Thoughts on the Chibitalia Scene in Hetalia: Axis Powers Episode 1

The Chibitalia scene introduces us to some of the Hetalia characters in their chibi forms, which should be pretty cute but isn’t really all that nice. What's there to like and dislike about this scene?  

Chibitalia scene in Hetalia: Axis Powers

The Chibitalia scene happens right after the World War I scene in season 1, episode 1 of the Hetalia: Axis Powers (#ad) anime and manga series by Hidekaz Himaruya. This is the last scene that happens before episode 1 ends.

Scene changes in Hetalia episode 1

The scene changes in this particular episode have gone from ridiculous to completely ridiculous. Seriously. Totally not amused at all. Look at this:

1. First, we were in the future with the world meeting scene
2. Second, we were brought to the ancient past with the Roman Empire scene
3. Third, we go to what is presumably the present with the World War 1 scene
4. Fourth, we are taken to the past with the Chibitalia scene

What’s up with that? Where’s the chronological order and what’s with all the scene changes?

Chibitalia Characters

In the Chibitalia scene, we see some of the characters as chibi. They should have looked cute and, well, they sort-of are, but not really. 

They have the potential to look really cute once the art improves because, as usual, the quality of the Hetalia art in this episode leaves much to be desired. But I’ve seen cuter chibi versions of the Hetalia characters so it is possible for all of them to look cute.

Chibi Italy

We are directly introduced to North Italy who tells us about his Big Brother France and another big brother who isn’t named yet.

We see him standing with a blond guy (not France, someone else. We see Italy in-between France and this other blond kid) and I'm actually not sure who this guy is. Is that Finland or the Holy Roman Empire or someone else entirely? Do you know who that other person is?  

Some confusing parts in the Chibitalia scene

• We are told that Italy used to live with some of the other countries, which seems to imply that he was once a part of the Holy Roman Empire
• Then, he was suddenly taken away by his grandfather, who was apparently the Roman Empire
• Why did Italy’s grandfather take him away? Why did he suddenly go back to seeing France and the Holy Roman Empire?

Unanswered questions in Chibitalia scene

All these questions aren’t answered in the Chibitalia scene. A lot of this probably has basis in history but that shouldn’t mean that Hetalia shouldn’t make things clearer for its audience especially for those who may not be all that well-versed in world history or for those who might find this stuff interesting but who don’t have much time to research these things.

Conclusion

So, what about you? What do you think about the Chibitalia scene in the Hetalia: Axis Powers anime? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging this post.

Notes:

• pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
• originally published on my Hetalia Archives blog on May 26th, 2015 5:04:14am