditional anime circles. Consider how many people watch very little anime and are Hetalia fans
Exactly, because it makes something old, new if that makes any since, and makes you wanna see it even though you already have. And true, I see your point. Though I was already an anime fan, I got into it because of my love of history and not because of my love of anime xD
Though to be honest, a dub is a huuuuuge concern of mine. With it coming to the U.S., all those Narutards and stupid-fangirls that drive you crazy with their bad grammar will get into the show, and the fandom will lose one it’s best traits; it’s intellegence. The fans of Hetalia are so willing to learn, and actually go around searching Wikipedia to understand it’s history, or asking an international fan about their life in their home country. I’ve met several people from many different countries thanks to Hetalia, and I’m VERY afraid that this love of learning or open-ness to world cultures will be lost once it comes to America officially, especially with a dub. Oh well.…
And yet Vic doesn’t mind doing yaoi fanservice in his Ed voice. XD
“Colonel Roy Mustang looks dead sexy– in a miniskirt.” (I bet no one remembers this line)
And I reappear after not commenting! …I’m happy to hear it’s going to be dubbed! Though like quite a lot of people, I hope they do accents. If they don’t then… one angry fangirl. There wasn’t much I enjoyed about this episode either, apart from America’s face that’s one of your screencaps. And the bunnies. Always the bunnies.
If they do the dubbing responcibly, it could easily end up like the dub of Baccano.
Roma– Firo had me fangirling for days after his accent~
@kunikochan
I think you might be giving Hetalia fans a bit more credit than they deserve. Even so, getting more people to watch Hetalia can only be a good thing and I doubt the historical aspect will be lost. OK, there may be one or two dopes who will now think that all Ukrainians have massive boobs but at least they know Ukraine exists now.
@blogger
Teh bunnies!
(intelligent reply FTW)
@Everyone
OMG, my comment count is back to what it was like back on Bokutachi! For some reason I thought people would stop reading me when I changed so you all have my huge thanks to still reading me. Hope to see you lot back again when the new season starts
Augh, I’m so late on this one! But anyways, I guess I’ll talk about some of the things I’m thinking about after this show.
I was pretty unhappy that I waited an extra week(or so) for this episode when it didn’t even make me laugh or smile…I did get some of the historical context out of it, but not as much as I had hoped.…(you could have thrown a few dates in there at least, Deen!) The only part I actually smiled at was when America was partying with his colleges and someone shouted ‘Let’s drink this cheap beer we bought!’ or something like that…the other part was the part about the guinea pig, haha.
I know there is a fanbase for America/Japan (which is usually okay for me; it’s at least historical…somewhat), which definitely isn’t my ship, but I’m sure that all those America/Japan folks out there have been happy with these last few episodes…but I’m hoping that it will get off this track, which has been overly displeasing to me. :\ (May I suggest finishing the whole Germany/Russia pact?!)
Okay, for the whole subbing/dubbing issue you guys have been discussing…well, I’ll try and hop in with my limited knowledge.
I definitely share your concerns on fangirl subbing if GG did stop/quit/whatever. A sensible fangirl would be fantastic should they stop, but hey; we can all make mistakes. Of course, if someone really terrible did take the job, than I’m sure they would be shot down by the angry bilingual fans who spread the word that they mistranslated half the worlds. Or the angry fans who are angry about those annoying little footnotes and the such.
On the subject of dubbing, I kind of share the same opinion as kunikochan.…I’m worried about Hetalia losing everything it had built when it comes over to America…and I’m hoping to the gods that it won’t be by Warner Bros or whatever.…W4? Augh, well hopefully you know what I mean.…(Kids4? 4Kids? It’s been so long since I watched a show on that station that I can’t remember…) I mean, when they did Pokemon, they actually didn’t do some of the original episodes/took them off the air…and some of them I could kind of understand…like the Porygon episode that gave half the kids seizers(sp).…but like they took off one episode called The Tower of Doom or something because of post 9–11…and they didn’t want the title.…
No, no.…having Warner-er, 4Kids, or whatever doing Hetalia would not be good. :\
As for voice dubbings…I’m sorry Stephan Colbert…as much as I love you, I can’t see you as being America. *sob* And Arnold as Austria? .….:\ I don’t know what that would do to my beloved Austria.….but I don’t know enough actors that I could suggest anyone; sorry.
Heh, this will probably be long. XD
Oh man seeing the Vic hate in the main comm made me D:
Thank goodness for YouTube, and the person who made this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIiNAZngVcQ
Honestly though the fandom itself is huge, if the new fans that would come from the dubbed series gets educated with other countries cultures and a sense of history while they’re at it, then I think it should be celebrated.
Oh, I won’t deny that Hetalia has it’s fair share of morons, because it does, but I’m just saying that the fandom is pretty contained abeit it’s massive size, so there isn’t a bunch of crap and drama all the time like in most fandoms. And yes, there are LOADS of fangirls for Hetalia, but most of them are a bit more intellegent than average and are aware that no, the Polish aren’t in love with ponies and Ukranians don’t have big boobs and, believe it or not, not all English believe in/see fairies. But I dunno, I’m just… I’m just wary of what’ll happen :/
@Humanity_cat: Actually the dubbing this was kind of a joke, I mean, just IMAGINE Arnold as Austria?? That… would never work xD
@Randomanon: That’s what I’m really hoping will happen; that people will do just as they did when it came out in the first place and try and learn about history and other cultures rather than just staying ignorant and, well you get the idea xD;;
BTW, Scamp, since you’ve been looking at Hetalia MADs you should check this ASAP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EIob4sFN6s
YouTube keeps deleting this gem, so I hope you get a look of it.
That was even better animated than the anime itself!
Holy shit it was! I’d kept seeing screencaps of it, but… damn o-o
When are they gonna make Russia’s heart fall out? I always found America’s reaction to this Funny in the comics.… srsly…
also, you think Funimation would make more of the Darker!Russia comic strips into episodes. Japan Hates Russia after all (Sakhalin Island Anyone?) and you think they would jump at the chance to portray Russia in a darker light.
I hope we can raise enough money to help japan.
We’re making Cranes at my school to raise money. Poor Japan.
sites.google.com/site/cranesofhope1000wishesforjapan
earthprincesseva.deviantart.com