Hellsing

Publisher
ADV
Director
Yasunori Urata
Production
Gonzo Digimation
Format
Series
Running time
13 episodes
Year
2001

Hellsing

By Iori13
9th May 04

Hellsing, ah yes, this is one classic that i've put on the shelf for a while, and when i did see it - i'm still thankful to this day that i did.

Definitely one of the BEST anime i've seen, way up there with Cowboy Bebop and Akira, the philosophical depth it digs into; Individuality; Justice; Betryal; Greed; Lust.

All in all, human nature at its finest, and worst ;) It leaves you thinking, *what would I do if i had super-natural powers?, and how far am i willing to go to get it?*

Now for the real review of the series, you are quickly introduced to the main character, Alucard (yes, it is Dracula spelt backwards) <-- there's a reason for this, and i do not wish to spoil it, you HAVE to finish the series to understand it though.

Alucard is an elder-vampire, one that has all the real abilities of a vampire, other than changing himself to bats and mist, he can regenrate himself if his head got hacked off, or been blasted away by bullets. Hell, even when shot by silver bullets, and watching his body melt away, he still comes back for more.

CHARACTERS: the characters in Hellsing are all surrounded with mystersy, the "master" of Alucard is a young woman in her 20s, however she is also the head of a secret organization - Hellsing - they fight to protect her Majesty of Britain. Hellsing is the organization that fights "freaks" or super-natural beast, such as werewolves, vampire, or ghouls (naming a few) that's not all, even the butler of the Hellsing organization, it named Shinigami, or "God of Death" , using wires that can cut through metal, Walter*the butler* can REALLY whoop ass, he single handedly took down a team of ghouls without flinching. other characters, like Celes Victoria, is fighting for her identity, she was bitten by Alucard, and became an important member to Hellsing, as she fighting freaks and protecting the world, she is also trouble by the fact that she herself is ALSO a vampire, as she struggles to keep herself human, all the characters are really developed throughout the series.

SOUND: now, i havn't watched the english dubbed version, but i've heard alot about it, however, the voice acting of the Japanese version is splendid, I have never been this happy to see person call another person "mm..mmo..MONSTER!!!!" the music fitted well to the theme, the classical music is cool, but the action music, however, i expected nothing less, as i have heard alot about Hellsing.

STORY: one of the best story i've seen in a while, though not THAT deep in the philosophical sense (when compared to Akira or other films) It is still great, there is usually more than 2 stories going on at the same time in each episode, which is very interesting. As one fights ghouls to protect the lives of many, another is waiting for a superme vampire to have fun, and another just found out about a betryal. the twist and turns is more than enough to keep you on your seat.

GRAPHICS: this is anime, not a special effects movie, but i've learned in this series, using simple colors and some simple animation, an anime can be as good as any other films, the major color in this series is red, whether because it is the color of BLOOD (because this IS a anime talking about vampires) or because Alucard always walks aroudn in a big red-overcoat is still up to debate.

OVERALL: one of the best work i've seen, too bad it's too short, and the fact that it didn't tell the manga's story made it only a 9

9/10

-- Iori13 9th May 04

Hellsing Images