IMDb user comments for
"Herushingu" (2001) More at IMDbPro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Index

31 comments in total

---

23 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
Best Anime serie ever., 16 January 2004
Author: Dirk Dagger from The Netherlands

I just finished watching the complete serie that I ran trough in a couple of days. From the first episode I had to see it ALL. The story is great, the way the story is told and drawn is absolutely superb. Classy all the way and a weird eerie choise of music. I've been an avid anime fan for 13 years now and I wouldn't just say this if it weren't true, this is the best anime series ever. The best anime movie I consider to be Akira, but this is the best serie, as a matter a fact this one topped 3x3 eyes off the first place to me.

I could ramble on about this series forever, but I suggest you just go see it.

---

15 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Hell of a good time, 28 February 2005
Author: bca7 from United States

Great anime with lots of dark humor and satire, and plenty of action (Arucard has to be one of the biggest bad-asses of all time). Though only 13 episodes long, the show does a fairly good job of tying together all the loose ends, but the comic on which its based provides a more detailed storyline, so if you become a fan check out the literature. Do yourself a favor and watch it in Japanese with the subtitles--it's how the characters were intended to sound. Also, pay close attention to the music while you watch. It's a great mix of some jazzy elements and some darker stuff, but it's not your typical vampire or fighting music. The soundtrack is well worth a purchase, and does a great job of setting the tone for this incredible series.

---

15 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
great action AND story. Something to sink your teeth into., 24 August 2003
Author: leyenda61

I had mixed expectations before seeing this series. First, I really like stylised action anime and I really like vampire-hunter genre. I was also excited by the reviews I've read at IMDb and how fans of other vampire movies recommended Hellsing to me. But I also read the the makers of "Hellsing" also created "Ninja Resurrection" which turned out to be one of the worst, most appauling animes I've seen.

Well, after watching the English dub of the series I have a lot of positive things to say. The dubbing was excellent, and the casting for Allegra was especially noteworthy. The animation was very good as was pacing of the series and the characterisation. My absolute favourite element of the series was how it showed the relationship with the Hellising Organisation with the Crown of England. Watching the politics unfold was a real treat, and it was so realistically done. There were a lot of unanswered questions, but I didn't have a problem with that as their mystery both added to the series' mystique and left the door open for a possible second season.

Although I would have preferred the final fight seen go the more vampiric route, rather than a demonic powers route, I do not cite this as an objective criticism of the movie. I guess certain "hell" themes make me a tad uncomfortable, but that is just a personal reservation of mine.

In the final analysis, I recommend this series. The direction was so solid and the story was so interesting that watching the 13 episodes back to back felt more like watching a really good epic movie. See it!

---

16 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Kudos from an Anime hater!, 20 October 2004
Author: Lady_Rowan from Portland, Oregon USA

My husband LOVES Anime. Those big eyed ditzy girls who squeal and bounce in unnatural ways. The love stories. The "college aged" (riiiight) boys and girls who work so clumsily toward some farce of a romance. The weird creatures with big ears and eyes that talk like 2 yr olds. All the things I can't stand. Then he brought home Hellsing. Horror cartoons? Vampires and zombies? Blood and decapitations and mutilations? My first thought was, "Well, he's not going to let my 13 yr old son watch this but WOW! I LOVE IT!"

The animation is gritty, harsh and solid. The story is involved and keeps you hooked. They push the envelope with the death scenes but it works! "Police Girl" has a bit of that big-eyed look and occasionally her breasts will change size drastically depending on the supposed camera angle, but overall, she's likable. And if Alucard likes his custom made guns more than the old fashioned bite and drain, who can blame him? His weapons are a sight to see.

