My dear friend Johnathan Harker has begun his lovely food blog as he travels through the countryside of Transylvania. Hope his journey is smooth and his business concludes swiftly!
The Hellsing Ultimate commentary is so interesting. There is so much psychological, theological and philosophical discussion and analysis of the characters and series. Iâve transcribed a few parts I liked.
Commentary by Taliesin Jaffe (the english dub director/lead script writer) and Crispin Freeman (Alucardâs VA).
OVA 10 commentary below the cut.
Some OVA 8 commentary highlights:
- Crispin claimed that historically, Dracula was the Christian knight fighting the Sultan and now heâs the Dragon fighting the Christian Knights.
This leads to a theory by Jaffe: Alucardâs first meal as a vampire was the Sultan. Like Seras made Pip her familiar by consuming him, the Sultan is influential on Alucard and lives there in him somewhere. He became the Dragon he defeated. [He made his abuser a part of himself, which leads to the question: by this logic, how much of alucardâs personality is the actual alucard?]
- commentary on that Dracula is a softer (!!) character than Alucard. Also that Draculaâs sword should totally be able to slice through Andersonâs bayonets. Thatâs how a real sword of that caliber works.
- Crispin compared Alucard and Anderson to the Joker and Batman. According to him: âThe difference between the hero and the villain, or the protagonist and the antagonist, is that they are both the two sides of the same coin. What is the difference between the Batman and the Joker, except that one is on our side and one isnât?â
- Crispin: âI think a lot of people look at Alucard and think heâs so powerful, and heâs not afraid of anything, but in fact it is those who are most insecure who go for this kind of power. Those who are secure never need this kind of power over others. [âŚ] [Alucardâs like] Iâm insecure, I would love it if a secure human would defeat me.â
- Jaffe: âI think thatâs actually one of the reasons why he created the Police Girl, why Seras exists is because sheâs such a wonderful mirror of his own internal insecurity, of her denial of self and her fear, and itâs a way that he can project that onto someone else.â [they had an extensive discussion about this.]
- Jaffe, after Crispin mentioned that Seras and Alucard come from the same place of emotional wounds due to similar trauma in their backstories: âAnd there was this whole struggle for Mina, in the original Dracula. [âŚ] Maybe that wound can be repaired from outside himself.â
Crispin: âRight. Somehow Minaâs gonna solve the problem. [âŚ]â
Jaffe: âDating never solves the problem. Youâd think that in a couple of hundred years you would learn that - â [Crispin chimes in] - âDating never solves the problem.â [laughter]
Also think about 13 yo Integra Hellsing on the wake of her father dead. All the rustle around the house, delegates and people comign and going and she sitting in the middle of all with Walter and some other 5 old man speaking to her non stop about things she barely understands and she just sat at her father deathbed that particular father that barely saw her as a daughter that never had soft kind words to her that never just held her as a child whose only communication with her was the transactional passing of a legacy and still she is sad and if she was alone before she is lonelier now.
Walters helps her dress and present her as the head of this ancient org and she is still so alone. At night she has to kill her uncle and she is lonelier still. How much alienation can a person takes?
And thats literally what forms IntegraâŚno soft edgesâŚjust the loneliness and the hard bought knowledge that there is no one to trust ever EVER.
Yes. Adding to that loneliness and trauma of what transpired in the cellar, suddenly she has the responsibility for a traumatized and starved 500+ year old vampire who looks up to her for orders.
Like, at the age of 12/13. No parents, only two traumatized adult men who are both working for her, who are not there out of love or loyalty (Walterâs stance can be discussed, he might have âraisedâ her more than a traditional butler did, but still he was her butler and she was in charge and he never let her forget that he was merely a servant, paid to be there.) Also add that said men have their own infected history, Walter has his aging complex and possibly betrayed her once already and Alucard is⌠messed up.
What does that make of a person? Repression, internalizing and compartmentalization. Could she ever relate to a single person in her age or have a single friend close to her age? Probably not. Just like Walter & Alucard she had to grow up overnight, more or less.
Then Seras comes along, hiding/repressing her own brutal trauma with cheeriness but later on anxiety attacks (OVA), taking a different approach than Integraâs Iron Maiden/Untouchable exterior and Alucardâs âViolence is so Funnyâ way of dealing with the horrors theyâve encountered.
Basically Hellsing consists of 4 people who were all brutally robbed of their childhood, and each one of them shows a different way of repressing/dealing with trauma.
