Hellsing

Publisher
ADV
Director
Yasunori Urata
Production
Gonzo Digimation
Format
Series
Running time
13 episodes
Year
2001

Hellsing Volume 2: Blood Brothers

By John Huxley
1st Apr 04

I can't remember exactly why, but I do recall not being overly impressed with the first volume of Hellsing. After watching the first of three episodes on this DVD, it all came flooding back - the unlikeable characters, unexceptional story telling and poor action were underwhelming at best. Its original setting and novel concept narrowly saved it from a below average score, yet there was little here to suggest an improvement was on the cards.

Yes, Hellsing does improve, if only a little. More on that later.

The first episode not only reminded me of the series' shortcomings, it was a whole lot worse than anything I could remember from the last volume. The plot, which thankfully starts and finishes within the space of a single episode, revolves around a mysterious snuff movie found on the internet that features the Hellsing insignia. Concerned for the secrecy and reputation of her organisation, Integra sends Seras to investigate the situation.

This episode was so dull, so uninteresting that I found my eyes wandering from the television set - I apologise, I just couldn't keep my concentration when the story was less engaging than my white painted wall (and it's not even wet). The novelty of the location and the whole vampire organisation thing had long worn thin, leaving little but the less desirable qualities such as the action (or lack of), characters and story. Put simply, this episode epitomises everything that is wrong with Hellsing.

I was resigned to the notion that Hellsing was beyond repair. I thought that nothing short of a miracle could save this series now. Well, praise the lord (and God save the Queen as Integra often says), because that's exactly what did happen.

The second and third episode on this DVD represent a 180 degree turnaround with some decent action, a more interesting story and a couple of bad guys that suddenly make the whole thing exciting again. I say again, because only now am I reminded of the killer preacher in the last volume who provided by far the best action and by some distance the most entertaining enemy for Arucard. Cut short, I hoped the series would return to that all too brief moment of excitement. To my surprise, it did (and for a more sustained period).

The story involves the young Valentine brothers, a pair of unscrupulous vampire gangsters who enjoy turning their employees into an army of ghouls. But their ambitions lie in greater places than London's underworld - they plan to strike Hellsing at its heart; Integra's mansion base. The action here is amongst the best the series has offered so far, with plenty of blood, gunfire, explosions and even a little black magic...we even see the butler get in on the action with his deadly cheese-wire act. For only the second time during the entire series I was actually impressed.

Admittedly anything would look good sitting next to that first episode. But that's unfair, I would be lying if I tried to suggest the second and third episodes were anything but enjoyable. I would also be lying if I told you these episodes represented a marked improvement for the series. Negligible though the improvement may be, it gives me new hope for the future of the Hellsing.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English 2.0 and Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, Staff interview, Creditless ending (version one), Concept art collection

Release information: UK release date: 22nd September 2003, ADV

Notes: This DVD is much the same as the previous volume bar the new staff interview. Expecting a quick question and answer session with one of the voice actors I was pleasantly surprised to be confronted with a much larger, well edited documentary-like feature that interviews most of the creative talent behind the series. It was intriguing to hear of the team's international aspirations, even during these early stages. The other features are self explanatory, although it is worth mentioning that the concept art collection weighs in at an impressive 50, with lots of colour sheets, facial expressions and background designs. The staff interview is a great addition to an already solid DVD.

-- John Huxley 1st Apr 04

Hellsing Images