Alucard (Hellsing)

Alucard (アーカード) is a fictional character and protagonist of the Hellsing manga and anime series created by Kouta Hirano. He is devoted to his master Integra Hellsing and good friends with Hellsings Butler, Walter C. Dornez. Alucard works with the Hellsing Organization against other vampires and evil forces. He fights with ferocity and often extreme cruelty, rarely killing until his target has been disabled and humiliated, while frequently allowing enemies more than one chance to kill him (though he seeks only to be killed by a human, having grown bored of immortality and life).

As revealed in volume 8 of the manga, he is Count Dracula (Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards). Soon after the events presented in Bram Stoker's original novel, Dracula was defeated by Abraham Van Helsing and became the family's loyal servant. Decades later, Abraham's descendant Arthur Hellsing gives the Count his current name: "Alucard". The manga is set over a hundred years later, where the Hellsing Organization is forced to fight the remnants of a Nazi battalion.

He typically dresses in a distinctive Victorian and western fashion, with a charcoal suit, leather riding boots, a red cravat, and a long red duster (resembling Van Helsing's duster). He also wears a red fedora with a wide, floppy brim and a pair of circular, wire-framed sunglasses (which are similar in design to glacier sunglasses and old-fashioned Wilson welding glasses) which he uses to cover his long black shaggy hair. However, this form seems to be a part of his being as he can change it at will.

In the anime (both the TV series and OVA) Alucard is voiced by Jōji Nakata and Crispin Freeman in the English adaptations.

Background
Volume 9 features flashbacks of Alucard's life as a human. Dracula starts his career by fighting the Ottomans, believing that God does not reward prayer, but instead wants mortals to show their faith visibly. However, when his army is defeated and he is about to be executed, Vlad gives up on God, thinking that God deserted him and so turns his back on God. It is not explicitly shown or stated how he became a vampire, but in one scene he drinks blood from the floor in front of an executioner.

The series mentions the events of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but deviates at the point of Dracula's defeat. In Hellsing, he was staked in the heart but not destroyed. It is unknown if he was forced into servitude or was willing, but he became a servant of the Van Helsing family. He, along with a young Walter C. Dornez, were sent to Warsaw, Poland to stop Millennium's vampire production program. Integra's father eventually imprisoned Alucard in a dungeon in the Hellsing manor, as he believed the vampire was too powerful to be used frequently. After 20 years of imprisonment, Integra's blood awakened and resuscitated Alucard. He rescued Integra from her traitorous uncle and became her servant. While the TV series does not include the same scenes to explicitly state that Alucard is Dracula, the end of the anime series implied that he is Vlad the Impaler, one of the original inspirations for Dracula.

Personality
Alucard taunts and belittles his opponents, allowing them to inflict wounds before healing and retaliating, as shown in his first appearance in the manga. He longs for battle and has been shown to become angry when his opponents kill themselves. His lust for battle is fueled by a desire to find an opponent powerful enough to end his eternal life, though he wishes only to be slain by a human, for, "Only a man can truly hope to kill a monster." (and other variations of that quote).

He expresses admiration for some humans, calling Integra's order to kill "splendid" and the determination of his rival, Alexander Anderson, to destroy him an example of the "fantastic" and "magnificent" qualities of humans. He recognizes Anderson as a parallel to himself, and pities him. He has great respect for humans, going as far as to say he would have been proud if Anderson had killed him in his human form. As the manga continues, it becomes increasingly evident that Alucard is struggling with his nature as a vampire monster, going as far as crying over how things turn out. It can be said that Alucard considers vampirism a step down from humanity, and regrets the choice he made when becoming a vampire. Alucard expresses extreme disgust with the vampires he hunts, especially when they kill without purpose. Commenting on the "Bonnie and Clyde" in the story, he mentions the two vampires' killing as unnecessary.

Seras Victoria
Seras Victoria is Alucard's first fledgling since Mina Harker. As such, there is much speculation from Alucard's companions as to why he decided to change her. Alucard either seems confused by his own actions or rather has other hidden reasons as to why he turned Seras. He states to Walter and Integra that it was a whim based on Seras' own decision to live. He reveals to Walter that he finds her a fascinating creature and seems to admire her will to live despite the hellish events in Cheddar Village. While he is frustrated with her refusal to drink blood, he was always confident that eventually she would drink and seemed quite proud of her when the time came.

