Hellsing Ultimate

Not being familiar with the older 13 episode series, then I had no expectations for this series. I sat down to watch it with a clean slate, so to speak. Was told that it was a really great series by an acquaintance, so I decided to give it a go.

I will say that the art style is somewhat different from the Manga that I am used to watching, but it wasn't bad. I liked the style of art in "Hellsing Ultimate", it was dark, it had an edge and it was nicely rendered. Smooth animation and interesting characters really helped the series along.

"Hellsing Ultimate" has a lot of blood and violence in it, so it may not be suitable for all people. Just a word of warning. I, however, did enjoy it. The vampires here were brutal, devilish and beastly - read not having big hair and sparkling skin.

The characters in the series were nicely thought up and well put to the screen. However, I think that they could have made the episodes longer and given the characters a chance to show their personalities and nature more on the screen. Given them a chance to delve into character development, as some of the characters were a bit shallow and could have benefited from a more in-depth presentation.

There was a lot of jumping between the episodes, in the sense that there was an red thread in the storyline, but individually the episodes were a bit too skittering and 'flash bang'. By that I mean, it was all great, action-packed and full of blood, but once one episode was over, the next would skip entirely to something else.

One thing did puzzle me, well it is just me being petty, but why did everyone speak Japanese? It didn't make any sense that people from the Vatican or South America spoke Japanese, or that the Nazis spoke Japanese. But hey, it was a Manga animation, so it was easy enough to bear over with that.

Having seen this new series, it sort of sparked an interest to get a hold of the old series and check that out as well. The 2006 "Hellsing Ultimate" series was great entertainment and it well worth checking out, for both newcomers to the Manga scene and for avid fans alike.

A few people may remember a short, pseudo gothic,13 episode vampire anime series a few years back called 'hellsing'. It had a steady cult fan base but was in the essence of things good, but not really great. It seemed doomed to obscurity with no more material to work from into the latter half of the series, which then free-styled off onto a tangent.Fans were disappointed, an ultimately anti-climactic series with no real reverence for it source material.

last year things changed and a phoenix rose from the ashes in what can only be called anime 'history'. Most failed series are laid to rest and never mentioned again like a past you want to forget, but not with kouta hirano. His labour of love was to have his vision realised in animated form and so we get,true to its name,'Hellsing Ultimate OVA' this series unlike any other gives us a viewing experience we could only dream of, with episodes now feature length ova's with lush quality animation and production values out of the norm for short anime series. From the artwork to the dialogue, everything about the series reeks 'quality'. Its almost scary how very close it comes to being exactly like the manga it is based on. The music is 'epic' and sound is superb.

This is so unlike the old t.v series that it's beyond even funny! To those not familiar with hellsing the manga is probably, well actually IT IS the darkest graphic novel you are ever likely to read. Sure it has moments of mild humour which Japanese love, but in the grand scheme of things it is genuinely unsettling how close to being an evil villain the protagonist assumed to be 'good' really is. In short Alucard a vampire hunter,but a vampire himself works for & protects humans (you can see where characters such as Dante from devil may cry were inspired :p), the hellsing organisation a secret organisation set up to obliterate any supernatural threat to the protestant British empire. Protestants (Hellsing) Vs Roman Catholic Vatican (Iscariot Organization,Section XIII), Modern day Nazi bad guys, these are elements of the content in the series. No spoiler here, but needless to say, if you like blade,devil may cry, cool anime with action, extremely mature and 'cool' dialogue that isn't cheesy, a serious and dark storyline, a proper depiction of a modern day vampire (and believe you me, the way alucard is depicted has set the standard of what vampires should truly be about :D). this series is not Bram stoker 'dracula' re-told, or Dracula 2001 or anything you've seen related to vampires. GET READY for an anime that will literally blow you away! Overview: MATURE CONTENT, SCENES OF GRAPIC VIOLENCE AND OF A SEXUAL NATURE (Although you'll be surprised how little there really is :D). OVA (Original Video Animation) - Feature Lenght, High Budget, High Quality Anime. One 'episode' per DVD but it's Worth it since it's like watching a mini film based directly of each consecutive manga.

(Bare in mind i am not usually a big fan of vampire related anime or overly violent anime but this anime charms the audience in a way never thought possible. This anime has in essence the truest 'anti-hero' in the definition of the word. ENJOY!)

After been waiting for a long time, finally Hellsing Ultimate 3 is here! This episode starts with the aftermath of the attack that took much of episode's 2 time and then follows Alucard, Victoria and a new guy on their trans-continental quest to find out more about the Millennium organization (with help from the less expected source, I must say...) The CGI-loaded animation is still the same, and I've seen people who have loved it and people who have hated it, so for this one, either you love it or hate it, your feelings will be the same. The soundtrack keeps going with it's epic-oriented tracks that add a very good atmosphere to the OVA.

This episode is blood/gore loaded, much more than the previous two, so if you felt uneasy about that, you probably don't want to see this one. This episode is violence-packed with a more conspiracy-like plot and a really good duel (that didn't show up in the original series) where Alucard has the opportunity to show his powers once more. There are also a couple of funny scenes to break the tension of the moment.

At the ending credits we get an animated teaser of the past of Alucard and Walter that is told in Hellsing: The Dawn.

Violence, blood, gore, vampires, Nazis, bayonets, the Vatican, Hellsing is back, and better than ever. Forget the original series, the one that shamelessly disregarded the brilliant manga. This is that way Hellsing is supposed to be! There are many contributing factors as to why this is so much better than its predecessor. For a start, the animation is amazing. Truly incredible; it has to be seen to be believed. And the music suits the epic madness of the manga perfectly.

The style and direction is fantastic as well, bringing a wild mood the original lacked.

However, it is not without flaws. A truly dreadful dream sequence and its aftermath almost spoils the piece, and you will be left wondering why the hell it was even present.

But ignore that cringe worthy five minutes, and you will have a truly satisfactory Hellsing experience, something you could never get from the original.

Hellsing the OVA Series is a brilliant piece of work.

It follows the manga much better than the original anime series, although the soundtrack to the original was brilliant, so is the OVA's.

Alucard is more deep in character than the last time and so is Anderson (even more so,) and many scenes that didn't make the anime appear in the OVA.

The graphics outdo the original series (and most other animes for that matter,) as they utilise cgi in important scenes. The same voice actors from the original show are here, along with a few new ones.

overall, i recommend this to any and all Hellsing fans.