Counting Down the 20 Coolest Characters in Anime - #11 Alucard, Hellsing

"The world would be so boring without idiots like you to amuse me"

Theres a lot of talk about vampires these days and unfortunately it's the wrong kind of talk (eff you Twilight). The world needs a reminder as to what an actual vampire is capable of. Hellsing takes vampires and bring them back into the realm of awesome with the all-powerful Alucard as it's frontman.

How can one not be scared shitless by this?

Hellsing isn't short on awesome characters, after all pretty much every character is required to be unreasonably badass at all times. Alucard stands above most of them however in the fact that he's basically invincible. Some consider him the "pet" of the the Hellsing Organization instead of the powerful weapon that he is. Of course, thinking of him as a hero is entirely out of the question. No, Alucard is more of an anti-hero who serves a heroic purpose out of servitude to his master, Integra Hellsing (also a grade-A badass). His powers are unbelievably awesome as he's devoured the souls of every person that he has killed/devoured (these are standard powers of vampires in Hellsing except Alucard's are taken Up to Eleven). Alucard has devoured entire armies over the course of his entire life, giving him a nearly unlimited arsenal of familiars the unleash (the Hound of Baskerville is a personal favorite). So when you kill Alucard, you're really only killing one of the millions of souls that inhabit his body; he's essentially invincible. This added to the fact that he wields the Jackal (the black pistol shown above) that weighs 16kg and has a firing power that would rip off any human's arm. He does this without even flinching most of the time. Even more impressive is when Alucard releases all of his restrictions and releases all of his familiars at once. The man is a walking army that won't hesitate to slaughter anyone who conflicts with Integra's wishes. The only drawback to Alucards awesomeness is that he's so freaking scary pretty much all of the time. Theres just some scenes that make me cringe because he's just so damn creepy. No question that if he wasn't so creepy he'd be higher on this list.

I do love Alucard's character in the series, especially when it comes to the deeper side. In a sense, Alucard detests his immortality and actually admires humans for their ability to age and die. He thinks that this is beautiful. Of course, he's not entirely ashamed that he's immortal, he loves being a vampire. However, part of him is a death seeker but only at the hands of a human. Throughout the series he shows his distate for the word monster and refuses to let any other monster kill him. When Anderson, his human rival, shows the grit and determination to kill Alucard; Alucard shows his excitement over the fact. However, when Anderson uses the Nail of Helena to become a monster himself, Alucard is not pleased. After all, a monster of god is a still a monster. Alucard respects those with the ability to age and die, perhaps wishing that he could have the same fate. It's a running theme throughout the series, the clash between mortality and immortality. Humans that are too weak to face their own mortality that they run and become monsters to preserve themselves. Alucard loves strong humans who can fight him because they respect and embrace their mortality. So, Alucard believes that it is an honor to be killed by one. Alucard spends a great deal of his time killing and overall being unbelievably scary but he also shows his soft side to those he trusts. Seras, Integra, and Walter are all cases in which Alucard actually shows that theres some sensitivity within the monstrous shell that surrounds him.

So yes, Alucard is a badass and an all around awesome character. You shouldn't expect any less from Hellsing considering that theres another character from the series on this list. If it wasn't for the fact that he creeps me out a ton, Alucard would probably rank higher on this list. However, one can't ignore how great he is not only when he's in action but the role he plays in conveying the series themes to the audience. Overall, Alucard is a can't miss character from a can't miss series and that's why he's #11.