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I was pleasantly surprised by this story. Initially, I worried about the amount of blatant violence and language, but continued to watch because of positive reviews. Ultimately the content set the atmosphere of the story, and wasn't pointless. As the story develops and the characters come into focus, it becomes apparent that this anime exceeds the limitations of many similar anime stories. Advancement, even with talent, requires work. There are both stumbling blocks and stepping stones. The perspectives of the characters are complex and change through time. Though the main storyline is not particularly original, but the ... characters capture the heart of the viewers enough that it doesn't really matter.

I was pleasantly suprised by this anime, as it was not what I expected. There is a beautiful and real story interwoven into the overriding plot-line. Though the gender and sexual orientation of the characters comes into play and drives the plot, these issues serve as support for a more complex set of interactions. In many ways this anime manages to escape the mold cast for most other anime I have seen. The feeling that the characters are real and struggle in a real world allows the viewer to quickly and easily connect with them.

The biggest con to the ... show was the artwork, which had a strange combination of computer generated background with flat animated characters. I have seen this style incorporated in other anime, but I don't prefer it myself. Though the CG background can be more detailed this way, it is in turns too fake and too real. Blending the CG background and the anime characters requries a fine balance that is lacking in this particualar piece.

The first half of this series is incredibly predictable and boring. By episode twelve little is known about the situation or the characters; largely because the show spends way too much time playing lazy music while showing shaky, blurry scenes that ultimately have no point. A slow pace can work, as long as there is a point and I love psychological dramas. However, this series felt more suited to entertaining people getting high rather than provoking deep thought.

Around episode 12 the series gets into some actual plot/ character development and becomes much more interesting. There are some good moral conundrums, ... though these fit into the “asking the oldest questions in the newest ways” category.

The plot wasn’t overly original or complex, and the ending was apparent pretty early on. I had hoped for a bit more here. The dynamic between the main characters and the antagonists held a lot of wasted potential. In general they were all cookie cutter bad guys. The ultimate antagonist at the end, in particular, lacked any interesting characteristics.

And, it was depressing. At some point I started having flashbacks to when I read Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle’. I wanted to the finish the story, but at the same time I couldn’t help but think “come on . . . would everyone just give up and die already!”

Overall, I enjoyed parts of this, but there are a lot of more interesting things out there to watch.

***PS. When the femoral artery in the leg is severed, the person has approximately 3-5 minutes to live before fatally bleeding out. Having an arm and a leg cut off without immediate medical care would result in shock, loss of consciousness, and death within minutes. So the part where he is wandering around the city on handmade crutches with a tiny string that is supposed to be a tourniquet he made himself is just laughable.

This is a psychological thriller/mystery/horror. Basically, if your definition of horror centers around action and gore filled in with a bit of dialog . . . you might want to try out Hellsing. Also, if you don’t have patience to sit through an intellectual dialog that requires you to think in order to comprehend, you will probably be disappointed.

However, if your tastes run toward the complex and disturbing, then this anime was awesome. Compared to most anime I’ve seen, this one covers a lot of ground in just thirteen episodes. It may also be the first anime I've ... seen that managed to round out the plot by the end, much less in such a short amount of time. YES, finally, an anime with closure!!!!

The music neither added nor detracted from the story, which is a pity as the use of sound and silence in this genre can make a huge difference in the audience experience. However, it’s impressive that it managed some suspense without efficient use of this medium.

The animation was quite compelling and beautiful.

The plot and characters ranged from complex to disturbed, and were generally creepy throughout the series. The plot had enough twists and complicated details that it's best to watch straight through. The transition between the center-stage protagonists which featured in the opening versus closing scene was a bit jagged, but in this situation it would be difficult to do it well. If you pay close attention, you can come to the good guy/bad guy players within the first half of the series, but for many it will be difficult to predict the end before the end. There is a very CLUE-like strategy session at the end (miss peach in the library with the candlestick), which is so cliché I actually liked it. It takes guts to use something everyone has seen and talent to make it work.

Overall, I really enjoyed this anime. It was very mature, but not un-necessarily obscene. I definitely would say its NOT for everyone, but if you like to play mind games, or have any interest in deviant social behaviors then it is quite entertaining.

*PS if you are really into this sort of thing try reading the Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The first two books are above average, though nothing astonishing. However, by the third book the authors are into their groove and have decided that Pendergast really is their greatest asset (he more of a supporting character in the first two books). By the third book, they are brilliant!

The genius of this anime is not a complex story full of irony and plot twists; in fact the story is somewhat predictable. However, unlike much anime, this one does not depend on the characters emphatic exclamations of ‘I will do my best’ and willful hearts to solve everything. The characters experience realistic problems and misunderstandings. They struggle with their emotions and are often unable to overcome them in the face of their own logic. The main character is kind and giving, but the reason others love her is NOT because she sacrifices herself to others petty impositions. She ... is important in the story because she can see past what people say and do, to what is really wrong underneath. She also bears up under her own past admirably, but is not flawless and is as healed by her friends as they are by her.

I did not give the series a 10 because the animation was not particularly amazing, there were a few wasted episodes that dragged on and were unrelated to the main arc, and in the end they never solved the original question of what the curse of the zodiac is. Like many anime there is more to tell, though there is more closure in this story than in most.

