Hellsing Ultimate

I just finished watching the third installment of the long awaited Hellsing Ultimate OVA series. In a nutshell, Hellsing is about vampires. And if you're thinking, "Oh, this is going to be like Blood+, Vampire Hunter, Black Blood Brothers, etcetera"... you're very, very wrong.

This is exactly the kind of anime that can keep you panting for the next episode. A very well knit product it encompasses intrigue, betrayal, conspiracy, gore, sarcastic humor and plenty of ass-kicking action, John Woo vampire style.

If you enjoyed the mediocre 13 episode TV series, you're in for a glamorous treat with the OVAs. The OVA stays very true to the manga, almost panel for panel, much like 'Monster' in that respect. Each installment covers the incidents of one volume of work (by the way, I highly recommend the manga as well) and is a visual spectacle. The voice acting (done by the same people who did the TV series) is quite good and even the English dub is fairly commendable. The characters are much more polished and darkly drawn than the TV series too. The music is as good as what we were treated to in the TV series with a mix of eerie gothic/baroque and electronica.

All in all, one of the best animated series I've seen. Highly recommended.

Warning: If you're quesy about blood and violence, I suggest you steer clear, because this series is a cornucopia of gore.