Hellsing

Okay, so I just marathoned this show last night, and I have to say it's my new favorite vampire anime. However, I have a question. Are there any other seasons? I know about Hellsing Ultimate, but from what I saw that's basically what Brotherhood is to FMA. I'm wondering if there's anything that extends the story.

Is there a manga, and does it cover more than what the show covered? I'm thinking Hellsing is pretty much the quintessential vampire anime. I've watched others that have come close, like Dance in the Vampire Bund, but Hellsing has the little bits of style and grittiness that DitVB was missing, as well as the history. And Seras was a major factor.

Yep, there's a manga (and this is where most of the opinions of the series stems from: the divide between the series' final arc and the manga/Ultimate), the series, and ULTIMATE. I love them all. My opinion: I love the manga because it was very well rounded and hit all my buttons. Strange as it may seem, I believe the most of the female character models started off as hentai (which is why they look surprisingly good). Also, the comedic elements that were added had a weird 'fan-made' feel. Loved that. The series took THAT base (and the character Alucard) and pretty much used it to develop the other characters. The manga pretty much focuses on how bad-ass Alucard is and Integra's Rise to the head of the Hellsing organization, while the series gives more insight into Seras (one of my favorites). That shift of focus changes the dynamics of things so much that it gives a new purpose for the series, I think. We already know how dangerous Alucard is, but what about the shift between vampire and human? cont.

THAT was what I loved about the series. The 'main character' was Seras, and it was more about her ascent into the vampire world; and the sacrifice of her humanity. There is a price, and they make certain they remind you of it. Hellsing Ultimate: This was pretty much a redux of the series that addressed some fans issues with the original series and GREATLY improved the sound/visuals. They nixed the last arc (which wasn't in the manga; the studio was pretty much given free reign to do what they wanted, so they created 'Incognito'...bleh...instead of Nazi Vampires) and decided to follow the manga WAY more closely. In my opinion, that was good AND bad. You gain from placing the original pacing and plot devices back, but you LOSE Seras' STRONG character. She pretty much plainly goes back to being Alucard's lackey (which, for me, kinda sucks; Seras is one of my all-time favorite chicks in anime because of the series). All of the Hellsing universe is worth taking a once over (and honestly, twice). :)

One thing you may want to look into is a series of short OVA's coming out called Hellsing the Dawn. It takes place in 1944 and revolves around a much younger Walter: Angel of Death. Also if you want a dark, gritty vampire experience (no glitter) then I recommend the movies Vampire Hunter D and it's sequal Bloodlust.

Before I post this, I'd just like to warn of a *SPOILER ALERT* Okay, so I watched Ultimate. I have to say, it was a grand improvement over the original. I like the one hour run time, I like the visuals, I like the story arc and the dialogue, and most importantly: I love, love, love that you get to (*SPOILER*) see Seras as a badass full vampire, FINALLY!!! Here's the crappy part though: I watched it on Hulu+, and neither Hulu+ nor the regular Hulu (I checked) have anything past episode 8. I know there's something past episode 8 because most of the nemeses are still alive and there's a freaking "next episode preview" at the end. I'm hoping my library has the series so I can watch it, but if not I appear to be SOL until I can get a machine that can handle videos and find it online somewhere. Or buy it. Might be easier to just buy it, since I plan on owning it anyway. lol.

If you have decent net speed you should be able to find the subs, maybe the released dubs as well, on torrent. I dont believe funi has caught up to the jap releases yet, If they have its only been recentlu