Well, this is a pretty mature manga. Lots and lots of gore, almost depictions of child rape, plenty of profanity (scanlators did a good job maintaining cultural contexts too), and all the characters (and the author, sometimes) seem to be on some form of crack or another. However, Hirano does give the characters (especially Alucard) a lot of depth once you look past the ultraviolence and stupid joke chapters. Once you read past the story arcs that were shared with the anime, the story starts to get pretty damn insane, so be prepared. That's not to say it was particularly rich - although the characters definitely make this manga stand out, the plot is sometimes weak and even nonsensical, causing the reader to lose sight of the main conflict. Another note: the manga ended recently, and all of the characters receive some form of closure unlike in the anime.

As for the art, it's just mediocre in the beginning but Hirano hugely improved his style as the manga went on. From the London war arc on the art is just superb and intricately detailed.

... Last updated on January 20th, 2009, 2:39am

I agree with the comment below, imo it was quite a boring manga but still worth reading, I watched the anime long time ago and I highly recommend that one instead, but if you want a good read with much blood and gore I'd suggest you to read mangas like Berserk, Gantz, Claymore and Kiseijuu before reading this... ;( or maybe you should read this before reading them and you won't get dissapointed like I was xD

its a good manga...but not great, people made it sound like it was legendary. but it wasn't. just alot of blood and gore non-stop and that was it. the plot was lacking development and it felt like people where fighting to no reasons sometime....

but the fighting was great. it was the only thing that made me keep reading...if you like blood and just fighting with alot of dark themes, you will LOVE this manga...but for me it was ok.

Well, finally this manga has ended and I just have read the last chapter. And so the review is...

-The artwork is very good and usually detailed (overall, not in every scene). By the same token many scenes are simply bloody and gory.

-Plot: probably the greatest weakness and the reason I am rating 9 and not more this manga. Frankly the plot is weak, although there were hints of something big or mysterious... well, there is nothing of the sort for making it a great plot. The good side of the plot is that the three factions (Hellsing/church/major's army) are totally demential, giving a suspenseful atmosphere. And there are a couple of twists that will make you say 'whhhaaattttt?!?!?!' (the betrayal and how to kill an invincible monster). Another good point is that the plot does not seems to be extended artificially by adding 'brand new and disposable' enemies or sub-plots useless to the main plot.

-Characters. Definitely the most outstanding part in this manga. Characters are extremely cool, funny and definitely memorable. This is of the few mangas where even the secondary characters are as enjoyable and memorable as the main ones.

So overall this is a great manga with lovely characters, given you are fine with bloody/gore scenes.

... Last updated on November 2nd, 2008, 2:01am

After reading the Hellsing manga to it's end, I have to say I was pleased. It's a great action series; it has lots of bloody violence, a good sense of humor, interesting characters and decent art.

The plot is a little lacking, perhaps overly simplistic and sometimes doesn't feel serious. It's still an engaging read though. Despite the sometimes ridiculousness of the plot, it manages to create this sense of immediacy.

The characters are probably the main reason to read. There are few protagonists in manga cooler than Alucard. There are few manga girls hotter than Seras. Every character, every main enemy is well designed and interesting.

All in all, Hellsing was very engaging read. It had it's flaws, but I'm not going to fault it too much on that. It's easily among the better manga I've read.

... Last updated on October 21st, 2008, 9:40am

total 10 volumes and i read 5 but still nothing in story seems interesting to me, bunchs of crazy but mindless people, act without purposes or just something likes fun or order from someone higher
simple insane, no reason, no thought, not even a bit psycho here
the art is not bad but if you read enough manga, it's not really great either
and the fight can't even be called a fight, since most of notable characters are somewhat abnormal so they can't be killed easy, they go torn others body in order to give this manga more blood and finally killed by main char by his bloody but meaningless way
just as i said, this manga is nothing more than blood, crazy people fight mindless battle for nowhere goal
bloody violence can keep you for awhile but 5 volumes are my limit, compare to berserk or devilman, this manga is insignificant

This manga is so dark, and the thing that vampires are scary, for once, instead of the usual shoujo cliché (since vampires are usually used in shoujo romances), it's what I appreciate the most.
Alucard has a pretty complex personality. On the first sight he may seem like a crazy monster who enjoys fighting, but on a closer look you see that he never actually starts a fight without a reason. Well it's not like he ever gets bored since there is always some idiot to start one. His relationship with the other characters is kind of hard to explain. More than care about them, he seems to respect and trust his friends, but the same thing goes for some of his enemies. When they are weak he destroys them without thinking, but when it comes to stronger ones, he is not that quick to annihilate them and takes his time to enjoy it.
I also admire that the author doesn't only focus on Alucard, but on the other characters as well. Everyone, including the minor antagonists are given a background and motives and have a role in the plot, this way avoiding the fillier kind of feeling.
The artwork it's not that great, but the story and the atmosphere totally cover for it.

... Last updated on September 21st, 2008, 9:58am

Alucard gives me chills. He is pure evil; the ultimate nightmare. He is feared by everyone, on both sides of any war. He devours all.
....
I LOVE HIM!!!
He's so intense that it makes the story that much better.(It was already good) He starts of kinda iffy, kinda intense, but then you discover what kind of monster he truly is. You find yourself both scared and intrigued by this fictional character. I've never read anything quite like the arrival of the ghost ship in vol. 8-9

... Last updated on July 19th, 2008, 11:06pm

story may be good..but I dont like the art...main characters design doesn't really give me a good impression...I cant seem to feel into the whole story for some reason.

It has a good plot. Its way out there like berserk but with no nudity, if i remember correctly.I personally like this manga a lot and would have given it a 10 but the speed at which this comes out is at like snail pace. Its like one volume a year since it started 1997 -_-.