During my late teens, my interest in anime aimed for “mature audiences” grew with each title I would come across. From the stuff they were showing on the Sci-Fi channel during the early 2000’s to buying DVDs such as Elfen Lied, Berserk etc. that had what anyone of that age would be interested in, Gore, sex, violence the entire package. One title in particular I remember mainly because of its “hip” and “cool” approach to Vampires in the horror genre, featuring of course guns and violence. However this is the first adaptation of this particular story that has not aged particularly well and is plagued with some measure of faults while still being sufficiently entertaining, that would be Hellsing…The TV series.
The story of Hellsing tells the story of the vampire Alucard and his master Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing (great-granddaughter of Professor Helsing & head of the Hellsing organization) along police officer turned vampire Seras Victoria as they defend Britain from super natural and demonic forces that would threaten the country. Based off the manga by Kouta Hirano that ran from 1997 to 2008, Hellsing has seen 2 anime adaptations. The most popular one that ran from 2006 to 2012 was Hellsing Ultimate, an adaptation of the manga where the plot focuses on the main cast of characters as they go head to head with a Nazi group known as Millenium that plan to send Britain and the whole world into a full scale war. The TV adaptation is different offspring however.
Running for about 13 episodes long and written by Chiaki J. Konaka, Hellsing the TV series focuses on Alucard as well as Integra and Seras as they protect England from the ghoul threat that plagues the country but also the rise of artificially made vampires brought upon “freak chips”. But what makes the show different in contrast to the manga and the ova is its approach in atmosphere and pacing over quick and fast action which is both a good and bad element of the show. As an alternate adaptation it follows a much different story and only corresponds 5 volumes of the manga while changing the story slightly. So for example there is no mention of Nazi occultism or World War II and change of characters as well as reduction of some that were important in the manga.
When it comes to the characters in Hellsing, they aren’t developed very well. Kouta Hirano as a mangaka is heavily focused on action rather than writing and character development and it clearly shows, in both manga and animation. The most iconic character of this series however is Alucard, dressed in Victorian attire and armed with a pair of intimidating, high powered semi-automatic handguns named the .454 Casull and the Jackal, Alucard in the TV series is presented as a vampire that fights with a ferocity and extreme cruelty. But personality wise he presents himself as a calm and distinguished gentleman that has a strong sense of loyalty to his master Sir Integra and a supportive father figure to Seras Victoria. Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing in the TV series is a much different character than her portrayal in the manga/OVA. In both of those she was presented with more emotion as well as care for those around her and her interactions with the characters she engages with all play an important part in the story, in the TV series she’s much colder (almost to the point of emotionless in certain moments), more arrogant and only shows any degree of emotion when she is angry. Her interactions with characters like Seras Victoria feel rather empty and come across more like an Employee and their boss rather than worrying about them. Seras Victoria for the TV series and her involvement in the story have little to not much impact, once she becomes a vampire at the hands of Alucard we see her struggling to resist the urge to drink blood until eventually giving into the urge. We never see her properly develop into Draculina, her relationships with half the cast almost seem distant and hostile at times, she’s much more angrier compared to her alternative adaptations and her story is less dark and complicated compared to TV adaptation, so Seras as a character in here isn’t presented with much interest.
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Other characters such as Walter C. Dornez (the butler to the Hellsing Family), antagonists which have tremendous impact such as Father Alexander Anderson and the rest of Iscariot like Enrico Maxwell are either changed to where they are just throw away villains or just there and fade into the background, In addition to the character change/reduction, enemies like the Valentine Brothers (Jan & Luke) are given more screen time and that’s a bonus. Despite the cast change the show includes characters mainly exclusive to the show that try to advance the plot in some way.
Peter Fargason - An experienced, devout, loyal and efficient field commander.
Helena - a young vampire that spends her time reading who acts as somewhat of a role-model to Seras Victoria.
Harry Anders - An experienced MI5 agent with some connection to Seras’s father.
Peter Fargason - An experienced, devout, loyal and efficient field commander.
Helena - a young vampire that spends her time reading who acts as somewhat of a role-model to Seras Victoria.
Harry Anders - An experienced MI5 agent with some connection to Seras’s father.
