Hellsing 1 - Impure Souls

Unbeknownst to most mortals, the Hellsing Organisation are the first and last line of defence against the things that go bump in the night. This has been the way for years, but when artificially created vampires begin popping up, the only man for the job is also Hellsing's ultimate weapon, Arucard. A vampire himself, Arucard is as mysterious as he is awe-inspiring. After Arucard saves rookie cop Seras Victoria from certain death by transforming her into a vampire, she soon finds that the ongoing struggle against the undead alongside Arucard is just the beginning of her trials, for she now has a new hunger to contend with.

The resounding cool of anime programs such as Trigun and Cowboy Bebop have opened a lot of doors for anime in terms of direction. Of course it's been the case for many years now that comic artists and animators alike needn't stick with the old format of mechs, kung-fu and demon porn to have a significant hit. Just about everything from romantic sitcoms through to westerns and even Hitchcockian thrillers are comfortably part of the anime world these days.

In particular relation to the above titles, Hellsing is a series that can sit proudly on the same shelf that those two magnificent examples occupy. Based on the manga of the same name, Hellsing provides a rich world of stylish horror that is pretty far from the norm. The series' welcomely mature narrative uses religion as a major theme throughout, yet never resorts to a premise as clear cut as good versus evil. This, coupled with the irreverent cool of the soundtrack, makes for an engaging and stylised experience. Really, it's hard to beat the combination of vampire slaying and honky tonk.

Still, Hellsing's approach is most often deadly serious, and as a result it can become a little tiresome. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem, except that a little too much of the programme is dedicated to unnecessary atmosphere, and because the script tends to be a tad vague in places, even after these first three episodes viewers may find it hard to feel settled in with the series. For most anime fans though, Hellsing's stylishly realised visuals will be more than enough to win them over.

Yet another typically fine effort from Madman in the authoring department. As Hellsing is a TV series, it is naturally presented in a full frame ratio. Generally, there are no problems to be found here. The images are often quite dark throughout, as befitting to the show's overall theme, but they remain clearly defined throughout displaying, above all, magnificent colour saturation. No authoring artefacts or film artefacts are noticeable for the duration of the program.

As standard for most anime series, Hellsing comes with both English and Japanese soundtracks in Dolby Digital stereo. Both are relatively equal in terms of dynamics, so it will be up to the user to decide which is preferable. At first listen, the English dub seems a little off, quite simply because when you're dealing with a concept as unusual as that of Hellsing the dialogue can tend to sound a little ambiguous after translation. In terms of dubs though, it's not too bad once you get used to it. In this case, however, the Japanese soundtrack is much more appropriate, but it all boils down to individual tastes.

Like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun before it, the soundtrack for Hellsing is one its best assets. It bridges all gaps from earnest ballads to cheeky action pieces, with each example fitting its respective scene like a glove.

Overall, it's a standard audio transfer for an anime release. Generally problem free and perfectly acceptable.

A small collection of extras have been tacked onto this first volume of Hellsing. Again, it's pretty standard fare for an anime release, but welcome nonetheless.

Creditless Opening - Exactly as it sounds, this is the series' opening animation reel with the credit overlays removed.

Music Video Trailer - A trailer for the series backed by theme music.

Concept Gallery - An art gallery containing concept images for the series.

Madman Propaganda - Trailers for five other titles in Madman's anime collection. They are: Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust, Armitage: Dual Matrix, Excel Saga, Berserk and End of Evangelion.

Overall, Impure Souls is a great introduction to the world of Hellsing. It's thick with gothic atmosphere and produces some tasty action pieces, even despite the occasionally undercooked dialogue and unclear plot. It's not exactly a must-see title, but it does remain one of the finer action/anime series of the last few years, which ought to tide you over whilst waiting/praying for a local release of the almighty Trigun.