Axis Powers Hetalia/Socialism and Salted Herring

Socialism and Salted Herring

 * Big Fancy House: In the manga, the Nordics gathered for lunch and Iceland's "announcement" in a house that looked pretty average-sized. In the anime, said house is much bigger. Who it belongs to is unknown.
 * Five-Man Band: Some fans apply these dynamics to the Nordics:
 * The Hero: Finland (Nordic-centered strips are often from his POV)
 * The Lancer: Sweden (Finland's husband, er, partner)
 * The Big Guy: Denmark (Boisterous Bruiser, with an axe as his Weapon of Choice)
 * The Smart Guy: Norway (Deadpan Snarker, can see spirits, gives Denmark snark and concrit)
 * The Chick: Iceland (The younger of the Nordics, barring Sealand. This might change, of course)
 * Tagalong Kid: Sealand (Sweden's "adoptive child"), also Ladonia.
 * Team Pet: Iceland's puffin and Hana-Tamago!
 * Ghost Pirate: They dressed as ghost pirates for Hetaween 2011.
 * Huge Guy Tiny ...Other Guy: Sweden is at least 12 in. taller than his partner, Finland.
 * Non-Human Sidekick: Finland and Sweden share their pet dog Hana-tamago.
 * Not to mention Iceland's puffin or Norway's faeries and nisse.
 * Noodle Incident: The Nordics had their 6781st meeting in a random strange place during the Hetalia Bloodbath 2010.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Denmark and Sweden, respectively, get this a lot in Fanon. What has been seen of Denmark in the official strips has done nothing to joss it.
 * Savvy Tall Guy, Energetic Short Guy: Arguably, Sweden and Finland.
 * Inverted as Savvy Short Guy, Energetic Tall Guy in the case of Norway and Denmark.
 * Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Applies to Sweden and Finland, although Sweden could actually fall under both.
 * He Is Not My Husband: Sweden calls Finland his wife. Finland does not like it at all.
 * Stockholm Syndrome: A possible and quite cynical take on Sweden and Finland's relationship. Somewhat subverted due to Sweden's Gentle Giant nature, which is quite a bit different from the standard captors.
 * Others speculate that it actually goes both ways...
 * A Match Made In Moss: A subverted case of Stockholm and Lima with Norway and Sweden respectively.
 * Talking Animal: Hanatamago can talk during the Christmas Episode. Finland is surprised but doesn't think too much of it when they start to read some fan letters.
 * Mr. Puffin is also quite the chatterbox.
 * The Worf Effect: The Nordics suffer from this in the 2010 Bloodbath. Only Iceland is spared because he's the only one who felt like something bad was going to happen. As for Denmark...no one knows where he is...

Finland - Tino Väinämöinen
"How about "Go for it, Bomber"?!"

"Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima (JP), Clint Bickman (EN)"


 * Adaptation Dye Job: Has light blond hair and violet eyes in the manga. In the anime, his hair is the same yellow-blond shade that England and France have, while his eyes are dark brown.
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Blade on a Stick: As shown by recent artbook illustrations, he totes around one of these as a baby.
 * Boisterous/CuteBruiser - If you read the strip referring to the Polish-Swedish war, you'll notice that Finland is quite eager and happy to get into battle, literally crying because Sweden called off the battle.
 * Violently Protective Non-Wife: When Sweden goes down in the 2010 Christmas Event, Finland reacts very strongly.
 * Brown Eyes: In the anime.
 * Christmas in July: We finally get his version of Hatafutte Parade at the end of June, so it has a certain element of this.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Just look at his original name suggestions for their pup.
 * Cordon Bleugh Chef: Salty licorice, anyone?
 * Foreign Queasine: Unlike England, Finland knows how to cook. If only he wouldn't.
 * Friendly Sniper: Fanon portrayal of him.
 * He Is Not My Husband: Regarding Sweden.
 * Meaningful Name: Väinämöinen is the name of the hero of the Finnish/Karelian epic poem The Kalevala.
 * Purple Eyes: In the manga.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Is it Tino or Timo? There are more Timos in Finland...
 * Of course, considering the theme naming in this series (see above for Finland's surname), some fans are wondering if his name isn't Simo.
 * Sniper Rifle: Fanon guess of his Weapon of Choice.
 * Confirmed in the Hetalia Bloodbath 2011. See it here.
 * Surprise Santa Encounter: The Ur Example, of course. Actually, in most European traditions Santa lives here in Lapland instead of the North Pole.
 * Wimpification: Poor Finland may be the biggest victim of this in the APH fandom, after England and Lithuania.
 * Thankfully a good amount of the fandom prefers to write him as Badass, or at least a Cute Bruiser.

Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna
"'Nd m'wif."

"Voiced by: Keikou Sakai (JP), Robert McCollum (EN)"

"Sweden: I wanna say all kinds of nice things... but... (HUGE BLUSH)... 'm embarr'ssed!
 * Adaptation Dye Job: He usually has light blond hair in the merchandise and illustrations, yet the anime series initially gave him sandy brown hair and changed his blue-green eyes to a deep brown. This was thankfully corrected in later episodes to him having only brighter blond hair and purely blue eyes.
 * Affectionate Nickname: The other Nordics call Sweden by a shortened version of his name (Su-san, the Japanese name for Sweden is Suuēden) in one webcomic, which was translated by fan scanlators as "Sve" (short for Sweden's name "Sverige" in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian). Since then, many fanworks have Finland or Denmark calling Sweden "Sve" regularly.
 * Awesome McCoolname: "Oxenstierna" is Ye Olde Butcherede Swedishe for "Oxenstjärna"; "Ox star". Truth in Television as most Swedish surnames stem from a time where you came up with a name by smashing two nouns together in an effort to sound cooler than the next-door neighbour.
 * His first name Berwald can be traced back to the German Baerwald which means bear forest. In the end, his name can mean Bear Forest Ox Star.
 * He also shares a surname with Swedish historical figure Axel Oxenstierna.
 * The Big Guy: Subverted. He's the tallest of all the nations along with Russia, but hardly acts like it.
 * Bespectacled Bastard Boyfriend: Subverted: since he looks like one of these yet is anything but cruel and cold.
 * BFS: His Weapon of Choice is a two-hands sword.
 * Dual Wield: Official art has shown him with either his BFS or what could be a quarterstaff.
 * Death Glare: Although it's pretty much his normal facial expression, whether he likes it or not.
 * Emoticon: 回言回
 * Emotion Suppression: It's said that he's actually overcome with emotions, though he never lets them show.
 * Face of a Thug: His height and serious face scares everyone. Even if he doesn't intend it.
 * Gentle Giant / Real Men Wear Pink: Sweden looks like a huge and scary Big Guy... but is very domestic, an excellent babysitter and even sews his old clothes personally before giving them to Finland when the other remarks on their height difference.
 * Hot Dad
 * House Husband: He's better at cooking than Finland.
 * Huge Male Nation-tan: In the 5th anniversary strip, Sweden genuinely wants to say some nice things to the fans... but is so blushy and embarrassed that he cannot, much to his and Finland's dismay.

Finland: Hey! Su-san! Whoa, are you okay?!"


 * Icy Blue Eyes
 * Manly Gay
 * Dandere and Perpetual Frowner: Ooooooh, so much. The only time he's been shown smiling in the comic was when he "adopted" Sealand... by purchasing him off the internet. Not like that, you know.
 * Retired Outlaw: According to his profile he's taken a break from ruling with his old viking ways.
 * His profile is referring to either that or the Swedish Empire.
 * Single-Target Sexuality: Apparently, Himaruya's old notes say that he's "gay for Finland". Whether it still stands or not, it's still up for confirmation.
 * Among Finns, there's a stereotype that all Swedish men are gay. This is particularly intriguing since Sweden is the only character with a confirmed sexuality.
 * Stoic Spectacles: He speaks in a grunting dialect, rarely changes his fearsome facial expression, and scares pretty much everybody when they first meet him.
 * The Unintelligible: In Fanon due to failed attempts by fan tranlators to localize his original Tohoku Regional Accent, leaving him with a barely intelligible, grunting speech. Often cranked Up to Eleven in fandom, wh'ch m'ks 't 'nb'r'bl.
 * Sp't 'n m' b'tt F'nl'nd!
 * Unwanted Spouse: Some fans interpret he's this to Norway based on the third Sweden/Norway Union.
 * Weapon of Mass Destruction / Foreign Queasine: It was humorously noted in Berwald's original character profile that he was making massive amounts of Surströmming - "...the food that can pretty much be used as an ultimate weapon."
 * When He Smiles: The only time he was ever seen smiling was when he adopted Sealand (shown here, scroll down to the bottom of the page), and it was adorable.

