Oops.
After sharing my joyous news with the world and bragging way too much about it, I found out that I am *not* the editor of Hetalia. There had been a misunderstanding on my part when the news was passed to me. Man, do I feel dumb.
If you’ve already congratulated me, thank you again. I’ll still be working on part of the editorial process for the next volume of Hetalia and, from what I heard, it was a tough decision for Tokyopop Editor Cindy Suzuki. The fact that I was chosen at all means I did a great job when I worked on the first volume and getting the second volume is, therefore, my reward. I actually have to thank Cindy for giving me the opportunity to work on Hetalia and the many other opportunities she’s given me over the months we’ve been working together.
I am a little sad, but I’m still excited I get to work on the next volume of Hetalia. ^_^
Curious, what makes Hetalia stand out in your opinion? I know some people don’t like it because WWII is not something you can make fun of and there have some cosplayers who just act a little crazy when portraying the characters (Germany = Hitler/Nazi chants)
What makes Hetalia stand out is that it’s just plain funny. It helps that the creator doesn’t get tied up in details too much and uses the personifications as a vehicle for the humor. WWII *is* hard to portray without being offensive, but I think Hetalia does it by making these countries have relationships with each other. Instead of dealing with the nastiness of one ruler or another, you deal with the zeitgeist of the times and with the personality of the country. It’s extremely well thought out too. Instead of making Germany hell bent on war at the start of WWII, he is nervous and slightly hesitant, but can’t defy his leader. So Germany the personified country doesn’t come off as a war monger. If he had been, it wouldn’t have been acceptable and the series would probably not be published here.
As for the crazy fans, I have to say, they should not be doing that under any circumstances and it sort of makes me question their maturity. They should know better. Germany is not all about Hitler and the Nazis- that is to say, there is a long, rich history of Germany before all that bad stuff and that’s REALLY what Germany is, in both Hetalia and reality.
That’s why I am pretty worried about some of the fandom.
I live in New York & there’s a variety of Hetalia cosplayers that do gatherings like Hetalia picnic/karaoke/etc. Though in a sense, that is a good thing. I hope they’re learning history through it though. 😛
I do agree that some Hetalia fans need to mature, especially the yaoi-fangirls who love the fact that it’s a predominately-male cast & possibly ignore everything.
I think I will check the manga out either when it hits stores this September. Looking forward to seeing your work on the 2nd volume. :]
I worry to, but I would have to say that is probably a tiny percentage of the Hetalia fandom. And also there’s always some jerk who doesn’t know better in any fandom. Such is life. I’m not going to hate the fandom who doesn’t do that kind of thing.
I also hope they learn history through Hetalia. I know it’s not the best vehicle, but perhaps it will bring a sense of joy to learning the subject for them.
I’m glad to hear you’ll be checking out the manga. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.