Axis Powers Hetalia

Axis Powers: Hetalia was created by Hetaria Akushisu. It began as a comic and was later adapted into a manga and an anime. The series is an allegorical interpretation of different events in history, whether it be political or otherwise, featuring the countries as actual people with personalities.

In general, the Hetalia crew is quite an interesting one. They all have their -slightly- racist quirks, which is what makes the series so special (and so epic!). For example, it pokes a lot of fun at Italy's cowardice- as the actual country has had a tendency to do a lot of surrendering in the past. Germany is cast as a bit of a bully, as most of the series takes place during WorldWars I and II. America is the young, overconfident self-proclaimed hero. It follows the world through thw two wars, as well as covering accounts beforehand- such as the Revolutionary War between America and his 'daddy', England- and afterward.

The anime is fun, bright, and colorful, full of hilarious 5-minute episodes. The animation is done well, and the English voice actors did just as well as the original Japanese cast had, in my opinion. There isn't much of a storyline between episodes- it's actually really random sometimes, and even though it's cute and silly, it can be confusing. At least, if you know aboslutely nothing about history! The good news is, this show happened to help me pass my last history test- no joke there! I don't think I'd ever have been able to remember who was part of the Axis Powers and who was part of the Allies if it weren't for Hetalia!

The manga is, sadly, no less confusing. In fact, I'd say it's a little more so. But the art is great, and the comedy is as fantastic as ever.

I haven't seen the Web comic, but I'm really satisfied with the manga and show, which I happen to rate in my top ten on both lists! I completely recommend the anime, though you may want to be careful when considering the manga.