Denmark
""No matter how I see it, you guys do look like brothers. You know, the way you're weirdly scary, and how you have weird friends. And to begin with, we're all something like brothers. And I am the elder brother... WAH!"""

"Voiced by: Hiroshi Shimozaki (JP), Montgomery Sutton (EN)"

"Volume 3 (on Denmark): "Poking England, using Russia as a shield, he's quite the active young man. I feel like his personality will turn out to be the complete opposite of his outward appe8arance.""
 * The Alcoholic: Of Northern Europe.
 * Truth in Television
 * An Axe to Grind: In the official art, Denmark has an axe as his Weapon of Choice.
 * Cool Sword: He's also shown to wield a longsword.
 * Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny
 * Arrow Catch: He did this when Belarus threw a clothes hanger at him for mouthing off that his group will likely win the costume contest. Of course, Denmark and Finland just looked forward to everyone doing their best.
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Beneath the Mask: According to Word of God, he's much different than how he appears.
 * Blood Knight: He just won't back out from fighting Sweden. Also, when Sweden was under his rule, he seemed to have a huge grin on his face while challenging Russia.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: He's often depicted as such in fanworks. Considering how he's shown drinking beer in one of the two strips he's been in and how loud he is in his opinions (to the point that Norway strangles him with his tie), this may have been partially confirmed in canon. (More on Danish and Scandinavian stereotypes here.)
 * Pretty much confirmed here with the added taste of being the Determinator.
 * Blue Eyes
 * Can't Hold His Liquor: Seemingly drunk even while sober. Ironic, seeing as he is the heaviest drinker in Northern Europe.
 * Cassandra Truth: Played for laughs in the 2011 April Fool's event. Iceland doesn't believe him when he says there's a flying cow outside. Naturally, there is.
 * Cheshire Cat Grin: In Finland's flashback.
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
 * Does Not Understand Sarcasm: Doesn't seem to notice when Norway insults him.
 * Dumb Blond: Although it's very likely he's got some hidden smarts somewhere.
 * Fan Nickname: "Matthias" and "Soren" are the most favored "human names".
 * Former Teen Rebel: Vikings.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Messy Hair
 * Nice Hat: His trademark headgear.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red oni to Sweden and Norway's blue oni - complete with color scheme.
 * Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: In Hetalia Fantasia.
 * Selective Obliviousness: It's suggested that he ignores any aggressiveness in the air in favor for a cheerful demeanor, as shown when he happily wishes luck to Belarus' group in Hetaween 2011 after she just threw a hanger at him and declared that their group would win.
 * Show the Forehead
 * Shonen Hair: Just look at it.
 * Skilled but Naive
 * Ted Baxter: Seems to believe he knows everything. He is wrong.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Norway. Type 1
 * Yandere: Many (but not all) fanworks depict him like this, mainly when paired with Sweden (and to a smaller degree, when with Norway). Less in the "I stalk you because I love you" sense, more in the "I will beat and subdue you because I love you" one.
 * Possibly confirmed in the artbook of Volume 3. He's either this or a Stepford Smiler.


 * Add the notes that was listed during the final page of 2010 Bloodbath. Himaruya stated the next time he appears, it won't be in a positive light. Then again, this is Himaruya we're talking about: he often says/writes things and then puts 'em on the shelf.

Norway
""Hurry up and start saying it, you! Bro-o-ther!""

