Germany (ドイツ, Doitsu) is a main character in the series Hetalia. He is the personification of Germany.
In 2007, Himaruya gave out human names to some of the characters and he received the name Ludwig (ルートヴィッヒ, Rūtovihhi).
Physical Appearance
Chibi Germany from from Axis Powers Volume 4
Germany is a tall, muscular young man with a broad, tall build at 180cm, blond slicked back hair and light blue rectangular eyes with small pupils.
The Axis Powers Volume 5 special booklet[6] states that he has been designed to have a face with more personality that differs from the usual handsome ideal, and puts a lot of effort into grooming his hair. He is also described to have particularly muscular thighs.
Similarly, a blog post from 2011,[7] ranks him in the "solidly built" category alongside Greece.
Personality
General: Germany is known for being very serious and straightforward majority of the time. He usually does not joke around, usually being all business, and is very efficient in his everyday life. Although he comes off as intimidating to others, Germany has been shown to be helpful to others.
Training: Germany can often be seen doing different forms of physical training and mental strategizing. He takes his physical training seriously, anything from cardio to weight lifting, and has used these same principals on others, such as Italy and Japan, with mixed results.
When thinking of strategies, Germany will look into a variety of things that will help him formulate the best course of action; taking into consideration others personalities, ways of thinking, previous battle history, current military/country strength and power, and other things.
Germany especially takes his weapons training seriously. Being skilled in firearms, he knows his weapons well and the proper way to use and maintain them. He has even instructed Italy how to use a grenade, but the other country did things the opposite of how instructed.
Leadership: Germany is usually looked at as the head of the Axis group due to being bolder and being heavily involved with his military and keeping up to date with current military tactics and events. He is usually the one training others in combat and strategy and will lead meetings if necessary. Germany also believes in leading by example and had once given up drinking beer in order to encourage Japan to take his diet seriously.
Cleanliness: Germany is a well-known neat freak, needing to keep things clean and in proper order at all times. He is especially particular in keeping his clothing and house in order, having been seen properly folding his uniform before working out and even going behind Italy to keep his kitchen clean while he was cooking.
Hobbies: Some of his hobbies include making sweets, reading, and walking his dogs. Although he keeps it secret that he likes to bake cakes, he does not hide that he greatly cares for his pets. He can often be seen reading anything that catches his interest or to better understand something he is not familiar with, such as the behavior of Italians.
Private interests: Mainly revealed through Italy's frightened gushing, Germany has quite an interest in sexual activities that he tries to keep hidden. Italy also claims that Germany has interests that would surprise most others if they knew of them.
Friendships: Because of his personality and intimidating appearance, Germany has a difficult time making friends. He is noted to have not either have the time or social skills to approach others in hopes of getting acquainted until he met Italy. He was implied through his journal to have been somewhat bothered by this and had described that Italy was the first/only friend he had.
However, when he does make a genuine friendship with someone, he is incredibly loyal and supportive of that person. He will often jump in to help with several situations and will gratefully accept their help when offered.
Family: Germany has several family members that are noticeably different than himself in terms of personality and country strength. Although he is younger than many of his relatives, he appears to be one of, if not the, strongest and most stable. These differences can be seen when he is around Prussia or Austria. Germany can be seen supporting the two because of delicacies or instability.
Biography
Holy Roman Empire
- Main article: Holy Roman Empire
Despite early media being too vague to confirm whether or not Holy Roman Empire and Germany are one and the same, recent strips have strongly implied that it is the case. For extensive information, see Rumors and Misconceptions.
German Empire
WWI
WWII
Modern Era
Relationships
- Italy: Germany and Italy are virtual opposites in terms of personalities which is a constant annoyance to Germany as he often has to bail Italy out of his situations. He often puts Italy through rigorous physical and mental training in hopes of making him stronger but appears to see that Italy does not retain much of the training.
Although he is often highly annoyed by Italy's impulsive behavior, Germany had written in his journal that Italy was his first and only friend at one point. Possibly from this written admission, Germany will put up with Italy's excitable yet lazy behavior.
