Ranked #505

Hellsing

Hellsing is a decent anime, but if you go into it with high expectations, like I did, you might be disappointed.
The first episode starts off pretty promising, but it pretty much goes downhill from there. There are some pretty cool fight scenes throughout, but sometimes they seem to get a bit repetitive. Other than that, I personally, found this series to be dry and boring for the most part. I could empathize with some of the characters to an extant, but I never felt any real connection, and never really got into the story.
I liked the overall concept, but I think a lot more could have been done with this series.

POSITIVES: This anime is very dark, revolves around vampires, zombies, and such. If you’re a fan of that sort of thing, you’ll probably enjoy this anime.
There are some good action scenes, especially at the end of the series.
read more

i like the story alot, and it pulled me to watch . the art whas dark and it helped give a certain element to the anime. i loved the sound and crispin freeman did a good job of doing alucards voice...alucard is a cool character and i loved how he whas dressed in a red trench coat, sort of giving of like a mysterious feeling to him....and seras victoria whas pretty cool as well, because she whas totally new to her vampire powers and you also see her get accustom to them through out the show.....i enjoyed the anime but i was a ittle disapointed in the lenght of the anime and a ittle bit in the story because you dont find out that much history about alucard...overrall i say 8 out of ten because i liked the attitude of alucard and the way he looks, he gives of a certain mood and i also like the sound and the opening of the anime and overall watch it, dont expect a long anime and that much of a in deph story but the action is great and the story they do have is good as well. so watch it
read more

Ok, imagine if (Vampire Hunter) D were a full-blooded vampire. Now imagine he decided to let go and embrace his dark side. Now, add a small dash of Vash for style (the red suit, yellow glasses, HUGE guns, and unholy accuracy), and you get Alucard, the sadistic anti-hero. His penchant for appearing out of nowhere, creepy laughter, occasional disembodied voice, and ungodly powers make him one of the most terrifying characters in anime. The music the use to introduce him in any particular scene only adds to this...it's almost like discordant ragtime, yet it suits him absolutely perfectly (kinda reminds me of the music used for Legato in "Trigun"). The extent of his power is not-so-discretely hidden throughout the series and the only thing that seems to make him one of the "good guys" is his ties to the Hellsing Organization and its leading lady, Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing.

I love just how deep a sense you get of who each of the characters are here. There really isn't a lot of character development, but you do get to see how some of them came to be who they are, even if it's a bit cryptic in places.

As for the sound, it's probably the only anime I'll ever say sounds truly BETTER in English. This has a lot to do with the authentically-localized voices they use (since it's in England, it really adds to the atmosphere). That, and the fact that the subtitles I've seen were particularly bad...very poor translation.

I do wish they'd tie up a few more loose ends...they leave things kind of open and, although I'm somewhat used to that in Japanese storytelling, it's still nice to have a true conclusion, even if the door is left open to future ventures. That's not to say it ends badly, just a bit more..."open" than I prefer. Call me a spoiled American...

I've seen the series twice now and will likely be watching it again. I would like to see the Hellsing Ultimate OAVs at some point, but they apparently do a lot less with Seras Victoria in it and that, to me, is a travesty! Oh well...it's still supposed to be very good.

Highly recommended for fans of vampires in general and for those looking for a good anime bloodbath. Not for the squeamish or easily disturbed! read more

Hellsing is a mixture of both action and horror with a little bit of drama to fill the gaps in between. The result is an entertaining show with the proper balance of genre that doesn’t become boring. The series follows the lives of various members of the Hellsing Organization, a secret British government agency tasked with killing vampires and their undead minions. Stylistically, the show is dark and gothic. Combined with a diverse, but not amazing, musical score, the mood of each episode is set well. There are several important characters, but the show revolves mainly around three.

First is Alucard. He is the role model badass, a loyal and powerful vampire who is in the service of the organization. He delights in slaughtering his enemies in more twisted and horrifying ways than even they can imagine. His only outward desire is to do battle with another vampire as strong as himself. When not fighting, his outlook is arrogant and irresponsible. No matter the intensity of any situation, he can only seem to find in everything some kind of dark amusement. As the series progresses, however, he is revealed not to be completely one-sided. Even Alucard has some human emotions remaining to be discovered.