I tried to watch BBC Dracula but i just failed because well, violence against women, and after Alucard i just cant stomach more of the same old take of this man brutalizing women in a sexualized way.Â
But it brings me back to this two beautiful moments in Hellsing that turn upside down the disgusting mysogyny sorrounding the character in previous encarnations:Â
First, His baby girl, his daughter, Seras:Â
There will not be a time in my life when i just dont squeal to think: Fuck what a good parent he turned to be. His relationship with Seras is all NURTURING all the time. Nurturing and then letting her go to take her own choices and navigate the world as she pleases. His dinamic with her is all kindness and care.Â
And that moment just cements so many things in their relationships because he is just coming back from abroad and all hell broke loose but he is not worried that his master is injured because he is thinking: How can my master be injured if i let my daughter to take care of her? My daughter is a natural born badass. But he comes back and sees her, this daughter of his finally turned into a fully fleshed vampire not because he demanded it of her but because she took a choice. And he thinks in that moment: âHeyâŚme good parenting hereâŚâÂ
I think all of what Alucard learned in his years of bondage and torture and abuse with the Hellsings. All his reflections at his misgivings and wrongdoings were poured out in Seras nurturing. He just lets her breathe man!. Like he literally got mad once because she was being a baby and he literally stopped and said âokay no this is wrong this is not what i planned for you. Leave i take care of this peopleâ. And you can see he reflects on his violent nature there and takes the concious choice of not doing it again.Â
Then, the cherry on the pie that at the same things seems like the most conflicting? Integra.Â
Oh man (im using this pic because the marriage metaphors are off the charts). This is such a hard egg to crack because Their relationship is fucking messy in general but completly backwards? She is the one holding all the power. She is his Master. The femdom to end all femdom.Â
And as most know i cant bring myself to think what the Hellsings did to Alucard in anyway helped him heal or attonent for his sins. It was bondage and torture and no end abuse.Â
But enters Integra and i think the turning point in their relationships is that Integra doesnt lock him and Integra lets him have Seras. Im sorry people just ignore the fact that this is a creature that never owned anything not even his own thoughts since he was captured. One day he turns this child he found in the woods and brings her home and he need to check with Master Integra if he can keep it.Â
And im sorry but people ignore that conversation that is so loaded to me with the lingering feeling that Integra could order him to kill Seras. She feels no simpathy for vampires and is in no way obligated to entertain his impulses and generally she doesnt. But she does here. She lets him have Seras.Â
Maybe its because she sees Seras is kinda Integra but soft and less scarred and burdened. A child of sorts for both of them. Maybe its because this is the only way we realize Integra Hellsing shows kindness doing weird acts of mercy. Giving quick death to dying soldiers, handing a gun to a man to defend himself in the face of death, saying âhave a nice deathâ to someone that betrayed her, allowing his broken slave companionship. Integraâs brand of kindness is always so related to war. Man im sure that turns Alucard a lot.Â
But, going back to Alucard relationships with her. Maybe she is the first master he actively chooses to comeback? Its a theme repeated during the manga and show. âHis countessâ, the âequalsâ theme that resounds with us. Its not him lowering himself to her is basically her saying âHey, we can be equals you depressing warlordâÂ
Because for Alucard Integra is all there is okay? And i dont mean in a romantic way. Integra is MASTER. Her will is all there is in his mind. And he kinda loves that kinda cant help because he is conditioned to it but seeing this legendary monster who has done anything but brutalize young women willingly (kinda) its just such a power trip women are not used in narratives regarding Alucard?Â
And it is not because he is subdued by love. She has fucking earned that. He is is awe of her power, her leadership how fucking superior to him he is in all matters.Â
What an original concept for a Dracula story. I will never stop seeing it that way.Â
I might finish BBC Dracula but i cant help but think fuckâŚHellsing will always be the best deconstruction of this mythos even if most of it in our minds.
How the Hellsing characters are presented in the fandom:
Alucard: Will fuck anything that moves. Angsty VampireTM. Not even a monster, just an asshole with guns. No emotions except for sexual lust and blood lust. Nobody can control him, and if they can, theyâre presented as assholes for getting in his way. He is also abusive.
Integra: Cold, emotionless bitch. Treats everyone like shit. More often than not, sheâs the one standing in everyoneâs happy ending. Gives 0 fucks about the people closest to her.
Seras: Basically walking boobs. âAhhh oh nooo Iâm a vampire???! Blood is super icky!!! Save me, Alucard!!â
Walter: Butler.
How the characters actually are:
Alucard: A complex character who has accepted his life after death. He has the maturity of someone who is centuries old; he doesnât angst over what could have been with his life because he knows that he has to deal with the consequences of his actions. He is a sadistic, ruthless monster, and he knows it. But, he holds those he cares about with respect and would never cross their boundaries (though he will tease them). HE HAS NEVER AND WOULD NEVER ASSAULT INTEGRA OR SERAS.
