My first experience with Hetalia was a real head scratcher. I knew the show had a huge following so when I saw that it was available on Netflix Watch It Now I watched the first episode. In the brief run time that it played I found myself confused. It just seemed to be a bunch of voice over actors shooting one liners out at random. I didn’t return to the show again.

Hetalia: Paint It, White! is titled as an “Epic Feature Film”. In the story the world is being taken over by what looks to be the undeveloped CJ7 character from Stephen Chow’s beloved film of the same name. These creatures, known as the Pictorians, trudge around like zombies with an angler fish like tentacle light hanging off their heads that will turn anyone not a Pictorian into one. Most of the Earth, it would seem, has been converted and all that’s left is the Hetalia boys, some dude in Iceland (a new character), and Switzerland and his little sister Liechtenstein, who hide behind their force field of neutrality. Only time will tell if everyone is consumed by the Pictorian invasion or if the Hetalia boys can manage to stop in-fighting and handle the situation.

Okay, so the core story arc was pretty hilarious. All the randomness of the show seems to translate well here with a lot of pop culture nods and disses but also a fair amount of intelligence (be sure to check out The Hidden History Hidden Within Hetalia bonus feature) that is both obvious and not so obvious. Intermixed within the film itself are short little skits that range from hilarious to meh. You can’t win them all I guess. In any case I enjoyed the film, I wouldn’t say its groundbreaking or anything, but it just felt like a cross between MST3K and some kind of a roast gone haywire. Its silly, educational, and at times plain dumb fun. As a story it’s kind of light but apparently if you’re going in for a viewing of Hetalia you shouldn’t go in expecting to be amazed, only entertained.

Bonus features include the aforementioned Hidden History bonus feature which is text based and is rather informative. You’ll get the 411 on Iceland’s inclusion, history on some of the more hilarious moments in the film, e.g. when Russia decides to dive out of a plane without a parachute because he thinks the snow is soft and will brace his fall. Apparently it’s rumored to have been a true story. You’ve got commentary, An original theatrical ending (which just seemed like a different background for the end credits), your usual Textless bonuses, Opening Day Greetings from the original Japanese voice cast, a trailer, outtakes, and trailers for other Funimation shows. If you bought the Limited Edition version you also get a Hetalia Bandana. Mine is green and features all the characters scattered along the cloth as you can see below in the pictures section.