Netherlands
| Netherlands オランダ | |
|---|---|
| |
| Character Information | |
| Name |  Kingdom of the Netherlands (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair Color | Light Brown Blond (early art, anime) |
| Eye Color | Green Amber (sketch) Blue (sketch) |
| Height | 185 cm (6' 0.8")[1] |
| Debut Appearances | |
| Volume | Hetalia: Axis Powers Volume 3 |
| Strip | The Battle for America (silhouette) Netherlands and Japan’s Isolation (debut) |
| Anime | Episode 39 (silhouette) Episode 94 (formal debut) |
| Voice Actors | |
| Japanese | Nobuya Mine Arisa Nishiguchi (child) Hiroki Yasumoto (silhouette) |
| English | Michael Sinterniklaas |
Netherlands (オランダ, Oranda) is a supporting character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. He is the older brother of Belgium[2] and Luxembourg.[3]
Contents
Attributes
Appearance
Netherlands is a man with a short, vertical scar on the right side of his forehead, somewhat short, spiky dirty blond or light brown hair with sideburns, and eyes that have varied between being amber, green, or blue depending on the artwork. His hair is styled and naturally appears limp. A flashback strip during the Christmas 2011 event indicates that, as a child, Netherlands kept his hair down and wears medieval tunic. Netherlands is said to be quite muscular[4] and seems to be drawn to be about the same height as Germany[5]. He often wears a long blue and white striped scarf, shown in his formal debut in the series as well as a uniform sketch. In the volume 4 strip At Netherlands it was noted by Belgium, that he's tall and handsome.[6] He was drawn with an image of "unrestrained freedom" and dresses rather stylishly.[7]
Personality and Interests
Initially, Netherlands was said to be a strong strategist and world-dominating type of man who likes very young women and thinks nothing of using some types of shady drugs. In several appearances, including his debut, he is smoking a pipe. In volume 3 of the manga, Netherlands' profile characterizes him as a "solemn, neat freak, downer, Hokuriku-dialect speaking, scheming older brother," with Hokuriku being region west of Tokyo on the Japan Sea-side of Japan. Furthermore, he "goes Dutch" when it is convenient for him, buys cooking supplies from Germany, and has flawless "kitchen and garden maintenance." Later on in the book, he is described as "a neurotic, solemn, free older brother" who "hates tied things and messy gardens." Netherlands is also particularly fond of rabbits and owns a pet rabbit. According to Belgium, he enjoys reading romantic poems.
In the Christmas Rampage 2007, Netherlands is mentioned as having once fought with Turkey over the title of "The Tulip Country." In the Battle For America strip, he is mentioned to have attacked both Sweden and Finland after they built a villa (New Sweden) in the new world. Finland proceeds to worry about what would happen if Netherlands found the baby America.
His appreciation for money is further explained in volume 4 of the published manga. He appears buying a large amount of fish from Poland and Lithuania, would pickle it with salt, and then sell it for a higher price. Additionally, Netherlands would sell weapons to Spain, despite being at war with him at the time. During Christmas, he promised Belgium that he would bring Sinterklaas to his house; instead of spending money, he merely brought a Spain dressed as Santa. A flashback strip during the Christmas 2011 event reveals that, as a child, Netherlands' land had little wealth in comparison to Belgium, and he was stunned when he witnessed her lifestyle. Belgium states that she may have influenced her brother's business habits, though Netherlands states it was always his nature.
Relationships
Belgium
Main article: Belgium
Netherlands and Belgium are said to have had difficult relations, stemming from when they were both under Spain's control. When Netherlands left to become independent, he fought against both her and Spain in the Dutch Revolt and the Eighty Years' War.
He later tried to reconcile with Belgium so they could both form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but due to their irreconcilable differences (Netherlands being better with trade and mainly Protestant versus Belgium being better with farming and mostly Catholic) it failed to happen and Belgium declared her independence. Currently, they appear to have reconciled, and spend time together.
Japan
Main article: Japan
Though Netherlands acted aggressive towards most others, he refrained from acting this way towards Japan to convince him to open trade with foreigners, due to having had a companionship with him for years before. In the Netherlands and Isolationist Japan comic, Netherlands is visibly bothered that Japan chose to sign a peace treaty with America. Also in the Christmas 2011 strip he is shown preventing others such as Denmark from going to Japan's house with a seemingly murderous aura and never let his guard down.