So if can't stand anime but you're a horror fan, give Hellsing a shot! Just be prepared to watch only 12 episodes... That's all there are. :(

My hubby would still like me to sit down with him and watch the cutesy stuff, but is happy that he can at least say that his wife likes *some* anime. ;)

Rowan

---

10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Great series, 21 March 2006
Author: fc2collins from United States

I picked up a DVD with the first three episodes on it recently as a previewed buy at Blockbuster. I figured that it might be fun, not expecting much. Wow - was I wrong! This series is a great little story. Some background is probably in order : The Hellsing organization is a British paramilitary organization that is dedicated to hunting down and killing undead creatures - Vampires. Their main operative is a person calling himself "Alucard", who is a vampire himself. During a mission he meets a young woman who gives her life in order to allow him to kill the main vampire. In return he transforms her into a vampire herself. most of the series after that (At least the first three episodes) revolve around her slowly coming to terms with her new condition.

The characterization is incredible in the series, far above what I expected. Alucard is certainly not a morose figure who dislikes being a vamp - far from it as he seems to glory in being a full vampire.

In short, watch this series. I'm certainly going to go out and find the rest of the series!

---

6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Great series, 21 March 2006
Author: fc2collins from United States

I picked up a DVD with the first three episodes on it recently as a previewed buy at Blockbuster. I figured that it might be fun, not expecting much. Wow - was I wrong! This series is a great little story. Some background is probably in order : The Hellsing organization is a British paramilitary organization that is dedicated to hunting down and killing undead creatures - Vampires. Their main operative is a person calling himself "Alucard", who is a vampire himself. During a mission he meets a young woman who gives her life in order to allow him to kill the main vampire. In return he transforms her into a vampire herself. most of the series after that (At least the first three episodes) revolve around her slowly coming to terms with her new condition.

The characterization is incredible in the series, far above what I expected. Alucard is certainly not a morose figure who dislikes being a vamp - far from it as he seems to glory in being a full vampire.

In short, watch this series. I'm certainly going to go out and find the rest of the series!

---

8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Entertaining, 24 August 2005
Author: elfchic from California, USA

Here are some key points to why I like this series: Stylistic animation. Entertaining dialog. A feast for the eye--that is if you like this style of animation rendering. Imaginative way of presenting the characters' power.

It's a fun series to watch--- it's not pretentious, not trying to be deep, or to convey some life philosophy. It's like a roller-coaster ride. The plot is interesting. Even though it's not entirely unpredictable, there were moments of delightful surprises.

The series is just long enough to tell the tale, instead of dragging on with senseless episodes. Each episode contributes to either the development of the story or of the characters.

All in all, it's a fun animation if you don't mind seeing animated and exaggerated violence and lots of blood.

---

4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the Best, 15 January 2005
Author: Pathogen1014 from Minnesota

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I am not on the whole a rabid consumer of Japanese anime, but I tend to fall in the category of people who really get into more adult-oriented, "R-rated" anime series--Ninja Scroll and the like. With that in mind I am also a big fan of all films, anime or otherwise, that have supernatural themes. You cannot keep me away from zombie movies or most vampire flicks, although there are a certain few that are so bad that I wish I had never watched them.

All that having been said, Hellsing is without a doubt one of my favorite pieces of anime or film, and I am so enthralled and inspired by it that I watch it regularly--as well as urge my friends to see it however they can, especially the English dub, which for once is far superior to the Japanese version in my opinion.

The story revolves around a cynically aloof and extremely powerful vampire named Alucard, whose current purpose in life is to destroy inferior, less refined vampires that actively threaten and attack the mortal populace in Britain. Alucard is without a doubt one of the most entertaining characters that I have encountered in film, and though he may only be a piece of art, he is one of the more convincing vampires I have ever seen on film, thanks to the great voice acting of Crispin Freeman, whose work carries most of the series.

But on with the details. Though Alucard is a true vampire and by all appearances cares nothing at all for humanity, he is the servant of a human master, Integra Hellsing, who has a descended from a long line of English vampire hunters, in the vein of the more established Van Helsing character that appeared in the Stoker novel. Integra is revealed to be a shrewd and clever woman who never the less exhibits the highest ideals of honor and bravery, while maintaining a convincingly icy exterior to round out the second of the series' three principle characters.

The third character is Serris Victoria, Alucard's vampire-spawn. Delicate and squeamish, she spends most of Hellsing in a state of fearful confusion, gradually developing into as brave and proud a creature as her two masters.