- Japan: The last member to join the Axis alliance, Japan had known Germany for some time (as depicted in the original strips), although Germany said he can never tell what Japan has in mind. Germany appears to admire many things about Japan as he is very much like Germany in many ways, such as his work ethics and punctuality. When Japan had expressed concern about his health regarding his age and diet, Germany took it upon himself to help Japan get better and went to the length of giving up his beloved beer in order to set an example and inspire Japan to stick to his goal.
- Austria: Austria and Germany were allies in both World Wars and lived together for a while during that time. Austria gives him advice during his confusion over Italy in the Valentine's Day strips. They appear to be very close, although Austria annoys Germany at times with his high maintenance behavior and tendencies to treat Germany like a servant.
- Prussia: Germany's older brother and drinking buddy, who often refers to Germany as "West". Germany is often annoyed by many things Prussia says or does but is not afraid to physically restrain or hit him if he feels necessary. That said, Germany still cares about his brother and will often look out for him or join him on missions, such as when they infiltrated an American camp.
In The Anime
Germany in The Weirdos・Part 1
Germany first appears in the "Meeting Of The World" segment in Episode 01, where he orders everyone to stop arguing and present data if they want to make a statement. Later in the same episode, the anime skips back to WWI as he finds an abandoned tomato crate in the woods, setting the events of the main Hetalia storyline into motion.
Germany's SS uniform color is changed from dark green to teal for the anime adaptation, and the Knight's Cross is absent from his design. His WWI uniform was changed from gray-blue to green as well, though in the Axis training sequences, Germany is briefly shown wearing the green version of his WWII SS uniform.
Name
Germany is notable for being the only character with a human name who was not given a surname.[1] Hidekaz Himaruya, in his original listing of the names, stated that there was a reason he did so and that fans would eventually find out. As the human names and most references to them were later discarded, it appears that this is moot.[citation needed]
However, the name Ludwig used to be a very common name that happens to have been shared by various German historical figures, most notably Ludwig II of Bavaria and Ludwig Van Beethoven, and it can be translated to "famous warrior".
Songs
Anime Ending Themes
- "Marukaite Chikyuu (Germany)"
- "Wa! Wa!! World Ondo" (featured)
- "Hatafutte Parade (Germany)"
- "Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (Germany)"
- "German☆Jet"
Character Image Songs
- "Germany's Anthem (I Am German-Made)"
- "Einsamkeit"
- "Vorwärts Marsch!"
- "Ich Liebe..."
- "Pukapuka☆Vacation" (featured)
- "Steady Rhythmus"
- "Prost at the Fest!"
Other Songs
- "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (featured)
- "Gakuen☆Festa" (featured)
Trivia
- In the original webcomic artwork, most notably in the World War-era strips, Germany was represented with the Nazi German Reichskriegsflagge (due to the setting of the comic). Later-era strips and artwork used the more modern flag, while the Reichskriegsflagge was done away with in later media adaptations of the series.
- Germany's three dogs went unnamed for some time in canon, until the second Character CD revealed their names to be Blackie, Berlitz, and Aster.
- His efficient and perfectionist personality is a reference to the German culture of cleanliness and tidiness. Italy revealing that Germany likes BDSM is a reference to the fact that German pornography is often very hardcore and kinky compared to most porn, and that an unusual amount of scat porn is exported from Germany.
- It has been said that Germany was based on a German friend of Hidekaz Himaruya.
- According to Himaruya, the personification of Germany was the hardest to finalize as he had little experience of drawing foreigners at the time. Germany was originally intended to be a moodier, more intimidating character and was initially depicted with a much larger nose and a rougher appearance.
- It is hinted obliquely, but not yet confirmed, that Germany may be the Holy Roman Empire, having lost his childhood memories.
- Most of the hints stem from the incredibly similar appearances Germany and HRE share.
Notes
- ↑ Prussia refers to Germany as "West". He also became East Germany/GDR after World War II, meaning that Germany was West Germany/FRG.