"Voiced by: Masami Iwasaki (JP), Alex Organ (EN)"


 * Big Brother Instinct: Towards Iceland. He even demands Iceland call him "brother" in one strip, like the quote above states.
 * Cranked Up to Eleven in the anime with him even whispering the request in Iceland's ear.
 * Blue Eyes: They do look purple in some art.
 * Carry a Big Stick: He is shown to carry a mace as a Weapon of Choice in the official art.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Apparently limited to Denmark. Who does not get it.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: During his younger days anyway, I mean look at him!
 * Emoticon: 廿_廿†
 * This Guy Uses Hair Decs: Wears a cross-shaped hairclip.
 * Fan Nickname: Fan-given human names for him are many and varied (with "Bjorn", "Christian" and "Lukas" being specially favored), but it's common to have him referred to as "Norge" in fanworks, especially from Denmark (which is, by the way, the term for Norway in Danish and Swedish).
 * ...aaaand Norwegian. Norwegian (bokmal) at least. It's "Noreg" if you swear by Norwegian (nynorsk).
 * Idiot Hair: His floats!
 * Idiot Dot
 * Apparently the hair represents his fjords
 * Monochromatic Eyes
 * Necktie Noose: In one episode he strangled Denmark with his own tie.
 * Nice Hat
 * Non-Human Sidekick: His nisse.
 * All Trolls Are Different: He has a gigantic green troll that appears to defend his master if needed. Norway even remarks how his friends are stronger than England's.
 * Shrinking Violet: Possibly. He describes himself as 'painfully shy' in Hetalia Fantasia 2.
 * The Stoic: "Quiet and mysterious" as his profile has it, and wearing the same deadpan expression in all artwork.
 * Tranquil Fury: At least in the anime, he is shown to be able to strangle Denmark with a pretty straight face. When paired with Denmark, his characterization is a...
 * Tsundere: The fans are very fond of making him one towards Denmark, and to quite violent extents. Not that this has much backing in the character profile he eventually got, although strangling Denmark with his own tie certainly lends credibility to the idea.
 * The second Hetalia Fantasia CD has him similarly choking Denmark when the latter suggests that him trying to get away from Germany and Japan is because he wants to be alone with Denmark. They're definitely verging on Ho Yay or Vitriolic Best Buds at the very least by this point.

Iceland
""It'd be great if there was stuff like mythical phantom residents that live only in Iceland...""

"Voiced by: Ayumu Asakura (JP), Jason Liebrecht (EN)"


 * A Nation and his Puffin
 * A Day in the Limelight: During Hetalia Bloodbath 2010.
 * Blue Eyes: In early colored art and the anime.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: During Hetaween 2011, after commenting about the other Nordics acting like kids, he looks behind him and tells the audience to stop staring at him.
 * He also broke the fourth wall when he introduced himself in the beginning of The Movie
 * Cute Shotaro Boy: Subverted, he's said to look at least 17.
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: Averted and Jossed. A popular and old rumor was that he would be voiced by Mitsuki Saiga, while fans often assumed that a female would eventually voice him anyway. His voice actor for The Movie wound up being a relatively unknown male one, Ayumu Asakura.
 * Fan Nickname: "Emil", "Eyvindur", and "Eirík" are some of the names given to him.
 * Foreign Cuss Word: In The Movie his first line was "Oh skít"
 * Hormone-Addled Teenager: In the 2010 Christmas Bloodbath he gets distracted by Germany's muscles.
 * Intergenerational Friendship: Sorta, with Turkey in the Hetalia Bloodbath 2010. It helps that Iceland is already a teenager, not a child.
 * Kuudere: He's described as being cold on the outside, but warmer and "hot-blooded" on the inside. The Nordic strips show him as being cool in the beginning and somewhat losing it by the end.
 * The Bloodbath has him more or less cool, but still worrying for his fellow Nordics and keeping up with Turkey.
 * Iceland is a very cold island... but it's made of volcanoes.
 * Non-Human Sidekick: He's often shown with a Puffin bird.
 * Polly Wants a Microphone: Said bird tends to talk a lot and is also really bad mouthed.
 * It also seems to be French.
 * Only Sane Man: Seems to think of himself as this in comparison to the rest of the Nordics.
 * Purple Eyes: In later manga artwork.
 * Spit Take: When Denmark exclaimed about seeing flying cows. And all over Mr. Puffin too.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Seems to be type 2 with his Puffin according to Hetalia Fantasia and his character song.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Doesn't have much of the aloofness, though.