Hetalia: Axis Powers

Hetalia: Axis Powers
Cover of the first manga volume featuring (from foreground to background): (North) Italy, Germany, and Japan
ヘタリア Axis Powers (Hetaria Akushisu Pawāzu)
Genre	Comedy, historical[1]
Manga
Written by	Hidekazu Himaruya
Published by	Gentosha
English publisher	NA: Tokyopop (2010–2011) Tokyopop and Right Stuf Inc. (2012–present)
Imprint	Birz Extra
Magazine	Comic Birz
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	2006 – 2013
Volumes	6
Manga
Hetalia: World Stars
Written by	Hidekaz Himaruya
Published by	Shueisha
Imprint	Jump Comics+
Magazine	Shōnen Jump+
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	September 22, 2014 – present
Volumes	8
Original net animation
Directed by	Bob Shirohata
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Released	January 24, 2009 – March 5, 2010
Runtime	5 minutes
Episodes	52 (List of episodes)
Original net animation
Hetalia: World Series
Directed by	Bob Shirohata
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Released	March 26, 2010 – February 21, 2011
Runtime	5 minutes
Episodes	48 (plus 4 OVAs) (List of episodes)
Anime film
Hetalia: Axis Powers – Paint it, White!
Directed by	Bob Shirohata
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Released	June 5, 2010
Runtime	77 minutes
Video game
Gakuen Hetalia Portable
Developer	Otomate
Publisher	Idea Factory
Genre	Adventure game, Slice-of-life
Platform	PlayStation Portable
Released	March 24, 2011
Original net animation
Hetalia: The Beautiful World
Directed by	Hiroshi Watanabe
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Released	January 25, 2013 – June 21, 2013
Runtime	5 minutes
Episodes	20 (List of episodes)
Original net animation
Hetalia: The World Twinkle
Directed by	Hiroshi Watanabe
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Released	July 3, 2015 – October 2, 2015
Runtime	5 minutes
Episodes	15
Original net animation
Hetalia: World Stars
Directed by	Hiroshi Watanabe
Written by	Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Released	April 1, 2021 – June 17, 2021
Episodes	12

Hetalia: Axis Powers (Japanese: ヘタリア Axis Powers, Hepburn: Hetaria Akushisu Pawāzu) is a Japanese webcomic written and illustrated by Hidekaz Himaruya. It was adapted as a manga series, which was serialized in Comic Birz from 2006 to 2013. An anime adaptation, produced by Studio Deen, premiered in 2009. The series' main presentation is as a comedic allegory of political and historic events as well as more general cultural comparisons. Characters are personifications of countries, regions, and micronations, with both positive and negative cultural stereotypes form part of each character's personality. Hetalia (ヘタリア) is a portmanteau combining hetare (ヘタレ, 'useless' or 'pathetic' in a cute or endearing way) and "Italia" (イタリア, Itaria, 'Italy').^[2]

The series started with a focus on World War II, although it has broadened beyond that. Most of the comics take place during other historical events, modern holidays, or at no specific time whatsoever. The manga and most recent season of the anime are titled Hetalia: World Stars.^[3] The series often uses satire and light-hearted comedy to reinterpret well-known events as well as less common historical and cultural trivia. Historical, political, economic, and military interaction between countries is generally represented in Hetalia as social interactions and misunderstandings between the characters.

Himaruya originally created Hetalia as a webcomic, and so far six tankōbon have been published by Gentosha Comics. The series was later adapted into drama CDs and an anime series produced by Studio Deen. Hetalia is very popular and has a cult following.