DVD Talk Forum - Hellsing (anime) R3 DVD review.

The boxset is availalbe from http://www.dddhouse.com for about $30.

The Show
An action/horror anime like no other, This show is about the Alucard, the vampire who hunts vampires, under orders from the Hellsing Organization, which is led by Integra Hellsing. The show actually centers around Seras Victoria, who joins
Hellsing after Alucard 'initiates' her.

Only lasting 13 episodes, this series is able to pack each episode with enough action and cool to make it one of my favorite series.

Packaging
Containing all 13 episodes, this set actually comes in two packages of 2 DVDs each. They come in a cardboard slipcase, and then open up book-like to reveal the two DVDs The cases also have episode synopsis, but only in Chinese

Video
The video is quite good, as only 3-4 episodes are on each disc. There was one second of digital noise on Ep 4, but otherwise this is a high quality transfer.

Audio
The only sound availalbe is the original Japanese stereo track. No surround info, but it's still very good. Again, aside from the one sec of noise on Ep 4, this is a great track.

Subtitles
Now this is where the DVD really dissapoints. There are multiple spelling and grammar errors in each episode. There are timing errors, as well as portions of dialogue that aren't translated at all. At least they got Alucard's name right though....

Menu
The DVDs start off with a copyright screen and about 5 different company logos, then jump straight into the episodes. However, by pressing menu you can access the Menu on the DVDs, which are in English. The first option is a choice between Chinese and English subs Then there's a chapters menu, which lets you select which episode you want. Finally there's the "Hellsing" option, which plays all the episodes back to back, starting with the first on the disc. The menus are nicely animated, with music from the series playing in the background.

Extras
There is one extra each on the first two discs. The extra is played after the last episode, or can be selected from the chapters menu, under 'Special.' The disc one extra is the creditless intro, while disc two has the creditless outro.

Chapters
There are no chapter breaks in the epsiodes themselves, the chapter breaks for each episode are:

- Intro
- Episode
- End Credits
- 'Next Episode' ad-type thingy.

So 4 breaks for each episode. Note that on the 3rd and 4th disc, the end credits and 'Next Episode' are combined into one chapter, making it 3 breaks for each episode.

Summary
While the show itself is a 'must own' title, this set falls short solely because of the botched job on the English subs. If you can understand Japanese or read Chinese, this might be the set for you. However, for those English speakers out there, you'd be better off with the more expensive US discs.