Seras Victoria is also introduced at the start of the show. She is an unwitting police officer who is forced to contend with a supernatural threat from beyond her league. Lost in a town overrun by dark magic, she flees to a local chapel only to discover the source: a vampire posing as a priest. While facing her death, Alucard arrives to save the day (or night, rather). It becomes obvious that the situation will cost her life, but Alucard gives Seras the choice to come with him, to become a vampire. She agrees and joins the Hellsing Organization with newfound vampiric strength, but her life isn’t as frosty as perhaps she’d imagined. Her story deals with the struggle to prove her worth and earn trust within the organization, while at the same time wrestling with the ways of her new undead life. She is left alone to deal with the controversies of drinking blood to survive, or suppressing the newfound demonic urges she feels from within. She is offered little sympathy, because after all, the choice was always hers to begin with.

Integra Hellsing is the leader of this secret organization. She faces numerous administrative challenges as the Hellsing Organization is constantly attacked by enemies and criticized by allies. Rival organizations from other countries, such as the Vatican, repeatedly interfere with her business. Her decision to use the vampires Alucard and Seras to help hunt other vampires is extremely controversial, yet she pushes onward with a stoic and unbreakable sense of duty. Throughout the series a chain of events occurs that shakes the Hellsing Organization to its very core, and apathy from her strongest allies leaves her to cope with the most difficult problems alone.

All of the protagonists of this series are likable and deep. Each of the characters continually develops throughout the progression of the show, a characteristic that many series seem to lack. This isn’t to suggest the show is perfect, unfortunately. While entertaining and concise, the series really stagnates by the end. Many loose ends involving the story are left untied, and the last few episodes are filled with rather bizarre references that fail to have any explanation. For example, during one climactic moment, through some kind of prophetic vision, Alucard is pictured with a mustache. What the hell is that supposed to mean? There are also a few side characters that appear extremely unrealistic, but it is a small enough issue to be forgiven. In the end the dramatic situations involving the characters degrades to mere pandering that doesn’t advance their relationships or problems past a certain point. Meanwhile the art style is great, but the action sequences are just passable.

These issues don’t make the show bad, but they do bring it down from what could have been great to just being good. The series is still worth watching, however. It is thoroughly enjoyable, and it’s one of the few that could have been longer. Hellsing is an anime that succeeds in being a little deeper than the average action oriented one.
read more

To think I purchased this without doing any research on it. Turns out to be my favorite anime. This one actually could have been longer. I'm glad Ultimate series is still ongoing. Great characters and Crispin Freeman is excellent as Alucard. Lots of violence and gore. Plenty of action. Some things are left unanswered (like why he's a slave to Hellsing organization), but they need not be answered. Enjoy the story and violence. Could have been better if it had more mature rating with more profanity. Really there was nothing to complain about except it was too short. Animation is outstanding and sound is too. Rewatchability is very high. Some episodes are self-sustaining, but plot begins to tie them together in the overall sense. Great Buy and Highly Recommended. read more

Now, I'm sure there are more than enough reviews for Hellsing, but I thought I would try to share my insight anyway. The first time I watched this series, I wasn't particularly impressed (where was the plot? I thought). Sure the action was awesome and Alucard was cool as could be, but other than that I found it very drab. The second time I watched it was completely different. I was enthralled by the characters and even though I pretty much knew what was going to happen, I couldn't wait. It actually made me feel comfortable to watch it.
The best things about this series are the things the manga lacks. Granted the manga is great fun, but I had the two OST's on repeat while I read it. This brings me to my point, the anime is so enjoyable not just because of the run of the mill plot, but because of the atmosphere, voice acting, and most of all, the music. The relationships between the characters are great upon a closer examination. Simple with strict rules, yet far more complicated. This anime actually led me to my own revelations about the importance of the master-servant relationship in the Judeo-Christian tradition. How 'bout that. I digress; the voice acting is so much fun you have to hear it for yourself. Integera, Walter, those brothers, all great, but the real gem here is Alucard voiced by Nakata Jouji. Most of the show rides on Alucard's coattails and Nakata Jouji brings him to life perfectly. I actually have looked for other shows solely based on his involvement. Again I'm wasting your time. Now, the music I cannot speak highly enough. It is perfect. It was written and performed by Ishii Yasushi (a genius in my book) and fits the mood perfectly. Hell, it makes the mood. This man cannot get enough credit for making the show what it is. Just scenes of characters bumbling around are made eerie and enthralling with this man's music. I've probably said more than enough. Yes, I suggest this series for the lovable characters exceptional moodiness. read more

