Abraham Van Helsing was a historic creation from the mind of Bram Stoker. As with any villain, Dracula needed a hero to combat his strength and keep the storyline running evenly. In 1897, the novel Dracula came out and with it, the character of the vampire hunter extraordinaire. Van Helsing seeks to combat the evil that Dracula spreads through the study of both medicine and warfare. Bram Stoker was originally from Dublin, making this legend more English and Irish than Romanian. Van Helsing makes it his mission to eradicate all vampires that seek to harm humans. He is a protector of our race whose legend has spanned across hundreds of years and spread around the globe. This household name has earned a worthy place next to other famous fictitious characters such as Frankenstein, the Loch Ness monster and the Invisible Man.

Hellsing has become an anime that is a defines the horror anime genre. Rather than having the main character as Van Helsing himself, Alucard takes the spotlight. As an ancient vampire, he has advanced knowledge of vampires and vampire killing methods making him a valuable asset to the Hellsing Organization. By following descendants of the great Van Helsing, this anime shows us life in a dystopian time where Van Helsing’s principles were followed with pride. Hellsing presents us with conflicting views regarding the Hellsing Organization, vampires and Alucard himself. This allows this anime to be portrayed in a darker tone that makes us doubt even the characters that we felt were the most loyal. Hellsing provides us with a shadowy and binge-worthy option that would set the stage for a perfect weekend.