Character Analysis -- France
Axis Powers Hetalia's handsome bastard France is, at his very core, a very melodramatic and loving character. Unfortunately, according to the fandom at large, this is all he is, and it is recognized in the most flanderous way. How many times have we as a fandom heard, coming from the dredges of YouTube, DeviantArt, and Tumblr:
*france rape laugh ohonhonhonhonhon*
France the rapist!”
Et cetera.
I find it really disappointing, actually - France is an amazing character; certainly he's egotistical and a jerk a good amount of the time, but he's much more than just the “Rapist” that fandom has dubbed him as.
I'll begin with his original (there are newer ones) character profile written by our esteemed Himapapa himself.
France
Francis Bonnefoy, Age 26, 175 cm
A young man who does things at his own pace and has an abundance of affectionate expressions.
He has no hesitation in bragging about French being the language of love.
He brags about being a gourmet, but his food is pretty fierce.
He loves culture and the arts, as well as paintings and clothing and people, and, well, anything that's beautiful.
He'll go for beautiful men and women of any age, and maybe even some non-human beings.
Ever since forever ago, he's fought with England, but he thinks, "As long as it's quiet, it's fine right?"
But he loves himself so much he won't learn English.
Let me emphasize those adjectives for you:
Affectionate expressions.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “affectionate” as: having affection or warm regard; loving. Like a father, a brother, a friend.
Bragging. Sure, he's a braggart - but France has accomplished a lot in his day. He's managed to remain a world power and center of culture for years. I would think he's got a good amount to brag about, though he could certainly afford to be more humble.
Loves culture, arts, clothing, people - beautiful things. He has a general appreciation for anything wonderful and pleasing to the eye, no matter what it is. Shallow? Maybe, but let's keep in mind the many definitions for “beauty” floating around the world.
Sure, he dates around - he's bisexual, or as tvtropes likes to put it, “Anything That Moves”. But nowhere does it say that he forces his love on others. In fact, in one notable episode many fans seem to forget he says, in complete seriousness, “Love should never be forced on anyone.”
Fights with England. Of course he fights with England, they have an island dedicated to it! That's one of his many traits that fans do remember, and another one we forget has a nice little afternote on it: But he thinks, "As long as it's quiet, it's fine right?"
France and England only fight when it's quiet, when there's no war going on. And if you go back and read the strips, such as Christmas 2010, or even watch the movie Paint It White, we see that France and England are more than willing to put aside their differences for the greater good. They fight because it's a habit, because their rivalry forces each to better himself. It's fun, it's a thing they do.
Next, his character songs! Personally I'm not a big fan of the character songs; they're really poppy and not the kind of music I like to listen to (though I admit to being a huge fan of “Mein Gott” and “La Pasione no se Detiene”). However, they also allow valuable insights to the characters that we don't get otherwise. I'll be bolding the parts I find relevant.
First, “Paris Is Indeed Splendid!” I will say that I do like the sound of this one. It's got a kind of thirties/forties feel to it that appeals to my Jazz Age loving heart.
Pa~ra~ri Pa~ri Pari~ Pari~
Do not miss~ The right fold~ri~
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparedo~
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparareru~
Tourists who spill wine,
Oops, watch your feet.
Paris is indeed splendid~
Light-colored dresses are lovely.
Chests are nice and thick.
I had once been clenching Europe
In the palm of my hand.
I wanted a bite of French bread at the Eiffel Tower,
But glancing sideways,
A Parisienne caught my eye.
It is a fine Parisien.
Ooh~ I like~
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparedo~
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparareru~
Tourists who spill wine,
Oops, watch your feet.
Paris is indeed splendid~
So much of England, America,
I might as well not care less.
In the mildness of the French language,
I just want to melt.
Cross the Seine River, cross the border,
Cross the universe.
Build a museum in my eyes.
I love you, my beautiful twilight.
Ooh~ The world~!
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparedo~
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparareru~
Grapes are a crush-proof guide to tourism.
Note that I do not buy into fighting,
By what is said by the Bomber! Paris~
"How unexpected that we met.
Our mutual feelings rising with wine.
