Hellsing, Vol. 2

Hellsing [ヘルシング] #2

by Kohta Hirano

Hellsing continues with more blood, guts, ghouls, and gothic murder. Created by Kohta Hirano, and making its way into an incredibly popular anime, Hellsing pushes the boundary of horror, yet looks so visually stunning and graphically cool that instead of being scary, it's super fun. Certainly not intended for younger readers, this series follows the Hellsing Organization, an old institution created by English royalty to squash the ghoulish undead of the world, as they face an insurgence of murderous monsters running rampant across the isles, fueled by... could it be... Nazi's? Watch the dark story unravel as Dark Horse Manga presents Hellsing volume 2.

Collects Chapters #7-12

Genres: Manga, Horror, Vampires, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

Kohta Hirano (平野 耕太 Hirano Kōta) is a Japanese mangaka most famous for his manga Hellsing. Starting his career first as a mangaka's assistant (self-described as "horrible" and "lazy" in said assistant position), and later an H manga artist, he went on to enjoy somewhat limited success with other relatively unknown manga titles such as Angel Dust, Coyote, Gun Mania and Hi-Tension. His first major success came with his manga series Hellsing, which got its start and was subsequently serialized in a monthly manga magazine, Young King OURs, towards the latter half of 1997.

Reviews

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Action's better, characters flesh out a little bit - Maxwell and the Wild Geese seem rather less one-note - art starts to pick up a distinctive style, and plot kicks in a higher gear. It's still nothing special, but there's some real promise now for a better future. Overall it's worth another half a star.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

[Izabela Noga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lubię taką starą kreskę

[Steve Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally read graphic novels, but a younger friend has been lending me volumes of Hellsing. I have to admit, it's kind of catching. As the title indicates, the story's about vampires and the understory is the Catholic Church is killing off all monsters, good or evil. Like Barnabas Collins, Alucard is a good vampire. With the help of Victoria, a police officer cum vampire, they take on the hordes of ghouls sent to destroy Hellsing headquarters and worm further into the conflict with Catholic authorities. Hellsign, is, of course, C of E (Church of England; or Protestant).

Creative, inventively drawn, and with an engaging story, I can see myself probably reading a volume or two more.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume feels better than the first one, but it still has some significant problems with the dialogues. The best thing about the manga is Alucard, who is a badass character through and through.

[Kira Thebookbella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alucard is a dark, shape shifting murderous and powerful vampire and he had my heart completely!

[灰 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything about this is bat shit insane. The facial expressions, the graphic nature of the art, and even the premise. I love everything about it no matter how insane this gets. Any Alucard is a friend of mine ₍₍⚞(˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶)⚟⁾⁾

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second exciting volume of Hellsing, and BOY I am loving the manga so much!


For my vacation I decided to bring along Hellsing and I am glad I did. It made for a great read after a busy (but fun) day of bicycling and walking. In this volume tons of exciting things happen. We meet the Twelve, there is an invasion along with epic battles, Seras shows some mercenaries that she is a vampire, we get hints to Millenium/Hitler (yep, we are going that way), and there is tons of more that had me on the edge of my seat and not being able to stop reading.

The first 4 chapters were action-packed. With an invasion happening and tons of ghouls running around (which was both scary and sad given who these people were). I just LOVE that we meet Walter and see that not only he is the butler, oh no, he can kick some serious butt. I was just so impressed seeing this old man do some epic moves and is able to fight on his own. I hadn’t expected that. Well, I guess if I remembered the anime then maybe it wouldn’t be a surprise, but I watched the anime a long time ago. Haha.
I love the battle between Alucard and Luke Valentine, boy oh boy that one was awesome. I especially loved Alucard’s reactions to everything, especially later on in the battle.

There is also talk about Vatican, politics, and some more stuff, I wasn’t too interested in those, they are a big part of the story, yes, but I am just no the girl for that stuff. So I noticed that I had to re-read some stuff as I was just distracted.

I am thankful there is also plenty of humour in this volume to balance all the gore and action. Like when Seras has to show the mercenaries she is a vampire and Alucard just casually pops up out of a wall. 😛 Or when Anderson and Alucard are about the battle and Seras walks in with a tour group (it is a museum/hall with stuff).

Something that I also like is that there is cursing, haha, this sounds like I like cursing, but I mean more that a lot of manga are pretty clean, but this one unleashes some shits and fucks and other things. It fits with the scenes so I am glad that they added/kept the curses.

