Customer Reviews

Hellsing - Blood Brothers (Vol. 2)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the second of three DVD's of the 'Hellsing' anime series. Humanity is being hunted by an ever-increasing horde of synthetic vampires and ghouls who are each controlled by a 'freak chip' implanted in their brains. To fight these creatures the Hellsing organization has joined forces with Arucard, a true vampire of immense powers. Arucard despises these 'new' vampires as poor imitations of reality, and, half mad himself, is willing to work with his enemies to destroy his imitators.

Seras Victoria, made a vampire in the first series when Arucard mortally wounds her while killing a vampire priest, still struggles with her change. But, in the three episodes on this DVD, she has begun to come to terms with what she has become. As the chaos and struggle mounts, she begins to show the sparks of a much stronger personality than she has in previous episodes. Certainly, her tale is the story arc that makes 'Hellsing' more than a series of episodes.

In the first episode, 'Innocent as a Human,' Arucard and Victoria confront a new kind of pornographer, the purveyors of 'snuff cams' that make use of vampires and ghouls, and who market their product via the internet. Following this, 'Brotherhood' and 'Dead Zone', introduce us to Jan and Luke Valentine, two vampires nearly as powerful as Arucard himself. Together with their troops, they mount an attack on the Hellsing headquarters that puts Sir Integra Hellsing's band of vampire killing knights in danger of extinction.

As the previous DVD has already demonstrated, 'Hellsing' has exceptional production values for what it is. The characters are strong and stylish, the artwork and music well above standard, and the underlying story is dark and thoughtful. With only one more DVD in this series, there is still much to resolve, especially the story behind Arucard and his childe Seras Victoria. Be warned that you should turn on the English subtitles. These often vary considerably from the fairly simpleminded overdubbing. But my real regret is that little in the way of collateral material is provided on the DVD's. I would very much like to have an interview with Kouta Hirano, who developed the manga comic from which the story is drawn.

While the first volume setup the basic premise of the show, this second volume really pushes the story further. Most of the stuff I was hoping that would be revealed in last volume are already revealed on this one.

Order 04 (B): The Hellsing organization tracks down a person who distributes video of people being killed. The latest video featured on of the members from the Hellsing organization.

Order 05 (B+): Jon and Luke Valentine attempt to infiltrate the Hellsing organization.

Order 06 (A): Jon fights Victoria and Walter while Luke takes on Alucard. Also, Alucard's ture power is revealed.

My favorite episode on this disc has to be the last one. If you thought Alucard was insane and violent already, just wait until you see him release Control Art Restriction Rating to level 1! Also, bothe Alucard and Victoria get new weapons. Alucard gets a "Jackal" which is a little bit bigger than his last gun. Victoria gets a huge gun thats as long as Walter that can easily pierce through armor three times. As I mentioned in my review of Volume 1, the F word comes into play a lot, especially in this volume. It seems like Jon can't even finish a sentence without saying it. Atleast the Valentine brothers didn't get an English accent.

The packaging on this volume includes a special Hellsing crest badge. The extras includes interviews with the series staff, production sketches, textless closing and an image gallery of the Victoria figurine.

Overall, this volume rates higher than the last one and still retains the devilish attitude of the first volume.

Welcome to the Hellsing Organization; an army dedicated to keep the country safe from the undead. The group fights against vampires and ghouls of all sorts in the dark of night. Their ultimate weapon is a hunter that is a vampire himself, Arucard; an unstoppable figure that can face just about any sort of evil that the darkness has to offer him. Vampires and ghouls are not safe with this elite team of hunters and soldiers lurking about.

In this second volume in the series, "Hellsing: Blood Brothers," more evidence and clues point to man-made vampires being created by an unknown source. This means very bad news to the Hellsing Organization. To make matters worse, a TV journalist is determined to make things a lot more difficult for them by trying to expose them on camera to show them to the world. Seras is still having a hard time dealing with the fact that she's a vampire, but is slowly adapting. However, the real bad news is the violent and crazy Valentine Brothers who decide to take out the Hellsing crew once and for all by means of infiltrating their headquarters. No worries, though; Arucard knows how to deal with these unreasonable foes in his own way. All of this leads to yet another exciting chapter in the "Hellsing" series.

