Hellsing Ultimate OVA I & II
March 17th 2008 21:51
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
“The bird of the Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame.”
Originally Created by: Kouta Hirano.
Director: Tokoro Tomozaku.
Screenplay by: Yosuke Kuroda & Hideyuki Kurata.
Producer: Yasuyuki Ueda.
Starring: Crispin Freeman (Alucard), K.T Gray (Seras), Victoria Harwood (Integra), Steven Brand (Anderson) & Ralph Lister (Walter).
Produced by: Satelight.
English language version by: Geneon Entertainment in association with New Generation Pictures.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 100 minutes. Rating: MA 15 .
For at least eighty years vampires have stalked the silver screen and the idiot box brining fear and terror to countless viewers in numerous ways so it seems no surprise that anime has its fare share of vampire action with Hellsing Ultimate OVA (Original Video Animation) being one such example. Of course as the name implies Hellsing doesn’t just tell a story of vampires it draws upon on of the seminal vampire works ever to be written in the English language; Bram Stokers Dracula. As that work was initially set in England and its countryside the primary focus of Hellsing is on England, Hellsing itself is an organisation dedicated to defending the land, its monarch and people from the forces of darkness that dwell within the shadows of the world, namely vampires, ghouls along with other assorted supernatural threats. In essence it is a special forces unit, though one that deals with paranormal menaces rather than the more mundane threats faced by units such as the SAS or Royal Marines.
As the name implies the organisation was originally founded by the Hellsing who was instrumental in defeating Dracula, Abraham Van Hellsing, and as time passed its leadership was handed down through the family line until at last arriving in the charge of the current scion of the Hellsing family, Integra. Initially though Integra did not have an easy time of achieving the position of leadership of the family organisation, her father’s brother felt that he should have been the rightful leader and took steps to assert his primacy. What he didn’t reckon on was that his brother would have some inkling of his treachery and take steps to warn his daughter and heir, as he lay on his deathbed his life passing away he told Integra that their was something in the deepest levels of the family’s stately manor that would aid her in a time of dire trouble.
The drama opens with Integra in the precise situation that her dying father feared would happen; her uncle and his lackeys have made their move and her hunting her down through the manor. They swiftly and brutally dispose of any of her loyal retainers but in the end even though they eventually corner the wily daughter it has become too late for them. Integra has heeded her father’s last words and made her way to the deepest levels of the manor and their awakened what lies within, a vampire, one of peculiar potency and ability. This being makes short work of the disloyal uncle and his lackey thus insuring that the mantel of leadership passes to its rightful inheritor; when Integra asks her saviour his name he pauses momentarily and then says that his master referred to him as…Alucard.
From the attempted takeover of the Hellsing Organisation the drama moves into the present day and a crisis that is currently engulfing England’s green and pleasant shores. It seems that a village in rural England has been overrun by ghouls created by a vampire priest, the police forces who have investigated this incident are totally unprepared for the situation and some of their own members end up becoming ghouls under the control of the master. Enter Hellsing who are determined to put a stop to this, they do not intend to let such freaks wander around causing chaos to the locals and the nation.
It seems though that this sudden upsurge in undead activity is only the tip of the iceberg, something far more sinister is going on that Hellsing seeks to get to the bottom of, fast. Why the need for urgency I hear you ask, well it seems that Hellsing is not the only organisation of its kind to exist in the wider world. The Vatican, the bastion of Catholicism has its own similar organisation known as Section 13 or Iscariot. Now there is a deep antagonism between the two groups as Hellsing is an Anglican group and Iscariot is Catholic, in the eyes of the Vatican Hellsing is riddled with heretics and infidels. They are as much a potential enemy as any vampire, ghoul or monster and Iscariots prime operative, Father Anderson, is only too happy to dispose of his rivals in Hellsing preferably in brutal and violent manner. The two groups clash when it is found out that there is something going on in the city of Patrick in Ireland. It seems there is a serious vampire and ghoul outbreak and both groups spring into action to investigate, unfortunately for Hellsing when they arrive on the scene the good Father has already taken care of the problem and thus the two sides square off against each other.
When the dust finally settles it seems that there is some interesting facets about the ghouls and vampires active in the area, each of them is implanted with a microchip. Precisely who planted this chip and for what reason is unknown yet as Integra realises this is a fact that must be discovered if Hellsing is to get to the source of who or what is behind this outbreak. This becomes the focus behind the second OVA, the existence of the chip is revealed to a council of luminaries who are backers of the organisation what swiftly becomes apparent is that the makers of the chip are aware of Hellsing and know that this meeting is taking place. Rather than sitting idly and letting Hellsing get a march on them this shadowy nemesis decides to take swift and brutal action, hoping to at least cripple if not destroy Hellsing outright at this time of council.
