There exist creatures of darkness and evil that plague the night, devouring any human unfortunate enough to be caught in their grasp. On the other side is Hellsing, an organization dedicated to destroying these supernatural forces that threaten the very existence of humanity. At its head is Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, who commands a powerful military and spends her life fighting the undead.
Integra's vast army, however, pales in comparison with her ultimate weapon: the vampire Alucard, who works against his own kind as an exterminator for Hellsing. With his new vampire servant, Seras Victoria, at his side, Alucard must battle not only monsters, but all those who stand to oppose Hellsing, be they in the guise of good or evil.
In a battle for mankind's survival, Hellsing Ultimate proves that appearances are not all they may seem, and sometimes the greatest weapon can come in the form of one's worst nightmare.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
TheAzureSky
Fantastic vampire action and violence; but dull characters, erratic pacing with too much melodrama and an overpowered main character. ★★☆☆ It has all the flash and gimmicks to trick you into thinking it’s good. It has vampires, action, blood, swearing, violence, gore, sexuality, darkness—everything that’s just “cooool” and “matuuure.” Let’s not forget its “badass” hero Alucard—whose name is “Dracula” spelled backward, by the way. Goddamn that is so fucking cool I’m hurting. He’s so powerful no one can beat him. Except… that is the problem. Because none of his enemies can even touch him all his fights are boring filler. You’re actually left rooting for the villains. The maincharacters are supposed to be the one putting up a struggle, not the other way around. The only time I was excited about a fight was when the villains felt like they could pose a challenge. But then Alucard whips out a power up, and I’m left saying “Oh.”
For a show with gorgeous animation and fantastic action it’s dull and forgettable. It’s like an attractive person without a personality. There are pacing issues where it slows down to be melodramatic and rambles about nonsense philosophy. I get that you need to let us know character motivations, but giving 10 minute speeches isn’t exactly keeping me awake. It also tries to be funny with some lighthearted, cutely animated moments, but it only ruins the mood.
I still actually recommend watching this but only if you’re slightly interested. It’s helpful to watch good and bad shows. It’ll give you an instinct on why something is good or bad. I enjoyed this my first time, but I certainly wouldn’t watch it again.
bladeangel
My friends, It has often been said that I like Hellsing Ultimate. My friends, I like Hellsing Ultimate…NO. Friends, I LOVE!! HELLSING ULTIMATE! I love the dark animation, I love the gore, I love the action, I love the charismatic characters, the accents, I love the bombastic plot and dialogue! I love any like-minded quality anime that can exist upon this Earth! I love watching ghouls, vampires and mercenaries clashing in an all-out VAR within the Victorian hallways of the Hellsing estate. My heart leaps with joy whenever a soldier’s limps are blown off followed by screams of agonizing pain. And there is nothing likea British vampire chick dual wielding artillery canons to rain hell upon the mightiest engines of war, UND the feeling that comes when a vampire runs away screaming from Alucard only to be slaughtered in the most gruesome way imaginable... is such... an exquisite feeling. Like when ranks of mercenaries sign up to hunt vampires and ghouls using silver bullets. It moves me deep within my heart to see an entire squadron of innocent SWAT forces butchered mercilessly by none other than the MC in their final moments of shock and despair. The sight of haters being made fun of on the forums for their ridicule subjective criticism is an irresistible pleasure. And there is nothing more arousing then the major’s awe-inspiring war-speech which is still resonating with grandeur in your heads at this very moment. When a band of pitiful resistance fighters make their final stand with nothing but small arms only to have their city destroyed and their guts disemboweled by a thousand paratrooper vampire Nazis, I’m in ecstasy. I love it when my favorite factions are ravaged by enemy Nazi bastards. It’s so sad to see characters I had held onto dearly meet their tragic fates, their friends and comrades ripped in half gasping for their last breaths. I love to be squashed under the heel of the Nazi and Vatican war dogs, the humiliation as my men crawl around like vermin, hiding and taking cheap shots from walled corners.
Gentlemen, all I ask for is more Hellsing Ultimate. An anime so grand as to make hell itself tremble. Gentlemen…I ask you as fellow brothers in arms what is it that you really want? Do you wish for further anime like this as I do? Do you wish for a merciless bloody anime? Anime whose fury is built with iron and lightning and fire? DO YOU ASK FOR ANIME TO SWEEP IN LIKE A TEMPEST, LEAVING NOT EVEN CRITICS TO SCAVENGE FROM THIS EARTH!!!
literaturenerd
Overview: I'm just going to come out and say it! Hellsing Ultimate is awesome! Count Dracula teams up with the granddaughter of Van Helsing in order to defend London from an army of Nazi vampires. Sound silly? Of course it is, and that's part of its charm! Hellsing is balls to the wall action that never takes itself too seriously and is extremely enjoyable to watch. Spoilers!!! Plot 4/10 To say the plot of Hellsing Ultimate is stupid, would be an understatement. This plot absolutely revels in its own absurdity. A fat, over the top Nazi known only as Zee Major builds an army of Nazi vampires in SouthAmerica and invades London with a group of giant Zeppelins. The only thing that can stop them...Count Dracula of course. You have to love Zee major though. He is such a silly, cartoonish caricature of Nazism, although he still falls short of Ann Coulter, who would call Zee Major a liberal pansy. This is not an artsy, experimental anime like Mushishi. It's not a thinking man's existentialist anime like Tatami Galaxy. With Hellsing, you have to just give your brain a rest and enjoy the EPIC battles and bizarre humor that permeates this series.
Characters 9/10
Hellsing has awesome characters like the absolutely insane Catholic priest Father Anderson, who is like Eren Jaeger from Attack on Titan fused with the Boondock Saints. It has a Cockney vampire chick that talks with that adorably silly accent and fights with a massive anti-tank rifle. It has an SS werewolf who is literally a werewolf and must therefore tear off his shirt before every fight. Lastly we have Alucard, the badass sociopath himself voiced by the legendary Crispin Freeman in the English Dub. (God I love that man!) Don't expect characters to be deep or 3 dimensional, but instead enjoy the sheer madness, like most other aspects of this series.
Soundtrack 10/10
It has an AMAZING soundtrack featuring Die Frieschutz by the early Romantic composer Karl Maria Von Weber. I am a huge classical music fan and hadn't even heard of Von Weber before Hellsing. Now I have most of his best known works on my itunes and listen to it all the time! The other parts of the soundtrack are rather nice as well, with good original tracks and cheesy remixes of old German wartime classics like Das England Lied.
Art 8/10
The art isn't perfect, but is a massive improvement from the first Hellsing series. The character designs are well done and although the blood looks like ketchup and lacks any bone fragments, organs, or anything else you would expect from people literally exploding all the time, it is still massively satisfying to see.
