Hellsing is a series of two halves. Episodes 1 to 7, which follow the first two volumes of Hirano's manga with the insertion of significantly slower pacing and new subplots, are brilliant, however, quality from thereon declines significantly, as the series takes up with its own plot in order to close of the (still unfinished, and much more so at the time) arc of the manga story. A lot of this can be attributed to the writers and character designers lack of feeling for Hirano's style: the series only characters, such as Incognito, Helena, Boaban Sith and the Werewolf SAS guards simply don't fit the look or feel of the Hellsing world, and the whole affair reeks of an attempt to broaden the series appeal towards a more mixed audience, which makes Hellsing not quite Shonen: though the series retains some incredible action sequences, they are paced out with introspection and Anne-Rice style vampire angst on the part of Seras, who becomes much more the focal character of the series. Other characters have their personalities softened, particularly Alucard, who is not only slightly more physically attractive but markedly less deranged. On top of this, the religious aspects of the story are moved more into the background. That is not to say that the writing team is completely awful: where they adapt, and weave new scenes and subplots into Hiranos work, they can be very good. However, this schizophrenic nature, as well as the legendarily unsatisfying ending, significantly mar the series.
This is not to say, however, that Hellsing is bad. Indeed, far from it. Though vampires are a relatively common subject for anime, no other, except maybe Blood, manages to capture the sheer atmosphere of Hellsing. The animation is, in fact, quite crude. The CGI effects, though used sparingly, are awful, and the character design fantastically erratic. However, this is only really noticeable after two or three viewings, because what Hellsing does have is style. The heavy use of red lighting to convey the vampire viewpoint gives the whole thing a eerie, disturbing air, that, mixed with possibly the best original soundtrack to any anime (both collected CD's easily stand on their own) perfectly creates the cohesive world. And of course, there is the Gothic atmosphere and wonderful characters of Hirano's original work shining through. Finally, both the English and Japanese version have great voice acting, though Crispin Freeman's Alucard does annoy somewhat with his accent at first (especially when you watch Read or Die and realise that he is quite capable of doing a perfect English accent).
Still, despite the negative tone of this review, Hellsing does thoroughly deserve its eight stars. There is a sheer enchanting quality to it that defies being put down on paper. All you have to do is look to its huge, and surprisingly mature, fandom to realise there must be something here that's worth seeing. That said, as is so often the case with adaptations: Read the book!
This is not to say, however, that Hellsing is bad. Indeed, far from it. Though vampires are a relatively common subject for anime, no other, except maybe Blood, manages to capture the sheer atmosphere of Hellsing. The animation is, in fact, quite crude. The CGI effects, though used sparingly, are awful, and the character design fantastically erratic. However, this is only really noticeable after two or three viewings, because what Hellsing does have is style. The heavy use of red lighting to convey the vampire viewpoint gives the whole thing a eerie, disturbing air, that, mixed with possibly the best original soundtrack to any anime (both collected CD's easily stand on their own) perfectly creates the cohesive world. And of course, there is the Gothic atmosphere and wonderful characters of Hirano's original work shining through. Finally, both the English and Japanese version have great voice acting, though Crispin Freeman's Alucard does annoy somewhat with his accent at first (especially when you watch Read or Die and realise that he is quite capable of doing a perfect English accent).
Still, despite the negative tone of this review, Hellsing does thoroughly deserve its eight stars. There is a sheer enchanting quality to it that defies being put down on paper. All you have to do is look to its huge, and surprisingly mature, fandom to realise there must be something here that's worth seeing. That said, as is so often the case with adaptations: Read the book!