Finally, the beginning of the show!
Away from the hustle and bustle, deep in the Blaune Forest,
I want to take you deeper.
Got it...?
Ah! How beautiful!
Flowing from the nape of the neck like curved glass.
When it's cold, it’s time to look affectionately.
You look great...
More, show me more!
Me...in my business!"
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparedo~
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparareru~
One more time
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparedo~
Parappapara Paripappari
Paripaparareru~
Tourists who spill wine,
Oops, watch your feet.
Paris is indeed splendid~
I love you so much I could bite you.
Alright, well, that one was pretty standard France. Not much we can read in that beyond sex - there's a few lines that seem as if they could be hinting at something slightly deeper or historical, something different from our standard Egotistical-Anglophobe-Frenchman, but unfortunately there's not much we can do there. However, I will say that it's not a bad song. It's catchy, seductive, and I absolutely love France's seiyuu's voice. (I love his dub voice too, but that's neither here nor there.) It is France, through and through.
I had much more luck with this next one. “Embrace The Tres Bien Moi” is, as it says, about France himself - this is understandable, it's a character song, it's supposed to be about him. It begins cheerfully, very stereotypically French in its sound and feel.
It's also exactly what one would expect from France, on first hearing - it's about love it's about beauty, it's about how loving and beautiful he is and how wonderful the stars in the sky are. But when you take a look at the lyrics, one finds a little bit more.
Bonjour~ Je m'appelle Francis.
The babble of love, flowing with the Seine River
A transparent smile will encircle the world
The more you mess with time, the more you admire everyday life
Ah, what a beautiful panorama of Paris
Speaking about those first two bolded lines for a second, I want to take time to emphasize “transparent smile” and “admire everyday life”. I'll get more into the latter when I talk about Though I Depart, You Shall Remain (a notable recent strip about the nations in general, but featuring France at its core), but let's take a minute to remember what the nations are, exactly. They are the representation of their people, they live for centuries, millenia, suffering and living for the sake of those they love as children. It doesn't surprise me at all that they would smile transparently, and speaking internationally, that smile would indeed encircle the world.
It could also, of course, be referring to the Seine River mentioned in the previous line, but unless he's referring to his own country as the world, it can hardly encircle it. Besides, it also seems to tie in with the next line:
“The more you mess with time, the more you admire everyday life” - Remember Though I Depart, You Shall Remain? The longer one lives, the more he appreciates the little things that make up every day. Dressing, cooking, brushing one's teeth. Again, France has been around a while. He seems like a sentimental kind of guy.
“Ah, what a beautiful panorama of Paris” - and this is where I stopped thinking this song was solely about France himself. It's not about Francis, it's about France. It's about Paris, about his country, a tribute to the nation he loves so well.
A picturesque town, as if drawn in a painting; spectacular and gorgeous
Even so, it is unnecessary; that would be me… Très Bien!
We will talk of beauty beautifully at the base of your hearing
We will fill up the world as the elegant me holds it in my arms
The Arc de Triomphe rises above us, Charles de Gaulle
We shall controll the top at Montmartre
It shall cheerfully charm you, the Moulin Rouge
The shape of ultimate beauty, a panorama of Paris
A wine glass in one hand, how romantic and elegant
The very pronoun of beauty and love; that would be me… Très Bien!
Here we've got his love of melodramatic beauty - a glass of wine is traditionally held by someone who knows how to drink socially, someone with infinite class and romance, both of which France has. Sure he's a total snob; look at him complimenting himself! But he's a snob with taste, and he knows it.
We will let love dance lovingly right in front of your eyes
We will add color to this world as I am dyed with undivided love
I've got two questions reading this line. One, who is he talking to? Two, undivided love toward whom? I like to think it's, again, toward his nation, but that's just me.
We will spread love beautifully, and nobody shall imitate us
Just three stars is not enough, when you are talking with me…
There's that person he's talking to again.
“First of all is to be beautiful, to be lovely”
“The number of stars isn’t something to be decided by anyone but yourself”
“And then, there is no such border between the relationship of love and beauty”
Okay, I actually like this line for a lot of reasons. One, he's not truly defining beauty, leaving it as a vague concept we can understand by ourselves, and that to be loved is to be beautiful.
