Anime Does Horror

Hellsing -

I think this is one of the best anime's out right now. It is so stylish and colourful. The characters within the anime are very cool, and the main character - Alucard - has to be the coolest animated character ever.

I'm speaking of him from the English dub, too. Crispin Freeman is having a lot of fun as the character (Which explains why he dressed up as Alucard for a convention one time) and it shows. As a matter of fact, save a few bad voice overs in earlier episodes, the entire cast fit their roles suitably.

The show doesn't have an exactly thick plot but what is there works. The stuff about a secret organization or person creating bio-zombies is a good enough reason to base a story on but the show doesn't exactly pay off in the end - which is the only bad thing I can say about it. The text on screen in the final episode isn't enough for us, we should have been told a lot more. I would have liked an extra episode tacked on to match the lower-scale stuff seen in the first episode.

Episode 14 could have been for the characters alone to tie everything up together.

As it stands, Hellsing is one of my favourite animes because of its style, animation, action, music and characters.

I thought Production IG did an excellent job with the style and look of Blood, but the film had no soul. There was a plot but it was anti-climatic and should have overstayed its welcome (The only thing I'll say on its length, as it has been said plenty of times). Saya, however, is gorgeous.

I just love everything about Hellsing. The first episode is one of my favourites because of how subtle-yet-stylish it is. When Seras is standing looking at Arucard and she's saying "he's not human". That whole scene is lovely, and the use of colour (Red sky, yellow moon) fits it.

I found Vampire Hunter D to be awful. it didn't help that I saw - and enjoyed a lot - Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust before seeing the original. That said, I'm so dissapointed that I waited over a year and a half to see D only for it to turn out to be such a let down. It wasn't that the animation was bad or that the actors were shite or anything like that. It was just trash. Bloodlust is so much better.

EvilFutsin: don't worry about the ending of Hellsing. I won't spoil it, naturally, but I will say that as far as the story goes it ties up lose ends. And while it isn't so much an abrupt end, it is just one that was handled a little carelessly. But As a whole the series is brilliant. Shame the creators of it didn't have much a fun time doing it. Hence no Hellsing Season II plans or Hellsing: The Movie which I would love. I saw the Cowboy Bebop movie recently, and I loved it, but I'm so craving a Hellsing film.

As for where I get my anime I'd whole heartedly recommend Play USA for all its Region 1 stuff:

<a href="http://www.playusa.com/playusa.asp?page=browse&searchtype=genre&r=R1&adud isc=y&searchstring=ANM" target="_blank">http://www.playusa.com/playusa.asp?page=browse&searchtype=genre&r=R1&adud isc=y&searchstring=ANM</a>

Can anyone recommend Boogiepop Phantom?

I wouldn't call that a horror but a Hitchcock-like thriller. I watched Perfect Blue and was in two minds about it. Probably should watch it again.