The art is still fabulous, I love how well the style fits with the crazy story.

I will soon be reading #3 and after that #4, sadly after that I will have to do some hunting to find more volumes. I would recommend this manga to all.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Plushie ᵀᵒᵏʸᵒᵀᵉᵈᵈʸᴮᵉᵃʳ~ (LongHaitus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series !!

[Demian · Rating 4 out of 5]

milenium

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series.

Synopsis: There's a secret organization somewhere in England created to defend the Queen and country from monsters of all sorts. Their secret weapon? The most powerful monster in the world. What better way to deal with monsters than to send an even bigger threat their way?

Review: Vampires vs. Nazis vs. Catholic Extremists vs. Secret Agents of the Queen of England.

Hellsing is pure carnage, following a twisted cast of characters that know how to take pleasure in the unfettered chaos that war brings. Alucard is a high-class vampire that hunts down supernatural beasts, Alexander is a priest fueled by bloodlust and an unhealthy love for God, Major is the second coming of Hitler, Integra is the granddaughter of Van Helsing himself, and that's only a few of the main players. The premise of the plot and the characters playing the game of war make for an absolutely ridiculous and bloody fun time.

Again, the word that comes to mind here is carnage, and carnage is what is delivered in a very cunning and charming fashion. The plot may indeed be insane and a bit silly, but Hellsing takes pride in its crazy premise and has a badass sense of self-awareness that makes it a cut above the average pulp fiction escapade.

[Joy Singer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiero compartir este manga ya terminado, la segunda parte de Hellsing, el otro libro que ya comenté hace un tiempo. Me encanta el dibujo, estoy enamorada🤭

🟠 Nos muestra esa pelea entre la organización Hellsing encargada de matar vampiros e Iscariote 13, los cuales provienen del vaticano y tienen la misma misión. Han metido a dos personajes más provenientes de esa organización y han llegado a las manos, incluso, se ha podido ver lo increíblemente fuerte que es Allucard❤️

🔵 En mi opinión, es una historia buena y bien contada, hay mucha sangre, pistolas, balas, un diálogo que me ha gustado mucho y unos personajes originales. Te acerca a la historia y lo que ocurre poco a poco, me gusta😘
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🇬🇧 I want to share this manga already finished, part two of Hellsing, the other book I already mentioned a while ago. I'm in love of the drawing🤭

🟠 The author shows us that fight between the Hellsing organization responsible for killing vampires and Iscariot 13, which come from the Vatican and have the same mission. They've put two more characters from that organization and they've come to their hands, even, you've seen how incredibly strong Allucard is❤️

🔵 In my opinion, it's a good, well-told story, there's a lot of blood, guns, bullets, a dialogue I've liked very much and some original characters. It brings you to history and what happens slowly, I like it😘

[Joshua Jonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume contained some of the best development for our favorite shadowy organization, for which Alucard works for. One thing I enjoyed too was not only the reference to Bram Stoker himself, but the historical ties and the Vatican claiming to help the nazis was just hilarious to me. This manga isn’t for the faint of heart by any stretch but if you can stomach it, it’s for sure solid horror, with a compelling narrative.

[Tesutamento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciltlerde kendi içinde başlayıp biten hikayeler olduğundan her cilt sadece o an için odak istiyor ve okumayı epey kolaylaştırıyor. Tabii bu hikayeler arkada ilerleyen büyük bir hikayenin de parçası. Alucard'ı daha az gördüğümüz, Seras ve Integra'yı daha çok gördüğümüz bir ciltti. Valentine biraderlerin saldırısı ve gizemli Milenyum örgütü merkezdeydi. Dövüşler yine keyifliydi. Seras biraz daha alıştı, Alucard şovunu yaptı. Diyaloglar biraz daha rafine olabilse daha da keyifli olabilirmiş.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

La storia sta prendendo una piega interessante.

[exestentialchrisis · Rating 4 out of 5]

they’re all so hot

[Δανάη Ιμπραχήμ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite thing about Alucard is his master.

[annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i can’t believe star wars exists in this universe lmao

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why but this one wasn't as good as volume 1, in my opinion.

[Wojtuś · Rating 5 out of 5]

Te okładki są wspaniałe.

