What's it about, and what's so great about it?
Hellsing has a very odd premise. It revolves around the activities of the Royal Protestant Knights Hellsing Organisation, dedicated to protecting the United Kingdom from the undead. The founder was the slayer of Dracula himself, Lord Abraham von Helsing. The current leader of Hellsing, Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing (Sir? Isn't she female? Engrish alert!) has a vampire servant called Arkard (or Alucard, or Arucard or however the hell you want to pronounce it) who aids in the task of disposing of the undead. Arkard is immensely powerful, and in fact has some of his power locked away by Integra so that he doesn't become too powerful. The series begins with an outbreak of ghoul attacks in the village of Chedders, where a SWAT team has been sent in to investigate. Integra dispatches Arkard to clean up the mess, and thus Hellsing begins.
Hellsing has to be the most stylish anime I've ever seen. The character designs are awesome, especially Arkard, who now shares the spot (in my opinion) of "ultimate anime badass" with Saito Hajime. Even seemingly ancillary characters like Walter, Integra's butler, are incredibly designed. The animation in most episodes is also great and adds to the mysterious mood. It is rather inconsistent, though (compare the two shots of Arkard holding his gun above and you can see what I mean). Hellsing also has a neat blues/jazz soundtrack that highlights the mood of the anime excellently. Every character is also fleshed out nicely, and even supporting characters like Ferguson (the military head of Hellsing) are shown to have motivations and character.
I only have two major complaints. Firstly, THE SERIES IS WAY TOO SHORT! At the end of episode 13 there are a mountain of unanswered questions, and it appears that we won't get the answers until the Hellsing manga has finished its run. Another complaint is that while the designs themselves are good, the character development could be a LOT better. Towards the end, it doesn't seem that any of the characters (except perhaps Seras Victoria) have developed or matured in any way. Anyhow, if you like an anime that has a sense of style, check out Hellsing.
Or, you could read my official review of Hellsing for a more detailed (and biting) critique.
|