Enjoyment 10/10
Hellsing Ultimate is bloody fun from beginning to end. The first Hellsing series was ok, but at times took itself too seriously, which clashed with the carefree style of Kouta Hirano. Hirano is primarily a hentai artist and porn director who occasionally draws manga on the side, despite the fact that his art is actually pretty abysmal. He doesn't take himself seriously and clearly was laughing his ass off as he drew every panel. His humor and enjoyment is absolutely contagious, and he has utterly mastered the art of "so bad its good" storytelling.
Overall 9/10
Leave your brain at the door and get on the roller coaster of awesome silliness that is Hellsing Ultimate. This series may turn some people off with its incredible amount of gore and shockingly tasteless Nazi stupidity, but if you enjoyed Inglorius Basterds a lot, I highly recommend Hellsing Ultimate. Apparently a few German viewers on youtube found the portrayal of Germans offensive in this series, but honestly you are taking it WAY too seriously if you are offended by something as ridiculous as Hellsing Ultimate. I come from an ethnic German family myself and I found it fucking hilarious, so lighten up guys!
Optigisa
Hellsing Ultimate is genuinely one of the dumbest Anime one would get the displeasure of watching. It boggles the mind how people think this Anime is good or even great by extension, and seeing the amount of praise it gets boggles the mind, as this one suffers from many major problems which cannot be overlooked. So, what are the problems that Hellsing Ultimate suffers from? To start off with the characters, our hero Alucard feels like the epitome of what it means to be a mary sue. Does he have character traits which define him? Of course not, since he is nothing but an underdeveloped,unbeatable, one dimensional mary sue who does what he wants and what he pleases because the plot said so. Is he able to be beaten? Yes, but only when the plot needs him to stray away for a while, then after that he comes back because he is supposed to be an immortal vampire who never dies because of plot, even when the other characters beat him fair and square through a smart strategy they had developed early on. Speaking of the other characters, they exist just for the sole purpose of moving the plot forward all the while being one dimensional archetypes themselves. You’ve got the central villain, Major, whose only character trait is to be evil and speak in a funny German accent just to get some cheap laughs from the viewers. You’ve got a woman who owns Alucard and is supposed to be his master, and her character is never developed other than her being his master, and to drink wine and speak in a posh accent I guess. She was so forgettable, to the point where I forgot her name. The other characters are the same, they either exist for the sole purpose of telling an unfunny joke, or to progress the plot forward without gaining any real characterization in the process. Reading some of the reviews here, they rave about the greatness of the characters, yet they never go into specifics as to why said characters are so great. I wonder why…
As for the unfunny jokes, this Anime is filled to the very brim with them. Were you hoping for a serious and grim Anime about vampires and soldiers fighting each other to the death? Jokes on you, we’ll give you the silliest, most addlebrained “comedy” Anime that ever tried to take itself seriously. Even when it should be funny and invoke laughter out of the audience, it doesn’t do anything of significance nor does it succeed in getting said laughs. Moreover, the juxtaposition between comedy and seriousness completely breaks the audience’s immersion in the plot, as one cannot be invested in a serious scene because the Anime breaks the viewer’s immersion and the serious tone that it was going for with unfunny jokes that come out of nowhere. Seriously, the comedy displayed here is worse than that of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and that is genuinely saying something. To put it in simpler words, the Anime does not know what it wants to be, because if it’s goal was to be a hysterical parody of vampires, then it has certainly failed in it’s goal, since it neither is funny nor does it not break that rule by trying to take itself seriously half of the time.
Moving on to one more problem that this unfunny sack of underwhelming doodoo suffers from, it is that the episode length is long. There is a reason one watches Anime, and that is because while it not being the best medium out there, it at least makes up for it by not torturing the viewer for more than twenty minutes at a time. What does Hellsing Ultimate do? It lengthens it’s twenty minute run per episode into forty slow and lengthy minutes, which boggles the mind since ten minutes of this catastrophe were unwatchable, much less forty. Even when sped up, it doesn’t help either since you are constantly seeing characters you dislike being shoved right into your face all the time. You can’t escape this terrible catastrophe no matter how hard you tried, as it is inherently bad by itself.
Overall, there isn’t much else to say about Hellsing Ultimate. It is boring, trite, unfunny and at the end of the day it is meandering. Why is it meandering you ask? Because the main character is an unbeatable mary sue who barely shows any emotions and the outcomes therefore become predictable.
defunctmaluser
I get sick of shows that are supposedly brutal bloodbaths *very* easily. Why is that? Well I go into it thinking I'm gonna experience just that and instead all I get is a whole lot of bad pacing and tiny little splashes of blood that are heavily censored for no good reason whatsoever with a protagonist that can't shut the fuck up with his bitching. Of course, it's not surprising this is the case since I was spoiled ROTTEN by Hellsing Ultimate. Hellsing Ultimate is the epitome of senseless violence and sheer brutality. Fuck your Mirai Nikki, Deadman Wonderland, and Tokyo Ghoul! THIS is areal bloodbath and Alucard is the (un)living definition of a true badass.
Hellsing Ultimate is a reboot of the Hellsing franchise. Previously, there was an adaptation of the Hellsing manga produced by Gonzo in 2001 but it forked off from the source material because there were very few chapters to adapt at the time. Obviously, Gonzo didn't do THAT good of a job with the adaptation so in 2006, Satelight got on-board to do another adaptation. How did Satelight decide to handle the new Hellsing adaptation? Simple: make it a direct-to-video release so that way, loathsome censorship wouldn't be an issue and Kouta Hirano would have all the time he needed to finish the manga. It took 6 years to adapt with Madhouse and another studio stepping in to do the other episodes and it took even longer to finish dubbing, but the wait was definitely worth it.
For those of you coming into Hellsing Ultimate expecting the likes of Paradise Lost in terms of story, I've got BAAAAAD news for you. At the risk of pissing off the fanboys, Hellsing never has and never will be about the story. In fact, the story gets progressively worse as time goes on. There's a distinct lack of world-building, where the focus is always on the here and now with events in the past being mentioned but never properly explained save for select bits here and there. If you want a bloodbath that actually has a good story behind it, watch Berserk instead. While its lacklustre narrative might seem like a hindrance, it's not because Hellsing Ultimate is all about the rule of cool.
I mean... it's a show that has an immortal blood knight vampire fighting the remnants of a Nazi battalion 50 years after World War II that's led by a demented Major who starts a war with Britain JUST for the sake of starting a war that will "sweep in like a tempest, LEAVING NOT EVEN RAVENS TO SCAVENGE FROM THIS EARTH!!!" with a secret division of the Vatican led by a bloodthirsty priest who can pull blessed swords out of nowhere, absurd weaponry, and a whole lot of maniacal grins thrown into the mix as well. If you can't suspend your disbelief in the slightest, you'll hate this show just as much if not even more than you'll probably hate Gurren Lagann.
