Axis Powers Hetalia - Episode 30

The fourth episode of the second season focuses on Arthur (England) and Kiku (Japan). It's one of the rare episodes that had no fillers or intervals, and the animation had been done well. It had been witty, hilarious, touching, and sad and fanservicey at the same time. One of the most brilliant Hetalia episodes so far~
(UPDATE 1: All pictures are up)
(UPDATE 2: All text/dialogues/narrations/fangurling/whatever are up)
(UPDATE 3: Larger versions are up)

Arthur is being toured by Kiku, and he spots something:


Arthur: Oh, that must be Mt. Fuji. It's huge-


Kiku: No, that's just a moment.

It appears that to us foreigners, when we see a mountain in Japan, "Mt. Fuji" is the first thing that comes to our mind. Hehehe~


Arthur: Hey, Kiku. I'm curious about that strange thing over there. . .


Kiku: Oh,


Kiku: that's a Tengu's Seat


They take a look at it . . .


Nice close-up scene of Kiku~


Kiku: Back then, the Tengu were sprites that came out to bother people.


What Kiku said is still processing to Arthur's brain~


Why is he still so cute even when his eyes are closed?


Arthur: Ah!


Arthur: So . . . so he's a bad guy.


Kiku: As a rule, you shouldn't say that Tengus are bad because they're mountain gods too.


Arthur: Eh~ So that's a Tengu.


Arthur: Ah!


Arthur: It waved at us!


Arthur: Heeeeeeyyy!!!! *waving happily*


Kiku: *shocked and speechless*

Now they're inside Kiku's house:

Arthur hears a girl's voice~


Arthur: Huh?!


Arthur: Hey Kiku. There's this kid that has been noisy since a while ago.


A close-up of Kiku while he's processing to his brain what Arthur just said~


Kiku: Is that so?


Kiku: I'm sorry


Kiku: I live by myself.


Kiku: (He's tired from the long trip . . .)


Kiku: (so he's definitely seeing things)


Poor Arthur, being thought of as a weirdo~


But damn, he looks cute in every angle~


Kiku: Arthur-san, I think it's better if you take a bath first.

And he did:

Arthur: Uun . . .Kiku is acting strangely for some reason. Maybe visiting him is a taboo in his culture. Maybe I did something weird.


*drools*


He's taking them off . . . omg


omg . . . shet


smexy . . . he should pose in a hott dudes magazine cover~


kyaaaaaaaaa~ shirt's off~


The manga didn't even show this part little by little~ Oh anime, you and your fanservice~
And I like it that even though Arthur isn't as muscular as Alfred and Ludwig, he's still muscular. Unlike shoujo bishies wherein their bodies are just incredibly slender yet without muscles but for some reason they are strong. Thank goodness Hetalia's not a typical shoujo~


Back to Arthur. He's butt naked now. LOLz~ And this is PG13, so of course it's censored. He's going to the springs now~ (A lot of anime have the spring fanservice, but usually they're a group of people; but in Hetalia it's just one . . . or one human at least . . .)


Oh the close-up . . . such a smexy pose *nosebleeds*


He felt something . . .


He sees something . . .


And they're two mysterious figures (one a kappa, and the other ???) in it . . .


Kappa: Ah! The human has come!
???: Forgive us! We'll get up now.


Arthur: Huh?


But the surprise on seeing something not human didn't last long~


Arthur: *joins in* No, I don't mind having company at all . . .


Kappa: Thank you, master.
(I am not sure if the washing the back part had been mentioned. LOLz~)


Arthur: Well, I know it's rude since I just met you . . .


Arthur: But I want you to tell me about Japan's culture


Arthur: I really don't get it.


The duo didn't mind, and they had a loooooooooong chit chat~


Kiku: *sees Arthur arrive*


Kiku: You were there for a very long time . . .


Half-naked Arthur . . .*nosebleeds*


Arthur: That was a really good bath


Arthur: When I got in, talking to that guy got me really charged up. It was really fun.


Kiku: *panics*


Kiku: *speechless*


Kiku: But I live by myself . .


Kiku: *sighs*

Too bad this part in the manga wasn't included:



It's something that can convince Kiku that Arthur's not having delusions~ Hehe.

