Hellsing

I liked this show- but I haven't seen Ultimate. That's probably why I liked this. I don't have a better reference. I didn't know there were two different entities, so I just found 'Hellsing' and watched it. My knowlege stemmed from that one scene I've watched from the TFS one and the Death Battle where Alucard lost to Dio, so I was a bit in the dark. Yet I still found myself greatly enjoying Hellsing 2001. It seems people have 'Ba sing se'd' it out of existence, but I thought it was an entertaining show that reminded me deeply of what the original Tsukihime VN's atmosphere was. It's chilling, realistic, yet romanticized. I have the feeling that it's not the best adaptation, but it was a fun show. Plus, the opening theme was just awesome.

-I liked most of the characters pretty well. Seras Victoria was a great gateway to this world. She's as confused as the audience is, and her discoveries of this world match ours. Her struggle with being a vampire is understandable and easy to empathize with.
-Ferguson deserved better. I thought he was going to die in the Valentine Brothers arc, just like the commander guy did against the Scottish guy, but when he survived, I knew he'd inevitably die. He took everything like a hero, and I respect that man for having such a wonderful mustache.
-Walter was fun to watch. As someone who grew up watching Glitchtale (which I recognize now sucks ass), I always loved Gaster's tethers- and Walter's strings were just that but better. His fight scenes were few, but fun. His helicopter sequence with Integra was intense- and I could feel his strings cutting his own fingers in my soul. His survival surprised me, but I'm not complaining.
-Speaking of Integra, she might be my favorite character from this show. Her perseverance and determination was pretty inspiring, and while I knew she was the least likely to die, every scene she had, she stole the show, commanding attention and earning respect. She was the heart of the show- save her loyal servant.
-Alucard is the reason you watch this show. You know him and maybe love him, but holy hell he was intimidating. Wether you watch the sub or dub, his voice work is immaculate. Jouji Nakata and Crispin Freeman both give it their all, and give him the intimidating air he deserves. From what I understand, he's calmer in '01 than he is in Ultimate- but as for this show, it fits the tense mood perfectly- not to mention he's metal as can be.

As a history nerd, I find the fact that there's a Protestant/Catholic conflict with vampires is hilarious. Henry VIII's sheer incel behavior caused Alucard to exist in this universe. That's hilarious.

My main complaints with the show stems stem from Incognito and its ending. I never understood what the hell was happening near the end- Incognito just shows up, summons a demon, kills some of the cast, and gets his ass beat- like a Walmart version of Sid from the DMC anime. And after he dies, that's it. There's one more scene of Integra in jail (I guess she wasn't pardoned, dick move) and Alucard going 'Hey hey hey let me kill everyone' and it just ends. I assume Ultimate will go past this point- there's still a massive plot thread hanging. Who's Incognito's Master, and what the hell was the Scottish Priest doing? Is he stupid? I'm sure I'll find out eventually, but having a show without a proper ending kinda sucks.

All in all, Hellsing is a fun show. It has a fun cast, eerie setting, and rich world building. Sure, it fails to deliver on said world building- but it's still a fun watch. I look forward to watching Ultimate sometime- Alucard only ever got to level one, after all... but for now, I'm gonna go find a place to sleep through the day like my name is Dracula backwards.