Regardless, the actual narrative isn't all THAT bad. It's more like a foundation that never really gets built upon but at the same time, at least manages to tell us exactly what it is and what it wants to be. It never sets itself up to be something grander than it actually is, and that to me is Hellsing Ultimate's greatest strength. Hellsing Ultimate knows that it lacks a compelling narrative, so instead it opts to be as entertaining to watch as possible which is where it manages to receive high marks most of the time. Key word: MOST of the time. All good things have to come to an end eventually, you know.
You know how Gurren Lagann slowed down to a crawl as it tried to take itself seriously? Well toward the last 3 episodes (8-10), it becomes painfully obvious as to how weak the story actually is as it starts taking itself seriously throughout the entire run of each OVA. The problem is that Hellsing Ultimate up until that particular point was about having fun with mind-numbing amounts of profanity, blood, and gore to boot.
There were moments where it took itself seriously in the previous 7 OVAs, but that's all they were: moments, and it works beautifully well as brief instances where we could take a break from all that shit, catch our breath, and resume the bloodbath. The final 3 OVAs are still entertaining, don't get me wrong. It's just that in comparison to what we had prior, there is a MAJOR difference in how fun those episodes are to watch. But I digress, for it's now time to talk about the characters.
You'd think that the characters in Hellsing Ultimate would be just as lacklustre as the story, but actually... that's not the case whatsoever. In fact, they're fairly well-written... well, about as well-written as you can get for a show that has 90% of its cast wearing a maniacal grin half the time. The two best-written characters in Hellsing Ultimate are by far Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing (yes, you have to say it like that) and Seras Victoria while the two characters that excel most in terms of just how fun they are to watch are none other than Alucard and Alexander Anderson (aka Judas Priest) along with Montana Max aka The Major as runner-up (he's more fun to listen to than to watch).
I should tell you this right now: if you absolutely despise overpowered characters, you're going to HATE Alucard and Judas Priest. Anderson is the living definition of a badass while Alucard is the un-living definition of a badass. They're both absurdly powerful individuals who absolutely dominate everything else in combat and throughout the show's run, you keep banking on that final fight to show up between the two to settle once and for all who the true badass is. When that final fight DOES rear its head, you can't help but squeal like a pig throughout the entire run. It genuinely is THAT entertaining to watch... provided that you can handle how absurd Hellsing Ultimate gets at times.
If on the other hand, you desire some more "human" characters that are less likely to throw blessed bayonets and exploding silver bullets at your face, Integra and Seras are more than enough to fit the bill and then some. Integra is by far one of the best authority figures I've seen in anime and manga thus far. She just has this air of authority about her like Motoko Kusanagi and even when she's put into situations that might make her seem like a damsel-in-distress, that's never the case. She just scoffs at you while smoking a cigar and grinning like a maniac. Her only downfall would be the fact that as the show gets crazier and crazier, all she really seems to be able to do is just stand back and watch. Of course, that's what happens when you let a MASSIVE power creep into your show like that.
As far as Seras goes, she's... how do I put it? She's adorable, quirky, and is quite the action girl when the situation calls for it. At the same time, the writing doesn't really focus TOO much on her transition from human to vampire. That's not a totally bad thing, mind you and she does improve as a character as the show goes on. At the same time, I would've expected her to have more of a problem with being an undead creature of the night for the rest of her life. Well... then again, I DID say that Hellsing Ultimate is all about the rule of cool and questioning your own humanity ISN'T cool at all (in comparison to everything else that goes on). Regardless, she's a great character and by far the most human (in comparison to everything else she has to deal with).
While storytelling and characters aren't Hellsing Ultimate's strong suit, there is one area where Hellsing Ultimate succeeds constantly and that is with the production values. This show was just spoiled in ways that the original just couldn't be and that's no surprise given that this is a 10-episode OVA series that took six years to complete. I could spend hours gushing about the production values, but it wouldn't do me any favours now will it? All I can say is that EVERYTHING looks awesome: from the super-creepy horror imagery surrounding Alucard, the battles which are so deliciously overflowing with carnage, and all else that lies in-between. You think Tokyo Ghoul has good visuals? Psh, Hellsing Ultimate makes Tokyo Ghoul look like Naruto filler in terms of visuals.
OST-wise, Hellsing Ultimate delivers in full-force. There are plenty of bombastic orchestral tracks and such which further emphasize just how awesome this show actually is and there's no shortage of songs and character tracks that I've grown quite fond of. BUT... if there's one minor complaint I have, it's the fact that it lacks style in comparison to its predecessor. Now hear me out: the 2001 Hellsing show is flawed to high heaven but one thing that it has that Hellsing Ultimate lacks is music. The 2001 show had no shortage of jazz/blues tracks, guitar themes, and whatnot which gave the show its own sense of style. Hellsing Ultimate has quite a bit in the way of stylised visuals, but when it comes down to music... it could've been handled a little better.
Dub-wise... I have absolutely no complaints other than just how long it took to actually get the entire thing out. Well, then again I guess that's on Geneon for ceasing all operations outside of Japan before they finished dubbing Hellsing Ultimate (they only did the first four episodes). Due to licensing issues, the dub itself was delayed even more than the production of the OVAs. Thankfully, Funimation stepped up to the plate, re-hired all the voice actors that worked on the episodes that Geneon dubbed and I swear to GOD, Funimation just knocked the ball out of the park with this one (perhaps even more). Crispin Freeman does an amazing job as Alucard (then again, he's Crispin fucking Freeman, of course he did a damn great job) but that's actually NOT my favourite thing about this dub which is surprising since I'm a huge fan of Freeman's work.
One of Hellsing's calling cards is taking place in Great Britain, so obviously it would help if the voice actors had British accents, right? Well instead of doing Cockney accents like the Black Butler dub had, Funimation actually hired 2 BRITISH voice actors to do the roles of Anderson and Integra (Steven Brand and Victoria Harwood respectively) while the rest of the cast barring Alucard did some rather convincing accent work to set the mood. There's always going to be sub-supremacists touting how the English dub pales in comparison to the Japanese one but at least we've got Steven Brand's thick, Scottish accent while you sub-touters just have Norio Wakamoto's Engrish. If you want accents, go with dub. If you don't, stick with the sub.
So, final thoughts? Hellsing Ultimate is far from a masterpiece but as far as entertainment value goes, you'll be hard-pressed to find a show that can easily keep up. As far as bloodbaths go, there's only a handful of anime that can match Hellsing Ultimate's brutality (i.e. the Berserk movies, Gantz). This is popcorn material through and through and makes no attempt at hiding that fact. Considering the fact that all 10 episodes of Hellsing Ultimate are now available for legal streaming on Funimation's website AND have been released on DVD/Blu-ray, there's no reason why you SHOULDN'T give this show a chance.
Danno
I'll keep it sorta brief: this series was pretty shitty. When I started watching it years ago, I thought it was one of the coolest things I ever saw. That gradually shifted to "What's going on in this story?" and later "Why am I even watching this?" - - - Story - - - They made it seem like there's a story at first, but it's pretty much a lie. They start running out of ideas, so they throw in some necrophelia and boy rape. Really... just why? The ending is about as anti-climactic as possible, especially Alucard's final role. Did they really have to use sucha shallow and disposable character to drag him off the stage so easily?
