Hellsing Ultimate (OVA)

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Hellsing Ultimate (Herushingu) ヘルシング

Format	DVD
Creator	Kohta Hirano
Production	Geneon Universal, Satelight, Wild Geese, Hellsing Production Committee (OVA 1-4) Geneon Universal, Satelight, Wild Geese, Madhouse Studios (OVA 5 on)
Release	6 OVA episodes-ongoing
Genre	Adventure, Horror, Drama
Rating	16

"The Bird of the Hermes is my name: eating my wings to make me tame."

Hellsing Ultimate is the OVA version of the manga Hellsing. It completely ignores the previous Hellsing television series, and remains true to the Hellsing manga series created by Kohta Hirano.

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Synopsis

The Hellsing Organization is a royally-ordained order that for over one hundred years protected England's monarchy and the English church from the threat of vampires and other supernatural happenings. The organization is led by the woman Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, a young, yet strong-willed individual with a taste for cigars and unswerving loyalty to the English crown. However, for an organization dedicated to eradicating vampires, the principle weapon of the Hellsing Organization IS a vampire. This individual, Alucard, (in reality Vlad III Dracula, the eastern European ruler known as 'Vlad The Impaler') happens to be a vampire with extraordinary abilities, even for other vampires.

During one mission the Hellsing Organization undertakes, a vampire posing as an Anglican vicar causes havoc in the village of Cheddar. The local police and additional backup sent to stop him are wiped-out by this vampire and turned into ghouls – the usual fate for deflowered humans that are victims of a vampire – and the sole survivor is a young virgin policewoman named Seras Victoria. She ends up captured by the vicar, who threatens to rape her and turn her into one of his mindless ghouls. Alucard shows up, and after eliminating the ghouls created by the vicar, turns his attention to the vicar, who then uses Seras as a human shield. After learning the girl is a virgin, he shoots through Seras, then destroys the vampire. Then he makes an offer to the dying Seras: he could let her die... or she can join him as his vampire apprentice, for which she accepts.

Seras Victoria joins the Hellsing Organization following her turning, and soon is trying to reconcile retaining what humanity she has left over her savage vampiritic urges. However, more threats are on the horizon... one of in the form of a new rival, Father Alexander Anderson, the paladin warrior for the Vatican's Section XIII, Iscariot Organization... and another in the form of the last remnants of Nazi Germany - a shadow organization called Milenimum, who is creating ultra-violent artificial vampires for one purpose... to plunge the world into never-ending war!

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Departure of Geneon USA

On September of 2007, Geneon USA announced that it would officially cease production, sales and distribution of Region 1 anime DVDs... which would include Hellsing Ultimate. However, the Japanese production of the series WILL continue, and the U.S production team is STILL in place (which includes the dub actors), so it was a matter of time before another distribution company would be able to pick up the license.

On November 9, 2007, as reported in Anime News Network, Kenny Deacon, C.E.O. of Navarre Company, the parent company of FUNimation Entertainment, expressed interest in acquiring the license of Hellsing Ultimate, as well as other former Geneon properties [1]. On February 7, 2008, FUNimation began negotiations to acquire the former Geneon licenses [2]. And on July 3, 2008, FUNimation Entertainment announced that it has acquired a considerable backlist of Geneon's former titles - including Hellsing Ultimate! [3]

Technically, however, Geneon USA still held the license for Hellsing Ultimate, and would be released as such. On September 30, 2008, a little more than a year since the announcement, Hellsing Ultimate OVA 4 was released.

But on July 2, 2010, FUNimation Entertainment announced that it had become the exclusive licensor of Hellsing Ultimate, and the Hellsing TV series as well. [4]

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