There are many vampire manga out there but Hellsing is without a doubt the best out there. Here are ten reasons why it is and why you should read it.
Hellsing tosses readers into a nefarious setting where demonic creatures and humans cohabit and their worlds collide. Consider Bram Stoker's Dracula meeting a spy thriller, with a touch of fantasy, all dipped in horror. This manga is perfect for those who enjoy being entertained with fast-paced action, good dialogue, and a surprising filling ofsolid deeper meanings with well-thought-out characters.
RELATED:10 Best Vampire Anime For Your Watchlist
Another interesting element is how Japanese manga traditions blend with western film themes. From the moment one begins to read, they are thrown into the heart of basically a wild and bloody story with mounting action. It delves deep into the fascination over war and the quest of perfection, with these being just a couple of the premises within this stimulating and entertaining story.
For any that enjoy horror packed full of gore, Hellsing is here. However, not once does it become tacky or ludicrous (although it could be called campy). It could even be characterized as artistic and elegant if those qualities can apply to images of slaughter. Most of the bloody imagery originates from Alucards fights with various supernatural creatures and evil forces, but even when he is not there, the manga does not disappoint. For those easily disgusted, maybe steer clear of this one.
One thing definitely abundant in Hellsing is style and grittiness in its design. There are obviously some more humorous and light-hearted scenes, but when keeping up with its own brand, Hellsing is razor sharp. Darkness, blood, weird angles, stare-downs at the barrel of a gun (usually Alucards), shadows, and intense dark-light contrast are all staples of the manga. To say it was simply cool is an understatement. Every character has their individual texture to them through their illustrations and a significant part of their idiosyncratic qualities becomes evident through how they are drawn.
While we often see vampire series that have a new rookie vampire as the protagonist or an ancient and extremely powerful vampire, we more rarely see the two together working as a team, being each others buffer. It is also quite rare (even unique) to see the strongest vampire in existence fight and work on the side of an organization meant to eliminate vampires (amongst other supernatural creatures).
RELATED:Ichigo Kurosaki & 9 Other Anime Characters That Can Slay Vampires
Hellsing was the perfect combination of vampire lore, action, monster-hunting, mystery, horror, and coming of age story (for Seras Victoria).
Some fans complained that Hellsing had a lot of talking and exposition comparatively to the action. While it can be argued that this is true in some respects when there was action there was nothing like it. Those who have watched the anime adaptations know that there lies some of the best action sequences found in anime. The gore, the blood, Alucards 13mm Jackal handgun, and his immense supernatural abilities all come together to excite those who love them some bloody action. Even from Chapter 1, one should understand what they were getting into.
Integra and Victoria are both great examples of the strong female character archetype, without falling into becoming tokens or stereotypes. Integra is an assertive leader, strict and in control, capable of making the hard decisions and being in command. She lost her parents from a young age and used to feel alone and afraid, but she grew into an independent fighter.
RELATED:Ten Vampire Girls That are Better Than Bella Swan
Victoria was a timid human that transformed into a timid vampire, afraid of her new nature and abilities, but in time she learned to embrace her identity, assert herself, and use her powers in the most effective ways; a strong and capable soldier, she became an asset to the Hellsing Organisation.
The three main characters balance each other out in a brilliant and simultaneously subtle way. We have the timid turned badass sidekick to the dark powerful anti-hero with his own hidden past and internal struggle, all topped with a sometimes overbearing, but overall brilliant and strong leadership figure. They work great together because each one has something to offer to the others: Victoria eventually becomes like a daughter to both Alucard and Integra and she helps them get in touch with their softer side; Integra offers Alucard a greater purpose and gives Victoria the framework to discover her potential; Alucard is completely loyal to Integra and he becomes Victorias mentor and protector.
Whether it is Nazism, religious fundamentalism, greed, money, control, corruption, or power games, Hellsing has mentioned it once or twice (or many more times). Several characters are offered from diverse rival groups, striving to impose dominion over the others for numerous iconographic motives (God, Nation, Money, Influence, Capabilities, Species).
