Story: 6
The story tends to change between three different styles. You have the action-packed moments with characters fighting each other, you have the slow, emotional moments, and you have the silly little asides. I personally enjoyed the silly comic-relief moments. However... I feel like the show is at it's best when it's just focusing on basic action and not trying to be any more than it's able to be. The slower, emotional moments sometimes try to get a little philosophical as well, and it just comes off as pretentious. There's not much actual meaning in these moments, and the characters don't seem equipped to handle that kind of story, especially considering some of the cheesy dialogue that they end up spouting off. The cheesy dialogue works fairly well during action scenes, but it was also used during the serious moments, which I felt just tended to fall flat.
There were some well done emotional moments as well. Specifically, the ones that involved an intense emotional relationship between characters. However, those are few and far-between. If the story had stopped trying to be bigger than it was, I probably would have enjoyed it more. Still, it ends up being somewhat enjoyable with just a handful of sour, overly-pretentious points here and there.
Art: 9
The art was fantastic! Everything was created with so much detail, and the art style fit the world perfectly. Character designs are well done, colors are put to good use, everything moves with a great amount of fluidity and it just looks gorgeous. There were a few episodes that relied heavily on the use of CG, and some of it looked pretty poor and stood out from the hand-drawn visuals. However, there are only a few episodes that use really poor CG, and for the most part, the art really impressed me.
Sound: 9
The audio mix is exciting and loud, just like it should be for an action show. The soundtrack is incredibly impressive, and has some really great sounding, memorable tracks during some action scenes, as well as beautifully orchestrated melodies. The Japanese voice acting is fairly well done, and I loved all of the main cast. However, I felt some of the supporting cast were a little weak. Still, generally it was really good.
Character: 6
The characters have a lot of variety in this series, which is definitely a good thing. However, I feel like most of the characters lack any real motivation or depth. I feel like Alucard is a surprisingly uninteresting character, considering he's pretty much in the main role. He's just your typical badass, and just feels over-powered and invisible. that makes all of the fights he's in just a tiny bit more boring, since you essentially already know what the outcome is going to be.
I felt like the rest of the main cast (Integra and Seras) end up being much more interesting. They aren't some all-powerful being, so when they get themselves into dangerous situations, it's interesting to see how they fight their way out of it. I think Seras is a really likable character, and Integra has a bit of added depth to her, which is refreshing. Bernadotte also ends up being an interesting character, and they play up his backstory enough that you get a good sense of the things he's been through and the things he must be feeling. This makes it a lot more enjoyable when you're watching him on-screen, because you can kind of understand his pain, even if you can't personally relate to it.
I feel like the villains all end up being one-trick ponies, but it's also not too horrible, since most of them aren't given much airtime. We're constantly being introduced to new characters with different personalities, and this is good. There's a few standout characters, for sure, but I feel like the majority of characters were pretty average, and could have been a whole lot better.
Enjoyment: 7
It's a pretty enjoyable show. I liked most of the action scenes, and there were a few moments that really shined. I ended up enjoying 8 out of the 10 episodes, with about 3 or 4 very impressive, standout ones.
Overall, Hellsing Ultimate ends up being a fun show. One that, by the end, seems to strive to be some deep, meaningful thing. However, this doesn't do it any favors, and actually makes it less. It's characters are generally pretty average, but there are a few standout ones, and it's got some great art, and an impressive soundtrack that really propels it forward, making it better than it otherwise would have been. I would recommend it to fans of the action genre who aren't expecting much, and just want a fun series to kill some time with.