Though Alucard seems content to destroy any vampire that violates his code of undead behavior, the story takes off when the Hellsing organization, which also employs its own human anti-vampire swat teams, begins fighting vampires that are artificially created through some sort of malign technology.

The series ultimately tries to juxtapose old-school vampire hunting mentality with vampire hunters that have been thrust into a new age of technologically-inclined enemies, and for what it's worth, it doesn't always succeed on this level--mainly because Hellsing treats the viewer as if the current state of technology isn't completely obvious. A good example of this is in the fourth episode, in which Integra's assistant explains the hows and whys of "snuff films," "message boards," and how quickly things spread on the internet. The sequence leaves the viewer wondering if the writers knew much about this sort of thing when they began building the script, even though the internet in its current incarnation has already been around for well over a decade.

The plot, which involves an independent cameraman filming Hellsing in action as it decimates vampires (the Hellsing organization is a secret British paramilitary outfit), is flimsy with plot holes to begin with, and makes the incorrect assumption that the viewer will find the moral and technological implications of the plot (all obvious and explored to death in countless other shows and films over the years), at all interesting. Some suspense is put forth as to whether Alucard, a "true" vampire, is actually able to deal with vampires of a different breed as well, but little is made of it ultimately.

But the fourth episode is the low point in the series. Hellsing eventually graduates onto a conflict with the Vatican, which is also in the business of vampire hunting, but is also morally opposed to the Hellsing organization's Protestant faith, and its use of vampires to destroy vampires. . . To the point where the Vatican's agents think nothing of attacking Hellsing members on sight. The series goes on to explore this Catholic vs. Protestant angle in some detail, and Alucard gets into an extended rivalry with a superhuman, devout Catholic vampire hunter, which is used to help illustrate Alucard's dazzling powers, which are further and further revealed throughout the series.

However, for each step-up in power that is revealed by Alucard, the series follows the first rule of conflicts--that the protagonist must have a worthy antagonist--and he graduates to greater and greater threats, until finally, he is faced with an opponent as powerful as he truly is. The later half of the series deals more and more with the impending conflict between Alucard and this enemy, who proves to be the foremost opponent of Hellsing, responsible for most of their considerable grief.

It is in these episodes where the audience is allowed to get more in touch with Alucard's actual character--that of an inhuman monster without human morals, but who upholds very strict ideas about respect, honor, and loyalty. In this, Hellsing succeeds where many, many other films and TV shows having to do with vampires fail--it effectively humanizes the vampire to a believable degree, while still illustrating how the vampire is not at all human. In my view he is a truly compelling and enjoyable character.

Thus, Hellsing reigns as one of the better vampire tales and pieces of anime that I have ever seen.

---

2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Could have been better - could have been a lot worse, 1 January 2007

Author: (Cynical_Truth) from Romania

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Hellsing" is based on Kouta Hirano's manga*/comic about a secret British organization, who fight vampires and ghouls with their own servant-vampire, who they captured one hundred years ago. The head of the organization is Lady Sir Integral Wingates Van Hellsing (the Sir is just one of her names - she's a girl; and Integra is the short form for Integral. Yes, the "Van" really is a part of her name but you won't see it used too frequently). She is the daughter of the late Arthur Hellsing and her ancestor is the very Van Helsing who killed Dracula in Bram Stoker's novel. Her servant is called Alucard, and he's a 500 year old vampire - the first of vampires! If you read his name backwards you'll find that he is actually Dracula himself. After being "defeated" by Helsing (seems like the name got an extra "l" somewhere in time), Dracula became his servant and was used to battle other vampires, always having someone of Hellsing blood as his master. He was also experimented on and made even more powerful by the Organization.

The "Hellsing" manga is said to be finished some time this year or the next. There are already two animated versions out (one of them is this 13 episode anime; and another one is a freshly started OVA**, from which the first two episodes have already been released and the third one is expected to come out in February).

Okay now let's start off by placing the production of this anime in time... As we all know, the Hellsing manga is not YET finished (at the moment I'm writing this at least), and you can imagine that back in 2002 there wasn't quite that much material to make a full anime series out of. So the first six episodes follow the action in the comic (what had happened thus far) while the others are just the producer's imagination at work (everything except Sir Integra Hellsing's story, which had already been told in earlier chapters but not yet used).

