DVD Review - What the hellsing?

"Hellsing" is one of the deadliest vampire action series ever released. This review is about "Hellsing Ultimate," supposedly the ultimate version of this bloodfest.

However, it reflects so many changes to the original TV series so much that previous fans might not appreciate the so-called ultimate version.

For the uninitiated, "Hellsing" is a series about the Hellsing organization, bent on keeping the bloodthirsty vampires from sinking their teeth into the citizens of Romania. The organization, led by Integra Hellsing, sends a special vampire to slice the chests of these other vampires. His name is Alucard, and as far as I know, even if someone chops off his head, he can come back to life.

The first volume of "Hellsing Ultimate" covers the first three episodes of the "Hellsing" television show. In a short summary of this disc, Alucard recruits Seras Victoria, a policewoman, as his apprentice vampire. Alucard and Seras also fight Alexander Anderson, a Catholic paladin. Yes, there is actually a clash between the Protestant Hellsing Organization and the paladins of the Vatican.

There are many changes that could keep old fans of "Hellsing" from watching the new ultimate version. For starters, the first DVD is a near-perfect adaptation of the original manga. Because of this, the ultimate version is missing the cool, collected style of the priest vampire, who seduced Seras Victoria in the TV version. Now the priest is a blatant pervert who grabs her crotch and declares that he intends to rape her.

Of course, the ultimate version of "Hellsing" is close to the manga, but the director sacrificed his own original take, which was admittedly much cooler. The original TV show had an awesome mix of honky-tonk pianos and funk music in the background. It felt like a dark version of "Shaft," with Alucard saying in Japanese "Keep your hands off her," and yelling "PUNK!" in English. And Alucard even had cool dialogue about his custom-made silver bullet pistol.

Then again, "Hellsing Ultimate" was made with a much more horrific mood in mind. The series has plenty of bloody action sequences where thousands of zombies riddle Alucard with a million bulletholes, and yet Alucard manages to come back to life. Of course, with a nearly invincible vampire, I wonder how dramatic this series can possibly get if Alucard cannot die.

Still, this is a solid second rendition of a good vampire series. Some people may want to steer away from this super-violent series, but if anyone is in the mood for violent anime, "Hellsing Ultimate" is a must-see.