“The number of stars isn't something to be decided by anyone but yourself.”
I think I'll let that line speak for itself.
We will talk of beauty beautifully at the base of your hearing
We will fill up the world as the elegant me holds it in my arms
We will spread love beautifully, and nobody shall imitate us
We will add color to this world as I am dyed with undivided love
Au Revoir.
Mm~
I found this song much more suited to what I was searching for in picking France. But I won't rest my case just yet.
The first strip I want to look at is the absolutely classic “Mastermind” - I'm sure we all remember Germany's Budget Note, right? Well, if not, I've got the strip below, feel free to read it over again.
France seems pretty upset there, doesn't he?
Well, we've already established he's a shallow bastard, his first character song is enough evidence of that! He's concerned about his money, he jumps quickly to conclusions. He is melodramatic and has the most brilliant facial expressions that I see Himaruya draw. But there's also another line I want to take a look at.
“We got along pretty well lately, and I trusted you!”
The FraGer fans are going to appreciate that, certainly! France trusted Germany, and when he felt betrayed he automatically began preparing for the retributions in that. I could also do some analyzing Germany here and start talking about WW2 and how that affected our favorite nation-tans, but that's going to get into territory I don't think we're ready for just yet.
Ultimately, France considered Germany a friend, and was upset when he thought that might no longer be the case. France does care for his friends, on some level. They're not merely people for him to bully or force, ahem, less than prudent relations on.
Another big thing for newer Hetalians is the strip where France strips England in the middle of an Olympic field. I'm mentioning this for a couple of reasons. One, yes, that's pretty forward of France. But let's go back and look at his character bio: he fights with England to tick him off, to have fun. Not to mention he hates England's language, I certainly doubt he wants to have sex with him because of either of those reasons! Two, we see him in an image a little while after explaining to a guard that this is amour! This is love! To see the body and admire it no matter what it looks like, no matter who it is. And in there we have him appreciating beauty in all its forms again, no matter how imprudent.
I'm sure we all know about Jeanne d'Arc.
[pauses for collective fandom wail]
Jeanne d'Arc, the seventeen-year-old girl who managed to turn the tide of the Hundred Years War and is hailed as something of a saint today. Important in women's history, crucial to French history, she is also the only one Francis Bonnefoy loved and continues to love even in this day and age. She did sacrifice herself for him, after all; if he were all as shallow as he claims to be, why would he remember her and continue to mourn her after all these centuries had passed?
Considering she's still a major part of his life, I somehow doubt it's true. (And hey, who else remembers Embrace The Tres Bien Moi, the parts were he's talking to someone?)
And finally, my personal favorite France strip, Though I Depart, You Shall Remain.
This strip has struck a chord in quite a few Hetalians I know, actually, including me. It's the story of a young man who, after joining the army, goes to Paris and meets with Mr Francis Bonnefoy himself - who took a picture with the unnamed protagonist's grandfather fifty years ago.
Naturally our MC (Main Character) realizes something is off and he runs up to Francis to find out what it is. Francis, on being confronted, replies with, “If you'd like to put into words, it'd be like a ship! The government is the mast, the people are the wind and they are swimming on the sea of time, or so it was said. If the mast is standing straight and a steady wind is blowing, the ship goes forward. But well, of course, there's also the possibility of the ship suddenly getting stranded! As long as there is someone who can fix the ship, you can keep on using it forever, right?”
And in a simply monologue, France has deduced and explained why he and his fellow nations exist in the first place.
France is shallow, yes, but he's a deep character as well - he loves, he appreciates, he gives advice to random soldiers who stop him in the streets.
I don't blame people who dislike him for disliking him; personally, I disliked him too up until I had to write from his point of view! But doing that opened up an entirely new world to me. How do you adquately write love about the nation of love in a positive way, a way that defies the (completely unjustified) image of him the fandom has? It's difficult shit, I won't lie. But France is one of the more three-dimensional characters in this series filled with stereotypes, and I hope I've at least opened the door for you to love him a little bit more.