RELATED:10 Vampire Anime Series Better Than Twilight
In the midst of it all, Victoria tries to understand her new place in the world as a hesitant vampire and Alucard struggles with the curse of his immortality and with the clash between his nature and his loyalty to the Hellsing family.
Victoria starts in the first chapter as a rookie policewoman and quite a timid and inexperienced young person, not aware of the evil and its supernatural agents that exist out there. In the first chapter, Alucard is forced to shoot her (rather shoot through her) and he offers to save her life by turning her into a vampire.
At first, Victoria struggles with the moral ramifications and consequences of her newfangled vampiric nature. She is hesitant to drink blood and use her new extraordinary abilities, but gradually she comes into her powers and becomes an independent, confident, and formidable vampire.
Alucard is a very complicated character who initially appears very uncomplicated. He is an Original Vampire, the strongest vampire in known history, a demon who can hardly remember what it was like to be human. This makes him appear egotistical and arrogant. He exhibits overconfidence in regards to his admittedly extraordinary powers and that can make him occasionally brush against defeat, although he quickly gains the upper hand again.
RELATED: The 10 Best Episodes Of Hellsing Ultimate (According To IMDb)
He can be cruel in battle, humiliating his opponents instead of killing them cleanly. However, underneath all this bravado, Alucard has a softer side and a deep sadness about his lost humanity. He can be caring towards Victoria and Integra and has shown great respect towards humans.
The story/stories in Hellsing focus on three core struggles: past versus future, nature versus identity, and desire versus morality. At first, Alucard is presented as this all-powerful vampire with a nefarious background (even though his name is a bit on the nose), but later we learn of his tragic past in ancient times as a child and how he became the Original Vampire. In the storys present, as the regularity of occurrences including the undead spirals in England and everywhere, Sir Integra Hellsing learns that the remainders of a Nazi assembly called Millennium still endure and are determined to restore Nazi Germany by producing a horde of vampires. The past desperately clings to the present and future in this narrative where good battles evil.
NEXT:10 Anime To Watch If You Liked Hellsing
Next 5 Anime Characters Mikasa Could Beat (& 5 She Couldn't)
Artemis Tsatsaki is an Athenian living in the UK. She loves anything genre (films & fiction) with a soft spot for horror and crime. She holds a BA in English with Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Nottingham. Her work has been included in the anthologies 'City of Stories', 'Underline', and 'Laced' and she currently writes for ScreenRant and CBR. You can find her on Twitter @ArtemisTsatsaki.
Visit link:
Hellsing: 10 Reasons Why It's The Best Vampire Manga | CBR - CBR - Comic Book Resources
- Civil War is beating vampires, spies, and big gorillas in its second week at the box office - The A.V. Club - April 22nd, 2024
- Meet Alisha Weir, The 14-Year-Old Breakout Star Of Universals Vampire Flick Abigail - Deadline - April 22nd, 2024
- Transylvania Is Famous For Vampires, But Also Has Lots Of Grizzlies And Wolves - Cowboy State Daily - April 22nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Cast Explains Why Your Friends Should Watch - Bleeding Cool News - April 22nd, 2024
- Marvel 'Blade' Reboot With Mahershala Ali Going Back To Basics Of "Killing Vampires - Bounding Into Comics - April 22nd, 2024
- Interview With The Vampire Got A Sequel 22 Years Ago, But Not Like You Think - Screen Rant - April 22nd, 2024
- First Trailer for Reginald the Vampire Season 2 Teases a Vampires vs. Angels Showdown - Syfy - April 22nd, 2024
- Kathryn Newton Talks Sinking Her Teeth Into Vampire Thriller 'Abigail' - Forbes - April 21st, 2024
- 'Vampire' bacteria thirst for human blood and cause deadly infections as they feed - Livescience.com - April 21st, 2024