The first six episodes are okay for an anime series (can't exactly call myself a fan of such lame animation but I usually tolerate it, as my desire to hear the story is greater than that of rejecting the animator's bad skills). There are many long scenes in which you just see one image and hear the dialog (mostly scenes of Integra and Walter as these characters spend most of their time indoors and don't move around too much). The music is quite good, and the voice actors for the English dub are also okay. The atmosphere, though, is not as thick as that of the comic.

What really annoyed me (and this is a personal complaint) is what they did to Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing's character. She mostly looks like a man, and in the few scenes when she does look like a woman, there's nothing special about her - she's a very plain, unattractive woman! Mostly, she's like an emotionless little work-robot that really gets pushed around by her own servant (there's a scene in which Alucard gives her an illusion, a hallucination of being held hostage and threatened; for no actual good reason - well, maybe scaring her half to death IS a good reason, although I don't see the manga Alucard doing anything like that!). Also, a blooper would be that her hair changes lenght from one episode to the other: at first, her hair in the back reaches half the distance between the shoulder and elbow; but in an episode towards the end, it reaches her waist!!! And the series covers a very very short time of the characters' lives (about a few weeks, I'd say).

I think the worst mistake they did was introducing a new monster (not a vampire - ANOTHER obscure creature out for defeating the Hellsing Organization). I understand that it was a fight against time and it was necessary to invent their own story-line, but that REALLY wasn't necessary, as they already had the Iscariot Organization as baddies (and besides, the opening features Alucard fighting Father Anderson, right?).

Not as violent as the manga, but that's not a flaw. Also, I appreciated the fact that they resized Victoria's breasts, which, in the comic, were huge!!!

Now, as I've already stated above, there is also a newer animated version of "Hellsing". This OVA is based entirely on the comic and is said to have one episode for each of the manga's volumes. The OVA follows the manga perfectly. The characters are also a lot closer (actually, as close as they can get) to what they were originally planned to be. But it's a lot more violent and the atmosphere is way more dramatic, more intense. The animation is also better. The episodes each have a different lenght (the first one has 50 minutes and the second about 40 minutes) and unfortunately they are released at different intervals (it was said that an episode is released in 4 to 6 months, but the announced release-dates tend to change). Frankly, I would recommend you watched that version - it's A LOT better!!! But if you're faint of heart better stick to the 2002 version...

I gave "Hellsing" 2002 a vote of 6 out of 10 (yes, I was very drastic with this one) because I really prefer the manga and the OVA to it. Maybe for an anime it's not that bad - but the story had so much more to give... If you don't have the patience to read comic books it's perfectly understandable. But just because you didn't like this version doesn't mean you shouldn't give the 2006 OVA one a chance!!! I guess it's all up to the viewer's tastes now...

*manga = Japanese comic book. **OVA = Original Video Animation; anime series released straight to video or DVD; without being showed on TV before

---

5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Not as good as I expected, 29 May 2007

Author: maxyg18

In England, the undead, vampires and ghouls are on the rise and are stalking the living, but the only people who can stop them are the members of the Hellsing organisation: Alucard (a Hellsing vampire), Seras Victoria (police girl turned into a vampire), Walter Dornez (the butler for Hellsing) and Sir Integra Wingates (the leader of Hellsing).

Although HELLSING has cool animation, a cool theme song, badass characters and weapons (especially Alucard's handguns, which are almost bigger than him), it lacks longer lasting action scenes, good dialogue and character development, which would've made the cartoon a lot more likable. The action scenes last for a lot less than a minute, I don't see why there are people that call them 'breathless'. The characters are two-dimensional (no pun intended), in other words, they're just there, which makes the story not all that believable and unengaging.

I'm sure the manga is a lot better than this anime adaptation, even though I haven't read it. I also do plan to watch the reworking of the series, 'HELLSING ULTIMATE'.

---

---

Page 1 of 4:

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Ratings	External reviews
Plot keywords	Main details	Your user comments
Your vote history