Bravo, good concise review. I agreed with you that it is too generic and cliche ridden.
Hellsing tv Review
Unbeknown to the masses, vampires do exist; as a precautionary measure, certain groups have been created to keep them (and their creations) under control. In the United Kingdom, the group is the Hellsing family, with Integra Hellsing as the leader.
One night, a squad is sent out to a village to solve the mystery of the increasing number of disappearances among the locals. Victoria Seras, a rookie police officer ridiculed by her comrades, is bent on proving she can handle the mission, but soon discovers they all have been overwhelmed by the vampire and his slaves. During the fight that ensues appears Alucard, a mysterious man who kills the vampire and severely injures Victoria in the process. On the verge of death, she accepts to be turned into a vampire by him, accepting him as her master.
On their way back to Alucard's group, she discovers the truth about the Hellsing Organization and accepts to fight alongside them. The story is mostly told from her point of view and shows her relationships with the other characters and the hardships she encounters while trying to get used to her new lifestyle.
Synopsis: pandemonium91
Story & Characters
What do you get when you mix insanely powerful vampires, ghouls, guns and a perpetual conflict between the Anglican and Catholic churches threatening to burst to a full-scale war? Most of you would be tempted to say that the result would be a catchy and original series; however, in the end, Hellsing turns out to be just another action / horror series with hardly any substance at all.
Before you say that this is a rather harsh critique, let us consider the story of the series. Firstly, there can be hardly any talk about the story to begin with. We have a secret agency that's bound to erradicate vampires, ghouls and any other creatures of the sort. We have an insanely powerful vampire named Alucard (obvious allusion to the vampire Dracula) who's working for this agency, a vampire fledgling who is trying to retain her humanity even though she's well aware that such a thing is impossible, and a tough-as-nails female leader of this agency who'll stop at nothing to protect her country. All these are basic character types which can be encountered in any anime. There are plenty of happenings throughout the thirteen episodes, but none of them conceive to form a consistent and well-bound plot.
Rating:
Art
There's no denying that, when it comes to art and graphics, Hellsing looks really good. The character art is original for the better part and drifts from the consecrated style of Japanese anime towards the style of twenty-century American cartoons for some characters (as is the case for 'Shinigami' Walter, for instance). The aspect of the characters fits well with their bio and personality.
The backgrounds are largely ellaborate and contribute well to create the overall atmosphere for once scene or another, and the animation is good also. The blood that flows or bursts looks pretty realistic (well, as realistic as computer-drawn blood could look, anyway), and the various visual effects, like flames or explosions, are sometimes stunning.
Rating:
Sound
Clearly, the soundtrack is one of the strong points of the series, if not the only one. The music tracks are variated and fit well with each scene. There are several vocal tracks, including the opening and ending themes, which are great achievements on their own. The only downside would be that some lyrics make no sense at all, but that can be overlooked.
The voices are also well-chosen, and the acting is brilliant for some characters, like Alucard and Integra. Sometimes it gave me the creeps to hear Alucard's sinister laughter in the aftermath of a battle with a powerful foe, Victoria's sweet and somewhat innocent voice went well with her character, and Integra's outbursts always gave me the jumps.
Rating:
Presentation
Like I said before, there's hardly anything original about this series. No matter what aspect you take into consideration, it's all been done before: the secret organization thing, the good / bad guys from Vatican messing things up, the apotheotic scene in which a demented and very powerful villain threatens to bring about the destruction of the world and all the other things like that. On the other hand, the action is very dynamic, and even though this series is quite short, it manages not to become boring or repetitive.
If you're looking for an anime with good action scenes, plenty of blood and moral / spiritual references here and there, then Hellsing is definitely a title you shouldn't miss out. On the other hand, if you want an anime with a more solid plot, then you should turn to another series.
Rating:
Final Verdict
7.1667 (above average)
Reviewed by Odeena, Apr 12, 2006
Comments
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stormy001 Apr 12, 2006
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acido Apr 13, 2006
You are right in varoius points, but, at last, it is a nice anime, and i will give an 8 as a final veredict, but your review is very interesting and complete (specially art and music)
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purewish Apr 14, 2006
i agree with your review, i think your finai verdict is about right too, i would prob say around 7. what i didn't like about this series was that i thought the ending was rushed, .. almost as if they suddenly decided to bring it to a close over 2 or 3 episodes. but the art was very good so it sortof payed up for that.
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hoduken May 01, 2006
hmmm i strongly disagree with dropping the score on the too generic and cliche thing. Anime is generic and cliche ridden, i mean look at naruto, or dragon ball z. However i wouldn't give its story a 10 or anything. My finale vote is 8.5.
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U2nekofan Jun 02, 2006
I like Hellsing for it's humor. I'm just happy that they are doing a OVA that follows the manga better.
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koeziekoo Sep 07, 2006
I really liked hellsing except u dont learn much about him. its mostly bout his master. The style was also interested - drawing wise. def cliched in regard to the whole vampire thing but it wasnt too bad - anything to do with a vampire will follow a similar story line. nice one tho
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jeshika Jul 24, 2009
I know this isn't part of the subject and not to offend anyone who read this "certain book" but......
Hellsing is WAY better than twilight, Why? because everyone knows that sparkling vampire ( for example, Edward ) are either gay or a wuss puss, but most of all...GAY!
merged: 07-24-2009 ~ 07:58am
So whats my rating for Hellsing... I give it a 10 for...
Seras' funny moment, Alucard's badass attitude and fights, Integra ruling Hellsing and such with an Iron Fist, Walter's moments of... time, I guess, Anderson for being the most freaky Paladin Priest out of all the priest fighters in another manga, and everything in it with a happy bunny stating, " cute, but psycho. Thing even out".
In other words, I love the Hellsing series. -
rukasu04 Mute Member Feb 08, 2010
Nice review
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angelxxuan Banned Member May 23, 2012
very good review, can't really argue much with the ratings. hellsing is quite the legendary vampire that's for sure. he can kick butt and doesn't even care for names, that's how cool he really is.
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