Very much like the first DVD, this second volume is action-packed and never lacking in style. It is here where we get to see Arucard's true powers come to light when he fights one of the Valentine Brothers. These three episodes do a great job of maintaining tone and structure. While the first DVD was a nice introduction to the series, it's this second volume where we really get to see what this group of soldiers are made of when they're facing true evil.

I know it goes without saying, but I still must point out that this is not an animated series for young children. These episodes contain graphic violence, blood and gore, strong language, mature situations, and dark and disturbing themes and imagery. As with the first volume, this DVD only contains three episodes with the entire feature running a little over an hour long. Extras on the DVD include a creditless ending, a staff interview, an art gallery, action figure info and more.

All in all, "Hellsing: Blood Brothers" is another exciting chapter for the "Hellsing" series that keeps the action and intensity rolling. It is clear that the battle against ghouls and vampires continues on with these three episodes. What's next for the Hellsing Organization? Only time will tell with the next chapter.

The Japanese seem to find the western version of the Vampire myth quite appealing, and the expression of that fascination reaching a peak with the anime series Hellsing.

The second DVD in the series picks up right where the first volume left off. The Hellsing Organization, a powerful private enterprise headquartered in Great Britain and dedicated to defending "God, Queen, and Country" from the ravages of vampires, has come under increasing fire, first from the media as a reckless investigative journalist delves into their existence and operations and then from a couple of crazy vampire brothers who attack Hellsing's very headquarters!

The vampire Alucard only grows more impressive as he combats the elder of the two Valentine brothers, employing powers that devour Luke's legs as he taunts the vampire and demands a good, challenging fight that the freak cannot provide. His companion and creation Seras Victoria must deal with the issues of being a new member of the creatures of the night, and Integra Hellsing must defend her organization at a meeting of the Knights of the Round Table, a secret society apparently involved in running Britain.

The animation itself is done really well in terms of visual quality, with a blend of CG and hand-drawn cel work; however, it is somewhat more static in nature than much contemporary anime, comparable to that done for the Record of Lodoss War series.

The audio, though presented only in stereo sound, features a soundtrack you'll want to hunt down like a freak after fresh blood. Surprisingly, the english dubbing is quite good, featuring British-accented voice actors far superior to the average anime dub.

Hellsing is an excellent addition to any anime fan's library and a must-watch for vampire lovers everywhere.

I was amazed by how interesting this series has become. The characters and the storyline are very interesting and the action scenes are pretty cool. The music score is also very well done and the dubbed voices compliment the film nicely. The whole series is worth your time and money.

I have been anxiously awaiting this one, knowing full well I would be dying to see Vol. 3 as soon as I finished watching Vol.2. I love the animation--the reds & darks, how Alucard often appears as a splotch of red merging out of shadows. Ep.4-"Innocent as a Human" explores guilt in a very modern style as it investigates ideals of heroics, media coverage & the ability to find just about everything on the internet. Where does guilt end & innocence begin in watching criminal acts being committed? Ep.5 "Brotherhood" gives us the Valentine Bros--ultra modern, full fo themselves, & vulger compared to the honor which motivates Alucard(as he has often voiced in his distaste for the knock-off freak vampires). Alucard possesses more power than these petty little creeps could ever imagine, yet he does not abuse his as they callously do theirs. The assault on the Hellsing Org headquarters is brutal & shocking in the speed & ease of the attackers to crush the human "heroes" of the show. Ep 6 "Dead Zone" Killer ep--Alucard in major action. This one gives a bit of insight into our major characters. Victoria's coming into her own. Buffy's ok, but I never cared for the tweaking they did with the vampire legend. Hellsing is more of a return to classic vampires with the chip-induced freak vamps satisfying the scientific/modern mode allowing a contrast of the 2. Worth every penny.