[Nereis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aaaand I'm out. The writing is just too bad I cannot get into it despite the cool action scenes

[Sammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, has certainly aged. Still, better than number one and moves the nuts plot forward. The art has evolved but Hiranos work with twisted perspectives and black, negative space is great.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall Rating:
Manga - A+
Original anime series - B
New anime series - A+
Summary: Hellsing is a manga series by Kouta Hirano. Hellsing chronicles the efforts of the mysterious and secret Royal Order of Protestant Knights, Hellsing, as it combats vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural foes who threaten the kingdom of England. The main character, Alucard (Dracula cleverly spelled backwards), is used to kill other supernatural creatures, and makes Seras Victoria (a cop he shoots to kill another vampire) into a vampire early on in the series and we get to watch her deal with her new life as a blood drinker with some hilarious (and sometimes creepy results).

I love vampires, so it's not much of a surprise that I like Hellsing, a series based around vampires and supernatural organizations. So, why does the series get three separate ratings? It boils down to the fact that the first anime series is a lot different than the manga and the second series.

I was first introduced to Hellsing with the original anime series, which was based (loosely!) on the manga. At the time, roughly 2002 or 2003, I thought it was amazing. Unfortunately, the end of that series is extremely weak on plot, and feels rushed. It's like the people involved had a brain-storming session over a pile of coke, had a bunch of cool ideas, but couldn't figure out how to bring them together into a cool ending. Not to mention the fact that the concept for the final villain, Incognito, is kind of racist (from the "Dark Continent", ends up wearing little more than jewelry), and is pretty fucking lame when compared to some of the other villains introduced earlier in the series.

Later, I found out that only the first 6 episodes or so were based on the Manga, and the rest of the series was made up for the anime. That explains why it felt so rushed, because it was! So, I decided it was time to check out the manga, to see if the plot held up longer in it.

The manga blew away the anime, and now I have some trouble watching the old series. In the manga, you get more detail and more character development, and more characters. For example, Alexander Anderson is introduced in the the old anime series, but we don't meet the other members of Iscariot. Nor is there any hint of the Nazi organization, Millennium. I could go on, but the point is that the manga kicks the anime's ass. If you've seen the anime, do yourself a favor and check out the manga. If you haven't checked out either, then get your vampire loving ass out to your local comic book shop (or wherever you buy manga) and pick it up. If you don't love vampires, then I hate you. Ok, maybe not hate, but seriously what's up with that shit?

The new anime series on the other hand is completely faithful to the manga, and definitely worth watching. The production value is a lot higher, the creator is behind the series, and overall it's simply kick-ass. My suggestion is to read the manga (volumes 1-7 are out now, and volume 8 is scheduled to come out in early July), then watch the new OVA series, Hellsing Ultimate, and then watch the old anime. It's all good, but the manga and the Ultimate series are a lot better. It's like watching the season of Angel where he gets fat and then going back and watching season 2 or 3 of Buffy. No one likes a fat vampire.

For more manga and anime reviews, please check out Hobotaku.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things are progressing, we're slowly getting an inkling as to the plot existing while Alucard does Alucard things and destroys things for the fun of it. It is kind of hilarious how every moment has Alucard just... being way too strong for anyone to deal with. And it looks badass, cool as all hell, but you really gotta wonder what the point of anything else is. What does this secret enemy organization have to go against him other than some element of surprise?

[King Haddock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just haven't really been able to get into this series, I guess. There are some fun moments, but overall I'm not too enthralled.

[moi, k.y.a.]

Vallahi the king

“I’LL TELL YA IF YA MY ASS.”

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art of Kohta Hirano is not only unique, it is fully expressive and functional, unlike for instance Taiyo Matsumoto. The sculpted forms, the exaggerated proportions, the use of outline and silhouette, the dramatic tonal compositions add up to one of the best art styles in manga.

The story is good if basic. The heroes are facing a rising menace which we find out in this volume are a group of occultist nazis called the millennium group that escaped the fall of the third Reich.

There are a couple problems with the story — rookie blunders, really. The introduction of the valentine brothers is great — they are both cool and unlikeable with a mix of style, vulgarity, arrogance and brutality. The most interesting villains up to this point by far. The problem is that they don’t test the heroes enough.

Alucard reveals a new ability — turning into many-eyed shadows that take the shapes of wolves, bats, and centipedes — and defeats the elder brother. Quite easily. This is fine for a new power, but he should have been on the ropes before that, in order to increase suspense. Instead it was an even fight at best.