As stated by Hirano the relationship between Seras and Alucard is complicated in that it is more than a strict "master and servant" relationship. Alucard takes on a role of a mentor and teacher to help Seras reach her full potential. As Seras lost her parents at a young age, her fondness and love for Alucard could be similar to a daughter's love for her father. However, it has been made clear in parts of the ova that their relationship is not one of parent and child. It is definite that have feelings of love for each other; but it's unknown in which sense, though there have been subtle moments of romantic and/or sexual attraction between the two. One thing to keep in mind is the fact that Mina was his fledgling, until Alucard's defeat, which caused the curse on her to weaken (although his essence still remained inside her). At times Seras seems nervous and uneasy around Alucard, mainly due to his constant berating about her being a pathetic vampire during the early days of Seras' vampire life. She also strongly objects to Alucard's unnecessary cruelty towards human beings, while she does not partake in the slaughter of the SWAT team, she aids Alucard in his combat with Tubalcain Alhambra and later attempts to fight Alexander Anderson (though her attack is comically cut short). As the series progresses, her shy and nervous behavior towards Alucard dissipates once she becomes a full-fledged vampire and he addresses her by name. Alucard teaches Seras how to hunt like a proper vampire

During Alucard's fight with Anderson, Seras comes to his rescue in a desperate attempt to save him. After stopping the strike by Anderson, Seras' alarmed calls bring Alucard back from torpor. The last visage in his dream was Seras' face, ending the flashback and chapter with the words: "There is a voice. There is a voice calling out. It's...you?" Before facing Anderson, he compliments her: "Why so loud police girl? Your voice sounds fine regardless; like fragments of shattered melody..." By volume 9, Alucard fully recognizes Seras' growth and tells her, "Go with our master. Go and conquer, Seras.” Later, he describes her as a servant who loves only him. In the end, Seras was the only one who had unwavering faith that Alucard would return.

Integra
Integra is the only person whom Alucard will obey. Integra is also one of few people whose life and honor Alucard will bother to openly protect. In Episode 9 (Red Rose Vertigo) of the television series, Alucard is moved to shock and rage when Incognito implies that Integra has been killed. Rather than stay and fight, Alucard makes a hasty return to the Hellsing manor to kill Bubbancy before she could turn Integra into a ghoul. In Volume 2 of the manga (Hellsing Ultimate III in the OVA), when Enrico Maxwell calls Integra a sow, Alucard appears and threatens to kill Maxwell for daring to believe he could leave England alive after insulting his master. In Volume 8, Alucard addresses Integra with his own title, calling her "hakushaku" ( 伯爵 ) or Count, meaning that he accepts her as his equal in power ("Hakushaku-fujin" is the term for Countess). But not as a spouse or lover.

Walter
Alucard is Walter's closest friend. However, when Walter betrayed Hellsing, Alucard saw him as a plaything. He once tried to offer Walter immortality as he did with Seras.

Abilities
Alucard is the closest thing to an immortal. For as he said himself "There is no such thing as immortals" but he does not age, although this is limited to the amount of humans he has devoured, which is a number in the millions (3,424,867 as said by him in the final chapter). Other characters have difficulty wounding him, and when injured he reforms. He cannot be destroyed via decapitation or being staked through the heart. He exhibits incredible accuracy when firing his twin large caliber handguns (his basic firearm being the .454 Casull and a more powerful handgun codenamed 'Jackal', armed with explosive rounds; it was designed to fight regenerators like Father Anderson, Luke Valentine and Incognito), and is capable of accurately shooting targets while looking the other way. He can tear humans apart with ease and move faster than the eye can see. He is seen passing through walls and moving up vertical surfaces. He shapeshifts into various forms, including bats, arthropods, demonic dogs, amorphous masses of darkness, and humanoid forms (among them being a young girl, a form he took while infiltrating the Nazi group Millenium during World War II). He communicates telepathically with Seras and can hypnotize other characters. He can absorb memories through blood and is immune to sunlight. His power is restrained by a series of seals presumably made by Hellsing (known as the Control Art Restriction System). Alucard can release the seals up to Level 1, but only Integra Hellsing can release Level 0, the final seal. Once all his seals are removed, he can unleash the full power of all the souls he has devoured, effectively summoning them under his control. In this state, he is also seen with a medieval armor and sword. He also has the power to make giant spikes grow out of the ground. Though this is his most powerful form, he is also at his most vulnerable in this state. Once he has released the special charm his gloves hold (CARS Level 1), numerous eyeballs surround him as seen in the fight between him and Luke, and he can morph into a massive "Demon Dog" named Baskerville. He also trades his traditional red fedora and duster for a black straight jacket with a large eyeball coming out of the center of his chest. In addition, at the end of the series, he becomes omnipresent (being both everywhere and nowhere).

Reception
Anime News Network praised Alucard for being "a refreshing change from the traditional, mopey, woe-is-me vampire anti-hero", and called him "quite the cool figure". T.H.E.M Anime Reviews describes Alucard as "anti-hero through and through, but you just can't help rooting for him even when it's obvious he's not really a good guy at all..."

In an interview with Anime News Network, American voice actor Crispin Freeman stated that he enjoyed voicing Alucard, stating that he loved "characters who are on the edge of madness for one reason or another".