Hetalia: Axis Powers (ヘタリア Axis Powers) is a manga and anime series by Hidekaz Himaruya placed in a World War-era setting in which the countries are represented by anthropomorphic characters. Hetalia (ヘタリア) is a made-up word combining hetare (へタレ) — Japanese for useless — and Italia (イタリア). This is to make light of Italy's apparent cowardice during World War II.