Hellsing

A Parent's Guide to Anime
Rated: M

Recommended for Mature Audiences

Reviewed by David Yetter:

One might think that the discovery of a means of killing vampires at range---expanding rounds made of silver from a consecrated cross---would make the task of ridding the world of the undead a cinch. Not so in the world of Hellsing. Indeed things are getting worse: someone had found a techological way of making vampires.

This very stylish take on vampire lore is set in an alternate modern-day Britain, in which the Hellsing Organization, an arm of the Church of England charged with wiping out undead monsters, vies with MI-5 and the SAS to recruit the best and the brightest of Her Majesty's fighting men, a parallel government on the model of Arthur's Round Table coordinates the hiding of supernatural events from the public and Parliment, ecclesiatical politics between Rome and Canterbury are still almost as vicious as in the days of the Spanish Armada, and humanity's best defense against vampires are other vampires: the ultra-powerful Alucard and the protagonist of the series, a newly vampirized young policewoman, Seras Victoria.

The plot is full of twists and turns, and Seras's struggles with her new existence make a different take on vampirism than one usually sees.

The animation is beautifully done, and the music is excellent. I watched it dubbed, and the voice acting in the dub was above par.

Parent's Guide Rating:

red (recommended for mature audiences)

Sexual content:
Mostly in scenes involving vampiric prostitutes, but also one scene of very sexualized vampirism in which the victim is bound and her body gloated over before she is bitten, and a graphic scene of kissing between two vampires (yes, kissing can be graphically sexual).

Strong language:
The most vulgar and foul language I've encountered in any anime is used by some of the technologically induced vampires. This is actually done to good effect to make them plainly vile, but is absolutely not suitable for children.

Violence:
Lots in virtually every episode. Admittedly there are only two instances of human-on-human violence, and the disolving death of vampires or ghouls shot by blessed ammunition is rather stylized, but even so, there is so much that even without the sexual and language content, Hellsing would earn an M.