The most redeeming part of this story is that it does not end with the realization of the protagonists' love of each other. Miaka and Tamahome become involved in a relationship and continue to evolve in that relationship over time. The concept that all interesting life experiences don’t end with falling in love is clearly presented and that is a worthy message.

While this may have been an early form of the 'priestess stolen from another world to save an ancient city' theme, it was by no means the best I have seen. The characters were interesting and had potential, however, the ... main character was clothed in piety in order to hide that she was truly ignorant and selfish. She cried a lot about how people around her got hurt and how she wasn't any good at doing things and then would run off alone, forcing her companions into danger and giving them all kinds of needless obstacles in protecting her. Then, when they acted in a similar fashion she was hurt and confused. If the point is that sacrificing yourself to alleviate your own feelings of guilt and fear is counterproductive and only gets people hurt, then this is a good lesson. But Miaka is only seen as more loving and benevolent after these choices and continues to make them throughout the series. And Miaka’s friends continue to take the brunt of her poor choices.

Yui’s reaction to her struggles was unbelievable. She and Miaka had known each other since kindergarten and still, when it came to believing Miaka, Yui blindly takes the word of a stranger she had known for only a few months? This is instigated because when Yui is taken into the book, she is attacked. She knows how little knowledge and ability that Miaka has and in all the times Miaka was attacked Yui was powerless to help her. Yet, because Miaka didn’t magically come when Yui called her Yui hates Miaka for it. Then, Yui blames Miaka for having people to save her when she entered the world, but the only thing difference between their experiences was that Miaka protected herself against the thugs before she was saved by Tamahome, whereas Yui did not protect herself before Nakago came. Beyond that Nakago never hid is cruelty or manipulation of others from her, so he was obviously not the good guy type. It would have been more believable if they had claimed Yui had been envious of Miaka from the start of their friendship. Either way, the character reactions to almost everything were over dramatized and unrealistic.

Ultimately this anime tried hard, but falls short of anything beyond mediocre entertainment. It reinforces a lot of poor judgments and makes unrealistic conclusions about consequences. But it was not all bad so I gave it a grade of average.

I had hoped that the endings showed what happened to each character after the fight with the Demons was over. However, these were lame, lame, lame. So if you can't find them, don't be too sad about it. Basically each ending consisted of a different character walking up to the Akane under Sakura trees and monologing about how she had saved them while reviews of their parts in the series flash through the screen. Akane never says anything in reply, just watches them talk or hugs them. If it wasn’t bad enough that they didn’t bother adding any kind of ... a dialogue about why she chose the one she chose to be with at the end . . . they also stretched it a bit too far to suggest that her relationship with Inori, Shimon, Tackamichi, or Yasuaki could suddenly turn Romantic, even though it never really has been. And in each ending they suggest that she is going to be with her chosen one forever. Bla, Bla, Bla . . . it was disappointing.

The show had a lot of potential, but was painfully incomplete. The viewer enters the story partway through, with the characters already having been transported into a new world and having been there for some time. All of the stones have been assigned to guardians, though we don’t know how or when. There is a lot of back story that can only be guessed at without having read the manga or played the games.

The characters are quite interesting and there is a complex dynamic between friend and foe. There are no clearly defined right or wrong sides.

Unfortunately ... there is a gap in the plot between the ending of this show and the continuation in the sequel, and the sequel only goes half way through the war. What is present is worthy enough, but without a beginning or an ending to the story, watching it felt pretty pointless.

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. The ... congruity 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.

The story and characters in this series are fantastically enigmatic and complex. Ultimately the characters and their relationships are as interesting as the overall plot line. The biggest drawback to this series is that it ends without really explaining some important aspects of the story. The lack of background throughout the series provides suspense and intrigue, but anyone who has not read the Manga will probably want to look up a synopsis of the plot at some point. However, the series is definitely worth watching anyway.

The vampires are largely classical Braum Stokes in nature, though, there are a few interesting twists ... which crop up in the plot and backstory. The ambience is dark and mysterious, giving the show a dramatic feel. However, Abel’s antics serve to lighten mood from time to time. Abel displays many different faces throughout the series-though it seems they are all part of him rather than just masks he wears-providing his character depth not easily achieved in the typical conflicted protagonist role. Abel’s dorkiness is endearing and is necessary to balance the more serious and painful reality of his past and his current mission.

The change that comes over Abel when he releases into his fighting modes is shocking. He becomes horrible and beautiful, valiant and creepy, powerful and weak. While his essential shape remains the same, the change in his hair and eyes is chilling. That Able becomes terrible in his fighting form while the enemy of the world goes from charismatic in his human form to angelic in his fighting form is an appropriate archetype for real life. Abel’s form is honest to its own nature, while the success of the antagonist is largely due to his devious nature. He is a master at showing others what they want to see until they are no longer useful to his own purposes.

Though there are some obvious similarities between Abel and the main character in Trigun, the feel of this series is vastly different. Enough so, that the two series don’t target the same audience. Where Trigun is often lighthearted and silly, Trinity Blood’s plot weighs heavily as it addresses a variety of social and personal conflict issues.

Overall Trinity Blood is an intriguing story which draws the viewer in both through the overriding plot and through the depth of the characters and their own personal struggles. However, the series should have been extended to include an explanation to the history of events which propelled the world into the current state of affairs. Instead viewers are forced to look to other sources for any resolution to the story.