- - - Art - - -
It's distinct and well animated. The earlier fight scenes are especially cool, but they feel kinda dull later on. Occasional "humourous" scenes look like complete shit.
- - - Sound - - -
Some of the songs are cool, some aren't.
- - - Characters - - -
There's very little character development. Some of the characters stand around looking cool before they inevitably get killed off like the garbage they are. I felt no attachment to any of the characters.
- - - Enjoyment - - -
After years of waiting, I feel pretty cheated. This used to feel more exciting to watch, but by the end it all just feels pointless. The later episodes just feel nonsensical and boring, really. I used to recommend this to people, but I'll never do that again.
milnivek
If there's one word to sum up Hellsing Ultimate, it's 'Style'. The art is gorgeous. The animation is fluid. The fight scenes are well executed with with lots of gore and body parts (as you'd hope for in an adult series about vampires), trash talk, and cool poses, and the imagery is breathtaking. What Hellsing doesn't have is much of is everything else that makes for a good anime, beginning with a plot that starts and ends in 5 words: 'Undead Nazis bent on world domination'. While the character designs are super intriguing and make the viewers want to learn more about them, they are wastedas there is literally no time devoted to exploring the backstories or motivations of interesting supporting characters such as 'Walter, the Angel of Death', 'Schrodinger' and 'Van Winkle'. This is why when there is a plot twist in the latter half of the series, the impact is lost because you don't really understand why the guy was motivated to act one way or the other.
Even the main characters aren't spared from this lack of characterisation. You never find out what happened between Alucard and the original Hellsing which lead to their contract, you never find out anything about his seal restrictions, you don't know what drives Alucard to do what he does. You don't even find out why he's such a badass vampire with a million more abilities than other vampires. He's just an enigmatic badass with no weaknesses, which makes for a boring one-dimensional character.
Our other main character, Integra, suffers the same fate. As far as I can tell, after some childhood trauma, she becomes a badass with a loud bark but not much bite to back it up and has about as much personality as the cigars she chain-smokes.
From various parts of the story, you get the sense that there is some world-building going on behind the scenes, but it is, again, never fleshed out. What are these other special powers which are not Vampire/Ghoul related? I want to know about the Werewolves. I want to know more about how the Catholic Church trains its paladins and the centuries long rivalry between Alexander Anderson and Alucard. Who was Van Winkle and her magic gun? What about that card dude? Is there some special school of magic which is separate from the Church and the Undead?
Hellsing starts off promisingly but decides to crank the meter up to 10 on badassery, cool art and visuals and forget everything else like plot and characterisation. In its defense though, its cool visuals managed to carry me, a disengaged viewer, through all 10 episodes, so there's that at least.
Overall, I would not recommend Hellsing Ultimate UNLESS you love shounen battle-type anime like Naruto or you just want something with a simple plot and nice fights to unwind.
obtrice
Hellsing Ultimate is the definition of badass. From the over-the-top characters to the insane plot to the violent, blood-spewing fights, it is the disregard of all that is holy and possibly the most intense, balls-to-the-wall anime ever made. It’s also the epitome of style over substance, featuring some of the best animation of any series to date, superb voice acting, and a fine soundtrack, but little in terms of plot or character development. It’s Michael Bay doing an anime about Nazi vampires. It’s Japan’s answer to Hellboy. In short, it’s an exquisitely done pure action/horror, but not much else. The story starts out with a lotof potential. The premise is great, and for the first 4 or 5 episodes there’s a perfect mix of character intros, action-packed fights, and plot revelations to keep you glued to the screen. Alucard quickly reveals himself to be an unstoppable maniac constrained only by his loyalty to Hellsing, Seras struggles with the loss of her humanity and acquisition of her new power, and Hellsing tries to uncover the mystery behind the rise in vampire attacks, Iscariot’s aggression, and the Millennium organization.
Unfortunately once these mysteries are unraveled, the plot becomes little more than a series of battles and an endless supply of blood and gore. Although there’s a last ditch effort to infuse it with some substance — a minor twist without much subtext, the revelation of Alucard’s past, and some half-hearted philosophy about monsters and humans — I couldn’t help but look back and think, “That was fun, but what was the point?” Like the Millennium organization, the essence of Hellsing Ultimate is war for the sake of war, and not much else.
Despite lacking much of a plot, there’s no denying the show is a lot of fun. Much of this is due to the fantastic cast, which features some big personalities. The stylish Alucard breaches the divide between human and monster and revels in destroying his enemies. The cool and collected Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing is every bit as elegant as her name suggests and makes the call to unleash Alucard on Britain’s enemies. And the mad scientist Major is the embodiment of evil, a man whose purpose is the total absence of purpose. This only scratches the surface, with other standouts including Father Anderson, Walter, Seras, and the Major’s various minions. If nothing else, Kota Hirano deserves credit for bringing such a diverse and extraordinary cast to life. The series also boasts some great lines that will leave you grinning from ear to ear, such as “I highly recommend pissing yourself, followed by a course of praying to your impotent God.” The Major in particular has some of the best dialogue from a villain in any series.
Hellsing Ultimate also has some of the best animation around — gorgeous and freely experimental, with a wonderful manipulation of lighting, color, 3D effects, and bold outlines of characters to make it feel like a rich comic book brought to life. The series does everything right on this front, but especially excels in its facial designs and copious but creative use of blood. My sole complaint has to be that, amidst all of this breathtaking art and maturity, we occasionally get tacky, humor-themed scenes that feel like they’re out of Fullmetal Alchemist. This style is usually only 20 or 30 seconds long, but in the last episode it goes on for some 5 minutes and really detracts from the atmosphere.
On audio, the soundtrack is pretty good and fits the show perfectly, a mix of tracks that feel like they’re straight out of a 70′s horror flick and some ornate religious themes. Compared to the original Hellsing soundtrack, this one is definitely more toned down and sounds more like the score of a movie than an anime OST. Some might say it lacks the same soul, others will love it, and in any event, it does a fine job. The voice cast is top notch, featuring most of the actors from the original series, with notable roles from Crispin Freeman as Alucard and Steven Brand as Anderson.
I enjoyed Hellsing Ultimate and consider it a keeper, but I also think it receives far more praise than it deserves. It certainly accomplishes what it sets out to do, but it helps that it doesn’t set out to do much. While the series should be commended for satiating the appetites of action lovers and demonstrating the full potential of animation, those who prefer a story with much depth or complexity will probably have trouble seeing what the big deal is.
