The sixth season of Hetalia with the subtitle of World Twinkle debuted earlier this month on the FUNimation site proper and now it’s making its way over to Hulu as well to expand its reach. THat reach is a bit limited though as the stream for it is kept to just paid subscribers for the short form series. Those that do subscribe each month though can watch this show on your TV and mobile devices. This season of the series will focus on material from the fifth and sixth volumes of the manga from Hidekaz Himaruya. The show is directed by Hiroshi Watanabe based on series composition by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu and character designs by Mariko Oka. It’s being animated at Studio DEEN.
FUNimation has previously licensed and streamed/simulcast the seasons as well as acquiring the rights to the movie as well. The series continues to be a strong player in the social media world with the manga installments generating a lot of traffic when they come out. Right Stuf has been releasing the TOKYOPOP manga volumes as print on demand for the first three volumes and regular print run for the rest. All six volumes are available now.
Series concept: Described as a “cynical gag” story set in Europe in the years between WW1 and WW2 (1918-1939), using exaggerated caricatures of the different nationalities as portrayed by a gaggle of bishōnen. For example, the Italia Veneziano character is into pasta and women. The Deutsche (German) bishi loves potatoes and sausages, and Nippon is an otaku boy. Installments of the manga have jumped back and forth in setting from the ancient times to modern-day geopolitics. The manga’s title comes the Japanese words for “useless” (hetare) and Italy (Italia).
