Hetalia: Axis Powers: Hetalia: World Series, Season 4

“The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again.” – George Miller.

So, another season of Hetalia, another collection of episodes of the historical comedy mocking the world, one stereotypical moe anthropomorphic personification of a country after another.

In this collection, England is captured and has to try to escape from Italy without being noticed; Germany puts Japan on a new diet, resulting in the over-polite nation forsaking his beloved fish in favour of tomatoes; we learn how the five Nordic states make the products they sell; Sealand tries to buy Iceland on eBay; and we see what the world would be like if it were run by cats (must be Greece’s idea of heaven).

We also learn how the countries of Europe were paranoid that the world would end in the year 1000; how Lithuania managed to become friends with Poland; and when Prussia discovered that the manly Hungary is actually a woman. This collection also features the debuts of three new characters, representing Belgium, the Netherlands, the Seychelles and Hong Kong.

As always with Hetalia, this is a series that divides people. Of course there is the subject of whether the series is politically incorrect. I personally do not think it is, because all the characters are treated the same, including Japan itself, so in the end it is all balanced. However, the thing that seems to get people annoyed is whether or not it is too “moe”. This puts a lot of people off it and I can understand why. Having said that I am pretty sure it is no longer the most “moe””series around, as this title seems to have now been taken by the fantasy series Dog Days, which features more animal-people than you can care to think of.

Concerning the DVD, Hetalia has always excelled in its selection of extras. For my money the best bit is the in-depth historical notes which cover just about every episode in great detail. This is something that all historical anime should have. Sengoku Basara is an example of an anime that could done with that. The series covers a period of history not really known in Britain, so for those us who do not know much of the era it would have been helpful.

Fans of the previous collections will no doubt find this to be just as good as the first three seasons, and with a fifth season in the pipeline they will have more to celebrate and mock soon.