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Hellsing

Genre: Action/Horror

Date Submitted: April 20, 2003

Review By: Flaming Monkey

Plot Summary: Hellsing is a very recent (2001-2002) anime that lasted for one season. It made it to late-night television in Japan, despite the rampant amount of blood and violence. Studio Gonzo says that nearly everyone involved with the project would like to make a second season, but they're going to wait until the manga (started in 1999) is finished.

The easiest way I can describe Hellsing to you is like this: It's just plain cool. The setting is in modern day England- London, mostly- and is about a government organization, Hellsing, that hunts vampires. It has great action scenes, impressive fights both with guns and in close, and a great and diverse showing of magic. Guns are the primary form of fighting, with the vampires having special weapons made just for them. When you have vampire strength, you can easily wield two handguns both the length of a person's forearm, or run about with a bazooka over your shoulder as if it weren't a problem. For those of you who've played Devil May Cry, you may notice some similarities like the badass red outfit or the dual silver/black handguns, but I'm not sure if the game or this series influenced one another other. The art is decent, with the subject nature providing a somewhat gothic atmosphere, which is again very cool. One of the best things about Hellsing is its soundtrack. The opening song is great, and the music provided throughout the series, including Alucard's personal theme, is awesome.

The plot is largely episodic, a number of the episodes' plots have nothing to do with each other. However, most of the episodes do contribute something, however minor, to the main underlying story, and all of them are good. This main story is about the artificial creation of vampires, these weaker vampires are created using microchip implants and are called "Freaks." These Freaks are infesting the nation, and there are no good leads as to where the chips are coming from or who is behind the entire scheme. As the number of Freaks grow in number and power, they lead to serious and devastating clashes with the Hellsing Organization. Also mixed in is the politics behind Hellsing, it's endorsed by the Queen and for a long time has been kept a secret from most people through a "Round Table" of operatives. In this new age of technology, though, information spreads quickly and is difficult to contain. On top of this, other organizations, like the police and Britain's army, are beginning to interfere with Hellsing's operations due to overlaps in jurisdiction.

Main Characters: Seras Victoria is the main character. She was a member of the British special police force, but is turned into a vampire and becomes a member of the Hellsing Organization. She's a young woman who's nickname was "Kitten" when she was with the police force, and she has trouble coping with her no longer being human. The series often follows Seras in the episodes, and tracks her development as a both a vampire and a person, dealing with the deaths of those around her and her own inhumanity.

Alucard (Dracula spelled backwards if you didn't pick up on that), is a mysterious vampire that works for the Hellsing Organization for unknown reasons. He is an extremely powerful vampire and tends to look down on most of the others of his kind, especially this new breed of vampire that's spreading rapidly and feeding wantonly and without need. He wears the same smile almost all of the time, concealing any true feelings he might have. He is, however, developed as a character through his relations with others. While he doesn't change over the series, he is rather revealed through subtle nuances throughout.

Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing is the leader of the Hellsing Organization. Despite the title, Integra is a woman. She is the only member of her family, as far as we know, and has been left in charge of her family's Organization and its mission since a young age. She's strong-willed and determined not to let anything get in the way of her mission. Throughout the series her personality and background are revealed, and we see bits of her deeper-than-it-appears relationship with Alucard.

Final Grading: If you're looking for something deep and complex, Hellsing isn't it. Although it does have the makings of a genuinely good story, it's still mostly just a very well done action series. Perhaps it would come to a grand conclusion should a second season ever be made. Right now, Hellsing is my favorite anime. I won't try to argue that it's the best ever, but this is the one I enjoyed watching the most. Hellsing is the best at what it is, and Alucard is one of the coolest characters anywhere, ever, but because of its slight lack of depth, as an anime in general I give it a 9/10.