Integra: She is a calculating, intelligent human being. She has emotions, but she usually has to suppress them for her line of duty and it causes her pain. She cares deeply about the people who live in her manor- deeply enough that they are capable of breaking her heart. She is a strong, commanding leader who doesnât take shit from anyone, but she will do everything in her power to save innocent people and the people she cares about. She would not needlessly risk lives.
Seras: Strong, kind, and amazing. She struggles to retain her humanity and manages to smile while she does it. She doesnât take shit either, even though she has a bit of a softer personality compared to Integra. Never assume she is weak. She is also a monster, just like Alucard, and she eventually comes to terms with it. She is a badass who kicks ass and takes names, and is not a damsel in distress or a walking set of tits. Seras is someone who has looked Hell in the face and still manages to brighten everyoneâs lives with her amazing attitude. She was once a police officer, and is a vampire, so SPOILER ALERT: smack her ass and she will fucking rip your arms off, not blush and giggle.
Walter: He presents a cool and collected façade. He can pass for the average butler, but donât think for one second that a butler is all he is. He is a hard-ass killing machine who wanted to prove himself worthy of being remembered. He didnât want to evade the history books; he wanted to be known as the man who defeated the monster, and so he became a traitor. He is a wolf in sheepskin, and he is almost as sadistic as Alucard himself. Despite this, however, he DOES care about Integra and Seras; just not as much as he cares about himself, his ego, and his petty and childish ârivalryâ he has going on with Alucard.
Still thinking about why Alucard picked Integraâs side and not Richardâs in that dungeon, when both of them were Hellsing heirs.
It seems legit that Alucard somehow âknewâ that Integra was the appointed heir by Arthur, but what if he just went âIâm not subbing for another one of these sadistic old bitches, Iâll give the 12-year-old a chance insteadâ - because Integra showed him respect from the start, even when she thought he was dead she treated him like a person.
He calls and pretty much asks if it was good for her too and her response is all, âUrusai! Baka!â
Yeah yeah okay there homegirl chill your shit.
Tho of course she gives him orders, he questions them, she tells him sheâs King Shit Of Jesus Mountain and Who The Fuck Does He Think He Is???, and his response is pretty much, âwooooo babe my dick could carve diamonds rnâ
Is Babycard human or just a vampire with no idea how to use any of his abilities?
Vlad is a human! He doesnât have access to his powers, but the tie he has with Integra and Seras is still very much there. So theyâre kinda just buried until he regains his normal form. Maybe the spell he got hit with tried to bury/block his powers, and this was the only proper outcome it could find? Hm, lore.
Heâs also like⌠9? 10? No older than 12 though. Itâs basically just age-regression to Alucardâs earlier life.
As I'm sure many people know by now, there is an ongoing Kohta Hirano expo occurring in Japan at the moment. One of the first things that greets you there is a timeline of events of the series, beginning from Vlad III's birth, and ending with the battle of London.
I have fully translated the timeline under the cut. I also have some additional notes down below detailing important tidbits and contradictions, and clarifying a couple things.
Please note that while some of the dates in this timeline are not "historically accurate," they mostly reflect the dates I have found in Japanese sources.
The 15th Century
November 10, 1431
Vlad III is born.
November 10, 1444 â Battle of Varna
The Varna Crusader forces, including Wallachia, are defeated by the Ottoman Empire. Vlad III effectively becomes a hostage of the Ottomans.
1447
Vlad III is released from Ottoman captivity.
June 17, 1462 â Night Attack at TârgoviČte
Vlad III impales approximately 20,000 Ottoman soldiers, forcing their retreat.
1462
Vlad III is imprisoned in Hungary.
1474
Vlad III is released.
1476
Vlad III is killed in battle against the Ottoman Empire.
1885
The cargo ship Demeter is wrecked off the coast of Whitby in north-east England.
1897
Bram Stoker publishes Dracula (May 26).
Alucard is defeated by Abraham Van Helsing and others.
The 20th Century
September 1, 1939
The Germany army invades Poland, triggering the start of World War II.
September 3, 1939
Britain and France declare war on Germany.
1939
Alucard meets Walter.
1941
Germany invades the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa, June 22).
The Majorâthen a Lieutenantâcontacts the Vatican and requests cooperation for the "Letzte Bataillon" project.
September, 1944
Alucard and Walter destroy a Nazi vampire manufacturing facility in Warsaw
December 17, 1462 â Night Attack at TârgoviČte
The Malmedy Massacre. 84 American prisoners of war were killed by German military forces.
February 6, 1952
Queen Elizabeth II ascends to the throne.
1972
Abraham Van Helsing imprisons Alucard in the Hellsing familyâs underground dungeon. Arthur Van Helsing succeeds him as the head of the family.