What the leaders of this strike are unaware of is the precise nature of whom their dealing with, the Brothers Valentine talk a good fight and they literally carve up the ordinary soldiers and staff under Integra’s command but when faced with the likes of Walter, Seras and Alucard they are simply no match. In fact after his encounter with Luke Valentine Alucard is singularly disappointed, he thought his foe was someone worthy of his abilities but in the end only turned out being a worthless mouthy punk. Hellsing Ultimate OVA I & II are very violent in their action which is no doubt why they have an MA 15 rating; still the story is very good and the animation quality is superb especially whenever Alucard reveals his many and seemingly endless vampiric powers. I’m curious to see if there will be a third OVA as the second ended on a literal cliff hanger.
Oh and keep an eye out for the amusing Star Wars reference in OVA II, well I thought it was amusing considering the plot element that is introduced in OVA II and the results that Walter discovers in his investigations of this particular clue and the explanation he proceeds to give to his boss Integra when briefing her on what he has uncovered so far.
Originally Created by: Kouta Hirano.
Director: Tokoro Tomozaku.
Screenplay by: Yosuke Kuroda & Hideyuki Kurata.
Producer: Yasuyuki Ueda.
Starring: Crispin Freeman (Alucard), K.T Gray (Seras), Victoria Harwood (Integra), Steven Brand (Anderson) & Ralph Lister (Walter).
Produced by: Satelight.
English language version by: Geneon Entertainment in association with New Generation Pictures.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 100 minutes. Rating: MA 15 .
For at least eighty years vampires have stalked the silver screen and the idiot box brining fear and terror to countless viewers in numerous ways so it seems no surprise that anime has its fare share of vampire action with Hellsing Ultimate OVA (Original Video Animation) being one such example. Of course as the name implies Hellsing doesn’t just tell a story of vampires it draws upon on of the seminal vampire works ever to be written in the English language; Bram Stokers Dracula. As that work was initially set in England and its countryside the primary focus of Hellsing is on England, Hellsing itself is an organisation dedicated to defending the land, its monarch and people from the forces of darkness that dwell within the shadows of the world, namely vampires, ghouls along with other assorted supernatural threats. In essence it is a special forces unit, though one that deals with paranormal menaces rather than the more mundane threats faced by units such as the SAS or Royal Marines.
From the attempted takeover of the Hellsing Organisation the drama moves into the present day and a crisis that is currently engulfing England’s green and pleasant shores. It seems that a village in rural England has been overrun by ghouls created by a vampire priest, the police forces who have investigated this incident are totally unprepared for the situation and some of their own members end up becoming ghouls under the control of the master. Enter Hellsing who are determined to put a stop to this, they do not intend to let such freaks wander around causing chaos to the locals and the nation.
It seems though that this sudden upsurge in undead activity is only the tip of the iceberg, something far more sinister is going on that Hellsing seeks to get to the bottom of, fast. Why the need for urgency I hear you ask, well it seems that Hellsing is not the only organisation of its kind to exist in the wider world. The Vatican, the bastion of Catholicism has its own similar organisation known as Section 13 or Iscariot. Now there is a deep antagonism between the two groups as Hellsing is an Anglican group and Iscariot is Catholic, in the eyes of the Vatican Hellsing is riddled with heretics and infidels. They are as much a potential enemy as any vampire, ghoul or monster and Iscariots prime operative, Father Anderson, is only too happy to dispose of his rivals in Hellsing preferably in brutal and violent manner. The two groups clash when it is found out that there is something going on in the city of Patrick in Ireland. It seems there is a serious vampire and ghoul outbreak and both groups spring into action to investigate, unfortunately for Hellsing when they arrive on the scene the good Father has already taken care of the problem and thus the two sides square off against each other.
When the dust finally settles it seems that there is some interesting facets about the ghouls and vampires active in the area, each of them is implanted with a microchip. Precisely who planted this chip and for what reason is unknown yet as Integra realises this is a fact that must be discovered if Hellsing is to get to the source of who or what is behind this outbreak. This becomes the focus behind the second OVA, the existence of the chip is revealed to a council of luminaries who are backers of the organisation what swiftly becomes apparent is that the makers of the chip are aware of Hellsing and know that this meeting is taking place. Rather than sitting idly and letting Hellsing get a march on them this shadowy nemesis decides to take swift and brutal action, hoping to at least cripple if not destroy Hellsing outright at this time of council.
What the leaders of this strike are unaware of is the precise nature of whom their dealing with, the Brothers Valentine talk a good fight and they literally carve up the ordinary soldiers and staff under Integra’s command but when faced with the likes of Walter, Seras and Alucard they are simply no match. In fact after his encounter with Luke Valentine Alucard is singularly disappointed, he thought his foe was someone worthy of his abilities but in the end only turned out being a worthless mouthy punk. Hellsing Ultimate OVA I & II are very violent in their action which is no doubt why they have an MA 15 rating; still the story is very good and the animation quality is superb especially whenever Alucard reveals his many and seemingly endless vampiric powers. I’m curious to see if there will be a third OVA as the second ended on a literal cliff hanger.
Oh and keep an eye out for the amusing Star Wars reference in OVA II, well I thought it was amusing considering the plot element that is introduced in OVA II and the results that Walter discovers in his investigations of this particular clue and the explanation he proceeds to give to his boss Integra when briefing her on what he has uncovered so far.
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