Never before have I seen a phenomenon like Hidekaz Himaruya's manga/anime series, Axis Powers Hetalia.
What started as a Japanese web comic depicting a satire of history, culture and world events is now a published manga and anime series. That's pretty awesome in itself, however thanks to very active fans and the powers of the internet the popularity of this series has skyrocketed.
With the exception of some Korean protesters, people across the globe have lovingly adopted the characters which represent the many nations that make up our world. The result? October 24th is World Hetalia Day. According to the event's facebook page (so far) 28 countries are celebrating in 104 different locations. 104 separate events on the same day to celebrate Hetalia.
What makes it so amazing? Neither the manga nor the anime have been released in the U.S. as of yet. Manga strips were posted online and a translated by fans. The anime was released over cellphones and the internet, subtitles were made available by fans. The fact that fans and the powers of the internet took this series to the level of a world wide celebrated holiday is what makes it so amazing to me.
I'll be celebrating tomorrow too. Click here for the directory of public event locations.
