Customer Reviews

Hellsing, Vol. 1

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some folks will already be familiar with the anime; others may be encountering this graphic gothic for the first time. I have to say, as a both a manga and a vampire fan, I was delighted to find, Kohta Hirano's HELLSING volume one published in English. The basics of the plot will sound familiar; a secret organization exists in England for taking on the paranormal baddies that terrorize the country. This organization is called Hellsing, and in their corner they have one unstoppable tool, a generations old super-powerful vampire named Alucard who can stop any of the nasties and make them go Aaargh! Splat! in the night.

Probably on of the best things about the anime is that it never takes itself too seriously. Despite the incredible amounts of violence and gore, the dialog tends to be wickedly funny. Despite the allusions to Bram Stoker's DRACULA (After all, Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards) this manga quite gleefully ignores the Victorian sensibilities of the original tale and keeps the dialogue snappy and contemporary. Fans of Buffy the Vampire slayer may find this manga right up their alley. The story itself introduces readers to the cast of this series, Sir Integral, the head of the Hellsing organization and how she came to inherit the position with the help of Alucard their vampire who takes out the baddies for Hellsing others can't handle, and Seras Victoria, otherwise known as Police Girl who becomes Alucard's half-vampire servant when he saves her from dying. Other than the various zombies, vamps and other paranormal creeps Hellsing must put down, they also face off against the Vatican. Specifically section XIII of the Vatican; it's very own paranormal Special ops squad.

The art is fabulous, deftly shaded shots with plenty of detail and a real sense of motion and power that convey the action adventure drama of the plot. The detail never becomes overwrought or lighthearted-although at times the drawing can be comic-and maintains the gothic flavor that is so essential. Be aware if you are just discovering this series that it depicts a great deal of blood and violence-and if this is not your thing, you may want to try something with less graphic detail. For those of you who like a little carnage with your manga, this will probably suit you just fine. Delightfully action packed, wickedly irreverent, and artistically excellent, it's no surprise fans are already impatiently waiting for the next volume!

Be aware that the 13-episode anime series only loosely follows the manga storyline, so even if you've seen the anime, you won't be getting the exact same story. If you enjoy this series and are looking for some reading, I'd recommend BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL and, in anime, VAMPIRE HUNTER D.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

Sometimes the anime is great but the manga lacks something, or the manga is great but the anime just doesn't hold up - so having enjoyed the anime I thought the manga would fail me. I was wrong. Lots of gore, guns, cool lines from Alucard, great artwork and lots of details packed into this book. Within the 200 plus pages are not just six chapters of Hellsing dealing with rogue vampires, ghouls and Priests, but a extra in the form of a bonus story from a manga that never got off the ground about Section XIII(13), the special vampire hunting organization from Rome.
I can't wait to see the other manga in the Hellsing series.

If you are a fan of the anime, or if you just like vampire machine gun violence, you have to check out the Hellsing comics. Published by Dark Horse(how fitting), this is one of the coolest comics I've read. It doesn't try hard at all to take itself serious, but the artist still manages to make you go 'Woah that is badass!' with super cool poses and dynamic action drawings. Volume 1 follows up to the Anderson(episode 3) Fight of the anime, but also includes the Master of Monster(Ep 8) chapter. After the second book the storyline will take a turn for the awesomer as it diverges completely from the anime and into the realm of Nazi Vampire Dictators and their plot to strike the heart of London. Also included is the short series Crossfire, featuring one badass female Priest with a penchant for firearms, and one crazy Nun with a Katana. Watch as they purify some fools in the best way possible, violently!

A+++++++++++ would read again!

I've never read Manga before Hellsing. I don't really care for short stories (I feel like I've been cheated when I get to the end all too soon) and so I avoided Manga thinking it would be the same. However, after I saw the Anime I wanted to know more so I gave it a try. I was blown away. I didn't realize so much story could be conveyed with images and a little text. I was hungry for more when I got to the end of Volume 1, but fortunately there is more! Alucard is a delicious anti-hero and I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys vampire literature.

Hellsing is a popular anime and manga series showcasing the exploits of the vampire Alucard (Dracula spelled backwards) and the secret order of Protestant Knights called Hellsing, that started with Van Helsing, the famous monster hunter. The series was written and drawn by Kohta Hirano, who has an interest in, and understanding of, religious history in England, as well as the Third Reich of Germany during the Second World War.

Volume One of this manga is not as good as the following volumes. The art is strained, and there is too much blood and not enough plot. However, Hirano has lots of marginal notes that paint himself as a perverted twenty-something. The notes are fun.

In Volume One, "Police Girl" Victoria Ceres becomes a vampire, and we meet Sir Integra, the female head of Hellsing.

Go on to Volume Two for some jaw-dropping, one-of-a-kind, manga. I wish I could give Hellsing, Volume Two, ten stars. My jaw hit the floor so many times. The story, writing, art, and characters are so superior to the average vampire/horror manga, that Hellsing has forever changed the genre.

Although author/artist Kohta Hirano tends to dismiss himself as a typical Japanese Gen X'er, he is being quite modest. Hirano has an amazing understanding of the Protestant and Catholic religious conflicts that have rocked England for centuries. He also works the Vatican into the story.

The blade-wielding Priest Anderson is such a powerful character. The way he drones on, quoting the Gospel in his Scottish brouge is more like a mesmerizing incantation than simple speech. He and Alucard are such cool rivals!

In the story, Hellsing is attacked and badly hurt by an army of ghouls that used to be poor Hellsing soldiers. Led by the Valentine brothers, they press deeper and deeper into Hellsing headquarters. Sir Integra and the men who have convened there for a meeting are in grave danger. We see that Walter has some very cool tricks up his sleeve, and Victoria gets a new gun, but Alucard is occupied with one brother and cannot come to their aid.

Just an amazing manga. There is a bonus story at the end, with unrelated characters. The story is extremely violent and crude, with poorly-developed characters. It is not worth bothering with.

As a fan who saw the incomplete Hellsing series first, I knew what to expect from the manga. But I didn't expect everything I got. The Hellsing manga, while as visually violent as the anime, has a lot more style than the anime had. The artistic sense of Kohta Hirano, who wrote the story and drew the panels, is excellent and a little different than the common manga style, a little mutated, to better explain. The characters are exaggerated, of course, but instead of the head it's more the limbs of the characters; long arms and large hands are common, and goes well with the atmosphere of this manga. And, while Alucard looks like every other manga vampire around, there's somehow a duffiness (yes, I made that word up, but you know what it means) to his appearance when he's all decked out in trench and wide-brimmed hat. It hides the monster underneath quite well. Another common artistic feature is the glasses worn by 3/4ths of the cast, which Kohta Hirano actually comments on.

Still, though the artistic style is unique, it's the story that makes Hellsing such a great manga (and anime, both past and future). Separated into six chapters, with a bonus seventh that goes off the main track of the story, Hellsing follows the exploits of the Hellsing Organization and the leader of this secret group of vampire hunters, Integra Hellsing. Their primary job is to exterminate all vampire threats across England. Yet their primary weapon is a vampire named Alucard, who has powers beyond those of the young vampires who roam the land and murder innocents. Following close behind Alucard is his unwilling servant and fellow vampire known simply (to Alucard at least) as Police Girl.

Here is a breakdown of each chapter without spoilers:

Chapter 1 -- Vampire Hunter: The basic introductory manga story, which brings in the two primary characters of Integra and Alucard. It presents what can be expected from this manga in the future. In this Alucard battles a rather controversial vampire-figure.

Chapter 2 -- Master of Monster: Explains Integra's dark past and how she came to meet Alucard. It also shows how she became the leader of the Hellsing Organization.

Chapter 3 -- Murder Club: This chapter follows Alucard and Police Girl in their fight against two vicious vampires on a murder spree. It also shows Police Girl coming into her own as a vampire.

