Canada

Canada (カナダ, Kanada) is a character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers. In 2008, Himaruya gave out human names to some of the characters and he received the name, Matthew Williams (マシュー・ウィリアムズ, Mashyū Uiriamuzu)

Appearance
His hair is wavy, and depicted at times as being two-toned: A lighter blond on top, with more of an orange (or darker blond) shade on the bottom and tips. He has violet eyes, though they have also been colored blue in some of the official art featuring him. At least one figurine depicts him with completely orange hair. The anime depicts him with shorter, straighter hair, and a slightly different shade of blond than his brother. His eyes, unlike in the manga, are somewhat darker blue. He also sports a curl off the top of his head.

Canada wears a heavy tan winter coat and pants as his military uniform, though when he's dressed casual, he is usually shown wearing a hoodie (sometimes depicted with the Canadian flag emblem on it), and a pair of jeans. Like his brother, Canada wears glasses, though he also sports a pair of goggles on his head at times (such as when wearing his uniform). The picture at the right depicts him in his younger days, presumably in his early teens.

Although often drawn as shorter and smaller in fanart, official art makes it clear that he is either the same height/build as his brother, or very close to it.

Personality And Interests
In contrast to his brother, Canada is shy, sensitive, and hates fighting. Despite this, he is often mistaken for his brother and has found himself in trouble for incidents that America has caused. When he's not being mistaken for his brother, all the other nations tend to forget that he exists. He is also passive aggressive and was once able to make America cry by arguing with him for over three hours and pointing out every single one of his faults. It is also implied in a chapter he loves maple syrup as he is shown offering America some for his coffee. Canada also has a fondness for ice cream, as it was shown in one chapter, he easily forgives Cuba's bashing when he offers the treat.

He has a pet bear named Kumajirou, but even he forgets about him. In return, Canada cannot ever remember his bear's exact name.

France
France seems to be one of the only Hetalia characters who are able to recognize Canada. He says in an episode that it's because of Canada's hair that looks like his own, but not as good, like he says himself. He also appears to like Canada's movies and to be really close to him, even if Canada sometimes looks shy when he is close to him.

America
The two brothers grew up separately as children, until England eventually took Canada on a trip to meet America, who wound up becoming bored with him and forgetting him shortly into their first meeting. In a separate strip, America is seen riding Canada's bear, while carrying Canada on his back.

In their adulthood, America is the source of his constant troubles, due to the fact that people get their identities mixed up and he gets blamed for fights that America started or is spoken to as America. However, during an argument, Canada was able to reduce him to tears when he went on a 3-hour rant about all of his flaws. Despite this, the two seem to have a healthy relationship, as their arguing and America's frequent forgetting of him can merely come off as sibling rivalry. America tends to visit his house on occasion and is seen to be the one Canada spends the most time with.

Cuba
Cuba, as well as numerous other nations, initially mistook Canada for America and beat him up. Later, he apologized with a peace offering of ice cream. The two get along well, though Cuba still sometimes mistakes Canada for his brother.

In The Anime
Canada and Kumajirou appear in Episode 19 at an Allied Forces meeting. But due to his "invisibility effect", the other Allies do not realize that he's there with them.

His design was slightly altered for the anime, with his violet eyes changed to a deep blue and his hair drawn slightly shorter and straighter, as well as colored dark blond and missing its gradient effect. His casual hoodie, often assumed to be red (though colored light green in one official picture), is also colored teal.

Name
There is no definite source for his first name, Matthew. Across Canada, Matthew has been a greatly popular name for newborns in recent decades, often in the top three most frequently given first names. Coincidentally or not, the caravel sailed by John Cabot from Bristol to North America in 1497 was named Matthew. John Cabot and his crew have reached Bonavista, Newfoundland (which was not a province of Canada until 1949). In fanworks, his name is occasionally spelled Matthieu or Mathieu, acknowledging past and present French influence on Canada.

Trivia

 * His birthday, July 1st, corresponds to the national holiday of Canada Day, when Canada first became independent on July 1st, 1867. Although, full independence wasn't gained until December 11 1931 with the Statute of Westminster.
 * It is a source of debate as to whether America or Canada is the older of the two brothers. Hidekaz Himaruya has yet to confirm the age difference between the two. A common fanon assumption is that the two are twins, due to their similarities and the fact that Canada is easily mistaken for his brother. They do not share the same birthday, but birthdays are based on independence rather than birth.
 * Canada is one of the Allied Forces during the second world war which would bring the total of Allied powers in the story to six, is the third strongest Western Power, and contributed a lot in the war, but being under so much British Influence much of Canada's efforts were considered British efforts, which can be considered a contribution to Canada's invisibility. This could also explain why Canada isn't often seen amongst the others when the Allies are acting together.
 * In both the Japanese and English versions of the Anime, Canada is voiced by the same actor that voices America..