Alucard (Hellsing)

Alucard (アーカード) is a fictional character and the protagonist in the Hellsing manga and anime series created by Kouta Hirano.

A powerful vampire, Alucard works with the Hellsing Organization against other vampires and evil forces. He has a range of supernatural techniques including enhanced strength. He fights with ferocity and often extreme cruelty, rarely intending to kill until his target has been disabled and humiliated, while frequently allowing enemies more than one chance to kill him. According to Volume 8 of the manga, he is Count Dracula. Soon after the events presented in the book, Van Helsing gains control of Dracula, renaming himself Alucard (Dracula spelled backward), and leaves him as a servant of the Hellsing family.

He typically dresses in a distinctive Victorian fashion, with a charcoal suit, leather riding boots, a red cravat, and a long red overcoat. He also wears a red fedora with a wide, floppy brim and a pair of circular, wire-framed sunglasses.

In the anime (both the TV series and OVA) Alucard is voiced by Nakata Jouji (中田譲治). Crispin Freeman voices him in the English dub of both series.

Background
Volume 8 presents flashbacks of when he was human. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Abilities
Alucard is immortal and does not age, although this is limited to the amount of humans he has devoured, which number in the millions. 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, 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, insects, demonic dogs, amorphous masses of darkness, and humanoid forms. He communicates telepathically with Seras and can hypnotize other characters. He can absorb memories through blood and is immune or resistant to sunlight.

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, English 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". Since he enjoys playing highly sexual characters, he adds "Alucard is just the most sexually predacious of any anime character I think I've played".