- ↑ This has never been directly stated by Himaruya. However, the facts that Germany and Holy Roman Empire were deliberately designed to look very similar (especially when comparing Holy Rome before his "death" to Germany when he was just "born"—they are indistinguishable), Himaruya said that Germany was not born as a baby like other nations and in fact had a "preexisting body", Germany blacking out and seeing memories of Chibitalia at the end of the Buon San Valentino comic, and numerous other things make it almost certain that Himaruya has intended that Germany was Holy Rome. However, it is unknown if Germany remembers this period of his life fully or at all.
- ↑ Himaruya purposely never gave him a surname, but most fans tend to use the same surname as Prussia, Beilschmidt.
- ↑ Most notably towards Veneziano (there are several examples of this, with the most well known being during the Buon San Valentino comics).
- ↑ In the official bios in Hetalia: Axis Powers Volume 1 and Volume 2 where birthdays were listed, Germany's was stated as "Unknown". However, in the cited blog post, Himaruya stated that Unity Day seemed to be the best day for his birthday. Unity Day celebrates the reunification of West and East Germany in 1990. Click here for more information. However, it is possible Himaruya was referring to some a different Unity/Unification day.
- ↑ It should be noted there have been multiple other instances where Germania was referred to as Germany's father and others where he has been referred to as Germany's grandfather.
- ↑ The German States, such as Saxony, Bavaria, and Hesse.
- ↑ This is not stated on Germany's profile, however it is said on Austria's that Germany and Prussia are his cousins, so the reverse is also true.
- ↑ Their exact breeds have never been stated, but the dogs which appear on Germany's CD Vol. 2 cover appear to be a German Shepherd and a blonde Hovawart. It was stated in Hetalia: Axis Powers Volume 5 that the yellow/blonde dog is Berlitz (who is also male). The third dog has never been seen in color or even definitively identified. This blog post (Japanese; English), seems to depict the third dog, which could possibly be a dachshund due to its ears and small size. There is also a trading card with Germany and two other dogs (a mother and puppy) that appear to be harlequin pattern Great Danes, though it is unknown if these are unnamed additional dogs, or if the mother is in fact Germany's third dog, or if they even belong to Germany at all.
- ↑ These are both plants that have been associated with Germany. The oak tree is the national tree of Germany and has been associated with German identity for over 200 years. Centaurea is the scientific name for the genus that the species cornflowers(Centaurea cyanus) are a part of. Cornflowers were used as a symbol of Germany since the 1800s, however it has fallen out of favor in more recent years due to being used by some far right groups in Germany and Austria (however, it is likely Himaruya was not aware of this information, as it is not mentioned on the Japanese Wikipedia page for cornflowers, and several other sites still list it as "the national flower of Germany"). Click here and here for more information.
- ↑ Also known as Black Forest Cake/Gateau, this is a German chocolate and cream sponge cake with a rich cherry filling. Click here for more information.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Himaruya, Hidekaz. May 2007. "Old Blog 2007/05". Japanese. English (partial translation).
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. October 2006. "Old Blog 2006/10". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. December 10, 2008. "ヘタリアと愉快な仲間たち [Hetalia and Funny Friends]" Axis Powers ヘタリア 2 [Hetalia: Axis Powers 2]. Page 14. Gentosha. ISBN: 978-4-3448-1514-8(JPN), 978-1-4278-1887-4(ENG). English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. May 4, 2008. "やること [From things to do]". Japanese. English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. November 4, 2021. ヘタリア☆Collezione [Hetalia☆Collezione]. Page 92. Shueisha. ISBN: 978-4-0888-2870-1(JPN). English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. July 31, 2012. Axis Powers ヘタリア 5 [Hetalia: Axis Powers 5]. Page 6. Gentosha. ISBN: 978-4-344-82563-5(JPN), 978-1-5703-2151-1(ENG). English.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz. July 30, 2011. "ベラルーシさんとウクライナさんの軍服バージョン [Belarus & Ukraine military uniform versions]" Japanese. English.
