Morgan Freeman Movie:

		List Price: $29.98		Label: Geneon [Pioneer] Salesrank: 92225 Released: September 10, 2002
		Our Price: $18.99
		Used Price: $2.89
		MPAA Rating: Unrated Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
This gothic horror series grows increasingly violent as Luke and Jan, the Valentine Brothers, lay siege to the headquarters of the Hellsing organization, the Royal Order of Religious Knights. After numerous humans have been killed and eaten by an army of ghouls, Victoria, Walter, and Arucard finally get around to striking back. Victoria and Walter eliminate hundreds of ghouls with a combination of deadly threads and heavy artillery. The lead flies when Arucard and Luke face off, but Luke is devoured by a canine monster Arucard summons up. Jan sets himself afire rather than reveal the mastermind of their plot to Sir Integra Hellsing (a woman, despite the title). The series suffers from underdeveloped characters, a plot that is sketchy at best, and a surfeit of pointless violence. (Rated 16 and older, but unsuitable for viewers under 18: graphic violence, extensive profanity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Hellsing - Blood Brothers (Vol. 2) Reviews:
Cool Vampire Action
2005-06-07 - Helling: Vol. 2: Blood Brothers is the second DVD in the four DVD series. Blood brothers contains episodes four through six. They are titled: "Innocent As Human," "Brotherhood," and "Dead Zone." It is not necessary to summarize each episode individually because they are all connected to one main idea, which is that Hellsing secret headquarters are under attack by the vampire brothers Luke and Yon and their army of ghouls. Sir Integra and the Knights of the Round Table (older men in business suits), who have gathered for a meeting, are shocked and outraged by the audacity of the attack and how they have been caught completely unprepared. It seems to be up to Victoria and Alucard to save the day, but not without many lives lost. But wait, Walter has some pretty cool powers up his sleeve as well.

This series and the last episode especially has some very rough dialouge, when Jon talks about what he wants to do to Integra. This series is not for susceptible teens, unfortunately those teens eat this series up.

The extras include a lot of very cool art. Not only are there character designs, but also backdrops of rooms, the mysterious London back streets, and overhead shots of London. There is also a very long, very disjointed "staff interview." The interviews are choppy, switching back and forth between many people who actually say very little. These poor folks who worked on Hellsing seem like they need some serious socializing and to get out in the sun.



Best one in the series
2004-11-26 - This DVD contains my two favorite episode in the Hellsing series; 5 and 6. I like them because Jan's in them (the guy who swears a lot; he's my favorite charater.) After Order 06, the series deviates drastically from the plot of the manga, which is just sad. It would have been so awesome to see the rest of the manga animated, but that probably won't happen any time soon.
I prefer the English dub on this one. First of all, the English voice actors did a really good job; the words match up to the lip movements almost perfectly, which is more than can be said for some animes. Second, I found it really difficult to get used to a bunch of British people speaking Japanese. And third... Jan. I thought the English voice actor (Josh Phillips) did a better job of capturing his voice, whereas I though the Japanese voice actor was just annoying.

The Night Sky is Painted with Blood... (4.5 Stars)
2004-01-21 - Welcome to the Hellsing Organization; an army dedicated to keep the country safe from the undead. The group fights against vampires and ghouls of all sorts in the dark of night. Their ultimate weapon is a hunter that is a vampire himself, Arucard; an unstoppable figure that can face just about any sort of evil that the darkness has to offer him. Vampires and ghouls are not safe with this elite team of hunters and soldiers lurking about.

In this second volume in the series, "Hellsing: Blood Brothers," more evidence and clues point to man-made vampires being created by an unknown source. This means very bad news to the Hellsing Organization. To make matters worse, a TV journalist is determined to make things a lot more difficult for them by trying to expose them on camera to show them to the world. Seras is still having a hard time dealing with the fact that she's a vampire, but is slowly adapting. However, the real bad news is the violent and crazy Valentine Brothers who decide to take out the Hellsing crew once and for all by means of infiltrating their headquarters. No worries, though; Arucard knows how to deal with these unreasonable foes in his own way. All of this leads to yet another exciting chapter in the "Hellsing" series.

Very much like the first DVD, this second volume is action-packed and never lacking in style. It is here where we get to see Arucard's true powers come to light when he fights one of the Valentine Brothers. These three episodes do a great job of maintaining tone and structure. While the first DVD was a nice introduction to the series, it's this second volume where we really get to see what this group of soldiers are made of when they're facing true evil.

I know it goes without saying, but I still must point out that this is not an animated series for young children. These episodes contain graphic violence, blood and gore, strong language, mature situations, and dark and disturbing themes and imagery. As with the first volume, this DVD only contains three episodes with the entire feature running a little over an hour long. Extras on the DVD include a creditless ending, a staff interview, an art gallery, action figure info and more.

All in all, "Hellsing: Blood Brothers" is another exciting chapter for the "Hellsing" series that keeps the action and intensity rolling. It is clear that the battle against ghouls and vampires continues on with these three episodes. What's next for the Hellsing Organization? Only time will tell with the next chapter.

It was about here...
2003-10-12 - ...that I started losing interest in the Hellsing series. Why, you ask?

Well OK, I can put up with things like the military uniforms of British military servicemen looking like 1950's football players, but there are some other things I can't handle in the storyline. Like, for example, the ONE GUARD outside the entire Hellsing compound. Right. And then there's the giant ROCKET LAUNCHER the one bad vampire pulls straight from his ass to blow a hole in the Hellsing headquarters.

The series got worse later for me. The dragged out background episode for Integra, the plot holes like why the SAS just stay in a castle when they originally said they were just looking around, why Integra decides to hire gun-totin' rednecks as opposed to special forces, and finally...why the hell does a British soldier salute like an American? It doesn't take a Bachelor's Degree in Military History to understand that THEY DON'T!

Hellsing showed me that in the world of anime fandom, if thousands of otakus thing some thing is "f***ing awesome" then I am most likely going to hate it. I'm sorry if I don't get easily turned on by big guns, but I look for other things. Sorry.

Looking for Bloody-Good Vampire Anime? Check out Hellsing.
2003-04-25 - The Japanese seem to find the western version of the Vampire myth quite appealing, and the expression of that fascination reaching a peak with the anime series Hellsing.

The second DVD in the series picks up right where the first volume left off. The Hellsing Organization, a powerful private enterprise headquartered in Great Britain and dedicated to defending "God, Queen, and Country" from the ravages of vampires, has come under increasing fire, first from the media as a reckless investigative journalist delves into their existence and operations and then from a couple of crazy vampire brothers who attack Hellsing's very headquarters!

The vampire Alucard only grows more impressive as he combats the elder of the two Valentine brothers, employing powers that devour Luke's legs as he taunts the vampire and demands a good, challenging fight that the freak cannot provide. His companion and creation Seras Victoria must deal with the issues of being a new member of the creatures of the night, and Integra Hellsing must defend her organization at a meeting of the Knights of the Round Table, a secret society apparently involved in running Britain.

The animation itself is done really well in terms of visual quality, with a blend of CG and hand-drawn cel work; however, it is somewhat more static in nature than much contemporary anime, comparable to that done for the Record of Lodoss War series.

The audio, though presented only in stereo sound, features a soundtrack you'll want to hunt down like a freak after fresh blood. Surprisingly, the english dubbing is quite good, featuring British-accented voice actors far superior to the average anime dub.

Hellsing is an excellent addition to any anime fan's library and a must-watch for vampire lovers everywhere.