Hellsing Ultimate

By: Robert Murphy

For centuries, the royal houses of Britain have kept a dark secret from the world, vampires and the undead exist in this world and it is quickly revealed that things do in fact go bump in the night. To counter this threat, a special force of dedicated individuals, headed by the heir to the “Hellsing” legacy, works tirelessly to hunt down and root out the undead wherever  they hide, to protect Queen and Country (how very British, am I right?). Under the direct authority of the Queen, Integra Hellsing leads the Royal Order of Protestant Knights in a shadow war against her family's most ancient foe, but unlike her ancestors, Integra fights these demons with something no one would expect, a vampire of incredible power named Alucard. The patriarch of the vampires and a living embodiment of all that it means to be vampire and he most certainly is not afraid to show it.

Alucard and Seras

If you haven’t heard anything about “Hellsing” until reading this review know this, this is not a touchy feely anime, not by a long shot. This is an incredibly dark show, centered around vampires, and I mean real vampires, the stuff of nightmares that devour your flesh and relish in it, nothing of the crap vampires you see in movies today. Alucard (or Dracula backwards as some of you may know) is a real, traditional vampire right down to the core, although you wouldn’t know it from his up to date attire vastly different from his predecessors. He's also a vain, snide son of a bitch (which I personally enjoy) but also he’s possessed with a dignity that is missing from more recent treatments of vampires. He's anti-hero through and through, but you just can't help rooting for him even when it's obvious he's not really a good guy at all. Then there is Integra Hellsing, who is the model of a cold hearted human (but with her job, can you blaim her?) she's the direct descendant of people whose lives were dedicated to dealing with the darkest of evil things and it shows. Her butler/bodyguard, Walter is also very cool, with his polished English manners contrasted by the skill with which he cuts up ghouls with mono-filament wire makes him a character that may rival your liking of Alucard. And last, but not least is Seras Victoria, a member of London’s police force, who is nearly killed in the first episode, but is saved by Alucard by being made into a vampire herself. She is quite possibly the most "normal" of the main characters, as the newbie-vampire of Hellsing, her training and struggles with her new un-life give a bit of comedy to this dark show.

Lady Integra.  Not exactly what you would call a warm, endearing woman.

As I said before, Alucard and his powers are right out of the old novels and ancient tales on vampires, there is no masquerade in the story either, Alucard is a vampire he doesn’t care who knows it and he is not shy about throwing his power out there for all to see. Alucard has it all: the speed, the strength, regeneration, the ability to summon hell hounds, change into bats, and even pass through shadows. “Hellsing” has tons of great atmosphere, cool characters, and lots of guns-blazing action, with that in mind, it may also be a bit too much for some audiences, it gets down right gruesome quite frequently in these jam packed episode and I myself don’t mind this one bit but others may not be as accustomed to all the blood, violence and mayhem. This is definitely not a show for the squeamish, but then again, a show done about vampires any other way would just be, well “Twilight” comes to mind. Each episode is an incredible ride and I highly recommend it to anyone who does not mind gore, not sexual but definitely adult scenes, religious references….okay put it bluntly, you can’t be a prude if you want to watch this show.

Good:

-Portrays a classic vampire story

-Cool characters, each with their own unique personalities and appeal

-Gore and lots of it

Bad:

-Not for the squeamish

-It’s lude and crude, and while I myself like that, it’s not for everyone

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10