The other fight vs Jan is similar. It starts out even, then the heroes have the upper hand. Then it seems like there is a reversal as hordes of zombies burst through. But when we cut back to the fight they’ve all been neatly mopped up, no problem.

So neither of these fights have enough danger to them. In the aftermath, every human soldier at hellsing has been killed. No effort was made to build empathy for them, so who cares. It does raise some logical questions though — why are the hellsing soldiers so worthless? Shouldn’t they be trained for this? If vampire soldiers are that much better, wouldn’t it make sense to create more? Seeing as how it was quite easy with Seras.

After this fight there is a big chunk of exposition and conversation where we learn about the nazis. The problem here is a lack of agency by the heroes. The clue given to them by Jan Valentine before he burns is “millennium.” Hellsing tries to investigate but comes up empty. (Although Integra does guess the meaning) Instead Maxwell of Iscariot reveals all in an unsolicited info dump.

We’re also briefly introduced to mercenary group, the Wild Geese, as well as the Convention of Twelve, who secretly control Britain.

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

More hints at a larger, perhaps series long conflict, although it doesn't look to be a single narrative ala Fullmetal Alchemist or Deathnote. Still, I read tons of mainstream western comics and those never end, so that's hardly a deal breaker.

The plot thickens in volume two with a direct attack on Hellsing's headquarters by a pair of vampire brothers leading a ghoul army. Police Girl/Sesa gets more story time and independent action in this volume, which I appreciated, and we meet Sir Integra's "butler," Walter, who is an intriguing character. The brothers seem tied to the made vampires introduced last volume, and they and their army provide--in my opinion--the best measure yet of Alucard and Hellsing's abilities/power.

Alucard is fascinating because he is entirely amoral. He is working with/for Hellsing for as yet unrevealed reasons--I still swear there are hints he's compelled to do so in some fashion--but other than wanting to kill Hellsing's enemies there seem to be no limits to what he'll do. There also seem to be almost no limits to the punishment he can take, so he sacrifices himself to all kinds of messed up stuff to get the job done. It's a can't-look-away, don't-look-at-all-if-you're-squeamish combo, but I find myself drawn to it, if for nothing else, than out of morbid curiosity to see how long Kohta can keep it creative and interesting.

The end of the volume supplemental story Crossfire about the murderous nuns from Vatican section XIII is entertaining, although a bit sadistic and gratuitously bloody. I really liked it, honestly.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

It doesn't take long for this manga to fully derail from the anime I watched years ago. Thank goodness. The manga, by the way, came first. Regardless, I've heard that this story arc is much more enjoyable than the animated version and I'm here for all of the Alucard snark and badassery. Kohta Hirano does not disappoint and leaves us wanting more as we come to learn Alucard's full capabilities, and even some more of Walter, the butler, and Seras, the "police girl."

When HQ for Hellsing gets attacked by two cocky brothers, this trio and a small helping hand from Integra herself, gives us some more glimpses into character depth and ability. As we move through the storyline, we get the distinct proof that someone, somewhere is pulling the strings of creating and arming ghouls, fashioning vampires to cause havoc, and that it is overlapping into the world of the normal humans and into Iscariot, the Catholic version (a bit more heretical than the Protestant version) of Hellsing (no relation other than that) in Ireland.

I'm hooked. Plain and simple. And since it's been a long minute since I've read any mangas, this is certainly giving me the feel good fuzzies I've missed from these unique and fun ways of telling stories through the comic form.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minus five stars for the Valentine brothers; plus four back stars for Pip Bernadotte, and amazing art.



This is almost one of my favorite installments, but the Valentines really ruin it for me. They're "Hellsing's" equivalent of the Kazon from "Star Trek: Voyager:" cringingly corny, annoying, out-of-place "villains" who are irritating enough when we aren't watching our favorite badass characters regard them as a "real threat," and we must put up with these cartoonish antagonists as we wait impatiently for the real, classic villains of the series to show up (Borg/Nazis).

Otherwise, it's a stellar manga, continuing with the beautiful artwork and fun characters. Alucard coming through the wall to troll Pip's mercenaries was a real treat on the first read. Overall, I'd say Integra and Seras shine the most in this book, while Pip's debut makes it a must-read for fans of his character as well.