Hellsing...
I've always had a soft spot for vampires. Today, I stopped by one of my favorite haunts and picked up the first four installments of the ten-part Hellsing Ultimate OVA series and the four volumes of the Hellsing TV series...
I've seen previews for Hellsing Ultimate and it looks really, really good. I guess that is what trailers are supposed to look like. It remains to be seen if Hellsing Ultimate lives up to the hype, but, I have rarely met a vampire I didn't like...
According to Wikipedia...
I've seen all of the initial release of installments one through four of Hellsing Ultimate. as well as the newer release of installments five through eight. Unfortunately, Geneon's U.S. division went belly-up after releasing only four of the ten parts of this series. Thankfully, Funimation stepped in recently to rescue the U.S. license and began re-releasing the series. Sadly, at the the time of this writing (circa September 2014), Funimation hasn't finished re-releasing the series -- only eight of the ten installments are currently available.
What I have seen, so far, is really, really good. Hellsing Ultimate continues in the tradition of its earlier couterpart with heaping quantities of zombies and vampires, so, one shouldn't be surprised by the copious amounts of red ink on display. There's plenty of people munching, blood sucking, zombie smashing and vampire bashing to be found in Hellsing Ultimate.
There is a great deal more polish in Hellsing Ultimate than was observed in the original Hellsing. For example, Seras' eyes change color. When she is struggling with her human side, her eyes are blue. When she is feeling more vampiric, her eyes are red. In the original Hellsing, defeated vampires turned to dust, while in Hellsing Ultimate, the death of vampires is expressed with a bit more pizzazz.
There is some rude dialog in Hellsing Ultimate that might not be appropriate for the youngest anime fans, but, otherwise, there are no naughty bits to speak of. Even though I haven't finished watching Hellsing Ultimate, I would feel very comfortable giving the series a 5 out of 5.
While the story in Hellsing TV series diverges from its source material, it still manages to hold up well on its own merits. That being said, the more highly polished nature of the Hellsing Ultimate OVA series makes the differences in the two productions more obvious. Regardless, in my opinion, the Hellsing TV series is a noble effort, worthy of the Hellsing franchise.
I've seen the entire Hellsing TV series in one sitting. My first impression is that it is very good. There are vampires and zombies, so, one should expect a certain amount of red ink and gore. Hellsing does not disappoint. The prerequisite people smashing and vampire bashing scenes are on display.Volume 1
Hellsing (TV)
A secret war is brewing in the night - a war in which humanity is only a pawn. The mysterious Hellsing Organization deploys within the shadows to protect ordinary mortals from the undead legions that would prey upon us.
Now, as the ghouls and vampires increase in number, they threaten the human police forces forcing the deployment of the Hellsing Organization's ultimate weapon - the rogue vampire, Alucard!
After saving Victoria Seras Victoria, a special police operative from death by transforming her into a vampire, Alucard must work with her to fight the undead army - as well as her own newfound hungers!
Volume 2
Alucard and the Hellsing Organization face a twofold challenge! A traitor within begins leaking classified information about the Organization - and a TV journalist is out to expose Hellsing's secret mission! Then, the ruthless Valentine Brothers lead their undead army on a deadly raid against the Hellsing headquarters, interrupting the secret Round Table meeting!
Volume 3
The worst enemy of the night is one of its own...
The Hellsing Organization's war against the undead intensifies! The organization suffers major losses in battle and Alucard must confront the deadly Paladin Alexander from Iscariot again. Then, the stakes are raised as he prepares to face one of the original undead - and Integra fights for life against her own sister?!
Volume 4
The Hellsing Organization makes its last stand against the unknown traitor and Incognito, one of the original undead, at the Tower of London - with the Queen and Integra's lives at stake! Seras must finally make her choice about what she has become and the mysterious bond between Alucard and Integra is revealed.
