T5W#166-Top 5 Hellsing Ultimate Abridged Episodes

In their latest update on their YouTube page, Team Four Star, the creators of Dragon Ball Z Abridged, announced that this fall, at Youmacon, they’ll be debuting their newest episode of Hellsing Ultimate Abridged, which will also serve as the series finale.  For the last few years, TFS has put out one Hellsing episode every Halloween and why not.  Hellsing is one of the ultimate horror action Anime out there, Ultimate more so than the original that I reviewed here on the Anime Corner a couple of years back.  And much like DBZA, Team Four Star has done a brilliant job giving a heavy dose of humor to a series that they clearly appreciate quite a bit.  So, in the spirit of Hellsing and Halloween, this weeks Top 5 is being dedicated to my Top 5 Hellsing Ultimate Abridged Episodes.  This wasn’t an easy one as TFS’ team of writers have somehow managed to outdo themselves episode after episode.  These were the stand outs.

#5-Episode 1

The one that started it all (no pun intended).  What’s funny (besides the episode as a whole) is that HSA’s debut episode feels both like a pilot and a one off special.  And if it was the latter, that would be just fine.  From the Archer inspired Alucard to the wacky Boondock Saints quoting Alexander Anderson, Episode 1 is a blast to watch from beginning to end and still quotable as hell.  But, naturally, something this amazing couldn’t just be one entry.  Whether it was always the plan to do it all from the get go or not, Hellsing Ultimate Abridged made a lasting impression as powerful as any full season of Dragon Ball Z Abridged.

#4-Episode 6

Cudos to HAS for having such a great cast that’s given as much love as the writers do for Dragon Ball Z Abridged.  Episodes 5-7 have the distinct challenge of being episodes with the least amount of Alucard.  As awesome and bad ass as the Carmen Sandiego King of the Night is, this isn’t a bad thing.  Episode 6 stands out for giving Seras and the Wild Geese a chance to shine.  The innuendo heavy banter between Seras and Mercenary commander Pip Bernedante is the highlight and always produces a ton of laughs.  It was actually a good primer for the next entry on this list.

#3-Episode 7

For all the violence and dark humor, HSA is still based on a very, very dark series.  Much like Dragon Ball Z Abriged, Team Four Star isn’t afraid to let the drama seep in because it is an important part of the source material.  Seras and the Wild Geese get utterly destroyed in this episode and a couple of characters bite the dust big time.  Add in Seras’ horrific backstory and you’ll see this is as dark as HSA has gone in its run.  No matter the bleakness, HSA still has its humor and epic bad ass moments and nothing was more satisfying than watching Seras attain full Vampire status and tear Zorin Blitz to pieces, while darkly declaring,  “You aint the Queen Vampire Bitch here, I AM.  And you know what we Brits always say…God…Save…The Queen”.

#2-Episode 2

The Valentine Brothers have always been some of the best and most fun villains in Hellsing in general.  What definitely helps elevate them in Episode 2 is the unshackled and uneditied voice of GanXinba (who voices Tien on Dragon Ball Z Abridged) as Jan Valentine.  Jeez is he having a blast getting to say whatever the hell he wants without restraint.  It’s both hilarious and true to the vulgar character from the source.  But you’ve also got great moments from Walter, Seras and definitely Alucard facing down Luke cause his 70’ Plasma TV with Adventure Time got blown up…God I love how that scene kicks off.  I could watch this episode on loop for hours.

#1-Episode 8

It took us years to get to this point and it was worth the entire wait.  The return of Alucard, Restraint Level 0, Alucard vs. Anderson and probably the most interesting/entertaining and hilarious conversation anyone has ever had with God and Satan at the same time, there wasn’t a single second of Episode 8 that wasn’t pure gold.  And how many people added Ready to Die by Andrew W.K. to their mix lists as Alucard entered the battlefield blasting it over the PA of a massive boat.  I hate to say it…but the bar has been rained thanks to this penultimate and I hope the Series Finale can match it.  Given Team Four Stars track record with this series though, im confident they wont just match Episode 8, they’ll surpass it.