Chapters 4 - 6 -- Sword Dancer 1, 2, & 3: A new vampire hunting organization based out of the Vatican is introduced in this series of chapters, one that doesn't believe in the Hellsing Organizations methods for exterminating vampires. Alucard and Police Girl hunt vampires but do not realize that they are being hunted by the Vatican's best killer, the knife-wielding Father Anderson.

Bonus Chapter -- Crossfire: Follows the tale of two of the Vatican's greatest killers as they travel to the Middle East to rescue hostages from a group of extremist Muslims. (Has no actually bearing on the Hellsing story that I know of).

The first volume in this series was excellent, and I'm hoping that the remaining six can keep up with the intense pacing that Kohta Hirano set for this manga. If he can, then this series promises to be one of the best. If you were a fan of the Hellsing anime and want to see the real story, or if you want to know what's happening before the upcoming Hellsing Ultimate hits American shelves, then I recommend picking this volume up. It has somewhat of a Trigun feel to it, but is as cool as Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo.

Honestly, if you liked the animated version of Hellsing, don't hold yourself back in buying the manga. The story dives much deeper, explaining some of the unexplained details in the anime, in the backgrounds of characters or something more basic like what constitutes a vampire. Leaving behind Incognito, the manga goes instead into the Millenium Organization, Nazis, Section XIII, much more....

As for this first volume, here's my judging of it. Although the artwork seems crude and a little exaggerated at this point, it quickly develops itself even as you turn the pages, and in following volumes. However, being a bit more humorous than the anime, this allows to reader to never take it way too seriously, but instead enjoy it from a general aspect without looking at everything with a microscope. The translation seems faithful enough, and although Anderson's "accent" manifestation was a little annoying to read at first, it gives a better hint to his character. Everything else works out well.

I fully reccomend this to the fans of the anime, and even give a little nudge to those who didn't find themselves ecstatic with the anime.

When monsters are afoot anywhere in England in the form of ghouls and vampires, a secret organization known as Hellsing is called in to handle the situation. It is run by the slightly androgynistic Integra Hellsing, a woman with mysterious ties to its top agent in the field, Alucard. Alucard, of course, spells Dracula backwards, and yes, he is a vampire. This guy is not your daddy's Dracula though! He goes around with a humungous pistol loaded with silver bullets wasting his fellow nosferatu. In place of a stake he generally uses his arm to finish them off! Recently, it seems as though vampires have been coming out of the woodwork, as though there is a production assembly line. It's up to Alucard and Integra to figure out where they're all coming from. Also along for the action is a young female police officer named Seras Victoria, who was turned into a vampire by Alucard to save her life.

Hellsing is definately designed for more mature readers as it features bucketloads of gore and blood. While it seems to be firmly in the horror genre, it really has a more lighthearted action feel to it, which is increased by the comedy relief of the ever bumbling Seras who is a vampire out of water. Hopefully, the plot will stay unconvoluted and the characters will gain more depth. The art reminded me of Frank Miller, especially in the battle scenes, which is good and bad if you are a fan of him or not. This series is definately worth checking out.

I first came along Hellsing in the anime series, and I absolutely loved it. It was interesting and original, with wonderful animation and drawings. So, naturally, when I heard that the anime was once first a manga, I went out and bought it. The money was well spent. The manga goes a little differently than the anime, but if you've never seen the anime, then there's no problem. Basically, if you like vampires, guns, and cold-hard fighting with no romance, this is definitely for you. It's fast-paced with an interesting storyline, so get comfy and enjoy.

I'll be honest I purchased this item just to see Hirano's take on an already exploited character and genre. Dracula being Alucard and Helsing being Hel(l)sing and so on. I'm not a big fan of Manga, but still this peeked my interest. The story jumps from scene to scene (at times is seemingly without reason), and there is an unexplained obsession with virginity throughout the story (which I'm told is common in Manga). Despiting that it was overall pretty entertaining. It's not a must read, but I'm glad I did read it.