Hellsing Ultimate

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.

The new Hellsing OVA is a much better adaptation of Kouta Hirano's manga in comparison to the original 13 episodes. This OVA closely follows the intended storyline of the manga with better animation. If you're a fan of the manga, then chances are you'd enjoy this OVA much better than the original 13 episodes which featured shoddy art and animation techniques with a storyline that had very little to do with the manga. This OVA was an amazing visual experience in the realm of new age anime. The character development is much better on the part of Seras and Integra than they had been in the original anime. The fight sequences are nothing short of amazing. This remake is entirely better than its original and stays true to the manga that Hirano has created; it is most definitely a recommended watch.

Still bathing in the afterglow of the brilliant Hellsing I, we now move on to the second part. So whats on offer? As it turns out, there was something strange about the duel at the end of part I. You see, our heroes were assailed by ghouls, and yet the source vampire was already dead, meaning the ghouls should have been as well. The Hellsing organization has noticed this, and called a meeting of its head council, but a mysterious organization has sent out two deadly assassins and their army to raid and destroy the Hellsing headquarters and everyone in it...

Part II advances on the already great Part I immensely. It is more gruesome, more action packed, and more engaging, introducing more about the world of Hellsing. We get to see a little of Alucards past, as well as more about Integra and Seras, our female protagonists. We also see more of the organization that will become the main villains in future volumes.

The problem is, despite all this, Part II isn't as entertaining as it could be. Yes, the weird humor is a little more suited in this one, but the direction lacks the crazy wildness that made the first one so great. This one isn't quite as good as it could be.

Although the new series is an improvement over the original, it still could be better. But thats not to say it isn't already great. The action is only beginning, and there's a lot to come...

After watching the TV series of Hellsing, reading the manga and watching Hellsing Ultimate series, here are my personal pros and cons...

~TV series~

Pros: 1.The series went at a steady pace, if you never watched or read Hellsing before this series is easy to follow and understand.

2.Although the series steered away from the original manga story line, it still had a good plot that you could easily "get into" and follow.

3.Better listening music although I still did enjoy the music in Hellsing Ultimate. 4.Not really a pro, but I know a lot of the voice acting can affect how someone can like an anime, just so you know the voice acting is very well done and suits each individual character and their personalities. 5.Crispin Freeman has a sexy voice 6.Alucard is sexy ^_^

Cons: 1.Not the original story line in the manga(I know some people don't mind anime that doesn't follow the mangas)

2.The animation is OK. There's times where it looked good, time where it looked bad like every anime, but there is lack in detail and can have a bland look.

3.No comic relief, but some people prefer it to be that way for a dark anime.

Overall the series is well put together. Definitely an anime well worth every penny.

~Hellsing Ultimate~

Pros 1.Animation, besides the use of 3D effects here and there(which I personally don't care for) much more detail than the TV series, especially in facial features and clothing detail. Its no Vampire Hunter D, but if you were to compare the TV series/ultimate series to Vampire Hunter D animation, go with Hellsing Ultimate.

2.Follows the manga story line.

3.This can be a pro or con. One long episode per disc(about 50 mins per episode) which some people like. So no annoying skipping intros/endings to get to the next episode

4.The same voice actors from the TV series came back to work on Helling Ultimate.(I hate it when animes change voice actors)

5.Alucard shows more emotion and is more deep than he is in the TV series, but still maintains his cold sadistic personality. Victoria and most main characters show more emotion.

6.Comic relief here and there.

7.Crispin Freeman still has a sexy voice... ^_~

8.Alucard is still sexy.(even more in hellsing Ultimate in my opinion)

Cons 1.Music isn't as good. Fits the series, but not something to really sit and listen to.

2.This series moves much more faster than the TV series, making it harder to follow and understand. I'd suggest watching this after reading the manga or watching the TV series.

3.1 long episode per disc(each episode is generally 50 mins long) while this can be a good thing for some ppl, I find that most people like having multiple episodes per disc.

Hope this helped ^_~

"The bird of the Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame."

Hellsing Ultimate is a 10 part OVA anime based on the Hellsing manga that follows it very closely compared the earlier attempt which contained 13 episodes and had to stray off because of catching up the the story at the time. And unlike many, I did liked that early attempt and still do but this, however, COMPLETELY BLOWS IT AWAY!! Bigger budget, better animation, better action, better plot and way more GORE.

The story follows Hellsing organization which has only one goal, to rid the world from vampires/monsters. And they accomplish this mainly by their trump card, ALUCARD (DRACULA in reverse), an immortal and powerful vampire that does the bidding of his master, the leader of the organization, Integra Hellsing.

Since they followed the manga to the fullest, the story this time around was a lot better and actually went somewhere. Still, plot isn't the reason to watch this anime because its the action and gore and the awesomeness of Alucard that makes Hellsing a joy to watch. The anime is filled with gruesome bloody sequences with people and monsters being totally decimated in thrilling and amazing ways.

ALUCARD is probably the most badass and awesome Anti-hero I have ever seen in an anime. He taunts and humiliates his enemies before ripping them to shreds, takes extreme joy in the act and really defines the word MONSTER when doing all this. But at the same side you see that he has a softer side which he hardly ever shows and there is more to him then just being an all out monster. Also, I don't think I've ever seen the main character to be THE STRONGEST in the whole anime and the world it shows. Usually the hero/anti- hero/lead has to train hard, overcome obstacles, acquire knowledge and powers to become strong and defeat the enemy. But not here. Hellsing's like "Screw all that. Alucard is the most powerful. Enjoy.". And I loved this. Such a refreshing thing to see.

The anime isn't without its flaws however. One thing that REALLY bugged me is that when all the stuff is going down, carnage and destruction everywhere, the anime decides to take the time off and do some character development or deliver a monologue or a speech or something. But it wasn't never really good at this stuff so it turns into a drag and all you want is to see more action. The pacing wasn't that good at times. And then there were those typical anime comedy thrown in the mix, which popped up in the most atmosphere breaking moments and really annoyed me, only a few times it was actually funny and worked.

Animation quality was superb. Detailed characters and violence and stuff. The soundtrack was a mixed bag.

Overall, I really enjoyed the anime. It's a definite watch for anyone who wants vampire centric story without any lovey dovey/teenage/high school stupidity and just delivers the awesome gory action we want.

8.3/10