Anyway, then we see Arthur in bed:


I freakin' love his blanket. Before I want money or doggie blankets, now I want a flag!!!!


Sleeping Arthur~


Someone woke him up~


Kappa: Master, it's me. Many thanks back there.
Arthur: Ah, it's you. Why this late at night?


Arthur: Today was fun. Let's take a bath together again tomorrow.
Kappa: Hehe, I see. I think the mountains have drawn us in today.


What the Kappa said had not yet processed to Arthur's brain . . . but oh god that smile!!!


He finally gets it~


Kappa: Today is the last day I'm taking a bath, you see. This land that we love has become unpleasant for us to live in.


Kappa: Back then, while they were calling us scary . . .


Kappa: Humans that believe us befriend us.


Kappa: But the times have changed. Our existence is now nothing but mere superstition. No one acknowledges our existence anymore.


Kappa: I used to talk with Kiku-san a long time ago but nowadays . . . but meeting the master this way will bring us good luck as well.


Arthur being sad for a supernatural creature . . .daaaaw~


Arthur: I-isn't it good to stay in one place in particular?


Kappa: Our time here has ended.


Kappa: Lastly, I want wish happiness to master.


Another close-up of sad Arthur . . . daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw~


Kappa: Take care! Master too!


Arthur: Let's take a bath together again some time.


Smiling Arthur . . .kyaaaaaaa~


Close-up of it! Kyaaaaaaaaaa~ *melts*


Then he hears something familiar~


Something shiny has arrived~


That got Arthur surprised~


His pose . . . so . . .LOLz~


Apparently, this ghost girl (I think she's a ghost or spirit) is the one that we've been hearing since early in the episode~


And yes, Arthur too. Another LOLz pose~


Arthur: So the one who was making the noise earlier was you!


Arthur: Hey! Stop!


Kiku's also hearing the noise . . .or rather only Arthur's noise, in his room. His blanket has flowers (cherry blossoms?) so cute~


That waked Kiku up . . .


Kiku: But I live alone . . .


Such a wonderful episode~ This makes us realize that cultural differences sometimes lead to misunderstandings. Like in the case between these two nation-tans, they think of each other as the one who's acting strange . . . and the actions that they don't understand from the other drive them to make wrong assumptions or think that the other's thinking/culture is complicated.
It also shows how it's like when a foreigner gets exposed to a different place and culture. He assumes things based on what's known about the place, and sees some things very differently from how the locals view it. At times, the foreigners are the ones who get to show value to the culture of the land, instead of the locals. It's kinda applicable in my own country . . . it really got me surprised that some researches on our ancient culture are by researches of foreigners~ In this episode's case, Kiku is no longer into superstitious beliefs . . . making the supernatural beings cease to exist . . . while Arthur acknowledges them . . .and pleads to spend more time with them.
This did not make us explore cultures, but of course it gave us some history lessons. It happened in 1902, around the time when Arthur and Kiku had an alliance. The two nations tried to spend time getting to know each other. But of course, since this is gag comedy, not everything is historically accurate. (I can't pin-point the facts though, since I'm not really a world history expert)
Being Hetalia, of course there are a lot of hilarious parts in this episode! Arthur being the only one who can see those beings and Kiku panicking because he thinks Arthur had gone nuts had been so amusing~
Aside from comedy, it also had some serious parts . . . and it's very sad actually. I can't help feeling sorry for the Kappa. The poor thing~
And though there's fanservice in this episode . . . the character just took a bath. It's not exactly something extremely perverted. Only the minds of the fans are being perverted. Wahahahhahaha!
I am also very happy with the animation. The quality on this one had been the same as the "America's Storage Cleaning" series. I hope this type of animation continues, or at least when the usual ones return, I just want more of this.
The scenes are so pretty you know that it made me take around 90 screenshots . . . shet . . . animation was just that awesome . . . and it's also an Arthur (+ Kiku) episode . . . my numero uno being cute and smexy and awesome and hilarious . . . I can't resist . . . hhehehe


Note: Dialogue translations are based on the webmanga strip~ Not 100% copied. And of course some parts are just my comments or crappy narration or fangurling. Hehe~