Japan had diplomatic relations with England, Portugal, and Spain as well as Netherlands, however after his isolation he only kept in touch with Netherlands. He got all of his news about Europe from him at the time.[8]
Luxembourg
Main Article: Luxembourg
Luxembourg refers to Netherlands as "Big Brother" as a term of endearment.[9] On a character relationship chart, Luxembourg states that "the fine arts at big brother's house are interesting," while Netherlands says that Luxembourg shouldn't follow his example.[10]
A probable draft design for Luxembourg shows him trying to mimic Netherlands' hair style.[11]
Spain
Main article: Spain
Netherlands became a member of Spain's household when the Burgundian-Hapsburgs acquired the crown of Spain. Their relationship became very difficult up until the point where Spain believed Netherlands hated him. Netherlands eventually left and defeated Spain to be recognized as an independent country. During the Christmas 2010 event, they are seen together, though Netherlands continually tells Spain to go home. When a shadowy figure appears, Netherlands again orders Spain to leave. When the nation falls, Spain confronts the figure.
Appearances
Manga
Netherlands' design was first revealed in a sketch for the FIFA World Cup 2010. Since then, he formally debuted in "Isolationist Japan" strips and has appeared sporadically in strips and sketches on Himaruya's blog. Netherlands officially debuted in the published manga in volume 3. Preceding the reveal of his design, Netherlands was drawn as a silhouette in the Battle for America strips.
Anime
The silhouette version of Netherlands briefly appeared in Episode 39: The Battle For America, Part 1, where he was drawn slightly more "monster-like" than how he appeared in the manga strip. He is voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto in this cameo. He also makes a silhouette appearance in Episode 64, on a war relations list. Netherlands makes his formal debut in Episode 94 broadcasted on January 28, 2011, wherein he refuses to eat with Belgium if Spain will be joining them. He appears with his trademark scar although in the strip the episode adapts he doesn't have it yet.
While Netherlands' hair in the manga ranges from a pale blond to a dirty blond/light brown color, his appearance in World Series gave him bright yellow-blond hair. In The Beautiful World, his hair is changed to a sandy blond color.
Trivia
- Though notes on Netherlands were given as early as 2007, his actual appearance remained shrouded in mystery until Hidekaz Himaruya drew an illustration to commemorate Group E in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Before the illustration, all that was known of his appearance was that he had blond hair and green eyes (though he appeared with somewhat different colors in the FIFA group shot). His silhouetted form also briefly appeared in both The Battle For America' and an illustration in the webcomic version of The War Of Austrian Succession.
- An early answer to a question in 2007 described Netherlands as a tsundere type of character who loves to fight and that was xenophobic. However, it is unknown if Himaruya kept these characteristics.
- In a blog post, Himaruya has mentioned fan-suggested options that he liked for his human name, including Tim, Govert, Abel, and Mogens.[12]
- Due to both the Netherlands and Holland being referred to as Oranda in Japanese, his name is commonly translated as "Holland" rather than "Netherlands" (which would be the more technically-correct term as Holland only refers to two of its provinces). However, both names are sometimes mistakenly used interchangeably for the entire Netherlands, similar to the tendency to refer to the United Kingdom as "England". It should be noted that sometimes the Dutch people refer to their own country as Holland.
- Himaruya states that his official name is "Kingdom of the Netherlands/Koninkrijk der Nederlanden," which designates the sovereign state formed by the four equal countries of Aruba, Curaçao, The Netherlands, and Sint Maarten.
- In Dutch "De Nederlanden" (plural with an article) refers to either the Kingdom of the Netherlands or former constructions. The modern European country is referred to as "Nederland" (singular without an article).
References
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (2021). ヘタリア☆Collezione [Hetalia☆Collezione]. Shueisha. p. 96. ISBN 978-4-0888-2870-1.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (2007). "キタユメ。クリスマス予告編 [Kitayume. Christmas Preview]". http://www.geocities.jp/himaruya/chrismas_bonsai.html. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (January 3, 2012). "お知らせ２ [Notification 2]". http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-1368.html. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
- ↑ Hidekaz, Himaruya (July 30, 2007). "ベラルーシさんとウクライナさんの軍服バージョン [Belars And Ukraine's Military Uniform Versions]". http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-1228.html. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (January 24, 2011). "いっしょにとことこ [Walking Together]". http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-1046.html. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (2011). Axis Powers ヘタリア 4 [Axis Powers Hetalia 4]. Gentosha. p. 34. ISBN 978-4-3448-2233-7.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (2010). Axis Powers ヘタリア 3 特装版 [Axis Powers Hetalia 3 Specially Equipped Edition]. Gentosha. p. 23. ISBN 978-4-3448-1938-2.
- ↑ http://www.geocities.jp/himaruya/skk.html
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (January 3, 2012). "お知らせ２". http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-1368.html. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (November 19, 2014). "ようやくまとめた！！". http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-1604.html. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (November 14, 2013). "リクエスト53". http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-1506.html. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ↑ Himaruya, Hidekaz (November 26, 2011). "「Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs」でのイギリスいじりは異常". http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-946.html. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
