Forum - View topicREVIEW: Hellsing Ultimate Blu-Ray 9-10
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Lady Multi
Posts: 675 |
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Hn, I actually had no grump with the animation style change from 7 to 8 and I sat and watched all 10 episodes (8 hour runtime btw) in one day.... I had parts of each that were my favorites and nothing the animation did caused anything to be less enjoyable.
And the gripe about the battle between the Major and Integra... Well, I see it in a totally different light. Theirs was a war of words and choice more than a physical one. The take on the Major was placed out clearly earlier that he wasn't a person to fight; he couldn't even shoot anything. Power of command and charisma. And Hellsing may be a Horror genre series but it's also a Drama series; the ending just shows more of the latter. Seeing the characters I love adapt to the situations around and grow or change is what makes Hellsing (the manga and the Ultimate OVA that adapts it) one of my favorite...it's not all about the slaughter; the slaughter was just part a larger piece. |
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rinmackie
 Posts: 1040 Location: in a van! down by the river! |
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Well, I was glad to finally see the entire series. As for this last part, I was a little confused about some things. What was with Anderson's origins; he talked at one point like he knew Alucard back when he was Dracula or did I misunderstand something? As for Walter, his motive for turning traitor was a little unclear but I assume it was jealousy.
It was a long wait but worth it. Now off to read the manga! 
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Leland Lee
Posts: 208 |
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Anderson is an agent of god, or rather "instrument." Alucard (or rather Vlad Tepes) was "abandoned by god" a very long time ago, so he refers to Anderson as his nemesis. |
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thelastronin
Posts: 4 |
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Probably the best post about this review. |
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eyeresist
 Posts: 995 Location: a 320x240 resolution igloo (Sydney) |
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I agree with you. But really the problem with Ultimate is that it is a lot like the manga, i.e. trashy and exploitative above all else. Precisely because the TV only had a couple chapters to expand into a 12 ep series, they had to delve into atmosphere and emotional resonance, and give the explosive moments meaning. No need to do that work if you have multiple volumes of exploding gore and OTT cheese to adapt. |
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Leland Lee
Posts: 208 |
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You know, that's something I can definitely get behind. Hellsing purists will always place Ultimate in highest regard, because source material, but I always thought of Gonzo's series as the better effort. It may not have been as pretty or over-the-top, but it had style and substance. And that music! Hot damn.
Sometimes, a soundtrack can be so good in lifting a series that it more than pulls its own weight. Take a look at Darker than Black for example. That's a....very messy show, to put it mildly. But when the action kicks in, and those beats kick in as well, you find yourself having a whole lot more fun than you initially would. I'm pretty certain that animation discrepancies and monologues aside, if Ultimate brought back Ishii, this review wouldn't have been nearly as harsh. Ultimate had a crap score at worst, mildly lifting at best with the Warsaw orchestra. |
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gedata
 Posts: 615 |
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I actually think the attempt at "substance" in both the TV series and OVA were weak overall. In the TV series it wasn't quite as annoying as the lenghty monologues in Ultimate, but the show was still sort of ruined by it's awful excuse for a plot. Ultimate's wasn't great by any means, but it at least got the basics right. The TV anime feels like half of a series |
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rinmackie
Posts: 1040 Location: in a van! down by the river! |
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I watched the tv series years ago and bought every volume. I was disappointed that it ended on a cliffhanger. So I was excited when it was revealed a new version closer to then manga was being made. But my first impressions of Ultimate were not good, I couldn't get past the art style. (Why was Seras suddenly so damn ugly???) But I decided to give it a chance and it won me over.
While I do acknowledge that the tv series had its charms, it no longer seems as good as Ultimate. However, I do concede that the overall story could be better. I personally wouldn't mind a reboot. |
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Leland Lee
Posts: 208 |
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"Substance" doesn't always translate to a "good plot." I was really more referring to the characterization. Pretty much everyone (except Penwood) were given more development in the TV series. |
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gedata
Posts: 615 |
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The reason why I brought up the plot was because I felt that the TV series could've gone a lot further with it's characters with more episodes. Also I fail to see how Anderson, Alucard, Walter, or pretty much anyone who isn't Seras and maybe Integra had more development. They really don't, like at all. |
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eyeresist
Posts: 995 Location: a 320x240 resolution igloo (Sydney) |
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If you watch a lot of anime you should be used to that 
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rinmackie
Posts: 1040 Location: in a van! down by the river! |
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It was incomplete because I believe only one or two volumes of the manga had been published at the time. So they had to make some stuff up; also I don't think Hellsing did too well in Japan. Probably just got canceled. It's a miracle we even got Hellsing Ultimate! |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11404 |
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Just finished watching this (not sure why Hope and Zac think this vol. ran 3 hours when it wasn't even 2) and I have only a couple of minor complaints.
I felt like the music, esp in the end credits, didn't live up to the previous 8 (although I guess technically the redux for X still works). I love the Major and his speeches, but even I was wanting one of them to put a bullet in his head during his last rant just to shut him up. I'm still slightly in the dark about Walter's heel-face turn, but not so much that it's ruined anything for me. If you want to complain about repetition, look to the commentaries. Same people, saying the same things, endlessly. I would have liked to have heard more from some people we haven't heard from before, or at least not recently, like maybe Liam O'Brien (who did a stellar job, perhaps the best thing I've ever heard him do) or Karen Strassman. Storywise, I feel sad to imagine spoiler[what happens to Alucard and Seras when Integra dies and, what, leaves them to bureaucrats unworthy of them? That can't be their fate. I hope they figure out a way to turn to dust for good and all, with a smile on their faces.] But I'm just delighted it got an ending (that it didn't suck is icing on the cake), and that I got to see it without being spoiled on any of it, both of which are major miracles. |
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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They might have recorded for well over three hours, but I know Zac is strict about eliminating dead air.
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11404 |
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I think you're commenting on the wrong topic. This isn't about ANNcast.
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