Top five reasons Hellsing is fucking great?
Oh man I thought no one asked me any questions last night and I felt so lonely but I have asks now and not enough time to answer them all so IF I DIDN’T GET TO YOURS IT REQUIRED MORE WORDS THAN I COULD WRITE AT THE MOMENT.
5. The Iscariot Organization. Maybe this is a personal thing, but I, frankly, love the Crystal Dragon Jesus trope. Iscariot isn’t the usual level of this, but there’s still something about a secret squad of vampire-killing Vatican priests/nuns who have taken the paradox of Judas and transformed it into their vampire-killing doctrine that is thoroughly charming. And really, that part, I think, is kind of clever! Arming them all with bayonets and nicknaming the head one “angel dust” oblivious to the connotations and throwing a Japanese battle-nun with a katana in there is straight-up charming though.
4. Good vampires. I don’t really like vampires, as a general rule. I think they tend to be some combination of cheesy and angsty and long-suffering and really, ridiculously good looking and… occasionally they get around to monstrous or whatever, but it’s usually kind of in service to all of the above. Hellsing never really loses sight of the inhumanity element or plays it for TVD-style angst, and shows us Seras and Alucard, two vampires with a unique perspective on their situation, while throwing Integra into the mix with further insight on the situation. At the same time, Hellsing vampires totally hearken to their ~vampire roots~ as emotional and lonely creatures. I guess it’s mostly a flavour difference, but a really palatable one.
3. Alucard’s Very Special Brand of Crazy. Related to the above point, I think vampires are often like, wistfully and attractively sad about their immortality and the mistakes they made in life. Alucard gives a good impression of a Dracula who has been wallowing in his fucked-up-ness and badfeels about God and nobility and humanity and humanity for several centuries (which makes it that much more satisfying when he finally deals with some of his shit).
2. Basically everybody’s relationships with everybody else. I think pretty much every relationship they bother to flesh out in Hellsing is interesting and unique - even the ones that are only suggested, like the one between Yumie and Heinkel. The Hellsing organization in particular all have unique and interesting relationships with eachother, and you never get the sense that there are two characters who really ought to have spoken but never seem to notice eachother. Sure, there are some that are more prominent than others, but who cares, they’re usually better for the extra screen time.
1. Integra Fairbrook Wingates Motherfucking Hellsing. I don’t even know how to elaborate on why because just thinking about how metal she is makes my face melt. Leaving aside the fact that she’s a woman in such an usual position for characters pretty much anywhere, she’s a great character and I think the nuance of her struggling with the ruthlessness it requires to effectively lead her organization and the loss she has to shoulder makes it through even the jankiest of translations. Characters who have an iron will as their defining trait are not uncommon, but I think Integra’s mettle is tested in a meaningful way and the intensity of it flows through every scene she appears in. She’s stoic but compassionate, masculine but feminine, and unyeilding but thoroughly affected by everything that happens around her. She’s got the esteemed position of being the sole “true human” in the story, and whether or not this is a pulpy manga with vampire nazi catboys, that much is totally believable.
God I feel like I did a totally shitty job with this answer but whatever. So much of what I like about Hellsing coincides with the kind of things I find difficult to articulate, so this’ll have to do.
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