Hetalia: Axis Powers, Vol. 1 Paperback – September 21, 2010

I've always considered myself as a great fan of this work! I've been and I'm still following this series of Hetalia and it hasn't been until now that I decided myself to buy the manga.I looked forward to have the first book of this series and woah! I simply LOVE it. I don't mind the kind of way that the author used to do this manga. I mean, though it's sketchy it's kinda cute! It's a lot worked, and it's so funny to read. You can enjoy a lot reading it and knowing all the characters bit by bit. I like the idea of the countries being representated, it's a nice idea to more or less explain some things of the history (BUT, obviously it's not all clear, you shouldn't take this as a book history).I recommend this to anyone who wants to laugh a little with trivial sometimes non-sense humor but always associated in a comical way with countries history and culture. (But stay back if you're a very sensitive person about your country)In a few words, so happy with it. :)

This was well worth the buy, as it was cheap considering it contained the 8 beautifully colored pages in the beginning, something I wasn't expecting. The cover was a bit sticky at the cover binding and wrinkled (Just a bit!), but other than that, the whole book was as it was described. It arrived earlier by 12 days than expected... Right on my birthday! What are the odds of that?My parents told me I could get anything I wanted in a reasonable price range (probably under $15) for my birthday. Immediately, as a Hetalian, I chose this manga to be the first manga I'd ever purchase. While browsing the options, this wasn't the cheapest (I saw one at about $6), but it had the clearest description so thus I chose this. I have no regrets at all!My honest opinion of Hetalia will not sway this review, I hope. It's a wonderful series, it truly is. It has its light moments, then its more heartfelt ones, especially since we're dealing with countries. I must warn you-- The art style changes frequently. There are approximately 4. The 'Chibitalia' section was drawn in single, thin lines, while the majority of it was lightly sketched.Have fun reading!

Thanks

I really really REALLY love this manga. The bits of history, the comedy, the art style. It's all amazing. I just love all the characters, and how stereotypical they are. Yes, I enjoy the stereotyping, because...well, they exist for a reason, right? Of course, I do realize not everyone in a country acts like their country's personification. I know I don't. But I find it humorous. It's good to laugh at yourself every now and again, and trust me, with this manga, you will.I highly suggest it, especially if you are interested in history and enjoy a good satire.

I watched the entire anime series 1 and 2 before buying the manga. The anime is hilarious, especially for us older people who are students of European history. There are times when it is kind of rough, with a lot of foul language, but it was still hilarious, sometimes with touching moments (Holy Rome & Chibitalia, or America vs. England in the Revolutionary War). By contrast, the manga has funny moments, and has a more sweet tone to it - not a lot of potty humor like the show has, but definitely not a constant laugh-fest like the show. The manga art is certainly nowhere near the level of art in the manga I usually read - this all looks like it's rough pencil sketches designed to be finessed further later on. Not a 'clean' look. I am willing to suffer this because I want to support the mangaka, so I can see more Hetalia shows!The reason I take off a star? False facts. This book was, of course, initially put together in Japanese for Japanese readers, and it has a lot of footnotes. Some of these footnotes are historical details designed to clue the reader in to possibly obscure wars and other events, especially in Europe. But there are 2 footnotes in this volume that really irritated me. Both are designed to explain American or English culture.One says, "England's Spy Organization: Although England's government has adamantly denied the existence of their spy organization, it is so well-known that if you ask a taxi driver to take you to MI6, they'll know exactly where to go." Huh? Deny the existence? Maybe back after WWII. (Right? What about James Bond?) My English husband says they never attempted to deny the existence of MI6.The next questionable footnote says, "In America, there are ice cream trucks patrolling neighborhoods all the time." (Yeah, right. I haven't seen an ice cream truck since about 1995, even in the summer.) "As if that's not enough, the calorie-starved consumer can buy massive buckets of ice cream. These legendary super-sized portions are not urban legends." So...Japanese people now believe that a gallon bucket of ice cream is designed to be eaten by a single consumer at a single session? They don't consider that you might have a family sharing the bucket, over the course of a few weeks? Misleading.I realize Hetalia is a parody, but these particular footnotes bug me, especially because the historical footnotes are relatively accurate. I dislike the idea that Japanese readers are getting these dumb things proffered to them as facts.I don't know whether I'll buy the other volumes, because I enjoyed the anime dub so much more. I might just stick with that.

The manga came in right away! I was surprised by how fast it shipped; It was 3 days early! I liked how the cover was glossy and thick and protected the manga very nicely. I'm a huge fan of the show, so it was very nice to have a copy of the book. I love the art style used throughout the book. When it was shipped, I was a bit disappointed that the manga had a few dents on it's corners. Overall, the manga was perfect so it deserves five stars :3

For those of you unfamiliar with this series, Hetalia is a manga and anime that incorporates every single racial stereotype you've ever heard of in a manner that makes you pee yourself from laughing so hard. But it also makes you kind of think. Not on a soul deep level, mind you, but seeing as how the comic strips in this series are based off of historic events, the laughs your get aren't cheap. Well, not all of the time. Regardless, it's a wonderful manga/anime series that is guaranteed to make you laugh.