This has got to be one of my all-time favorite animes. First off, the music is really good. I asked myself "dang what song is that?" nearly every episode as I watched it. The art design is also superb. I think it's one of the most well drawn animes I have seen. It has a dark and gritty style to it, rather than a light and colorful one and this really adds to the atmosphere.

The story and characters are what make this anime, though. From the very first episode I was hooked. The episodes are enthralling and will keep you interested through the whole ep and then leave you wondering what is going to happen so you just have to watch the next one. I had to set daily limits on how many episodes I watched in a day otherwise I would have blown through the whole series all at once and since it is so short I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

The only problem I have with it, is that it is so short, only 13 episodes. I think that they could have extended it to 20 or 24 to fill in a little more of the backstory. I remember at one point, one of the characters is riding in a car with a guy then he drops her off. As he drives off his car suddenly explodes. I never really understood why that happened and it was never explained. The show leaves a lot unexplained but I think it did that intentionally so as not to include much filler.

Overall, if you like vampires or dark-theme anime, Hellsing is a MUST watch.
read more

I own both Hellsing's first DVD, Impure Souls as well as the collectors edition which contains the first and the rest of the DVDs. I had no idea what I was going to watch when I purchased both and to be honest, I couldn't be more disappointed.

There is no plot! Yes! That's right! There is no direction as to where the anime is going! Incredible, isn't it? There are characters, which I will talk about later, all of them have a background story which intertwines somehow eventually, there is unquestionably a past which is slowly unveiled (and poorly done, may I add) but the sequences of episodes are just random events that could be summed up by saying that a vampire goes raging.

This leads to the characters. Although there is an idea behind each character, most of them, apart from the main character, Alucard, are poorly executed. Most characters don't feel real. Alucard of course gets excused, would he not be the main vampire. However, many important questions remain unanswered throughout the whole anime! Who is the ultimate villain, Incognito? What does he want? Who is Alucard? Who was he before he was a vampire? Who is creating these fake vampires and with what purpose?

Unless you want to watch an anime about vampires just for the sheer fun of it, then I won't recommend you picking on this.

However, if you just want to consume anything that contains vampirism elements, regardless of the originality, then this might be the show for you.

In terms of animation and gore, Hellsing does rise well above the average specially in times where vampires are thought as sweet blood sucking creatures. It comes down to its core and explores the gore and blood of the world of vampires. The artwork is very good and the music though nothing special, does the job.

To sum up, Hellsing will entertain you if you like vampires but will add nothing new to your knowledge if your looking for something more. read more

After watching this anime the gore was appallingly blunt and threw amazing amounts of blood/gore wildly throughout the story. This is not for children or teenagers but a pure sadistic original story line for once! The psychology was delicately painted through so that viewers come to realize symbolism in weird objects, behaviors, and environments.

The storyline doesn't seem to be complete through to the end of the anime but character types are unique. If you are looking for demonic, blood spewing, gut severing, mutilating, flesh rotting, vampire type entertainment, than this is the anime for you!

the story is just half of the manga but the songs and sounds r VERY good. the fights are awesome as well. now for the characters: Alucard is THE awesome, Integra is the responsibility n autority figure, Celas is the weak girl (there's one in almost all anime) but personally i dont like her, Walter would be awesome but his potential is not very explored in this series. also the enemies r 7/10. the remake is the OVA but its still airing with the full story of course. i say it has some nice fights and very elaborated (not always the same thing). the sound track is THE BEST EVER!!!<--- everyone agrees on that. its a worthy to watch (if u dont like its just 13 eps aniway). read more