Voiced by Noriyaki Sugiyama
Appearance
England has a messy, short blond hair and green eyes. He is also described to be rather slender. Although he dresses in a green military uniform, for most of the time he dresses smart casual, and like a punk when he's out for fun. His prominent characteristics would be his eyebrows, which is very thick, despite that he apparently trims them. This trait is shared by his younger brother Sealand, as well as Australia, Hong Kong and Wy. He also happens to be the same height as France.
Character Profile
In 2008, Himaruya gave human names to some of the characters in response to his reader's questions about "What if the characters are calling by their respective name instead of their country names?" and he received the name, Arthur Kirkland. While the name itself is given by the author and is official, the name itself is not used in the manga.
In pixiv, his human name is used as a tag in order to differenciate himself from the country name, as well as to make searching about him easier. It is recommended to put his full name in for tag searching purposes.
Arthur is fanciful, blunt, obstinate former pirate who used to torment Spain. Though in modern times he claims to be a gentleman, he is cynical, sharp-tongued, prone to rough speech and yearns for the golden years. He is also seen to be a bad cook, where all of his cooking ended up non-edible. He can be described as "spacey" because of his strong belief in magic, spirits, fairies, and various other fantasy-related creatures. He also enjoy singing (weird sounding) songs while cooking marshmellow during campfire, and while alone, he sits like a yankee.
He has the ability to communicate with supernatural beings, and is not limited to creatures from his homeland, being able to interact with various youkai and spirits from Japanese folklore. He also happens to have fantasy friends, such as a flying bunny, unicorns, fairies, gnomes, and Captain Hook. Despite this, England often ridicules America's belief in aliens and Tony. England's other interests include: embroidery, craftsmanship, literature, rock music, and giving scathing criticisms to America's movies.
He does not know how to express himself, and others often misunderstand him. He is also depicted as being self-deprecating or Tsundere. Despite his cynical, realistic view on the world, he is a romanticist. When drunk, his personality will change from that of a gentleman to a bitter and violent delinquent. Also, every year when the Fourth of July comes around, his condition collapses.
Trivia
- He is referred to as United Kingdom, or UK for short, in most merchandise and in his character design on the official anime website (and in some merchandise and fanworks, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, his full nation title). In other instances, however, he is referred to as England, most notably in Gakuen Hetalia and the English-language preview for America's Cleaning Of The Storage. The Japanese word Igirisu means Britain but is sometimes used to refer to England (normally rendered as Ingurando in katakana or eikoku in kanji) in colloquial speech. He is commonly referred to with either name by fans, though England tends to be used to differentiate him from his brothers (that represent the other parts of the UK). A note by Hidekaz Himaruya confirms that he would only be known as England to his brothers, while he would be known as UK to the others. However, the English dub refers to him as Britain. According to FUNimation, this was a request from the Japanese anime producers.
- Although he's always called Igirisu in the manga and anime, historically, he would be known as simply England up until the 18th century, when The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed, uniting both England and Scotland (the Act of Union of Wales and England had already taken place 1536-1543). In the early 19th century, Ireland was added, creating United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After Ireland split to declare itself independent in 1919, the Irish War of Independence waged until 1922, when it became the Irish Free State. Six of the 32 counties of Ireland (mostly from the province of Ulster where there was a great English/Scottish population) rejoined the UK while the other 26 counties formed the Republic of Ireland.
- A UK character is actually first seen at the end of Hetalia: Chapter 1, however, his design was not yet completely finalized. He appears as a short-haired man with a UK label on his shirt and with somewhat thinner eyebrows. Notes in the special booklet for the third volume of the published manga reveal that England was originally to have normal eyebrows, as well as have the appearance of a middle-aged man who dressed much younger. Himaruya decided to give him thicker eyebrows, as he liked the idea of a character having brows modeled after a Shiba Inu.
- He appears to be modeled after the character Hikone Kalom from Himaruya's other webcomic Barjona Bombers, though he is the exact opposite of Kalom in personality.
- His birthday is possibly the 14th October, refrencing the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the last successful conquest of England, however it could also be the 23rd April which is St. Georges Day (The national holiday for England) or the 28th September as this was when Prince Louis of France gave up his claim of the English throne in 1217.
- Himaruya once stated that his eyebrows are actually trimmed, although they don't appear that way since they still remain thick in appearance. He has also stated that Ireland has thicker eyebrows, but with a "different feel" to them.
- It is possible that he has a tattoo, for he mentions in his version of Marukaite Chikyuu that "My tattoo really hurts, but it's a hot six-string!" (six-string meaning electric guitar).