HelghastKillzone
Following my conflicted experience with Hellsing TV, I stumbled onto Studio Madhouse efforts into creating an anime that follows the source material of its manga to a much closer degree. Instead of a standard weekly airing schedule, Madhouse decided to go with releasing a total of ten OVAs over an agonizing long six years. In doing so, they have rectify most of the problems that marred the potential of Gonzo's effort. While the first two OVAs are fairly straight-forward rehashed material from the original Hellsing, the remaining eight volumes goes off on a completely awesome and different tangent. Gone are the half-baked storylinesand in their place, is the plot and every single subplot coming to a definitive conclusion by the time the final volume rolls around. Adding on to the main antagonist that is the Catholic Church, Nazis, of all people, have come back to wreck some occult vengeance with their own brand vampires, werewolves and abominations that soon engulfs the island nation of Britain into a state of war.
The thing I love most about the Hellsing Ultimate is that it takes itself so seriously with its notions of holy crusades, genocide, and grand ambitions of power and warfare. Yet, at the same time, it has some of the most over-the-top and ridiculous setups I have ever seen, having zeppelins, KKK outfits and Nazi vampires all mingling together in a climactic battle worthy of the Apocalypse itself. In the world of Hellsing, everything is black and white with no ambiguity in where characters stand. It is simply a matter of kill or be killed. The villains are no exception to that rule, that are none too subtle about their powers or motivation and offer some of the most unforgettable performances in the animated medium.
If you have watched the original show, the three main leads of Alucard, Intrga and Seras should be familiar to the audience but there are few key differences. With much more screen time to explore their relationship with each other and the stakes being so much higher, these three form deeper bonds than their previous versions. Also, power levels, in reference to Alucard and Seras, are exponentially increased to reflect this change in the amplified severity of their opposition. One change that I found to be hit or miss, was the addition of humorous elements placed in juxtaposition to some very serious and forbearing scenes, which could be jarring at times.
Under Studio Madhouse, which is well-known for high quality series like Black Lagoon and Redline, Hellsing Ultimate is noticeably different in its visual style and quality from the TV adaptation. The colors are much more highly contrasted and character designs have gotten angular, which is something I can live with but I do prefer the TV's style over Ultimate's direction. One thing is objectively better, and that is that the animation is top-notch and no expense were spared in handcrafting some truly titanic showdowns
For all the improvements that Ultimate has over Gonzo's effort, the OVA's music doesn't hold a candle to the quality and style of the TV adaptation. It ranges from orchestral pieces, that depicts the epic and dramatic moments, with mixed in electronic sounds. There were some moments where the music choice for some scenes that was downright bizarre and just didn't work out at all for me. If there is one thing that I wish I could change about the Ultimate version, it would be importing the music from Gonzo's production to cover up the awkward soundtrack. This area is, by far, largest aspect that is notably weaker in the transition to Studio Madhouse.
With a giant budget and a ridiculously long release schedule, Hellsing Ultimate, despite some minor gripes, is the definitive version to be watching Alucard, a real fucking vampire, go through one of the best supernatural shows that anime has to offer.
8.5/10
KingOfTheAce
Hellsing Ultimate has everything you want and expect from a vampire series revolving around the greatest vampire of them all: Dracula. Only in this series we know him under the name of Alucard. This show is rated R for a reason, a bloody good reason. It contains blood, gore, big breasted female leads and even more blood. The story is about a secret organization within the British Government, named Hellsing, who takes care of any supernatural beings that is not supposed to roam this earth. It is run by Integra Wingate, whom has a butler with the nickname "Angel of Death". This should tell the viewersenough about the rest of the story: A complete battlefield with multiple parties: The Hellsing organization, The Millennium organization run by the Nazi's who have a complete army of Ghouls and Section 13 of the Vatican, who also kills off any supernatural beings. Including 'pet' vampires that go by the name of Alucard. This three way war is waged in the streets of London, which is soon burnt to the ground.
There is not much character development in the series, but this series needs none. Alucard is the protagonist and by no means the 'hero' of the story. He has absolutely no morals and enjoys stripping even the smallest shard of dignity from his victims before he decimates them.
The one who is in charge of Alucard, the head of the Hellsing organization is Integra, whom we do not really get to know other then the cigar chain-smoker. You also have Seras Victoria, a girl who is transformed into a vampire at the start of the series. The antagonist is the Major, a war loving manic who seems quite the nice guy when you meet him first.
The art and sounds are just great. You have a lot of nice quotes about 'var' from the Major while you enjoy watching perfectly executed executions of people and beings that die in the most exquisite ways.
All of these things combine into what a vampire series should stand for: Blood, gore and even more blood. Like I said before, it is rated R for a reason. And you should watch it for that same bloody reason!
Bear1211
Have you ever read Bram Stokers Dracula? Have you ever wondered what happened afterwards? If the answer to both of these questions are yes then do I have a show for you, but first I recommend taking an assortment of drugs (much like the creators of this show) to receive the full effect. Do you have your cocaine lines ready? Alright before you make sweet love to that let me tell you my thoughts. Story: 7 This might sound crazy, but this show can actually be tied directly to Stokers original work. In fact on the wiki page it's deemed a sequel, and boy what asequel it is. Broken up into 10 OVA "Hellsing Ultimate" in terms of story telling, to be frank, isn't all that great. But if you absorb yourself into the ridiculous nature of the show there is tons of fun to be had. Structurally what I loosely call a plot is actually fairly sound, and by that I mean its enough to get you from fight scene to fight scene. For hour long episodes the pacing is immaculate, and doesn't slow down really at all. One aspect I personally found to be a great touch is the actual connection to Stokers work. The notion itself is crazy I know, but it adds another layer of enjoyment to the overall madness.
Art: 9
Stylistically devilish, and full of creativity "Hellsing Ultimate" delivers the goods in this department. The overall cinematography, and art assets create action scenes that are some real crowd pleasures. Sticking to form of its roots the art itself is Gothic in nature, and really pleasing to the eyes. The character designs themselves are creative, and fun.
Sound: 8
Production value on this end is high as well. Every gun shot, and explosion sounds absolutely wonderful. Sticking to form the OST is ridiculous, but sadly nothing to truly right home about. It does its job at the very least. Now where voice acting is concerned its downright fabulous. Everyone in the cast does a stand up job, and some are just hilariously over the top.
Character: 7
Lets be honest here. The real question is are there any actual characters in "Hellsing Ultimate"? Well yes and no. If we are going by means of growth, and depth then no not really. Most of the cast is as thin as cardboard. But if we were to think in terms of likable, and entertaining then yes. Looking at Alucard we have a sleek, suave, and devilish individual. Brutal by nature he is a fantastic portrayal of the King of the night, but in terms of actual depth there technically isn't any. In a situation such as this a term I've come to use concerning characters like Alucard seems to fit just right. More or less he is a fully realized character. At the end of a show you usually have a character that has grown, and developed. Well take that end result, and start a show from that point. This is what I've come to coin as a "Fully realized character". (One of the best examples of this in Anime would be Kamina from Gurren Lagann). Alucard is the only cast member that I actually would deem this, and pass in terms of character. Now concerning the rest of the cast we have Seras, and Walter which have their own little growth, but again nothing real substantial. Oddly enough this still doesn't hurt the show. What I'm getting at is its serviceable. The cast overall is quite likeable, and for a show of this nature that is really all you need.
