Before and after watching Hetalia episode 22, please brush your teeth thoroughly or else cavities may ensue.
Spain already appeared in the "German Simulator" sketch, but this is the first time he's actually said more than one word. Honestly, I think his voice isn't really very good- it's marginally better when he's being silly, but he just sounds too generic compared to the other characters. Even so, I'm hoping that Boss Spain's Control of South Italy makes it into the anime, just because it was the chapter that made Romano my favourite character.
"Good morning, Holy Roman!"
asdfhqwhgads I have to go floss my teeth now. Thanks, Chibitalia.
(I may have to get one of those record-your-own-alarm clocks just for the purpose of waking up to Chibitalia's dulcet tones each morning.)
Congratulations, Holy Roman Empire! Your grasp of logic is officially more sound than Mayuri's. We would give you a trophy, but it didn't break.
Is it just me, or has Holy Roman Empire gotten a lot cuter in this episode? Seriously. The delivery of his goodbye is every bit as cute as Chibitalia's usual antics. I'm amazed. Could it be that there was an accident like the meltdown at Three Mile Island, except instead of leaking radioactive material it leaked cuteness, and the cast as a whole suffered nonfatal cuteness poisoning? That must be it.
Nng. I'm about to go into insulin withdrawal now. The sad music is not helping.
Even so, I noticed something through my moe-induced haze. Compare this shot to the original manga panel. One of the floating memories in the original is of Holy Roman leaving his own dinner so that Italy can eat it instead. I really liked the inclusion of that, since it meant that Chibitalia wasn't totally ignorant of Holy Roman Empire's kindness. Unfortunately, that's completely gone from the anime version, for no apparent reason. HRE's equivalent shot was left almost entirely as it was, so I can't help but wonder why this was done.
The cuteness of this part was a little spoiled because I was laughing too hard at the broadcasting standards. In the original webmanga, Chibitalia hands over his knickers, not a random broom. (I love the little background doodle when Holy Roman accepts them- it's a set of scales with "shame" on one side and "Italy's Panties" on the heavier side.) This is one alteration I can fully understand, but it's still pretty amusing.
At the very least, this makes the whole thing a little less silly and random, so it might be a change for the better.
Oh my good golly. They used an orchestral version of Chibitalia's Theme for the confession scene. That...that is all right, I'll tell you what.
And so Holy Roman Empire entered a long, long war.
Despite any problems I may have reported with the Chibitalia plotline, it was all worth it for one scene. This scene. This is the most important sequence in the entire chapter, and it came out every bit as tearjerking and adorable as the original, if not more (the music was what killed me). Even the very, very end, the part that had me most worried, is perfect. The music stopping, the bleak white background, perfect. HRE popping up after the credits to play with the broom was random, but cute enough that I don't really care. The Chibitalia finale earns my stamp of approval. Now to go find some fluoride.
Feature: 06/22/09 | Posted By: Tally Solleni | 0 comments | Hetalia: Axis Powers
