Sweden

Sweden (スウェーデン Suweden) is a supporting character in the series Hetalia.

In 2008, Himaruya gave human names to some of the characters and he received the name Berwald Oxenstierna (ベールヴァルド・オキセンスシェルナ Bēruvarudo Okisensusheruna).

Appearance

Main article: Uniform Guide: Sweden

Sweden has short, light blond hair and greenish-blue eyes. He wears a long blue overcoat with a matching hat, a black shirt and tie, and black pants, gloves, and boots; he also wears glasses. He is the tallest of all five Nordics; there is approximately a 12 cm difference between him and Finland (the latter standing at about 170 cm, which would make Sweden 182 cm). He is the same height as Russia, they both tie as the second tallest when it comes to height, being taller than the other countries but being just slightly shorter than The Netherlands who is the tallest at 185 cm.

Personality and Interests

Sweden was once a viking and the "Conqueror Of The Baltic Sea", but now stands neutral in military matters; he has calmed down and currently puts his strength into welfare. He is silent and difficult to understand; his taciturnity is due to the fact that he was born in a cold area. Deep down, he is actually quite playful, but it's rarely shown because of his intimidating aura.

His hobbies include making furniture and art. It is said that his canned Surströmming can be used as a deadly weapon. He speaks in a Tohoku accent, often translated as grunts and truncated words.

Despite his silence, he apparently takes interest in arguments and debates.

Relationships

Denmark

Main article: Denmark

Denmark once ruled over Sweden and Finland, but Sweden grew aggravated by his control and his refusal to listen. Sweden finally snapped and ran away from their home. A set of strips on Himaruya's blog suggest that Denmark challenged Sweden a number of times, though they also suggest his defeats.

Although their relationship hasn't been discussed much during the modern period, Denmark does show concern for him during the Christmas 2011 event when he discovers Sweden knocked to the ground by Ladonia. Also, during the event, Denmark thought it was cool that Sweden lived in a furniture store and said he wanted to try living in a house made of Lego. In a comic published in Comic Birz, Denmark states that he and Sweden used to fight frequently but are now "best buds".

Estonia

Main article: Estonia

Sweden and Estonia meet for the first time in the strip, The Violent Sve of Northern Europe Takes a Mighty Swing!. Upon their first encounter, Estonia screams in fright when seeing Sweden's face but later apologizes for being rude after Finland whispered to him that he made Sweden angry (Sweden, however, wasn't angry; he simply couldn't hear him) and introduces himself. Sweden later states that he wants Estonia and Latvia to come with him, but Estonia nervously says that it's not possible while Latvia adds they need Poland's permission first.

Determined, Poland tries to stand his ground against Sweden, but later he ends up getting "stranger anxiety" and he is given partially custody of Estonia and Latvia. In the volume 4 omake comic, Estonia writes that when Sweden looks down at him, he feels as if Sweden might want to kill him.

Finland

Main article: Finland

The two were once under the control of Denmark but managed to escape. From that point, the two began living with each other; because of this, Sweden considers him to be his "wife", though Finland denies such relation. Finland later fell under the control of Russia for some time; he stated that he felt more "free" there, though he quickly added that it was more fun being together with Sweden. Finland often refers to Sweden as "Su-san" ("Mr. Swe") for short.

Several strips about their life together were made, including one that features them adopting a dog named Hanatamago and one where Finland runs into a small child (which later turns out to be a very young America). After the boy flees in fright and Finland telling him about the boy, Sweden asks him if he wants kids, and he responds that he thought it would be nice if they had a child following them everywhere. Sweden says he'll "do his best" but he doesn't understand what Sweden means.

Although earlier strips show Finland appearing terrified or uneasy towards Sweden, most recent strips show a different picture with Finland appearing less afraid of Sweden, most noticeably during some of the Kitayume events like Christmas 2010 and Halloween 2011. In Finland's Volume 5 profile, it is said he likes and looks up to Sweden.

Sweden's feelings towards Finland have been consistent throughout the series and considers him to be "a good friend".

Ladonia

Main article: Ladonia

Ladonia, who lives on Swedish territory, acts very spoiled towards him, to the point of knocking him down during a tantrum. He also appears to address him as Sve. Sweden, however, has more than once willingly pretended to be attacked by Ladonia by reading from a script that paints Sweden as being mercilessly defeated as Ladonia tackles him, much to Ladonia's joy. In the Christmas 2011 event he appears to have done this to distract Ladonia from fears that he was on Santa's naughty list or that Santa wasn't coming.

Prussia

Main article: Prussia

Sweden is listed as one of the character options for house cleaning in Cleaning Mr. Prussia. Prussia is afraid of him and begins having unpleasant flashbacks about the Great Northern War. It is also mentioned that he doesn't understand and know how to communicate with Sweden, even with his "Northern German sixth sense." Despite this, he decides to go to his house anyway in hopes he will be sold cheap IKEA furniture in gratitude. When he arrives, he immediately faints when he sees his face through a crack in the door. When he awakes inside his home and sees Sweden's face once more, he faints again. This process is said to have repeated another twelve times, and the game is labeled as a "bad end".

Sealand

Main article: Sealand

Sealand is Sweden's adoptive son, whom he bought from an auction. Since then, he has attempted to be a father figure to the micronation but has been shown to struggle a bit as Sealand acts like a typical child/pre-teen and he would rather pursue his own interests and goals rather than spend time with Sweden.

In The Anime

Sweden is first briefly seen in Episode 01, sitting next to Finland in the meeting room. He later appears in Episode 14 as one of the many characters stuck in line at the supermarket, and comments on what a peaceful day it is.

He later gets more of a proper introduction in Episode 69 and Episode 70 where he rebels against Denmark and flees Denmark's house together with Finland. They travel to Estonia's place, where Sweden then attempts to get Estonia and Latvia to come with him as an effort to make Finland feel less lonely. After Poland shows up and despite Sweden initially giving up on taking in the two Baltics, Poland gets scared by him and ends up giving Sweden shared custody of both Estonia and Latvia. Sweden then appears briefly at the beginning of Episode 83, and then in Extra Episode 1 along with the other Nordics.

He makes a brief appearance with the rest of the Nordics again in Gakuen Hetalia: Go Forth! Newspaper Club!! Second Half as part of the "Nordic Club", then gets more screentime again in Meeting of the Nordic where he and the others plan a secret birthday party for Iceland, and in The Nordic Five +α where Finland introduces him and the rest of the Nordics in depth.

His character design was altered for the anime; his blond hair changed to a light brown while his eyes became a dark brown (in episodes 01 and 14) matching the way he appeared in the Meeting of the World strip. However, in Episode 69, his appearance was changed to fit his original design, as his hair was given a "yellow hue" similar to Finland's and his eyes changed into dark blue ones. Another change occurs in The Beautiful World, where his hair gets less yellowy and his eyes are now turquoise to match official artwork.

Name

It is assumed that his surname, Oxenstierna, came from the Swedish statesman Axel Oxenstierna (Oxenstjärna), and that his given name Berwald came from Franz Berwald, a Swedish Romantic composer, for whom the Berwaldhallen in Stockholm is named after. The Berwaldhallen also happens to be near Oxenstiernsgatan (Oxenstjärnsgatan).

Character Songs

Hatafutte Parade (Sweden)

Always With You... Nordic Five! (featured)

Mm.

Trivia

• It has been said by Hidekaz Himaruya that Sweden is homosexual. It has also been said that he only has romantic feelings towards Finland.

• Sweden is the only character with a confirmed sexual preference; other countries' sexualities are implied or hinted at, but never confirmed.

Notes