Hetalia

Hetalia: Axis Powers is a manga and anime series by Hidekaz Himaruya placed in a World War-era setting in which the countries are represented by anthropomorphic characters. Hetalia is a made-up word combining hetare — Japanese for useless — and Italia.This is to make light of Italy's apparent cowardice during World War II.

Himaruya originally created Hetalia as an online webcomic, and so far two tankōbon have been published by Gentosha Comics, the first on March 28, 2008 and the second on December 10, 2008. The series was later adapted into drama CDs, and an anime series created by Studio Deen has also begun streaming online.

The main historical events portrayed in this work occur between World War I and World War II. The series often uses satire and comedy to address well-known and lesser-known historical facts.