Profile
| Country Name | United Kingdom, England |
|---|---|
| Human Name | Arthur Kirkland |
| Refer as | Ore (俺) |
| Dialect | None |
| Birthday | Unknown |
| Capital | London |
| National Flower | Narcissus poeticus, Rose |
| Height | 175cm |
| Assumed Age | 23 |
| Seiyuu | Noriaki Sugiyama |
Related Illustrations
Related Characters
Russia r /> Canada>Matthew Williams
New Zealand r /> Seychelles
Related Tags
General Tags
Event Tags
Before Goodbye That Someday Comes
Project Tags
Singular Tags
IgiIgi (Eyebrows Arthur Morning)
Gentleman Arthur（※Pirate Gentleman, Police Gentleman, Magician Gentleman, Fantasy Gentleman, Tea Gentleman, Cook Gentleman, Maiden Gentleman, Tsundere Gentleman, Ex-Yankee Gentleman, Rock Gentleman, Glasses Gentleman, All Back Gentleman, Crossdressing Gentleman Flower and Gentleman）
Chibi England （※Rabbit England, Golden Catapillar） Neko England
Buriten or Britania Angel (※ほぁた☆ or ほあた☆)
Cool Arthur(Endangered Species)
Nyoigi (Alice Kirkland or Roza Kirkland or Child British)
Group Tags
2 person group
Nice Dover/France
Tasteless Pair/America
Elder yet Young Brother Combo/Russia
Tea Loving Pair/China
Angel Pair/N.Italy
Tsundere Pair/S.Italy
Wine Rebellion Pair/Germany
Compassionzu/Prussia
Island Nation Alliance/Japan
Doting Parent Pair/Spain
Sexy Pair/Greece
Gentleman and Mask/Turkey
Aristocrat Pair/Austria
Ex-Yankee Pair/Hungary
Clock Pair/Switzerland
Embroidery Pair/Liechtenstein
Rabbit Pair/Netherlands
Choco and Tea/Belgium
Gentleman and Tactician/Monaco
Annoying Combo/Poland
Assistance Pair/Lithuania
The Sun and The Raincloud/Ukraine
Tsundere Ribbon/Belarus
North Sea Empire Pair/Denmark
Fairy Pair/Norway
Codfish Pair/Iceland
Cuisine Weapon Combo/Finland
Skillful Finger Task Pair/Sweeden
Maple Tea/Canada
Lion Pair/Cameroon
Tsundere Federation/Seychelles
Kimchi Tea/S.Korea
Plum Tea/Taiwan
Eyebrows Combo/Hong Kong
Lily Breasts Tea Pair/Vietnam
Her Majesty the Queen Combo/Australia
Goat Pair/New Zealand
Architecture Pair/Holy Roman Empire
Kirkland Brothers/Sealand
Queen and Gentlemen/Queen
AsaAsa/England x 2
Gentleman and Lady/England x England (Female)
3 person group
Compassionate Three Brothers/Prussia, Denmark
Tasteless Three Brothers/America, Sealand
New Continent Parent and Child/America, Canada
Island Country Parent and Child/Japan, Sealand
Tea Lover Family/China, Hong Kong
Green Eyes Group/S.Italy, Spain
Pervert Group/Japan, France
Astray Group/Japan, America
Gardener Group/Japan, Netherlands
Thoughtless Trio/Germany, France
Compassionate Sandwich/Japan, Prussia (sometimes Denmark)
Eyebrows Sandwich/Japan, Hong Kong
Sun Sandwich/Japan, Spain
Stupid Brother Sandwich/Japan, China
Angel Sandwich/N.Italy, Japan
Exposure Trio/N.Italy, France
Taste Difference Trio/N.Italy, S.Italy
Eyebrows Trio/Sealand, Hong Kong (Sometimes Australia)
Prisoner Trio/N.Italy, America
Blonde Triangle/America, France
Nice Neighbourhood/France, Spain
Scone Fondue/Switzerland, Liechtenstein
Gentleman, Daughter and Hero/America, Liechtenstein
Knight, Gentleman and Girl/Prussia, Liechtenstein
Moustache Eyebrows Braids/France, Seychelles
Orient and Occident with Eyebrows/Germany, Prussia
Tea Party/America, China
Arthur Sandwich/England sandwiched between any characters, Mainly For Fujoshis.
4 Person and Above
Federation Nation/England, America, France, China, Russia etc...
Permanent Board of Directors/England, America, France, China, Russia
Suuren/England, America, France, China, Russia, N.Italy, Japan, Germany
New Continent Family/England, France, America, Canada
Doting Parents Family/England, Spain, America, S.Italy
Police Federation/Federation country members in their police uniform. Since there are no restriction on numbers and is completely free, there are cases where England is not included.
Afterparty Group/England, America, China, Russia
Compassionzu Brother/England, Prussia, America, Germany
Asia Europe Brothers/England, China, America, Japan
Four Country Treaty/England, America, France, Japan
Bad Friends and Eyebrows/England, France, Spain, Prussia
Bad Friend's Children Raising/France, Spain, Prussia + Brother-like or Sister-like characters. For this reason, England might or might not be included.
Team Rabbit/England, Prussia, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Liechtenstein
Arthur Federation/England, Canada, Hong Kong, Seychelles, Australia, New Zealand (basically any countries that fit in the Commonwealth group)
Kirkland Family/England, America, Canada, Sealand, Hong Kong, sometimes Seychelles, Australia, New Zealand
German One's Family/England, Germany, Prussia, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Sweeden, Denmark, Holy Roman Empire and German. (There are cases where England are not included)
World Arthur/Unspecified number of characters paired with England
Arthur World/England paired with unspecified number of characters, or multiple Englands