- Some Microbes Are Tiny 'Vampires' With a Deadly Attraction to Human Blood - ScienceAlert - April 21st, 2024
- Common gut bacteria behave like vampires to target human blood - Earth.com - April 21st, 2024
- Now Playing in Memphis: Vampires, Sasquatches, and Monkey Man - Memphis Flyer - April 21st, 2024
- Dancing Vampires, Furry Families and More in Movies - Columbus Underground - April 21st, 2024
- New 'Interview with the Vampire' teaser reveals the laws of being a vampire - Mashable - April 21st, 2024
- The Vampire Rules In Abigail (And How They Change The Horror Game) Explained - SlashFilm - April 21st, 2024
- Blade's MCU Problems Ignore How Easy It Should Be To Make His Perfect Movie - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Being Human Werewolves, Vampires, and Ghosts! Four Seasons Streaming Right Now on SCREAMBOX! - Bloody Disgusting - April 21st, 2024
- Upcoming horror movies: Where and when to watch werewolves, vampires, and assorted monsters, oh my! - Popverse - April 21st, 2024
- One of the Very First Horror Westerns Started Out as a Joke - Collider - April 21st, 2024
- "Blade killing vampires..": Marvel is Giving Fans What They Exactly Want With Mahershala Ali's MCU Movie, Industry ... - FandomWire - April 21st, 2024
- Reports Reveal the Original Concept of the Blade Movie Before it was Simplified to Blade Just Killing Vampires - imdb - April 21st, 2024
- Who Lives? Who Dies? And Was That [Spoiler]? The Ending of Abigail, Explained - Syfy - April 21st, 2024
- THESE vampires drawn to human blood could be inside your body Know how they can kill you - The Financial Express - April 21st, 2024
- Concern over Vampire Bacteria and more - WGN TV Chicago - April 21st, 2024
- The Vampire Diaries' Stefan Without One Key Factor - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Takes a Bloody Delightful Bite Out of the Vampire Genre - Gizmodo - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire: Reid, Anderson Walk Us Through Season 1 - Bleeding Cool News - April 21st, 2024
- Woman's blood-drained corpse is found in Italian church where she had been searching for ghosts: Victim, 22, - Daily Mail - April 12th, 2024
- My latest Game Pass obsession is a vampire-punching action game that could be Red Dead Redemption 2's wacky ... - Gamesradar - April 12th, 2024
- Lindy Ryan on Setting a Vampire Novel in a Small Texas Town - CrimeReads - April 12th, 2024
- 14 Actors Who Appeared In Both Supernatural & The Vampire Diaries - Screen Rant - April 12th, 2024
- Coachella 2024: How to Stream Every Performance on YouTube - Vulture - April 12th, 2024
- Back to the 80s: 'Lost boys' The State Hornet - StateHornet.com - April 12th, 2024
- Slay the Spire 2, Vampire Survivors meets Contra, and other Triple-i games - Ars Technica - April 12th, 2024
- How Vampire Weekend Mastered The Five-Albums Test - UPROXX - April 12th, 2024
- Abigail Directors Tease A Fresh Spin On Vampires That's "Very Much Us" - Screen Rant - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Livestreamed Their Solar Eclipse Album Release Show: Watch - Stereogum - April 12th, 2024
- Fan favorite vampire films among those coming to a theater near you - WAPT Jackson - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Reckon With the Divine (Again) on Only God Was Above Us - Spin - April 12th, 2024
- Review | Vampire Weekend have grown into their boat shoes - The Washington Post - April 12th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2: Release date, cast, and more - Android Authority - April 12th, 2024
- Upcoming horror movie Nosferatu debuted a trailer behind closed doors, and apparently Bill Skarsgrd's vampire is ... - Gamesradar - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us': All 10 Tracks Ranked - Billboard - April 12th, 2024
- Abigail Has Screened, And Critics Are Calling The Bloody Vampire Horror One Of The Best Movies Of 2024 - CinemaBlend - April 12th, 2024
- When Kirsten Dunst revealed the special gift Interview With a Vampire co-star Tom Cruise sends her every year - Hindustan Times - April 12th, 2024
- He is cooking with this cast: Ryan Coogler's Vampire Movie With Michael B. Jordan Casts Another Marvel Star Hailee ... - FandomWire - April 12th, 2024
