And America took his hand ..
America’s Cleaning out of the Storage is probably the most popular strip of Hetalia out there. It’s not my favorite, but as an angst fan and Arthur lover, how can I possibly resist strip containing Arthur crying in pain?
I’m not a sadist, really.
(Or maybe it’s because I’m loyal to UKxJapan rather than USxUK)
APH 20
Segment 1 – How to use a Grenade
Germany: “Alright Italy, so this is how you use a grenade. You can do it, right?”
Italy: “Un! Looks simple enough!”
Germany: “Ow … Italy! Don’t throw it over-“
Germany: “OMGWTFBBQ!?”
(PS: BEST. FACE. OF. HETALIA. EVER.)
Italy: “Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ~”
Germany: “OMG ITALY THROW IT AWAY!! THROW IT AWAAAAY!”
Note to self: Italians are dangerous with grenades. Beware.
Segment 2 – Iggy’s wonderful inventions
Today on Hetalia TV we are selling our wonderful Iggy-Crack-an-Egg machine! He’s got thick eyebrows and a tsundere personality.
More importantly, you can use him to crack your boiled eggs cleanly! Is there anything more useful than that? Of course not! So buy him now with three easy payments of 9.99$! Order now and get free exchangeable eyebrows!
Iggy-Crack-an-Egg machines are selling like hotcakes so buy now before they run out!
Segment 3 – Iggy’s wonderful inventions pt.2
Oh! Oh! OH! It looks like DEEN has developed a new version to the Iggy-Crack-an-Egg machine! It’s called the Iggy-Crack-an-Egg-and-get-Free-Beer machine! How wonderful! How wonderful! How can one possibly resist free beer?
Order now for this wonderful egg crack + beer machine!You won’t find another machine like Iggy-Crack-an-Egg-and-get-Free-Beer machine anywhere else but on Hetalia TV! Plus, he’s great in bed! (This information is courtesy from a secret source who would prefer not to be named. I shall respect his wishes by remaining silent.)
Order now on Hetalia TV for a this wonderful addition to your Iggy-Crack-an-Egg-and-get-Free-Beer machine! If you order now, we will also add the a few Italian grenades completely free of charge!
(And no, this was not a request from our dear Ludwig in order to get rid of those dangerous “we don’t know when they’ll blow” grenades)
Segment 4 – “America no Souko Souji”
And now ladies and gents, I present what 99% of Hetalia fans have been awaiting to see: “America’s Cleaning out the Storage”
(I’m part of that 1% who was only looking forward to it because it’s simply another episode of Hetalia.)
Alfred does his “I want Freedom” speech and Iggy puts on his “Damnit, you are mine, bitch”-face. (And he also decides to grow a second pair of eyebrows under his ey- HOSHIT THEY’RE EYEBAGS!)
Iggy’s all sad and frustrated because his little brother/son wants to move out. Aah ~ Iggy was just much too doting of America. Anyone would feel cramped within Iggy’s “love”. It’s no wonder why Iggy’s ten times more tsundere now. (And thus all his little frustrations went to Canada afterwards. Thanks a lot America.)
The animation, the music and the voice acting was absolutely great in these scenes. Non-tan’s pained Iggy is just wonderful and nothing ever goes wrong with Konitan anyway.
(I am currently awaiting someone to announce they’re making a BLCD featuring Konitan and Non-tan. It’s going to happen … I know it is! Until then, there’s this.)
(Here’s a fun link for USxUK fans)
My only complaint is the script. Those with strong enough BL senses will realize that the undertone was greatly reduced. No seriously, why bother Studio Deen? It’s not like anyone’s going to flame you saying “OMG! WHY ARE YOU MAKING IT SEEM LIKE IGGY’S GAY FOR AMERICA!?” … Geez. I want my original Drama CD script back. (The lack of “I thought we’d always be together” line sort of frustrates me. A bit … a lot …)
Luckily, Non-tan’s and Konitan’s great voice acting managed to keep the emotion and drama needed for this scene. I kiss your feet Sugiyama-sama! Konishi-sama!
Then again, I take back any complaint every time I see Iggy charge for America shouting “I WON’T ACCEPT IT!” then falling to ground crying. Non-tan’s characters always cry such manly tears.
Here’s a request: Can someone take the Drama CD audio and combine it with the animation? Now that combination would definitely make something wonderful.
(One improvement in the anime is America’s pained face. Ah ~ I love my dramatic USxUK brotherly angst. UKxJapan is OTP in my mind after all)
Anime!Liet is so adorable, but that’s probably because Liet during his stay with America is ten times more moe than the usual Liet with Russia. That doesn’t change how much I love RussiaxLiet, though. Bloody Sunday turns out to be one of my favorite strips after all.
Can I get a KOLKOLKOLKOLKOLKOL?
Best. Extra Ever.
This compensates for not putting the strip where Iggy comes back to America only to find out that Alfred’s now taller than him. And speaking of which,
Alfred looks like a completely different person without Texas.
(A little late note: Konitan= Konishi Katsuyuki and Non-tan=Sugiyama Noriaki. I should get rid of my ‘use nicknames’ habit.)
What’s Next?
Hm. So what now? Yeah well, the list of things I want to animated isn’t getting shorter as the episodes go by. I mean gosh, how hard is it to animate at least one instance where Russia goes “KOLKOLKOLKOL!” anyway. I’ll forgive them if Russia’s character song has it, though … but that’s pretty far away. (I’ll also forgive them if we get the Evil Chair.)
I think the most important thing right now is the whole Chibitalia affair. Studio DEEN hasn’t much options with this. The fans need the conclusion. Either they take the comic strip as it is or comletely change it. The latter is bound to piss off a good 95% of the fans. The 5% who won’t be pissed are those who don’t find the appeal in HRE shota crush on Chibitalia (who he still doesn’t know is a guy). I’m with 95%. I want my kiss and “I’ve loved you since the 900s!” line.
Thinking it over again, there aren’t much strips I love that are anime material. The cute jokes and puns are the only ones that get in. The funniest jokes of Hetalia are all pretty NSFW after all; the one “What’s intercourse” thing between France and Italy, the one with Italy comparing his d*ck with Germany’s then weeping to Japan afterwards and the only about the origin of the Condom … just to name a few as examples.
Ah, there aren’t any chances of those getting in the anime is there? How sad.
(Most of my hopes lie within the Drama CDs. They have proven to have easier material to unleash my moe flames upon. In terms of material to laugh at though, the anime wins.)
Actually, the script followed the manga (with one slight change, England yelling “I won’t accept it” instead of America saying “Please accept it,” I think that was a nice touch). Nothing was reduced, it was the drama CD that *added* some more
ship teaselines. (They seem to like their US/UK fanservice, not that I mind. OTP, after all.)As for the strips the anime chooses to adapt, don’t forget that this was meant to be a TV broadcast. Maybe they’ll be bolder in the second season (and I hope they’ll animate the battle for America, too).