Enjoyment: 9
One of the best times I've had watching an Anime. Filled with jaw dropping action scenes, and overall crowd pleasing moments "Hellsing Ultimate" is one hell of a good time.
Overall: 8.0
"Hellsing Ultimate" is a fun ride, and filled with creativity. It really is one of the most enjoyable Anime I've seen. If you are a big fan on action then I'd give this one a try because honestly its one of the best aspects of it. If blood, guts, and violence isn't your thing then I'd say stay clear. I really enjoyed the show, and for me it was all that I wanted. As always thanks for reading.
indi135
Hellsing Ultimate provides the background and plot that was missing in the original Hellsing series. However, it exchanges a lot of the more intimate moments and character development present in the original series for violence and battle scenes. There is also a lot more vulgarity present in this version. The anime presentation style oscillates between more detailed and dark, to lower quality, to classic flat animation during moments that are supposed to be silly. The switching animation styles works sometimes, but in this series it feels out of place with the overall darkly dangerous atmosphere of the story. Thecongruity of style and overall animation in the original series was preferable, though some portions of Hellsing Ultimate are superior.
As a character, Alucard is alluring and oddly likeable. He is often described as a monster, though his characteristics seem to be more in line with a human sociopath. He is obviously not a good person in the classical definition. He loves to fight, and destroy, and kill. He seems to enjoy the pain and terror of his enemies. But he uses his own aggression towards fighting for good of the masses. There are also moments where he almost shows a sliver of kindness or caring for others which provide depth to his character (though these are far more prevalent in the original Hellsing).
Hellsing Utlimate has much better complexity and development than the original, but it is worth watching both series since the ideal story lies somewhere in the balance between the two.
Luquillo
Hellsing Ultimate is a title I remember looking so forward to years ago when I first heard about it, and just about as fast as it piqued my interest upon initial viewing, it sent my expectations crashing down into a ball of flames. In truth, this is one anime I had dropped over a year ago and didn't regret too much doing it. I decided to come back into it very recently through a fresh take and finally finish it. For the most part I wish that my time was better invested somewhere else. Hellsing Ultimate indeed has plenty of tools to become oneof the best action anime in a very long time, as well as being the very best vampire anime to ever be done. Unfortunately, it falls way too short resulting in an experience that will be remembered by me for all the wrong reasons.
The plot follows the Hellsing Organization which is lead by Integra Wingates Hellsing. The group's purpose is to encounter and destroy supernatural threats such as vampires and ghouls, while at the same time work under a tight blanket of security keeping these threats under wraps. Her weapon is a very powerful vampire under her complete control named Alucard. They conduct seek and destroy missions against the creatures. Later on, another outfit whom appears to be creating the creatures declares war on Hellsing, in which this drags Europe into the fray.
Hellsing Ultimate sure as hell knows how to wrap in the action oriented fan from go. It's a series that revels in its over the top graphic violence. The viewer is treated to one blood bath after the other. There are no punches pulled when it comes down to the violence. The action is provided through fierce battles resulting in exploding heads and bodily destruction. The battles mainly consist of shoot outs and chomp fest. Alucard also engages in brutal battles with other powerful types with blood crawling results. The violence only escalates as the series moves on with the best of chaos taking place between episodes 5-8 and especially 2; I mean good lord, this anime indeed knows how to shock with the mayhem.
I can't commend this series enough on its violent presentation. This world is hell, war is hell, and the characters are a reflection of this hell. At the very least one will get to understand the motivations of key characters such as the main antagonist whom calls himself The Major, along with the fanatical Father Anderson. Several characters do receive some focus and there are plenty of interactions that could have been better but along with the anime's atmosphere, they are outright wrecked by one glaring flaw, the misplaced comedy, I'll get on this in a bit.
The production values for this anime is quite impressive and it remained at a very high quality through out its complete duration. Visually, I will say it's on point as it blends CG animation with 3D and 2D effortlessly; there weren't many corners cut in regards to the backgrounds. They have a certain darkness to them with a nice amount of lighting and vibrant colors. The camera work is done exceptionally well capturing the quick paced movements, which is very necessary since some of the characters attempt to move in a blur in order to get to their enemies. The animation flows naturally like water without the slightest bit of jumpiness. The artwork is another highlight; Alucard is awesome especially in his supernatural form among others. There are also smaller details that can go unnoticed like writing on weapons and variety in zombie hordes.
The character designs look great with a heavy manga style to them with a dark outline. The sound effects need to be mentioned as well; gun fire sounds quite authentic, and simple effects such as squishing steps in pools of blood and bones being broken stand out. The English voice acting is superb with plenty of fine performances.
Now it's time to address Hellsing Ultimate's kryptonite because this indeed weakens the series as a complete whole, resulting in it becoming quite frustrating to sit through. Those out there whom have hit on the misplaced comedy really aren't exaggerating on how annoying it is.
The series heavily forces in highly exaggerated comedy with its dark content, and it clashes terribly like no other anime I have ever seen. I'm for real here, the comedic shifts are hauled into this anime kicking and screaming. Hellsing Ultimate had potential to be among the darkest anime series out there. The content is indeed disturbing so there's no need for this animated graffiti. There's a scene where a vampire has a dead infant in its mouth appearing to bite the baby in two, and this is during an all out mauling of the populace. I'm sure this sounds disturbing to most. Now take a look at how the very grim atmosphere is ruined; try to imagine witnessing comedic moments that could easily fit into Sponge Bob cartoons, such as highly deformed characters with big smiley faces and puffs of angry smoke shooting out their noses, with overly angry squinty eyes to try and make you laugh. This is totally unacceptable for an anime of this type, where you will witness a dead chick getting raped by a guy with a fork in his eye, and there are plenty of moments such as these. The comedy damages everything: character's images, atmosphere, tense interactions, and even its setting.
This series is also heavily hampered by some bad pacing and over-acting. There can be far too much dialog delivered at one time slowing things down to a crawl, to include some fights are too drawn out for the sake of time munching and this also grows annoying. I gave credit to the voice acting, but around mid way some individuals were straight hamming it up, and the tension was outright killed by straight up ego masturbating.
Hellsing Ultimate really could have been one of the greatest action anime titles ever, but it was hurt by a writing team that wanted to appeal to a fan base whom was better off ignored. I personally believe that the comedy is a make or break for viewers. If you're one of those types whom outright despise tonal whiplash then definitely skip this series. If you can ignore that then go ahead and give it a shot because you'll more than likely love this. It's not that I violently hate comedy in action or serious anime, but there are certain styles and settings where this type of puerile comedy is far more harmful, and Hellsing Ultimate is one of these types.