Parts 1-4
Hellsing Ultimate (OVA)
The mysterious Hellsing organization has been protecting the British Empire from supernatural beasts that threaten the people and the crown; armed with the ultimate killing machine, an all-powerful vampire named Alucard, Hellsing has been slaying monsters for over 100 years. When confronted with a villainous vampire priest in the British countryside, Alucard is forced to shoot Seras Victoria – a human police woman taken hostage by the priest – straight through the chest. Given the choice between an existence as a ghoul or death by her new master, Seras Victoria chooses to be reborn as Alucard's ward... and her unlife as his servant begins.
Parts 5-8
The rogue vampire Alucard is the Hellsing Organization's deadliest instrument in its mission to protect the British Empire from satanic ghouls and Nazi freaks. He is not alone in his assault on the occult; the master has a servant. Policewoman Seras Victoria accepted Alucard's gift of dark salvation after falling in the line of duty, and now the remnants of her human soul struggle against her growing vampire urges. Together, they haunt the shadows as a sinister force of good - and tonight the foggy streets of England shall flow with the blood of their evil prey.
Parts 9-10
Alucard awakens and his thirst for vengeance is stronger than ever. This anarchist must use everything in his mythical repertoire to show that his bite is far worse than an army of snarling Nazi werewolves. As Alucard absorbs every drop of blood in sight, all begin to realize that the ultimate slaughter might be too much to handle even for the deadliest of demonic slayers.
I've seen previews for Hellsing Ultimate and it looks really, really good. I guess that is what trailers are supposed to look like. It remains to be seen if Hellsing Ultimate lives up to the hype, but, I have rarely met a vampire I didn't like...
According to Wikipedia...
Following the release of the manga, Gonzo produced [Hellsing], a thirteen episode anime series that uses the same characters and settings, but a different story from its source manga...
Hellsing Ultimate is an original video animation (OVA) series animated by animation studios Satelight (OVA I–IV), Madhouse (OVA V–VII) and Graphinica (OVA VIII–X), and produced by Geneon.
September 15, 2014
Update
The original Hellsing anime varies somewhat from Hellsing Ultimate in that when the original Hellsing anime was in production, the manga was still ongoing and the anime had caught up to the existing manga story line. Since the anime had to continue without its source material, the original Hellsing anime veers off into a tangent that was not observed in subsequent installments of the manga. In addition, the production values between the two series vary greatly. In contrast, Hellsing Ultimate was produced later, had the benefit of more source material and had the added benefit of improved production quality. The end result is that Helsing Ultimate is more highly polished and is more faithful to its source material than the earlier Hellsing TV series.I've seen all of the initial release of installments one through four of Hellsing Ultimate. as well as the newer release of installments five through eight. Unfortunately, Geneon's U.S. division went belly-up after releasing only four of the ten parts of this series. Thankfully, Funimation stepped in recently to rescue the U.S. license and began re-releasing the series. Sadly, at the the time of this writing (circa September 2014), Funimation hasn't finished re-releasing the series -- only eight of the ten installments are currently available.What I have seen, so far, is really, really good. Hellsing Ultimate continues in the tradition of its earlier couterpart with heaping quantities of zombies and vampires, so, one shouldn't be surprised by the copious amounts of red ink on display. There's plenty of people munching, blood sucking, zombie smashing and vampire bashing to be found in Hellsing Ultimate.
There is a great deal more polish in Hellsing Ultimate than was observed in the original Hellsing. For example, Seras' eyes change color. When she is struggling with her human side, her eyes are blue. When she is feeling more vampiric, her eyes are red. In the original Hellsing, defeated vampires turned to dust, while in Hellsing Ultimate, the death of vampires is expressed with a bit more pizzazz.
There is some rude dialog in Hellsing Ultimate that might not be appropriate for the youngest anime fans, but, otherwise, there are no naughty bits to speak of. Even though I haven't finished watching Hellsing Ultimate, I would feel very comfortable giving the series a 5 out of 5.
While the story in Hellsing TV series diverges from its source material, it still manages to hold up well on its own merits. That being said, the more highly polished nature of the Hellsing Ultimate OVA series makes the differences in the two productions more obvious. Regardless, in my opinion, the Hellsing TV series is a noble effort, worthy of the Hellsing franchise.
