Hellsing Ultimate

I know exactly where to start with this review. Hellsing Ultimate is badass. Sure, it features all of the usual anime aspects, drama and tension, character development and internal struggles. That's all accomplished through the side characters. However, the main character; Alucard- is the epitome of badass. He embodies the spirit of overpowered. If you want to watch an anime with some epic fights, epic vampires (for once), and epic animation- you'd better get to watching Hellsing Ultimate.

Alucard can essentially retreat into his own dimension when he gets pressed.

The plot behind Hellsing begins when Seras Victoria, a young girl unwittingly gets mixed up in a battle between vampires. Alucard saves her by turning her himself. Seras is incorporated into Hellsing, an organization dedicated to fighting off the supernatural threats to humanity. As you may have guessed, a lot of the focus is on the perspective of Seras as she learns about the history and enemies of the organization. However, as the story progresses you will find that the viewpoint shifts to every orifice of the battlefield, even giving in depth background knowledge of the evil Nazi empire opposing Alucard and the company.

Seras Victoria, the only person I can remember with a heart.

Alucard is rugged, indomitable, fearless, and every other synonym of awesome. I love this guy. He's not your average protagonist, he's barely even an anti-hero. Alucard isn't even Dracula. He's sadistic, evil, and enjoys inflicting pain as much as taking it. The other characters don't even hold a candle to how amazingly terrifying Alucard can be. The other main characters also have merit, Integra is the current leader of Hellsing and very mysterious. She is intelligent, dedicated, and always seems to be holding all the cards. She commands Alucard with respect, and allows him free authority over his tasks. Seras is naive, compassionate, and everything Hellsing is not. She struggles to adapt to her new vampire side, yet follows Alucard with unwavering loyalty. The various other characters that feature a spot over more than one episode have a well rounded personality that you can't help but wonder about. In other words, the characters are very well thought out and implemented. I was very intrigued whenever a new face was introduced, because I could tell there was a very rich backstory behind most of them.

He never takes anything seriously.

Hellsing Ultimate has a solid grasp on everything. The art and animation are consistently pretty, well; if you can find an appreciation for blood being painted all over the walls that is. It has a nice OST to back up the action, with lots of choruses and a dark theme which suits every situation. While there is a distinct lack of character development for the most part; it would really ruin the anime if they tried to change the already awesome personalities with a few badly placed epiphanies. Each episode is 40 minutes long, so if you enjoy Hellsing you will have plenty to watch.

Yes, even this wouldn't kill Alucard.

I'd suggest this anime to everyone, it's something you should check out at some point. It's not perfect, with the cold blooded nature of the characters it's not really possible to sympathize with anyone but Seras. Although each character appears to have a lot of depth initially, Hellsing Ultimate is mostly focused on leading you from fight to fight. Therefore don't watch it if you're expecting plot intricacy or astounding revelations. Hellsing Ultimate is about Alucard and the organization kicking the shit out of supernatural bad guys- and it is delivered brilliantly. Everything else is merely centric to this. So if you like badass fights, watch it.