Helling: Vol. 2: Blood Brothers is the second DVD in the four DVD series. Blood brothers contains episodes four through six. They are titled: "Innocent As Human," "Brotherhood," and "Dead Zone." It is not necessary to summarize each episode individually because they are all connected to one main idea, which is that Hellsing secret headquarters are under attack by the vampire brothers Luke and Yon and their army of ghouls. Sir Integra and the Knights of the Round Table (older men in business suits), who have gathered for a meeting, are shocked and outraged by the audacity of the attack and how they have been caught completely unprepared. It seems to be up to Victoria and Alucard to save the day, but not without many lives lost. But wait, Walter has some pretty cool powers up his sleeve as well.

This series and the last episode especially has some very rough dialouge, when Jon talks about what he wants to do to Integra. This series is not for susceptible teens, unfortunately those teens eat this series up.

The extras include a lot of very cool art. Not only are there character designs, but also backdrops of rooms, the mysterious London back streets, and overhead shots of London. There is also a very long, very disjointed "staff interview." The interviews are choppy, switching back and forth between many people who actually say very little. These poor folks who worked on Hellsing seem like they need some serious socializing and to get out in the sun.

This DVD contains my two favorite episode in the Hellsing series; 5 and 6. I like them because Jan's in them (the guy who swears a lot; he's my favorite charater.) After Order 06, the series deviates drastically from the plot of the manga, which is just sad. It would have been so awesome to see the rest of the manga animated, but that probably won't happen any time soon.
I prefer the English dub on this one. First of all, the English voice actors did a really good job; the words match up to the lip movements almost perfectly, which is more than can be said for some animes. Second, I found it really difficult to get used to a bunch of British people speaking Japanese. And third... Jan. I thought the English voice actor (Josh Phillips) did a better job of capturing his voice, whereas I though the Japanese voice actor was just annoying.

If you thought Hellsing was just another little anime, this particular DVD proves you wrong. This one upstages the first in the line of bloodiness and swearing. If you can't handle blood, or you have horribly virgin ears, don't watch this. You will severley hate Yan Valentine, and his brother Luke! This DVD is good, but not as good as the first. The first had the wonderful Alaxander Andersong, which this DVD is missing. It isn't as engaging, but it is really interesting! And the best part, you get to see Integral spaz out! It's pretty cool! (She is just too cool when she's pissed off!) You also get to see when Alucard changes into that dog, and that is definatly the coolest part of the DVD. But all in all, it just isn't as good. It is mostly a filler part of the series, we still have to meet Enrico and Incognito. Stay tuned....it gets WAY better.

I loved the pace that the series is going. I have a hard time picking anime because a lot of them come off as childish-chessie (if you can't tell I detest Pok`emon and all its little wanabes). But I was truely pleased with the direction the film makers are going.
Arucard comes off as a snob (with a hint of maddness) in the first DVD, but in this installment they give you a peek of the insanity that lurks beneath that snobishness. Seras Victoria is slowly coming into her own, and, as with Arucard's maddness, they show hints of the bond that he and she share. (Mind you not enough to become redundant, but enough to keep you intregieged.) I like how they have kept science at a minimum and intermingled both it and magic. I was also pleased that although humanity is trying to ape vampires we still can't get it right, and that the vampires are still on top of the food chain.
This is not your normal vampire movie. There are no damsels indestrest about to be ravaged by the sinister vampire (you are more likely to see them being the exploiters then the victims), and there are no stake-toking vampire hunter spouting out religious crud at the drop of a hat. What I am truely happy with is that Seras is not spending the entire movie moaning and whining about her lost humanity, but instead gets the job done.
If you want a departure from the run-of-the-mill vampire movie, and sick to death of Pok`emon and SailorMoon, then this is a must see.