Hetalia Axis Powers

This episode continues with the plots (or arcs) that were established in the previous one. The first half focuses on the introduction of Italy, Germany and how exactly they met. It does a great job at showing why the franchise is even called Hetalia (ヘタレ(cowardly/incompetent) + イタリア(Italy) → ヘタリア): "I'm a virgin! I won't be any fun to shoot!" is what Italy said upon seeing Germany. It perfectly shows his desperation to live and, well, to put it frankly, his patheticness. And as we could see, even Germany himself was not a fan of it. The arc continues later to show Italy being very lazy, further establishing his character. He doesn't even try to escape after Germany gave him a chance, because "As long as I'm here, I get fed and I don't have to fight either." The second half of the episode, meanwhile, focuses on Chibitalia. It also shows core relationships between baby Italy and the people in his life. The scene of France trying to defend Chibitalia from Holy Roman Empire, his bully, and failing at doing so is great, as it foreshadows the future dynamics between the three characters that would be present even far into the future (e.g. Italy still trusts France deeply and asks for his advice during tough times). It also shows backstory of the Italian brothers and the reason why Italy became a victim of bullying. Overall, a decent episode. I don't really like the animation here, but Chibitalia arcs have a cute colouring style.

Funny, kinda racist sometimes but it’s still reallly good

In my opinion, this episode is better and much funnier than the previous one. It starts with a song that Italy wrote for Germany, which perfectly reveals how he feels about the latter on top of revealing more of his personality. He's a glutton, which is why he sings about Germany's good not being "nasty like England's". Later, the episode also shows how Germany is forced to work excessively to pay off his debt to France after losing in WWI. It's a nice historic fun fact, which also gave an opportunity to sneak Italy in the scene for a gag and to strengthen his relationship with Germany, who thinks Italy "really was a strange guy". It also shows the beginning of WWII and how Germany and Italy became allies, including the beginning of their dysfunctional friendship. This episode animation is also quite nice, besides it created a few gorgeous frames that are good enough to be used as a desktop wallpaper. The only complaint I have about it are two scenes in a lazy-drawn stickman style, they really can throw you off. Overall, a really funny episode with a few historic elements that establishes the relationship between the two characters, whom we'll be seeing very often.

A very neat introduction to the series. It establishes the chaotic pacing from the very first second, making sure that if the viewer dislikes it, they don't have to waste half an hour just to understand it and click off. The episode also acts as a short introduction to a lot of characters, since it shows both major characters like Italy, and episodic characters like Belgium. The second half of the episode, meanwhile, introduces the viewer to two major plots in the season that will be the main focus for the next episodes. So, like I said, it might not be great as a standalone episode, but it does a perfect job at being an introduction episode. Must-watch as your first episode for every new fan.

Episode 5 of Hetalia Axis Powers leans fully into the show’s absurd humor, using Italy’s exaggerated innocence and misplaced priorities to mock warfare. Fast-paced skits, visual gags, and sharp contrasts turn incompetence into charm and define the episode’s comedic identity.

It's a funny show, generally good to laugh and get away from everything for a bit. The characters are funny, and the real life aspects really enhance the experience when you know them prior to watching.

This anime has changed my life... Probably for the worst, but I still love it

The pacing is much too fast, and the visual gag where Italy is flung away as a stick figure in black and white is funny, but it would've been better in colour and not as rudimentary. The song Italy sang to Germany was very funny and expresses very well how Italy feels about Germany. The sneak peak of Japan leaves me interested for the next episode.

Super funny! My new hyper fixation! Really entertaining for history fans . I like watching the English dub, though it does mischaracterise some characters… The English dub definitely focuses more on humour compared to the Japanese version…😅 This anime does contain SOME sad scenes, (made me tear up a little 🥹) . The characters are all so fun , they definitely have a lot of personality! If you love unhinged kinda weird humor, this anime is for you! Overall… ITS AN AMAZING ANIME!!! I totally recommend ❤️! (Ahem ahem… maybe don’t watch the English dub with your parents…)

funny and I like the gayness

Cool