Anime

200 Published Reviews Special: Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 1 Archive Review!

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200 R Special

I’m a sad man… not as in I’m unhappy, but as in I’ve kept track of the things I’ve reviewed over the past few years, and I can now say that, if you combine my reviews for Anime UK News, here on this blog, my sparsely updated gaming blog and my long-abandoned but still technically active wrestling review blog, then you get the grand total of 199! So for my 200th published review I though I’d publish one of my first reviews ever. This is the review I wrote as a sample review in order to eventually land the Anime UK News job, but since there was already a perfectly fine Dragon Ball Z Kai Season 1 review up, it obviously went unused (beyond the use of proving I can write reviews and getting me the job, obviously!), but that also means it doesn’t fall under the category being property of Anime UK News, meaning I can post the review here.

So I thought it would be fun to post it as a celebration of my reviews, especially as that would mean I won’t just have Seasons 2-4 links on this site and I can complete the set. So here it is, no pictures, just the text that got me started down this path…

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Hellsing Ultimate – Volumes IX and X Review

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Hellsing Ult IX and X

Hellsing Ultimate, and therefore the original Hellsing Manga’s storyline, reaches its end with the 9th and 10th OVAs. As I’ve mentioned previously, this was actually my first time seeing them, after only I – VIII being available here in the UK until Crunchyroll’s recent upload. In the end, while it does tie up lose ends and has some good moments, none are as good as Seras vs. Zorin or Alucard vs. Anderson from the previous two Volumes. Still, a good enough end, I feel. Let’s take a closer look!

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Hellsing Ultimate – Volumes VII and VIII Review

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Hellsing Ult P4

Wow, three anime-related posts in a row! Oh well, it happens when you don’t have any schedule, I guess! Anyway, THIS is why I have fond memories of watching the “Hellsing Ultimate V – VIII” blu-ray a few years ago… The two OVAs this time share a common thread: make the two lead characters look as “bad ass” as possible with crazy powers, and it achieves this goal! That being said there are several other good points on top of this to make Volumes VII and VIII a top watch… for a show about vampire SS Nazis vs. an anti-vampire organisation vs. the Vatican’s KKK-looking army… Let’s take a closer look then!

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Hellsing Ultimate – Volumes V and VI Review

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Hellsing Ult P3

Hellsing moves forward with its big arc of vampire Nazis invading London in blimps and airships while the Catholic church sends in its army to take advantage of both the Nazis and the Protestants being weak… Yep, that’s a plot! That being said, these two OVAs are pretty much all set up for things to come, and so as a stand-alone thing to review it makes it a bit awkward. Still, let’s take a closer look!
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Hellsing Ultimate – Volumes III and IV Review

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Hellsing Ult III and IV

Continuing on with a look at Hellsing Ultimate, the next two volumes begin adapting where the original anime series stopped and we get the full push towards the frankly bizarre Nazi revenge plot that takes up the rest of the series. That’s right, in the end Hellsing comes down to Protestants vs. Catholics vs. Nazis, all three using supernatural beings like vampires and zombies to do their battling with. Like I said last time, it’s good shut your brain off entertainment, not Shakespeare! Let’s take a look at Parts III and IV, shall we?
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Hellsing Ultimate – Volumes I and II Review

David HoganLeave a comment

Hellsing Ult 1 and 2

In a rare non-Anime UK News review series, I take a look at Hellsing Ultimate, now that the last two OVAs are now available in the UK thanks to Crunchyroll. This series is the definition of guilty pleasure for me, I’m not really into over the top gore and violence, but I don’t if it’s the character designs (LOVE Alucard’s design, always have) or what, but I do like the occasional journey into Hellsing madness. Now it’s finally time to run through the whole story, starting with: the start! Thanks to the first two OVAs being based on the same material as the first half of the original TV series, it always feels like I’ve seen this loads of times and I want to “get it out of the way” so I can get to the newer (to me) stuff, but let’s be fair and have a closer look at them!
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