1982
After Arthur's death, Integra Hellsing takes over as the head of the family. Alucard is resurrected.
June 12, 1992
Pip Bernadotte participates in the Battle of Jaungaide, Uganda.
Hellsing Manga Events (1999)
June 14
A strange priest arrives in the small village of Cheddar in Northern England.
June 21
The first incident occurs in Cheddar: A young man goes missing. Over the next 10 days, 10 more villagers disappear.
July 3
The priest reveals himself as a vampire and devastates the village.
July 5
The HELLSING Organization is deployed to Cheddar and suppresses the incident.
July 13
Maxwell executes a bishop in the Vatican for conspiring with Millennium.
August 12
The vampires Jessica and Hagar attack houses one after another along Highway 17 near Birmingham, England.
August 15
The HELLSING Organization encounters Father Anderson while exterminating vampires near Baldrick, Northern Ireland.
September 3
The HELLSING Organization's London headquarters is attacked by the Valentine Brothers, resulting in the deaths of 86 out of 96 personnel.
September 10
Integra, in front of the painting The Battle of Mamon Plains by Kaster at the Imperial War Museum in London, meets Maxwell, the head of the Iscariot Agency of the Vaticanâs Special Affairs Division, with the title of "Iscariot."
[The rest have no specified date.]
1999
Alucard fights Tubalcain Alhambra in Rio de Janeiro.
Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle hijacks the HMS Eagle, a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier.
Anderson leads armed priests into battle against the Letzte Bataillon in London.
The Ninth Crusade is assembled. Maxwell is promoted to Archbishop.
Lieutenant Zorin Blitz leads an assault unit against Hellsing.
Millennium launches Operation SeelĂśwe II (Second Sea Lion Operation).
The British Security Special Command headquarters is attacked from behind by Millennium.
A chaotic three-sided battle ensues.
--------------
Important Dates and Notes
Vlad III was born on November 10th, 1431.
He was taken hostage on November 10th, 1444âhis 13th birthday.
He was released when he was roughly 16.
At the age of 30, he impaled 20,000 Ottoman soldiers.
He was captured at the age of 31, then released at the age of 43, and killed at the age of 45.
There is no information about most of his life as a vampire. All we get is the following:
The cargo ship Demeter wrecks on England in 1885 (this event is referenced in the Hellsing manga).
Bram Stoker publishes Dracula on May 26, 1897 (also mentioned).
Later that same year, Dracula is defeated by Abraham & co.
The information in the 20th century before the series proper is mostly just historical dates with no direct link to the story. Unfortunately, we don't learn any other birthdays. Here is what stood out to me:
Alucard and Walter met in 1939, likely in the month of September.
The Major, when he was a Lieutenant, met with the Vatican and requested their cooperation for his Letzte Batallian project in 1941, after Germany had invaded the Soviet Union.
Alucard and Walter destroyed the Nazi vampire manufacturing facility in Warsaw in September, 1944, and this is the last time any of their war efforts are mentioned.
The timeline states that Abraham Van Helsing imprisoned Alucard in 1972. This directly contradicts statements from the canon and the guidebook. It is also extremely unlikely that Abraham lived long enough to do that, as he was already a weathered old man when he defeated Alucard in 1897. More on this later.
In 1982, Arthur dies and Integra resurrects Alucard and takes over as the family head.
In 1992, Pip Bernadotte participates in the Battle of Jaungaide in Uganda. I have zero idea what this is supposed to mean, but he briefly mentions this battle in the manga, too. Any ideas? I looked it up in Japanese and could only find info about Hellsing.
After this, the events of Hellsing unfold.
The entire story takes place in the span of roughly 4 months.
The last given date is September 10th, when Integra and Maxwell meet at the museum.
-----
Now, as far as the canon goes, it's hard to say how accurate this is. There is a note at the very bottom of the timeline which reads, "A Certain Historian's Private Timeline / Various Theories Exist." I don't know how much input Hirano had on this exhibit, and he hasn't said much about it so far. If this timeline wasn't written by him, then it's possible the one who finalized it wasn't aware that Arthur is stated to have imprisoned Alucard in the canon. So I don't think that this is a retcon or anything like that, just a mistake.
If you are the type of person who doesn't believe that extratextual things matter and only cares about what is explicitly inside the pages of the manga proper, then I suppose none of this information really matters. Very little here actually changes anything about the story anyway.
Personally, I think it's nice to have Vlad III's dates of birth and death, and knowing that he was taken hostage on his 13th birthday is also interesting to me, so I choose to believe that part.
If you notice I made any mistakes, please let me know! I will fix them and be sure to credit you :)
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