First Nation: Canon England (Part 2)

As I have mentioned a bit in the last post, the England that the canon presents is very sarcastic, tsundere, quirky, prideful, and doesn't want to make a fuss. This aligns well with English stereotypes, as all but tsundere are typically associated.

Perhaps the best way to explain this is to ask you to think about any BBC shows or British moves that you have watched. Whether it is a popular show like Doctor Who and Sherlock, or a movie such as Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Monty Python, a few traits always seem to stand out amongst the characters: their ability to "keep calm and carry on", as it were, and their exceptional sarcasm. This is related to England, as much can be gathered by his words and body language by understanding how the English think.

Think on the first trait, remaining calm and orderly. It is likely that this stereotype has persisted because of the World War II propaganda poster which read "Keep Calm and Carry On", though it might have existed before then. This trait is not quite as present in Hetalia's England as it is in other English works, likely because of his short temper and tsundere nature.

Think on the second trait, sarcasm. The quintessential Brit is very polite and "gentlemanly", however, a lot of the time, it is simply the language used that makes they appear this way. In fact, they often mean something quite harsh. Consider this chart:

Many of the statements appear to show that they are trying to be polite, but mean almost the opposite. This is often done both consciously and unconsciously depending on the situation. Next time you watch an episode, consider what England says more deeply than face value.

The tsundere aspect often plays a role in the anime, which can be quite obvious in various scenes throughout the anime. For those of you who do not know, the "tsundere" character type is typically some level of harsh or mean towards someone they like or others in general, but they are quite sweet and nice once gotten close to. This is demonstrated with the memes in the vain of

England can be seen almost wanting to do things for people but acting as if he even dislikes the thought of it. This is mostly conveyed by blush and other body language as well hints in the dialogue.

That concludes my thoughts on the personality of canon England.
In the next post, I will be discussing a few archetypal variations of fanon England, though I am certainly not able to discuss every single headcanon and AU that the fandom has come up with, largely because there are just so many of them and each person has their own slightly different depiction.