Hetalia is abbreviation of cartoon work of Japan by Hidekazu Himaruya and "Axis powers Hetalia", and a Japanese mark is "ヘタリア".
Outline
It is put on the website of the author.
"ヘタリア" is a name cradled from the slang word that a military mania in Japan talked about weak Italy of prewar days ironically.
There was a slang word "へたれ = hetare" that meant "Mercy" and "It is weak" in Japanese, and "Hetare" and "Italy" were combined, and the name "Hetalia" arose.
In another abbreviation, the initial of "Axis powers Hetalia" is taken, and it is called, "APH".
The characters who personify the nation are drawing the history and the joke of the culture in this work with comedy that makes the history and the culture a motif by calm touch.
Characters are Italy, Germany in the pivot country, and chiefly Japan. The United States America, Britain, France, Russia, and China in the union country are centered. Other personified Europe and America, Asia, informal nation, climate, organization, city, and ancient state, etc. appear, too.
The name of a person besides it exists though the alias of the character is officially a name of a country, too.
Related illustration.