Highs: Production values, loads of barbaric violence, cool main character
Lows: Tonal whiplash is quite devastating, pacing problems
toxic1103
I have to add something before i start my review about Hellsing Ultimate. I finished the series Hellsing about a year ago and hated it. A few days ago i finished this OVA and fuckin' loved it. What i found was way further than what i was expecting. So the moral is if you watched the tv series and bored it definately give this show a go. Now let me tell you something about myself, ı hated vampire series , animes , shows until i met with Hellsing. Hellsing is more than just a typical vampire show which gives you love, passion, complicated love phenomenonsbetween the characters. Hellsing Ultimate carries a simpleness with a great enjoyment
The characters were so wisely created that you could sense the idiology they were sharing or the feeling that they felt.You sense the ego of the characters.
I can honestly say that i was so bored of animes whose main character gets stronger in several episodes. This shit doesn't happen in Hellsing. Alucard the cruel vampire kont moster just talking about him makes me horripilationed.
I also fuckin' loved the transformation of a little police girl with potential turning into a vampire.
Now when we step into the fact of enjoyment i will just say that i finished total of 10 hours in 3 days. You just can't stop watching it.
The composition the author was giving is remarkable. Especially how he puts the characters into the stage was brilliant. In one side a brilliant german genius (who actually is just like Hitler) and his thousands of soldiers. . On the other side a priest ! and of course Alucard. It is just a visual feast.
NearlyMellowKira
Beautiful production value, abysmal storytelling. Hellsing Ultimate mistakes verbosity for charisma, exposition for characterization, violence for depth, and its audience for children. This show has two formulas for crafting scenes. The first uses long, drawn out dialogue. The second uses actions scenes with gratuitous violence. Regarding the first, the writer has clearly never heard the storytelling axiom "show, don't tell". Every plot twist, every personal motivation of every character, they're all shoved down your throat with as many words as possible. Nothing is left to the imagination, and that's just when the dialogue is serving a purpose. More often, it's pseudo-philosophical filler to remind ushow edgy the characters are.
Even without their monologues, the characters alone are a huge barrier to enjoying the show. Everyone in the show is larger than life, and the world they inhabit is insane. Naturally, so are they (a fact demonstrated by the same joker smile almost every character wears). As such, the audience can't relate to any of them by default. Actually, there is one character with potential: Seras Victoria, a girl bitten by Alucard and made into his servant in the first episode. Here is a normal human thrown into an underworld of insanity, given a bloodthirst and powers beyond her comprehension. The show could have easily made her the voice of reason. It could have shown her struggle to come to terms with her new reality, and have her act as audience's mouthpiece. Instead, they turn her into her the butt end of a few jokes while she obsesses over the men in her life.
Not only are the characters unrelatable, but it's hard to even root for them. The Hellsing group are handed more power-ups than the heroes of a bad mecha anime, and their enemies never stand a chance in battle. With such weak characterization, the plot twists just don't matter because a) you don't care about the characters and b) you already know they will have an answer for whatever is thrown at them.
The show does pose some interesting questions. How did the antagonists develop their vampire tech? How was Alacard bound by the Hellsing family? What is the relationship between human identity and mortality? What is the value of religion in a world with monsters, or the nature of the soul as a consumable resource?
The first question is explained away in the final scenes using a deus ex machina. The latter are never actually explored, only affirmed as questions posed. In the hands of a more capable writer, this show might have had a lot of potential. As it stands however, it's all beauty and no brains.
gwern
Hellsing Ultimate is defined by its style and the Rule of Cool. It's brilliantly action-packed and gory, and when you take it this way, it's incredibly enjoyable brainless fun. Best watched on full moon nights so you can go outside and stare at the reddish moon while decompressing from a long episode. The OVA adaptation does everything it's supposed to, and IMO obsoletes the TV anime and the manga - when it comes to showing action and fights, manga simply isn't the right medium to use. (The OVA doesn't quite outperform when it comes to the comedic sections used for breaks from the dire action; mangadoes comedy very well.)
When we point to the OVA's strong points, we can refer to the animation in fights and explosive scenes. Most are done well, and with enough diversity in angles, weapons, and effects that one could conceivably marathon _Hellsing Ultimate_ without growing disgusted and bored. Even when it differs from the manga's visual approaches, it's not necessarily inferior. (For example, in the final London sequences, I recall the manga showing Alucard's 'fortress' in some extremely striking static black-and-white compositions; the OVA does nothing similar, but we do get CGI'd blood-rivers with zombiefied soldiers which are disgusting and striking in their own right.)
The music is no slough either, with many pieces that set the mood and further help the style with tons of random shallow Christianity references.
All in all, a very satisfactory OVA indeed.
You'll notice what I didn't mention: the plot, the characters, or the worldbuilding. I didn't mention them because fundamentally they're irrelevant to why _Hellsing Ultimate_ is so great: what counts is what's *awesome-cool*, not whether the world makes a lick of sense or whether the plot conveys any message or whether any characters feel real.
But I might as well say something about those parts...
The worldbuilding is completely broken and doesn't make a bit of sense, and there are constant aspects that make one go "huh?" - Alucard turning into delicious loli, the Crusaders dressing up like Ku Klux Klanners, Alucard's original defeat (how was it possible when he can single-handedly eat London?), how one becomes a vampire (licking some blood on the ground is no mythos I've ever heard of), where random characters' powers come from like Anderson (why does the Vatican have only one 'Regenerator'? What *is* a Regenerator anyway, Alucard regenerates because he's eaten lives but that doesn't work for Anderson, and while we're at it what the deuce is Walter supposed to be/do‽), lack of use of suicide explosives (Iscariot's commonsensical use of them merely raises the question why they aren't a standard precaution when fighting hordes of the dead), Major's gibberish speeches (quick, can you explain the difference between a 'dog', a 'human', and a 'monster'?), Walter's completely unmotivated betrayal (he had the hots for girl-Alucard? I don't even), the lord's failure to notice Walter's failure to protect Integra (hey, if you warned the butler Walter to protect Integrate, wouldn't it strike you as a *little* odd that she got shot?), why other vampires never have servants or voices in their head despite sucking tons of people's blood (?), the last-minute info dump on Mina Harkner (where did that come from? why did the mangaka feel the need to dump that in there?), the Schrodinger deus ex machina (it's not good plotting when the climax is completely and utterly unpredictable an episode before it happens, or heck, the minute before it happens and the Major explains the plan), how can Integra claim to be a human who kills monsters when her monster servants kill 99.9% of the other monsters... These are just the parts I remember, I'm sure one could come up with dozens more if one took notes while watching the series. I will admit that there are some nice touches tying in Vlad Tepes, the Turks, impalement, and the plot of Bram's _Dracula_ particularly with the derelict ship.
