Hellsing Ultimate

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.

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!)

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.

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.

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 ^_~