Production for the TV adaptation of Hellsing can be a mixed bag, directed by the late Umanosuke Iida and made by Studio Gonzo (Gantz, Transformers Cybertron, Blue Submarine No. 6, Afro Samurai), character designs do appear a tad generic and stray far away from the recognizable and angler style of Kouta Hirano as well as change characters skin, clothes etc. The animation often jerks back and forth between good and average as the budget is a tad restrained, the show will often resort to overuse of stock footage in some parts and fight scenes can appear very jerky to look at. One other thing that makes Hellsing’s production and tone really fall flat really is in how much of a serious story this is through and through, there are almost 0 comedic moments in the TV adaptation. The moments that are, are at the very end for episode previews which imitate the gag style Hirano is known for to portray the characters in comedic moments and they are very out of place and feel very out of context. However production in terms of the atmosphere in this show is rather good, when you see the city of London at night it’s dimly lit and set in a very thick fog. The setting of London is a gothic and moody one very reminiscent of Silent films, however along with a moody setting the world of Hellsing in the TV series is a very abysmal one to where sunlight is almost barely there and when we do see it the colours just look badly captured on screen, but the lighting that is present is sparse.
So while the characters for Hellsing are bland, the production is mixed and at times very silly, audio production for this is actually very good.
The opening song "Logos Naki World" ("A World Without Logos") by Yasushi Ishii is a surprisingly catchy tune for an atmospheric and very moody horror, The ending song “Shine” by American rock group Mr. Big is a strange fit and just a little too upbeat for a production like this. The score done by Ishii however is really good, it’s a wide mix of jazzy and rock based tunes while also adding in piano tunes for the more melancholic moments are done well in here. Along with some lyrical songs such as “If You're Going To War, Fight With Bow” which are incredibly fun to listen to and are used well in the moments that are available.
The English dub for the show is pretty good. Voice directed by Taliesin Jaffe, the dub for Hellsing is an odd mix of American and British voice actors. They do a fine job for the roles they play, but half the time it can be hard to keep a straight face with some of the performances that over-rely on the generic cockney accent for some characters, it’s made even awkward when half the cast are Americans doing faux British accents. But the players for the specific parts do a good job with what they are given. Crispin Freeman brings the character of Alucard to life, he makes the character sound like a gentleman as well as blood-hungry monster. K.T. Gray as Seras Victoria is weird to listen to as the accent sounds a tad forced, but she manages to pull off the character well enough. Victoria Harwood as Sir Integra Hellsing is a perfect fit and while the character is slightly different in this adaptation, she makes the character sound both commanding but also very cold and her presence leaves much to be desired. Supporting cast such as Ralph Lister as Walter Dornez and Steven Brand as Paladin Alexander Anderson are spot on and bring the characters to life very well, Additional voice talents like JB Blanc, William Morgan Shepard, Issac C. Singleton, Gildart Jackson, Patrick Seitz, Stuart McLean, Siobhan Flynn etc while their parts are changed compared to its original source material they each do a great job with the roles they are given and help to bring something to what is overall a dull series.
However what’s good about the cast here and despite the change in the roles, almost all of them came back for Hellsing Ultimate and added more weight and impact to their supposed roles both main and minor. So the voice direction and the dub itself is a 10/10.
Overall however, The TV series adaptation of Hellsing isn’t very good. Its animation production is spotty, the characters are one-dimensional, the plot and pacing drag really hard and the conclusion of the series is a weak and impotent one. By default Hellsing Ultimate is the better adaptation of this particular property. But for all the flaws this show has, it’s nothing if not entertaining. In terms of Horror it’s very atmospheric and can be fun to enjoy even if it’s just background noise, So while the TV adaptation is a misfire it manages to do a half-decent job at telling a different story.
Not a great show, but worth watching just to appreciate this series from small beginnings.
Not a great show, but worth watching just to appreciate this series from small beginnings.
Sami Sadek is a lifelong Transformers and Anime fan, and can often be found propping up bars or appearing in the background of Auto Assembly vids. He has also talks on Youtube, Tweets on Twitter, doodles on Deviantart and is a regular co-host on this very site's Cyberritz. He has never had a swordfight atop a church whilst a crow watches. Honest.
