Hetalia: Axis Powers, Season 01

Just when you thought anime had reached its limits of sheer weirdness, along comes this 26-episode adaptation of a seriously off-kilter web comic and manga. The oddball concept behind Hetalia—presented in five-minute segments—is to reinvent the World War II–era nations as cutesy anime characters. Yes, humans named Italy, Germany, Japan, America, and so on, find themselves in bizarre situations mirroring events during the 1930s and ‘40s—sort of. Germany, Italy, and Japan become stranded together on a strange island, while Switzerland and Liechtenstein run into Austria during a shopping trip. Unexpected flashbacks and flash-forwards are thrown into the mix, and the dubious micronation of “Sealand” makes an appearance. While the series spends too much time having fun at Italy's expense—a bumbling but sweet goofball, constantly dominated by brutish Germany while trying to make sense of bizarre Japan—Hetalia deserves props for its sheer outlandishness. Once the viewer abandons all hope of common sense (let alone historical accuracy), the inanity is often genuinely amusing, serving up nutty-history riffs that easily would qualify as a guilty pleasure. Compiling the complete 2009 first season on a dual-language, two-disc set, rated TV-MA, DVD extras include audio commentaries, and interviews with director Bob Shirahata. Highly recommended. [Note: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Season 02 is also newly available.] (P. Hall)