Customer Reviews

Hellsing, Vol. 1: Impure Souls

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

 

 

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.
Set in modern-day Great Britain, the series focuses on the efforts of the Hellsing Organization, a powerful private enterprise helping to defend "God, Queen, and Country" from the ravages of vampires. Run by the descendents of the van Helsing family of Dracula fame, the organization employs the enigmatic vampire Alucard in their hunt against creatures of the night.

Alucard by far makes the series as one of the most hard-boiled ...anime heroes to date with just enough hint of a savage, barely-kept dark side to make him interesting. He dispatches the armies of the night with a huge .454 Casull gun filled with explosive, blessed silver bullets in style and with panache.

In this first volume in the series, the first two episodes really serve as introductory material for the characters and setting. Seras Victoria, a police woman caught in the middle of an operation gone bad and the only "survivor" of her unit, becomes a vampire at Alucard's hand and joins the Hellsing Organization, and the organization must hunt down disturbing human-created "freak" vampires increasingly a problem in England.

The third episode is where the series really begins to come into its own, introducing the rival Iscariot Organization of the Vatican and its rabid human regenerator.

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.

This is an anime I can recommend with little hesitation to any person who likes action, with a bit of drama as well. The title refers to a British vampire hunting organization. They have two vampires who work for them: Alucard, a hard-core killing machine, and Seras Victoria, who is new to being a vampire and is uncomfortable with what she has become. In episode three, we meet the recurring villain, Alexander, whose fight with Alucard is not to be missed.

The animation is fairly fluid and well-done, especially in the fight scenes. The English voice acting is superb - they obtained British VAs for all of the British characters - this is one case where the English dub makes more sense than the original Japanese. The voice actor for Alexander immediately makes him an awesome character - think of an Irish priest crossed with a ninja, and you have the idea.

The series is definately rated R with gratuitous blood and gore. Sex/nudity is very mild.

Important note - this DVD only has the first *three* episodes of Hellsing. The series is only 12 episodes long.

I watched the series previously before I bought the umd but I recommend this to any anime fan who would like to watch a little anime on the run. The episodes are fantastic. The show is a rich mixture of horror, action and a little comedy. I don't recommend this show for children because of language and content but for everyone else BUY IT! Also check out the manga if you love the show.

I recieved the collector's box set. All you get is volume 1 (which contains episodes 1 to 3) of the 4 volume series, and a box. There are no goodies inside. I really enjoyed the actions and the madness of the main character Alucard. He is kinda like a Spike from Cowboy Bebop, because he is wreckless, wild and fears nothing. If you love vampire flicks and Witch Hunter Robin, you will like this series. My only complaint is my disc came serverly scratched, but still works thankfully and the picture of the sold out limited editon box for this series, posted on amazon, is exactly the same as the one posted for this edition, but you do not get any of the shown stuff, just a cool box. :)

I highly recommend tasting this series or aleast watch the 4th volume. I guarantee once you sink your teeth into it you will want to watch the rest!

Some of the UMDs of this title are not what they appear due to a manufacture error I would suggest getting this title used to ensure you actually get a copy with Hellsing on it and not some other Anime as it's not something you can know before you open it and pop it in your PSP and for the same reason a seller cannot prevent this in the case of a sealed copy....

This is a great series to get into, if you previously enjoyed the reckless antics of Cowboy Bebop, the thrills and chills of the hunt in Witch Hunter Robin, and are an all round gore or Vampire fan! I always recommend the boxed edition to start off your collection, because it is a cool design, potential goodies and it looks a lot more presentable when you get the rest of the volumes! Boxes are for collectors who not only love the content on the dvd, but the presentation of the case and box!

The main character is a Vampire named Alucard, who is control by the Hellsing fondation. And if you know anything about vampire flicks, the name Hellsing and Vampires go hand in hand. Alucard is a wild, crazy, reckless at times, true blooded vampire. He takes great offense to all the knock off or unprofessional vampires that he hunts down. In his eyes, they are lower then scum and are not even good enough for the depths of hell!

While enjoying this flick, you will witness battles of religion, the walking dead, and good old fashion vampire fights! Like in Witch Hunter Robin, where witches hunt witches, in Hellsing Vampires hunt Vampires and then some!! Take note of the use of "evil eyes" used through out the series, as I feel it is one of the trade mark affects, just like the use of the crow in Witch Hunter Robin.

I highly recommend this series!! It is highly enjoyable! The style and design, is something you can really sink your teeth into!!

I was so thrilled to find the fist three Hellsing episodes on a PSP UMD, me just buying one I was going cray trying to order things to watch and play on it. But when it got here, and I put it in, the anime that popped up was Gun Grave. (Which btw is a good anime, I watched the first two episodes for fun lol.)
After emailing them, I planned to send back the UMD so they could send me another copy that was hopefully right, but I accidently deleted the email, and when I tried sending them another no one replied, so I'm stuck with it. My friend ordered the same thing, his was right though. So, you may or may not get what you want, remember that. =(

Although Hellsing is a short series containing only 13 episodes, it is one of the best animes I have ever seen. It is based of the Manga (somewhat different than the actual anime series). If you're an anime fan Hellsing would definitely be a great addition to your collection.

Ok, this anime series has blood sex and gore. It's a good series, has good music(Jazz), and really cool effect. The dubbing is also amazing. The only thing i disapprove of is the storyline didn't really flow. It seemed as if each episode was a diffrent story. But the storyline is something like this.

A Vampire working for a vampire hunting company bites a police girl and turns her into a vampire. you get to see the changes of her becoming a vampire. Such as her refusing to drink blood and her not being able to touch silver. Also the head vampire and his quest to find a real fight.

It's a good series to own.