Hellsing (anime)

Hellsing: Impure Souls (ヘルシング, Herushingu) refers to the made-for-television anime based on Kouta Hirano's manga Hellsing. It was first broadcast in Japan on Fuji Television from October 10, 2001 to January 16, 2002 and ran in the United States from October 4, 2003 to December 27, 2003 on Starz!'s Encore Action cable channel. It finished at thirteen episodes long.

The anime follows a different storyline, especially towards the end, but with the same protagonists and main characters. The series was directed by Umanosuke Iida from a screenplay by Chiaki Konaka and produced by Gonzo Animation.

Characters

Main characters

Alucard: An old and powerful vampire in the service of the Hellsing Organization. Although his true identity is never explicitly stated, it is implied that he is both the infamous Count Dracula and Prince Vlad III "The Impaler" of Wallachia, through his name ("Dracula" spelled backwards) and certain behaviors displayed in the series.

Seras Victoria: Seras was a member of the D11 elite police response unit, until she was mortally wounded by Alucard in his destruction of a vampire masquerading as a priest. On the verge of death, she chose to allow Alucard to turn her into a vampire. Serving beneath Alucard, she now works for the Hellsing Organization and deals with the consequences of her decision.

Sir Integra Hellsing: A young noblewoman, she is the head and last member of the Hellsing family. She doubles as the leader of the Hellsing Organization, and Alucard's "Master." She inherited the Hellsing Organization at the age of thirteen upon the death of her father. Although she often seems strict and domineering, she is respected and admired, even among her sworn enemies.

Paladin Alexander Anderson: A warrior priest or paladin who works for the Vatican's Section XIII, Iscariot. Anderson is Iscariot's ultimate weapon in the fight against the undead. With regenerative capabilities and a variety of holy weapons (including his signature blessed bayonets), his mission is nothing less than the complete destruction of all the demons of Hell. As this includes many of Hellsing's subordinates, Anderson is one of Alucard's greatest foes.

Incognito: This masochistic vampire is from "the dark continent," a reference to Africa. Though physically androgynous, he is generally thought to be male. Extremely powerful, he combines dark magic with an enchanted ArmsCor 40 mm grenade launcher that fires spines. Incognito vomits into the launcher's cartridges before loading; and he also is known to have a gatling gun as backup. During the final plot arc of the series he summons a snake-like being referred to as Sett and takes it into his body in order to use its power to attack Alucard. Incognito has regenerative powers which seem to be related to the purple stripes and sigils covering his body.

Secondary characters

Walter C. Dornez: Walter is a 69 year old retired member of the Hellsing organization. Though now serving as Integra Hellsing's butler, he has still proved to live up to his nickname "The Angel of Death" with deadly razor sharp wires. He has a close friendship with both Integra and Alucard.

Enrico Maxwell: Enrico Maxwell is the fanatical head of the Catholic Church's secret Iscariot Organization (Vatican Section XIII).

Luke and Jan Valentine: The Valentine brothers are "freaks," humans who were turned into vampires with the aid of a chip. They have much influence in the criminal underworld. Jan acts, looks and sounds like a member of the lower classes and uses strong profanity, whereas Luke is much more cultured and restrained. The two launch an attack on Hellsing's headquarters midway through the series with a small army of ghouls.

Other characters

Helena: A young-looking vampire that spends her time reading and listening to "Solveigs Song" by Grieg. She appears to live alone in a dark old house. Despite her young appearance, she is quite old and becomes something of a role-model for Seras.

Kim: A news reporter saved in Episode 02 from a vampire, she tries to prove afterwards that vampires exist to the general public.

Enrico Stivaletti: A foreign exchange college student who appears in Episode 03. An artificial vampire implanted with the "freak chip," he attempts to turn another student, Mick, with whom he is heavily implied to be in a romantic relationship with, into a vampire for the sake of being "together forever."

Harry Anders: An experienced MI5 agent who works on a case involving snuff films and Hellsing, and later aids Seras Victoria in the hunt for Incognito. He implies that he knew Seras' father years ago.

Laura: A baobhan sith who infiltrates Hellsing's headquarters in order to assassinate Integra Hellsing.

Captain Gareth Henderson: Captain of the Hellsing Special Millitary forces, serving under Commander Peter Fargason.

Paul Wilson: SAS soldier turned artificial vampire by Incognito.

Renaldo: Adviser and bodyguard to Enrico Maxwell.

Captain Chris Pickman: Hellsing Captain introduced in the latter portion of the series, serving under Commander Peter Fargason.

Commander Peter Fargason: Commander of the Hellsing Organization's paramilitary forces. An experienced, devout, loyal and efficient field commander, he is trusted and admired by Integra Hellsing.

Cast

Japanese Cast

Jouji Nakata - Alucard
Fumiko Orikasa - Seras Victoria
Yoshiko Sakakibara - Integra Hellsing
Nachi Nozawa - Alexander Anderson
Takumi Yamazaki - Incognito
Motomu Kiyokawa - Walter C. Dornez
Hideyuki Tanaka - Enrico Maxwell
Takehito Koyasu - Luke Valentine
Kazuya Nakai - Jan Valentine
Akiko Hiramatsu - Helena
Hisato Masuyama - Enrico Stivaletti
Takashi Taniguchi - Harry Anders
Mika Di - Bubbancy
Unshō Ishizuka - Peter Fargason
Tomoyuki Shimura-Gareth Henderson
Yuuji Takada-Chris Pickman
Ken Narita-Paul Wilson
Ryotaro Okiayu-Enrico Stivaletti

English Cast

Crispin Freeman - Alucard
K. T. Gray - Seras Victoria
Victoria Harwood - Integra Hellsing
Steven Brand - Alexander Anderson
Isaac Charles Singleton, Jr. - Incognito
Ralph Lister - Walter C. Dornez
J. B. Blanc - Enrico Maxwell
Patrick Seitz - Luke Valentine
Josh Phillips - Jan Valentine
Akure Wall - Helena
Pam Susslin - Kim
Arthur Russell - Harry Anders
Siobhan Flynn - Laura
William Morgan Sheppard - Peter Fargason
Peter Gail - Gareth Henderson
Arthur Russell - Chris Pickman (Episode 09)
Gidart Jackson - Chris Pickman (Episodes 11-12)
Craig Young - Paul Wilson
Hisato Masuyama - Enrico Stivaletti

Episodes

Trivia

Incognito does not appear in the manga and his name comes from the literal definition of the word "incognito." In episode nine, Alucard responds to Incognito's introduction by saying his name's "quite an enigma as well."
It has also been argued that, while Alucard may be inspired by, or is, Count Dracula, Incognito may have been inspired by the vampire Count Orlok from the 1922 silent movie Nosferatu.
The plotline of the anime is different than the manga and OVA. These differences are only slight up until Episode 08, where the plot begins to diverge dramatically from what is presented in the manga. Like many other anime, the studio ran out of source material to adapt while the show was in production, forcing them to create their own storyline based on what had already been presented.
Because of the exclusion of the Millennium Organization, Walter C. Dornez never betrayed Integra and the Hellsing-organisation.