Updated October 19, 2022 by Ernie
There are times when our favorite manga gets adapted into an anime despite its ongoing status. Naturally, we will be excited as we finally get to see our favorite characters be animated in all 2D glory and the climactic scenes we have read about will be fully-fleshed out!
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Despite the excitement and enthusiasm, there are times when the adaptation has caught up to the source material and instead of announcing a hiatus or delaying their second season or the release of their anime, they take so much liberties that it strays from the vision the author has for their series. (I am looking at you Fullmetal Alchemist… Magical Girl Site…)
The same can be said to one of our classic series Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate. Today we will see the difference between the iterations, and maybe find out which is the superior Hellsing!
Let’s go!
Also check out: COMPLETE Hellsing Watch Order (Easy to Follow)
HELLSING VS HELLSING: ULTIMATE: WHICH IS BETTER?
What is Hellsing?
Hellsing is an organization that deals with the supernatural incidents that threaten the Queen. They were then called for a mission to eliminate the vampire that turned the villagers of Cheddar into ghouls. They sent their trump card, Alucard to eliminate the threat and he does it with ease.
However, one police officer by the name of Seras Victoria got caught up in the chaos. Shot and nearing death, she was given an offer by Alucard, to die as a human or to live on as a vampire. Choosing the latter, she becomes a vampire and a new member of Hellsing.
Despite her decision, Seras struggles adjusting to her new life.
Set-up
Let us first state the obvious: Hellsing, the first anime, was released as a 13-episode anime series. It had a regular release treatment, airing on Fuji Television from 2001, and ended in the same year. Meanwhile, Hellsing Ultimate was released as an Original Video Animation (OVA) back in 2006 to 2012.
Though it might seem a minor difference, this factor has a great effect on the major difference of the two series.
Plotwise
The first Hellsing back in 2001 followed the settings of the manga. It maintained the characters, the designs, the place, however it took liberties in the plot in the later half. Six out of thirteen episodes were fillers and with the ending, really ending the series despite the ongoing status of the manga!
Hellsing: Ultimate on the other hand, despite being a 10 episode OVA, followed its source material more faithfully, as there was enough material to adapt. It was able to flesh out the Hellsing lore more than its predecessor and give Alucard the backstory missed out before, much to the satisfaction of the fans.
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Villains
In Hellsing, Alucard had to face Incognito, serving as his main adversary. An undead being hellbent on waging a war against humanity. He is the person behind many incidents in the anime, and even able to summon an old God.
Incognito was an original character, appearing in the first anime. In Ultimate, Alucard faces off with Alexander Anderson and The Major. Both are humans yet posed as a formidable foe with their weapons and schemes against our main character. Yet, like the main character Alucard is, he beats them with ease.
Violence
Since the first Hellsing was released for TV, some scenes needed to be toned down. Some deaths were censored simply by the vampire turning into dust, while some hyper violent deaths needed to be blocked out by dark lights. Somehow a step down and a stray from the manga, since that’s not what Hellsing is. So imagine the excitement when fans finally see Hellsing in its full gory glory and true to its horror genre! Being an OVA, it had more freedom on the explicit scenes.
Drive
In the manga, there exists the Millennium Organization, a group of undead Nazi soldiers that seeks to wage an eternal war. They also want to create artificial vampires and rule the world. They served as the primary antagonist of the series, but they did not appear in the first anime, instead they were replaced by a group of vampires seeking to bring back an old God. Fortunately, as I have mentioned multiple times, Ultimate stuck to the manga and gave Millennium Organization the anime debut it deserves… I mean plot wise it deserved to appear…
Animation
The first Hellsing aired back in 2001 animated by Madhouse and Satelight, and Graphinica. As most of us know, the animation from before isn’t up to par to the ones we currently have. It didn’t have any unlimited budget works or the likes that we relished. So, considerably, it doesn’t hold up in the present time. Still, fans praised it for its style and identity it gave to Hellsing.
As for Hellsing Ultimate, it aired back in 2006 and was taken by Studio Gonzo. Undeniably, Gonzo’s work was an upgrade. More expressive, fluid, and dynamic animation work was done, compared to the 2001 version- better, in short.
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Soundtrack
Now, is the Hellsing anime really that bad? In spite of the various points many fans pointed out, they still praise the soundtrack of the first anime. Though Ultimate’s soundtrack is good, it does not come close to Hellsing’s. Ultimate just doesn’t slap as hard as Hellsing. But then again, all credit must go to its composer, Yasushi Ishii. Such magnificent OST wouldn’t be possible without him.
Which one is better?
Fans of the series will no doubt say that, true to its name ultimate, Hellsing Ultimate is far more superior compared to Hellsing. It had a better budget, better story writing, and better character development. It was more faithful to the source material than the original adaptation, all because its source material was more complete than before.
Not only that but the author, Kouta Hirano, himself didn’t like the treatment the first Hellsing anime received and refused any adaptation until he was done with the manga. So come its final chapter, studios were finally given a green light to adapt his series once again!
Conclusion
So those are the main differences between the two series. Do you agree that Hellsing Ultimate is the superior series? And why do you think so? There are many more series that were adapted way too early and were able to step up in their remake! Will you check out Hellsing first? Or will you head straight to Hellsing Ultimate? Your call!
