things reading about Nazi Germany will do to you

[kindkit]

As you may know, I've been reading some books about the Holocaust.

Well, today at work we happened to get in copies of Axis Powers Hetalia, which I had to put price tags on. The cover image of the first volume (link goes to amazon.com) shows Germany as a pretty young man in his stylish uniform greatcoat, which doesn't seem to have insignia but is the kind of coat worn by both the Army and the SS. So cute! Such a fun, friendly cover!

My god, was I squicked.

Depicting Hitler-era Germany as a desirable young man is disgusting.

Sorry if you're a Hetalia fan--I know at least one person who is--but I think the whole cutesy concept is, to put it in the mildest possible terms, dodgy.

Comments

[dingsi]

... I should not have read the reviews on the Amazon page. Oh sure, anyone who has issues with the content or the execution of it is just an overly sensitive snowflake too fragile for appreciating "edgy" humour. Yawn.

I remember APH mainly for the thoughtless cosplay at AnimeBoston (with added Hitler salute). Together with the dodgy concept that was an instant anti-rec.

[kindkit]

I like edgy humor, but I do think there are some things that are just not funny. And from what I've read about Hetalia, it doesn't sound like it's a dark satire of totalitarianism or something, where humor could just about work. It sounds like it's basically the "humor" of cultural stereotypes, but made appealing to young people by personifying them as cute boys. And translating, say, a history of genocide and persecution into "has trouble with relationships." *shudders at the ick*