The characters are cardboard. Alucard doesn't change, Integra just chomps cigars (the first time Alucard tests Integra's resolve and is told "search and destroy!", it's cool and feels like you learned something about Integra; the fifth time, not so much), Seras changes a little bit in learning to drink blood and kill (not that she seems much different in the epilogue), characters are not given any kind of real background (the asspull involving Walter has been mentioned, but what about the werewolf? the Major? Anderson?), Maxwell descends into cackling idiocy with no better explanation than 'he's drunk on power', etc.
The plot is bizarre. So a bunch of vampires led by a mechanical-clockwork man flee to South America to plan their assault on England in the service of defeating one particular vampire, succeed in doing so via some technogibberish named Schrodinger, and it fails and the vampire survives to return 30 years later. Uh, OK... What was the point of all that, exactly? Heck if I know. I paid close attention to the Major's constant speechifying, trying to glean the ideas being espoused by this obvious authorial mouthpiece, but failed entirely. Something about monsters wanting to die and humans killing them out of duty, or something.
Curlybrace101
One of the biggest inspirations for Hellsing, cited by the mangaka, is Trigun—which can be seen clearly in how Alucard's design reflects that of Vash the Stampede. This puzzles me, because Trigun is about how we should always strive for peace in spite of how difficult it is, and Hellsing is about how cool it is to rip people in half and watch them bleed. Seriously, that's what the characters in Hellsing spend 80% of the show doing. There is no downtime. You never get a break from the relentless blood and gore. Now, to be fair, I'm not the biggest fan of action scenes, butI also really like gore in anime, so it's saying something that I got bored by how much of it there was. In simple terms, it felt excessive and gratuitous. Gore is most effective if you take the time to build up to it, getting to know the characters it happens to in great detail first. With Hellsing it just feels pointlessly edgy for the sake of it, and I can hardly care about the gore because I didn't get enough time to know the characters it was happening to.
This is a shame, because I think the characters could be very interesting. Alucard is badass and mysterious (if overpowered), Seras is cute and endearing (although I...hate the way her chest is drawn), and Integra is the coolest woman to ever exist (though I may be blinded by my massive crush on her). Unfortunately we barely get any time with them because most of the series is just gory action scenes.
Anyways, it's not just the gore that's gratuitous. Hellsing also features a fair bit of sexual violence that adds nothing to the story. Thankfully there's nowhere near as much rape as there is gore, but it could legitimately be removed without consequence. Even moreso than the gore it feels like it is only present just to be vulgar and explicit. And I'm not here with a torch and pitchfork claiming it's immoral to indulge in blood and rape in media just because you like to be fucked up and edgy, but I am saying it's boring. Not only is it tactless, but it just isn't interesting.
Furthermore, the villains of this show are the Nazis, and the funny thing about that is it's very hard to do wrong. Everyone knows Nazis are evil so they make for a very cut and dry villain that is hard to mess up. Yet, somehow, Hellsing managed to screw it up at every single possible opportunity.
Nazis were real. They killed twelve million people in a eugenic attempt to wipe out minorities. All of those people were brutalized and had their lives cut short. And in Hellsing, one of the main antagonists is a Nazi catboy who does silly catboy things and is leered at by the camera. Of course.
Mixing the supernatural with the Nazis is, in my opinion, not really the way to go. Nazis are real and vampires are not. However Hellsing is almost impressive with how it flagrantly disregards how real of a threat the Nazis were with how it presents them here like cartoon supervillains consisting of eccentric supernatural creatures. Like sexy catboys. Whatever man.
All in all, it's just ten hours of sexed up gore, rape, and silly Nazis that doesn't use any of those factors to say anything interesting and feels as though it were written by a middle schooler in an attempt to write a edgier story than their friend. I guess what I mean is I just don't see the point to any of it.
middleground4471
If you're looking at this anime and thinking "Uh, another vampire story, I've seen enough to know what this one is going to be like" then you are wrong. I can guarantee you Alucard isn't like any vampire you have ever seen before and this anime will show you just how deep Hell goes. I'm a fan of horror because whenever I watch a horror movie/anime I always tend to root for the killer. There's something about the killer's motivation that I always find fascinating. When Alucard is fighting he's also laughing and smiling like a battlefield is his paradise. I love that side ofAlucard's personality; I love his madness and his blind fury as he completely destroys his enemies. Alucard's appetite for death is complemented by this anime's use of horror; seriously, whenever a character gets shot in this anime they explode like water balloons of blood.
However, I also love the antagonist - The Major. What I love about the Major is how he has so much enthusiasm. When the Major explains his evil plan he doesn't just explain it, he preaches it. He spends literally 10 whole minutes describing it in excruciating detail and he does it while grinning ear to ear as if he couldn't be happier. I love how he takes the time to relish every word he says like his whole life has led to this moment. What makes it so wonderful, however, is how insane his plan really is! He even admits that he has no motive or meaning for his actions, but he still talks about his intentions like they were gifts from on high.
Seras is also an amazing character. For one, I'm in love with her! I love female character's that are also cold blooded killers so whenever I see Seras blowing people away with her rifle my eyes get wide and my jaw drops to the floor. Furthermore, I love how Seras develops as a character throughout the anime. I don't want to spoil anything, but when the anime begins Seras is a little girl and when it ends she's a real vampire!
I also have a real connection with the supporting characters. At the anime's climax, it's basically Hell on Earth so I sympathize with these characters more for still having the courage to keep fighting. It's demonstrated earlier in the anime how human these minor characters are, but they keep fighting until the end and I find that beyond heroic.
Overall, Hellsing Ultimate is one of the best anime's I've seen and I'd recommend it to anyone if only just to see Alucard in action.
DeathByFloss
An unusual spin off for a vampire story, Hellsing is probably one of the most intriguing vampire anime out there. Hirano Kouta combined all the fantasy realm creatures that we've become so familiar with and gave each a new twist. The story starts off as a usual vampire story where the vampires ,as per usual, are being hunted..by another vampire Alucard. Later on we get introduced to the Vatican's priest and vampire exterminator Alexander Anderson and we have yet another struggle between the priest and Vampire Alucard where the watcher sits in confusion wondering which side to chip in for and wanting to actually supportboth. As the story progresses though even more unusual elements get introduced into the story and you end up with a vampire versus Priest versus vampire nazi army. So basically all hell breaks loose. At the very least if the viewers don't find the story intriguing they'll stick around for the amazing action and the few comical moments in-between.
The unusual story line provides great action scenes that leave you screaming in glee and wanting more (if you're a fan of seeing a bit of gruesome killing that is). The humor is a bit exaggerated but works well with the seriousness of the show when need be.
The characters are quite outstanding although sadly not much elaboration about them is provided but we do at least get some background information about the most crucial characters and the mystery element makes the viewers wonder.
The Art in the OVAs is also quite brilliant and very similar to that in the manga so not much is left to be desired in that department.
Overall the show is worth the watch. Vampire fans and regular watchers alike will be refreshed with the unusual plot, brilliant characters and beautiful art.