- Ryan Cooglers Untitled Vampire Thriller Adds 2 More to Cast - ComingSoon.net - April 12th, 2024
- The Vampire Diaries Improved After This Character Left the Show - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 2nd, 2024
- Paul Wesley Shares Only Way He'd Appear in Another Vampire Diaries Show - E! Online - E! NEWS - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Releases New Season 2 Trailer Ahead of May Premiere Watch - Yahoo Finance UK - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2 drops second trailer at AMC - Sportskeeda - April 2nd, 2024
- A Major 'Twilight' Star Is Down To Return For The TV Show, So Bring On The Sparkly Vampires - Yahoo! Voices - April 2nd, 2024
- 'Vampire' neutron star blasts are related to jets traveling at near-light speeds - Space.com - April 2nd, 2024
- Louis Is Haunted by the Past in New 'Interview with the Vampire' Season 2 Trailer - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- A Vampire's Face Has Reemerged From a Centuries-Old Shroud - AOL - April 2nd, 2024
- Video: AMC Networks Releases a Second New Trailer and Key Art for Season Two of "Anne Rice's Interview with the ... - The Futon Critic - April 2nd, 2024
- Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Presents a Rather Different Kind of Teen Angst - Reactor - April 2nd, 2024
- Shiki And 7 Other Vampire-Themed Anime Series For A Blood Curdling Binge-Watch - AugustMan Thailand - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Trailer: Memories of Claudia - Bleeding Cool News - April 2nd, 2024
- Harvey Guilln Says Goodbye to the Mansion in 'What We Do in the Shadows' Season 6 Set Image - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Trailer Set for Sunday Night - Bleeding Cool News - April 2nd, 2024
- Vampire Weekend share new single 'Mary Boone' and announce UK and European tour - NME - April 2nd, 2024
- The Vampire Diaries Cast: Where are they now? From Ian Somerhalder to Nina Dobrev - 9Entertainment - April 2nd, 2024
- Zendaya Starring in Remake of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? - Snopes.com - April 2nd, 2024
- The Best Vampire Movie Never Says The Word 'Vampire', Stream This Dark R-Rated Horror Hidden Gem - Giant Freakin Robot - April 2nd, 2024
- V Rising gets the crossover every self-respecting vampire wants: Castlevania's Simon Belmont is coming to try and kill ... - PC Gamer - April 2nd, 2024
- Canadian imperialism and the Gaza genocide: The contrived, right-wing furor over a cartoon depicting Netanyahu as a ... - WSWS - April 2nd, 2024
- Is This a Real Photo of Vampire Queen 'Madam Violet,' Voted UK's Scariest Woman Alive in the 1880s? - Snopes.com - March 16th, 2024
- The erotic 70s horror where lechy men turn into bloody-hungry vampires - Dazed - March 16th, 2024
- The vampires ball is coming to an end - Meduza - March 16th, 2024
- Oregon son, 56, who is accused of killing his mom by shoving a huge makeshift stake through her throat claims - Daily Mail - March 16th, 2024
- Muni Bond Games and the IRS' Lurking Arbitrage Vampires - Governing - March 16th, 2024
- Ball of vampires', nuke warning: Key takeaways from Putins interview - The Times of India - March 16th, 2024
- Putin compares western elites to 'VAMPIRES' who 'fill their bellies with human flesh' - GB News - March 16th, 2024
- Every Time Alaric Died In The Vampire Diaries & Legacies - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- V Rising declares a 1.0 release date, climbing from the grave of a years-long early access to become your next time ... - Yahoo Movies UK - March 16th, 2024
- 15 Actors That Could Play Edward Cullen in the Twilight TV Series - MovieWeb - March 16th, 2024
- BLOOD HUNT #1 Preview Releases A Horde Of Vampires On The Marvel Universe's Greatest Heroes - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 16th, 2024
- Man accused of killing mother in Siletz believed she was a vampire - Yahoo News - March 16th, 2024
- Stephen King approved 'Salem's Lot' movie to stream on Max this year - Yahoo Movies Canada - March 16th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero