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duhragonball · 3 years

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Hellsing Ch. 70-76

I guess anything I say here is a spoiler, so yeah, this is “Heart of Dreams”, “Relics”, “Heart of Iron”, and the arc “Finest Hour”. Oh, and “Lunatic Dawn”. Gotta lotta ground to cover. Treacherous ground.

Not a whole lot to say about Anderson’s death. He tried to become a monster using one of the Holy Nails from the True Cross, and then Alucard defeated him anyway, once Seras gave him a little help and a reason to go on living. Alucard was pretty upset about Anderson’s demise, but Anderson says a few soothing words, and reminds him that Al only became a vampire because he couldn’t stand being a human, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense for him to cry now.

So yeah, as determined as Anderson was to kill Alucard, he’s a pretty good sport about losing this fight, and he seems to genuinely pity the man. He wonders how long Alucard will go on living with his regrets, and Al replies “Until my expansive future shatters my expansive past.” So, if we want to take that literally, I guess he’s trying to find redemption by being a good guy to make up for his years as a bad guy. Well, he’s been a vampire for 523 years, and a servant of Hellsing for 101 of those years, so I guess maybe he figures if he trucks along for another 321 years that’d balance the scales?

And maybe I’m finally starting to appreciate some of the complexities of Alucard’s character. The Team Four Star Abridged series spent some time on his desire for redemption, but I couldn’t tell if it was based on the original material or something they came up with for their own version. For instance, the Abridged!Alucard rejected the forgiveness offered by God himself, but later Anderson spoke of his desire for redemption and Alucard didn’t dispute that. It seemed contradictory to me at the time, but the manga does seem to support that. As Vlad Tepes, he refused to ask God for anything, preferring instead to fight and drive himself and his followers to the limits of endurance and decency as proof of their faith.

I find that idea heretical, because it suggests that a person can “earn” God’s favor, or God’s forgiveness, or a place in heaven. Arguably, Anderson tried to do the same thing, but I think he was coming more from a place of doing zealous deeds out of gratitude for the Lord’s grace, rather than trying to earn anything he didn’t already have.

The difference with Alucard is that he seemed to be really wrongheaded about his faith, trying to use violence to become a good person. Then it didn’t work, and he became a vampire, devoted entirely to his own selfish desires, and I guess he’s spent the 20th Century realizing that he’s back where he started, trying to fight his way to redemption, only now he has centuries of red in his ledger instead of mere decades.

Oh, anyway, while this is going on, Integra takes a sword and stands it upright so it looks like a cross to mark Anderson’s death. It’s like this quiet sign of respect. I’m not sure whose sword that is, but it looks like the one Alucard was using in his Dracula persona.

Anyway, fuck all that, because Walter finally shows up and stomps the ashes of Anderson just as everyone was having their final farewell with the guy. Rude.

Young Walter just looks kind of stupid to me. Why is he still wearing the monocle? He’s trying to be 14 and 69 at the same time and failing at both.

Seras asks what Millennium did to him, but Walter makes it clear that this isn’t some brainwashing trope. He’s doing this of his own free will.

He also doesn’t consider himself loyal to Millennium. They turned him into a vampire, but he’s doing this for himself, and he’s only cooperating with them because their goals are in alignment.

Yumiko Takagi tries to kill Walter for... Was she mad at him for stomping on Anderson’s remains? I mean, Alucard’s the one who actually killed Anderson, so shouldn’t she be mad at that guy?

It doesn’t matter, because Walt just slices her into pieces with his magic filaments. Now Heinkel Wolfe wants revenge, because she was her long-time partner in assassin stuff. The TFS Abridged series implied that they were lovers, too, which seemed authentic at the time, but I’m not sure there’s any confirmation to be found in the manga itself.

But before she can take the shot, the Captain shows up and shoots Heinkel in the face. Like, through one cheek and out the other, and the only thing saving her from serious injury was that she happened to have her mouth open at the time.

Side note: I caught myself referring to Heinkel as “him”, which frustrates me because I’ve known she was a woman for like five years now. When I first watched the OVA, I was confused, becuase I could tell it was a female voice actor, but maybe that just meant he was really young, like with Schrodinger. But the Hellsing Wiki set me straight, or so I thought. I didn’t think I’d still be making this mistake.

On the other hand, Yumiko sometimes looks a lot like Goemon from Lupin III, so her wearing a nun’s habit isn’t as heteronormative as it might seem. I’m getting off-track.

You’d think this would be leading up to some big double-team on the Hellsing group, now that the Iscariots are out of the picture, but the Captain’s only stopping Heinkel so Walter can have a clear shot at Alucard. That’s the sole reason Walter turned traitor, you see. He wants to fight Alucard and win, and for the last 55 years they’ve been on the same side.

But is that all it is? I never got to read or watch “Hellsing: The Dawn”, the prequel manga Kouta Hirano created after Hellsing. I’ve heard that it never got finished, but also an anime adaptation was released with the home video release of Hellsing Ultimate Episode VIII. All I really know about it was that there was this time where Alucard and Walter were fighting the Nazis, and the Captain showed up, and Alucard ran away because he didn’t think he could beat that dude. Presumably, he left Walter to fend for himself? But all three of them survived until 1999, so I’m not sure what the outcome of that was. I always wondered if Walter held a grudge over that. But maybe I’m reaching.

There’s also a suggestion of professional jealousy. Walter was a rockstar vampire hunter in his youth, but he’s been overshadowed by Alucard, who is--let’s face it-- a living legend. This would be doubly true in the 90′s, when Integra reawakened Alucard, and Walter having to step back even further from the spotlight. The only way for him to reclaim his former glory would be to challenge the greatest of all vampires and win. He’d go down in history as a traitor, but at least he’d be cemented as the absolute best.

Or... or, you can go with the TFS version, where Walter hints at his motives, only for Alucard to take the wind out of his sails and announce “because you wanna fuck me!” And I love that theory more than any other explanation, because it just brings everything together a lot more neatly. I guess you don’t need Walter to have had a crush on Alucard for 55 years, but it’s a lot more compelling than revenge or professional jealousy. Those things have weight, sure, but they work better as distractions, the things Walter might admit to because they hide the deeper reason that he can’t bring himself to say out loud.

And it’s not entirely rejected by the manga. Alucard remarks on how much more beautiful Walter looked in his old age, compared to this treasonous knockoff vampire look he’s sporting now. The last time he spoke this way, it was when he flirted with Queen Elizabeth II. The next time he does it, it’ll be with Sir Integra when she’s in her early 50′s.

Speaking of QE2, she’s safe and sound, because the Secret Service evacuated her to a fortified location in Dover before Millennium attacked. If things get really hairy, they’re prepared to send her to Canada, and if London can’t be secured, they’ll nuke the whole city, though the Queen is certain that Integra and Alucard will win the day. The vampires acting as Millennium agents outside of London are being contained and destroyed, so things seem to be getting under some semblance of control.

However, the Royal Order of Protestant Knights, also known as the “Round Table” is down to just three surviving members. Integra’s in London, but here we have Rob Walsh and Hugh Irons, reflecting on the death of their fellow Round Tabler, Penwood.

This whole scene struck me as a complete non sequitur when I first saw it in the anime. Walter’s betrayal seemed to sudden and poorly explained that it felt like the author was just winging it by this point, and now we have these two dudes struggling to provide some justification for the twist. But reading this manga in 2021, I find that it makes a lot more sense. We’ve already seen tons of Britons in rather lofty positions, all willing to sell out their principles for a chance to become a vampire. Walter is no different from any of them. It’s just more personal when he does it because we actually know the guy.

But as Walsh discusses the utter debacle of this Millennium invasion, he deduces what we’ve just learned back in London. There must have been a traitor in their ranks, because that’s the only way Millennium could have made it this far. I mean, they just flew a bunch of giant blimps full of rockets right into British airspace. That only worked because they had traitors sabotaging the U.K.’s defenses and communications, and Hellsing was especially vulnerable at the same time.

The only thing Walsh can’t figure out is who the traitor was, since it had to be someone at the Round Table, but they’re all dead now, except for Integra, Irons, and himself.

But Irons fills in the missing pieces. It doesn’t have to have been one of the Round Table’s members, but someone close to one of the members. Years ago, Irons warned Walter about Richard Hellsing. Irons knew that when Arthur died, Richard would try to make a play for the Hellsing estate. But when Irons’ fears came to pass, Walter wasn’t there. It’s like he wanted things to play out the way they did.

But why would Walter want events to play out that way? On her own, Integra had no choice but to unseal Alucard to defend herself, and she’s kept Alucard active ever since. And now, lo and behold, Walter reveals that he turned traitor just so he could take on Alucard. It’s like he arranged for all of this to happen years in advance. But how many years? Fifty-five, Irons wonders.

It’s never explicitly confirmed, but Irons’ reasoning makes too much sense to ignore. Earlier, the Major said that he decided back in ‘44 that Walter “Angel of Death” Dornez would have been a good “get” for his side. Now, Irons is suggesting that Walter might have agreed in the same year. So maybe Walter and the Major made a secret agreement even then. It’s possible that they might have done it later, but why not in 1944?

I mean, the whole backstory here is that Millennium is a continuation of a secret Nazi Vampire project that Walter and Alucard destroyed in 1944. Except they didn’t destroy it at all, which sure makes Walter and Al seem very bad at their jobs, unless Walter let them escape and covered it up.

Meanwhile, the Captain tosses a first aid kit to Heinkel, kind of like he’s saying that he doesn’t want to kill Heinkel, but he can’t let her interfere either. We’ll talk about the Captain later.

As for Alucard vs. Walter, Al wants to check with Integra before he goes through with it. He asks for orders, repeating his big speech from when he killed all those cops in Brazil. Yeah, Walter’s a traitor, but he’s been a close mentor and advisor to Integra for all these years. Does she really want Alucard to killerize his ass?

Yes, she does. If Walter stands against them, then he’s the enemy, and Integra has already ordered Alucard to destroy the enemy, no matter who (snif!) they may be. Integra doesn’t relish this command, but she refuses to compromise over sentimental feelings.

Man, fuck you, Walter.

Then the Major lands his airship near the battlefield and invites Integra to come aboard and fight all of his remaining guys. Alucard orders Seras to join her while he deals with Walter. I can appreciate Seras’ concern here, because the last time she watched Alucard fight alone, he took a flaming bayonet to the face. She probably doesn’t care for Integra and Alucard splitting up like this.

Before she goes, she thanks Walter for all of his support, which disarms Walter for just a moment. Man, fuck you, Walter. Seras is so nice and grateful and polite and cool and you just go right ahead with your 55-years-in-the-making Nazi Vampire Jilted Lover scheme. Fuck you, Walter. You don’t deserve to be in Seras’ life.

So the gals go on board the airship and Schrodinger’s there and Integra just shoots him right between the eyes without bothering to slow down. This is maybe my favorite Integra moment in this thing. I sort of wish Kouta Hirano had done a spin-off of Integra and Seras doing cool shit like this for 30 years.

Alucard taunts Walter with the fact that he no longer gets to be a part of Inegra or Seras’ lives anymore. It sounds kind of petty, but when you think about it, it’s a pretty sick burn. Walter may have been planning this for 55 years, but he still had to live that double life, and it’s not like he can just say he was faking it the entire time.

So they fight. Walter’s magic wire powers seem to be amplified, either because of his restored youth or maybe the boost offered by vampire powers, or maybe he’s always been this strong but now he no longer needs to hold back anymore. For instance, he can make mesh screens with his wires to deflect Alucard’s bullets. And when Alucard summons that dog creature he used to dispatch Luke Valentine....

... Walter just bisects it with a flick of the wrist. You really begin to see why he was “The Angel of Death” back in his heyday.

I never understood what this dog familiar was supposed to be. Walter refers to the Hound of the Baskervilles, but as far as I know that’s just a legend confined to the Sherlock Holmes novel of the same name. But apparently that concept was based upon “black dog” folklore of the same region. There’s a whole laundry list of “black dog” apparitions in Britain alone. Black Shuck, Padfoot, Hairy Jack, Bizarro Snoopy, and so on. So I’m not sure if Hirano is saying that Alucard was the source of these legends, or if they were all based on a single creature which Alucard eventually defeated and absorbed into himself.

Al tries to use the Jackal to kill Walter, but that’s kind of stupid, since Walter designed the gun in the first place. In the anime, I thought Walter somehow triggered a bomb he had planted inside it, but maybe he used his wires to make this happen. It doesn’t really matter, because we already saw that the Casull was useless against Walter’s defenses, and not because it had smaller ammunition.

Then Luke Valentine emerges from the black dog’s body. This part never made any sense to me, but I loved how the Major recognized him, but barely. “Oh yeah, it’s that guy from Volume 2! The guy with the brother.”

The doctor suggests that when the dog was killed, this allowed Luke to reassert himself from inside the dog. Something about a “control ratio”, whatever that is. Like, he was absorbed into the dog’s mass, but now that the dog is no longer conscious, he can think for himself again. Notably, only half of Luke actually makes it out . It’s like he’s half-Luke, half dead dog monster.

But before he can do anything else, Walter puts his wires into Luke and starts controlling him like a puppet, mostly so he can use the dog half to attack Alucard.

Alucard seems more impressed than threatened. Keep in mind, Walter was doing pretty damn well against him early on. You’ll notice Alucard’s missing his right arm along with one of his guns. This is better than Anderson managed to do. So why does Walter even need this Luke-dog puppet thing in the first place?

Well, it’s because Walter’s body is giving out on him. Earlier, when the Doctor was performing the procedure to turn Walter into a vampire, he spoke about how rushed the operation was. I mean, he had to finish the whole thing in one night, after all. And Walter’s a lot more powerful than Dandyman, whom the Doctor considered his finest artificial vampire work. So maybe Walter’s just too powerful for this, and he can’t sustain this form. The Luke-dog-thing is just to keep Alucard busy while he coughs up blood.

The Major sees this development, and likens Walter to a high stakes gambler who’s mortgaged everything for a single hand at a high stakes table. Walter’s risked everything just to tangle with Alucard, and it still isn’t enough.

Alucard does manage to finish off the dog-Luke thing, and this sets him up for Walter’s next attack, and then he goes to finish him off, so things seem to be going Walter’s way...

But Alucard used a decoy, disguising Luke’s severed torso as his own, all so he could sucker-punch Walter in the face. As it turns out, Walter’s physical breakdown is making him younger, which amuses Al to no end.

So Alucard follow suits and assumes the form he once used when they fought the Nazis in 1944. Yeah, say hello to “Girlycard”. I’m not sure why Alucard looked like a 14-year-old girl during World War II. I’ve heard this form described as a Japanese 14-year-old girl, and I can’t dispute it, but it also makes Girlycard seem even more random somehow.

I mean, I guess the idea here was for Walter and Alucard to be able to move inconspicuously through enemy territory. No one would suspect a couple of kids until it was too late. I’m imagining a similar scenario to the ones presented in “Cross Fire”. Heinkel and Yumi would play innocent bystanders, then whip out their guns and swords and go ham on the bad guys. Knowing Hirano’s style, maybe Girlycard and Young Walter operated the same way.

And this further supports the Walter-had-an-unrequited-crush-on-Alucard theory. He might have understood that Girlycard was a disguise. On an intellectual level he might have known, but maybe he still carried a torch, and told himself that there was some way that they could be together. Was he just in love with this disguise, or does he love the real thing? Alucard says that he told Walter the truth decades ago, and claims that this is the reason Walter turned traitor, so yeah, it sure feels like Walter couldn’t handle Alucard’s true nature, one way or another.

I mean, let’s assume that this isn’t just about Alucard not being a cute girl. Maybe Walter fell in love with Alucard in all his forms, whatever that means for his sexuality. The bigger issue is that Alucard’s a vampire, and he’s just fundamentally different from Walter, and maybe that was the problem all along. It’s interesting to think about, but the point here would be that there was some kind of problem, and Walter couldn’t let it go.

Meanwhile, Seras and Integra are busy looking like total BMFs. Just HBIC’s. What’s better than this? Two gals bein’ pals.

Hell yeah!

Bad ass!

The vampires on board this airship are happy to meet their doom, and Integra recalls what her father once told her about how vampires want to die on their own terms. Seras doesn’t get it, because if they want to die so badly, they could have just died in the war they were already in fifty-odd years ago.

So the Major gets on the PA system and explains to her that they want more than just a glorious death. They want bigger, better, more perfect battlefield, so as to make their deaths as meaningful as possible. That’s why I don’t understand that airship captain from a while back. Everyone else in Millennium seemed to understand that they weren’t necessarily fighting to win. Britain is prepared to nuke London if they have to, so it’s hard to imagine anyone in Millennium surviving past today, even if they won.

Anyway, as the Major explains all of this, the Captain appears before the gals. It looks like he’s here to stop them, or is he?

#2021hellsingliveblog #hellsing #alucard #seras victoria #walter c dornez #alexander anderson #heinkel wolfe #yumiko takagi #the major #the captain #warrant officer schrodinger #sir hugh irons #lt general rob walsh #luke valentine #really? luke valentine?

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saturnberry · 3 years

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crazy analysis lady back at it again, this time with skin tones :D

only did Jan and Tubalcain due to the horrible white washing.

Jan

First was taken from OVA II when he was inside of the hellsing organization. This seemed to be a place with steady lighting and where it would not be as difficult to label it as a lighting discoloration.

Second was from Gonzo episode five. From when Luke was showing him the cross from within the club. Was a scene with steady lighting as well.

Jan Valentine is dark skinned, having darker skin in Gonzo than in the OVAs

Tubalcain

Oh lord this man. The redder tones are from OVA VIII / IX where Alucard is burning. These are also from another studio along with mood / lighting changes. These were only taken into account because of the studio change.

Olive tones are from OVA III at different lighting points. The lightest colors are from the front of the hotel in which lighting is strong. Darker / brown tone in the second picture is from the Alucard battle where lighting is there yet dim. Green/yellow tone is from inside the tent.

Tubalcain is not as dark as Jan, that is a given. Yet, he is not as light as Alucard and is far darker than Rip Van Winkle. The Alucard comparison is found in the manga and Rip comparison from OVA IV. He has warm undertones rather than cool, but dose not have red undertones. In strong light, can have light skin, but is tan in neutral light.

#hellsing #hellsing ultimate #jan valentine #tubalcain alhambra #now people of the hellsing community:#you have Alhambra's ethnicity and skin tones #use them #and now you also have a thing on Jam's skin color #use it #stop fuckin white washing these characters

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animaanimewizard · 3 years

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Anima’s Anime List

Currently:

none

While Airing:

Project Scard: Praeter no Kizu / Scar on the Praeter

Just Finished:

Free! Dive to The Future

none

Long Term:

D.Gray-man - On episode 96 out of 103

Live Blogging:

(none)

To See and/or Be Watched:

D.Gray-man Hallow

Free! Take Your Marks

Free! Road to the World

High Speed! Free! Starting Days

Suggestions/Recommendations:

Sk8 Infinity

Waiting to Air:

(none)

Have Watched:...

Hell Girl (26)

Hell Girl: Two Mirrors (25)

Hell Girl: Three Vessels (4)

Black Rock Shooter (8)

Uta No Prince-Sama 1000% (13)

Uta No Prince-Sama 2000% (13)

Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama (26)

Angel Beats (13)

Free!- Iwatobi Swim Club (12)

Free! Eternal Summer (13)

Shakugan no Shana (24)

Shakugan no Shana II (24)

Shakugan no Shana III (24)

Another (13)

Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi (13)

Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi 2 (13)

Togainu no Chi (12)

Diabolik Lovers (12)

Karneval (13)

K (13)

K [dub] (13)

Ghost Hunt (25)

Devil Survivor 2 The Animation (13)

Psycho-Pass (22)

Ao No Exorcist (25)

Junjou Romantica (12)

Junjou Romantica 2 (12)

Junjou Romantica 3 (12)

Attack on Titan (25)

Durarara!! (25)

Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist (12)

Zetsuen no Tempest (24)

Sword Art Online (25)

Amnesia (12)

Noragami (12)

Akuma No Riddle (12)

DRAMAtical Murder (12)

Love Stage!! (12)

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun (12)

Hamatora The Animation (12)

Re:Hamatora (12)

No.6 (11)

Zankyou No Terror (11)

Tokyo Ghoul (12)

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! (12)

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (12)

Kyoukai no Kanta (12)

Psycho Pass 2 (11)

Mirai Nikki (26)

Death Note (37)

Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji (12)

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love! (12)

Tokyo Ghoul √A (12)

Durarara!!x2 (12)

Witchblade (24)

Battle Girls Time Paradox (13)

Ga-Rei: Zero (12)

Ouran High School Host Club (26)

Hataraku Maou-sama! (13)

Owari no Seraph (12)

Akatsuki no Yona (24)

Shougeki no Souma (24)

K: Return of Kings (13)

Noragami Aragoto (13)

Diabolik Lovers More Blood (12)

Uchouten Kazoku (13)

Shikabane Hime: Aka (13)

Tokyo Ravens (24)

Meganebu! (12)

Gangsta. (13)

Your Lie In April (22)

Magi: Labyrinth of Magic (25)

Durarara!!x2 Ten (12)

Durarara!!x2 Ketsu (12)

One Punch Man (12)

Yuri!!! On Ice (12)

Watashi ga Motete Dousunda (12)

Cells At Work (12)

Free! Dive To The Fututre (12)

The Disasterous Life of Saki K (12)

K-on (39)

Heaven's Blessing (12)

Spy X Family (25)

Have Seen + Never Finished

Blood Lad-1

Mekakucity Actors -8

Gakuen Heaven-7

Nabari no Ou-1 ½

Brothers Conflict

Darker than Black: Gaiden-1

Darker Than Black-1

Black Butler-1

Gugure! Kokkuri-san ~1 ½

Rosario + Vampire-4 ½

Betrayal Knows My Name-8

Barakamon-3

UltraViolet: Code 044-1

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love Revolutions- 2

The Seven Deadly Sins- 7

Wolf’s Rain

The Ancient Magus' Bride

Magi: The Kingdom of Magic - On episode 8 out of 25

Kamigami no Asobi 8 out of 12

Movies & Mini Specials

Yokozawa no Bai Movie

Ao no Exorcist Movie

K Missing Kings Movie

Psycho Pass Movie

Kyoukai no Kanata Movie

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun (6)

Chunnibyou demo Koi ga Shita (1)

Free! (3)

Beyond The Boundary (1)

K-On! The Movie

A Silent Voice

OVA’s

Black Rock Shooter OVA (2)

Attack on Titan OVA (3)

Noragami (2)

Kyoukai no Kanta OVA (1)

Hybird Child OVA (4)

A Choice With No Regrets OVA (1)

Akuma no Riddle OVA

Diabolik Lovers OVA

Free! OVA

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shita OVA

Durarara!! OVA (2)

Was Going To Watch and Never Did

Death Parade -12

Hyouka -22

Hellsing- 12

Hakuouki- 12

Aoharu x Kikanjuu -12

Kuragahime- 11

No Game No Life -12

Gatchaman Crowds -12

Black Bullet -12

Kekkai Sensen!

Rokka no Yuusha -12

Attack On Titan: Junior High -12

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun -13

Owari no Seraph 2nd Season -12

Shikabane Hime: Kuro -12

Hitsugi no Chaika -12

Kiznaiver -12

Bungou Stray Dogs -12

Servamp -12

Sakamoto desu ga? -12

Cheer Danshi!! -?

Joker Game -12

Shinkgeki no Kyojin 2nd Season

Sinbad no Bouken

#i run an anime blog

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heredis-sanguinis-moved · 4 years

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& For Munday, what are some of the inspirations you take for writing your muse~? Be it sounds, history figures, films, colors... etc? What makes you get into that great 'crimson vibe' you have for him? uvu

//Apologies for the late answering of this ask, but life kinda got in between. And thank you for asking this~

As for my inspirations, there are many I have for this bloodbag. So to avoid having to ramble on for hours on this, I’ll just name them all, without any range of importance to each other or anything:

Historial people: Vlad III Dracula (Vlad the Impaler) Rasputin Elizabeth Báthory Jack the Ripper

Media characters: Alucard (Hellsing Ultimate OVA) Alucard (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Dracula (Castlevania series) Mathias Cronqvist (Castlevania: Lament of Innocence) Lestat (Vampire Chronicles series)

Movies/Novels: Interview With the Vampire Queen of the Damned Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens Bram Stoker’s Dracula Carmilla

Colours: Every variation of red Black Gold

Sounds/Music: Classical piano pieces that vary in tempo and volume across the song Violins Rain Storms

Animals: Wolves Bats Lions

#This became quite a list #But I have been having this leech as a muse for years #And he is my main so I'm bound to have extensive lists on him?#The same (or worse) can be said for Vayne who is a muse for at least twice as long as Vlad #thanks again anon for this ask #I hardly get to talk like this regarding Vlad #Because I worry/think people will not be interested or get annoyed from me rambling #Anonymous

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thenightling · 5 years

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My top 15 love interests for romantic incarnations of Dracula (No, they’re not all Mina)

If I was to do a list of favorite love interests for Dracula it would be...

Keep reading for a full list...

16. Bonus: Lydia from Dark Prince: the true Story of Dracula.

I list this one here because she’s technically an historic figure and the rest are fictional so I am not sure if she should count or not. The historic Dracula’s first wife’s name has been lost to history even though the river tributary under Poenari Castle was named for her. The film Dark Prince: The true Story of Dracula starring Ruldolf Martin names her Lydia.

Though this film is mostly historic the ending implies that the two are both vampires and walking together through eternity.

Vladislaus Drakuyla AKA Vlad III of Wallachia, AKA Vlad Tepes (The Impaler)’s first wife died by suicide and the film hinted that this might have been enough to enable her to come back as a vampire.

Right before Vlad’s assassination in 1776 or early 1777 (at age forty-five or forty six) in the movie we hear her voice, which suggests she’s either waiting for him or has set into motion turning him into a vampire to be with her.

15. Sir Integra Hellsing from the Hellsing.

In the manga and anime Hellsing (and Hellsing Ultimate OVA), instead of having been destroyed by Doctor Abraham Van Helsing after the events of the Dracula novel, Dracula was instead captured and through arcane means bound to serve the Van Helsing bloodline for eternity. The family founded the Hellsing organization for fighting monstrous threats. Dracula took on the name Alucard (his own name spelt backward) and may have gone slightly crazy...

He became fiercely loyal to Integra Hellsing, the most recent descendant of Abraham van Helsing to become his Master. It is a very strange relationship to say the least...

14. Xander Harris from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

In Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5 we have Buffy encounter Dracula for the very first time. Here he is played by Rudolf Martin, the same actor who played Dracula in Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula. In the episode Dracula takes Xander to be his Renfield-like henchman. At the end of the story Xander is free from Dracula’s spell however the story of their relationship is not over yet.

According to the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer season 8 comics Xander and Dracula have formed an unusual relationship. Xander taught Dracula about modern fun and pleasures and Dracula became more and more protective of Xander. When Buffy came and retrieved Xander (again) from Dracula, this time Dracula fell into a deep depression. Refusing to feed or take care of himself Dracula’s hair and claws grew and he deteriorated into his elderly form. When he found out that Xander was coming to pay him a visit, he hastily made himself presentable and de-aged to a more attractive / youthful appearance.

Now the two bicker like long time lovers. I ship it.

Oh, and Xander still calls him master, despite himself.

Further note on this one: Dracula is actually smart for NOT getting a smartphone. All cellphones can be traced via GPS. Do you really want a tracking device in your pocket while hunting human prey? You just made Blade and Buffy’s jobs a little too easy there. A practical vampire would not carry such a device while hunting.

Unfortunately this comic retconned a few important aspects of the TV show version of Dracula and even claimed he doesn’t actually conjure storms, but senses them coming (contradicting the beach scene from the Buffy vs. Dracula episode.) I wish people would stop de-powering Dracula.

13. Jonathan Harker (Multiple versions):

Dario Argento said that his version of Dracula was attracted to Jonathan Harker. And in Frank Wildhorn’s Dracula The Musical (Particularly the German production called Dracula das Musical) the scene “Fresh Blood” (Blut) is very errotic.

Fresh Blood (Blut) now featured Jonathan Harker being tied to a bed and his shirt removed as he’s fed upon by Dracula. But first by Dracula’s brides and grooms of the castle.

Also one of the lyrics in the English language version of the song indicates he wants Jonathan AND Mina as his and plans to make them both vampires. Thus reaffirming the polyamorous version of Dracula.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slZps47LgKQ

Dracula gets particularly “grabby” with him during his de-aging sequence.

The relationship is pretty one sided...

12. Renfield (multiple versions).

The German production of Frank Wildhorn’s Dracula the musical (Dracula das Musical) has Dracula with brides and grooms as opposed to just brides. Despite this change toward bi or panasexuality, this particular relationship is very one sided.

Renfield is very much in love with Dracula in many depictions of the character. This mad man is obsessed with “The Master” and in the Frank Wildhorn Dracula musical he sings a song about how much he loves The Master and how wonderful he is. The reprise version looks as if Dracula is about to kiss him as they sing a slowed duet version of the refrain but this is where Dracula, instead, snaps his neck.

Here is the English language version of The Master’s song (Not the slowed reprise duet.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-v1O-asrHg

There is a deleted scene from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) where Renfield laments that he has lost Dracula “to the pretty woman.”

In Love at First bite, and some other films Dracula actually does give Renfield immortality however. I suspect the Love at First Bite version is a half-vampire since he can go in the sun (this version of Dracula burns in daylight) and he still needs glasses for his nearsightedness but he has apparently worked for Dracula for at least a century so he was clearly granted immortality even if he can’t turn into a bat or hypnotize.

11. Carmilla Karnstein from The Batman vs. Dracula.

Carmilla is an odd one because in her original novel she’s portrayed as a lesbian. She is a vampire whose novel predates Dracula’s own novel. Her prey of choice are young virginal women. And she can turn into a large grey or black cat. She is powerful and independant and in The Batman vs. Dracula she somehow ended up Dracula’s wife. So I will assume this version is bisexual and they’re probably polyamorous and not at all monogamous.

The version of Dracula in Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books, and the 1979 Dracula movie starring Frank Langella are also polyamorous though he claims Mina (Lucy in the 1979 film) is above the others. Poly-Romantic / Pan-Romantic / and Demi seem to be recurring traits for romantic versions of Dracula.

Dracula spends part of The Batman vs. Dracula trying to bring Carmilla back from the dead, using the very life essence and soul of VickI Vale to fuel the spell. Unfortunately things don’t quite go as planned.

10. Dracula’s mysterious male lover from Marvel comics, Avengers issue 016 (2019).

Marvel’s Dracula has been confirmed as having had male and female lovers. This is not the only bisexual or panasexual Dracula in pop culture. The German production of the Frank Wildhorn Dracula the Musical (Dracula das Musical) gives him brides and grooms in his castle, Dario Argento has said his version of Dracula is bisexual, and Marvel has now confirmed that their version of Dracula has had male and female lovers.

I don’t know much about this pretty elfish, semi-androgynous character. Identified as a male vampire lover of Dracula’s from Marvel’s War of the Vampires storyline, Dracula wept blood tears when this unnamed character was killed. And he (the lover) was clearly willing to die for Dracula. So this spot is for you, you poor, unnamed elfish male vampire lover!

I don’t know his name so I am going to call him Samuel. And in my mind he was the pretty castle librarian whom Dracula became infatuated with. There. Headcanon achieved.

Further note: Usually if you make Dracula cry, it means he’ll take brutal and violent revenge. This is a universal truth with all versions of Dacula. Never make him cry.

I would put him at a MUCH better spot on this list but he doesn’t get a lot of time in the comic and we don’t know much about him. If we only knew more about him he would have a far better spot on this list. Look how adorable and tragic he is! He could easily be one of my favorites but all we know is that his death brought Dracula to tears and that yes, they were lovers. I seriously considered moving this one up the list but I’m bias for this sweet, androgynous, vampire-boy.

Seriously, I want to know this guy’s story. Dracula cries for him! In front of his enemies, he weeps for him! Give us this story, Marvel! Who is he???

9. Amy Peterson from Fright Night (original 1985 version).

This one is a bit dubious because the vampire is Jerry Dandridge but the 1985 novelization of the film suggested that Jerry is actually count Dracula. Fright Night played with popular vampire tropes and a few were homages to the 1960s soap opera, Dark Shadows. In Dark Shadows the vampire, Barnabas Collins, discovered that the young waitress (and later governess) Maggie Evans, was the uncanny look-a-like of his lost love, Josette. Because of the physical similarity he was convinced she was the reincarnation of his lost love even though with reincarnations you could literally end up looking like anyone or even being another gender after reincarnation. Barnabas had a painting of Josette that showed the physical similarity.

In Fright Night Jerry Dandridge meets Amy and becomes obsessed when he realizes how much she resembles a woman he, too, has lost and is pining for. When Jerry is finally destroyed by the has-been horror actor turned real vampire hunter, Peter Vincent, and also by Amy’s boyfriend, Charley Brewster, his last words are crying out for Amy.

Though this relationship is very one sided and Amy is clearly under age, when you’re a teenager (as I was) we can’t help but find ourselves fantasizing about being Amy in Jerry’s arms during the nightclub dance scene or the “Come to Me” scene. Because of problematic aspects of this relationship and because Jerry was never officially revealed as being Dracula in the film, that’s why this is at spot number 8.

The Jerry Dandridge / Dracula character is apparently in a polyamorous relationship as he has a live-in (apparent boyfriend) Billy Cole. Billy does not exist in the 2011. Fright Night remake, which removed all romantic aspects of the character.

8. Evan Barrington-Cabot from the Graphic novel Series Dracula: The Company of Monsters.

In Dracula: The Company of Monsters graphic novel (published in 2011) an evil corporate executive known as Conrad orchestrates raising Dracula from the dead in the hope of using and exploiting him. Conrad’s nephew, Evan comes to understand and respect Dracula and Dracula’s code of honor. The two respect each other. And like with most stories where Dracula falls in love with the protagonist he decides to stalk him and declare him his.

When Dracula takes his revenge on his captors, Evan is the only one that he spares.

He even watches the young man sleep, the way Dracula is often depicted doing to female love interests. And he makes it very clear he plans on making him a vampire down the line.

This relationship is kept somewhat ambiguous otherwise I might consider putting it at a better spot on the list.

7. Ericka Van Helsing from Hotel Transylvania 3.

A direct descendant of Abraham Van Helsing (the famous monster hunter) Ericka has a cruise ship for monsters with the sole purpose of luring Count Dracula, whom falls in love with her. He “Zings.” Monsters supposedly can only zing once so there is a fan theory that she is the reincarnation of Mavis’ mother. This is likely true since reincarnation or look-a-like of a first love (or both) is a popular trope in vampire fiction started by Dan Curtis for his TV show Dark Shadows and later carried over into his Dracula movie starring Jack Palance.

Ericka ultimately realizes she loves Dracula too and the cruise ship captain and hotel owner end up together. Dracula proposes to her at the end of the film and she says yes.

Also though Dracula is several hundred years old in Hotel Transylvania he is physically in his forties, I suspect Ericka (as a mortal) is biologically older than him, which is a clever touch since Dracula is usually going after young girls in pop culture. It’s good to see him with an older (well, in appearance) woman. (”When you’re six hundred years old there’s no such thing as a cougar.” - The Emo Vampire Song.) Hotel Transylvania 3 is actually my favorite of the franchise and is a sweet film.

6. Cindy from Love at First bite.

Love at First Bite is a comedy from 1979. Think of Coming to America meets Splash in that a supernatural character, a proverbial fish-out-of-water comes to New York looking for love.

Dracula believes Cindy to be the reincarnation Mina (“But I lost her in that damn London Fog!”). He knows her from magazine pictures and interviews and after communists drive him out of his castle he moves to New York where he plans to seduce her. This consists of licking her ankles while in dog-form, telling her that she is more than merely her appearance, that he understands her and her anxieties. And dancing to “I love the Night Life”. The two ultimately fall in love and knowing the truth about Dracula, Cindy opts to spend eternity with him as his vampire queen. The ending has them fly off together, in bat form, to Jamaica.

5. Lucy from Dracula (1979).

In the 1979 version of Dracula, Frank Langella plays Count Dracula. Though technically a remake and based on the same play the Bela Lugosi Dracula was based on, there are some distinct changes. For starters in this version the character we mostly know as Mina in most adaptations is named Lucy and the Lucy character is named Mina. The names are swapped.

Not only that but in this version it’s Dracula who is initially seduced. Though engaged to Jonathan Harker in Edwardian England (set roughly twenty years after most versions of Dracula, which are usually set in 1891) Dracula arrives for dinner at the home of his new neighbors. Here he offers to hypnotize the sickly Mina to relieve her of a headache (that he very likely induced). Lucy protests, showing her dislike and distrust of such methods and the manipulation of the will of others. This bold reaction delights Dracula as he is not used to conflict from women.

The next step in the possibly-accidental seduction of Dracula comes when Lucy turns on a phonograph record player and asks him to dance with her, improperly, right in front of her fiance.

And later after some tragedies, when the rest of the household is unable to uphold an invitation to Dracula’s house for supper, Lucy goes alone.

I like this one because in this one it’s mostly Dacula who gets seduced. Lucy wants him and she gets him. She knows what she’s doing. Also Dracula isn’t a whining, brooding, emo vampire. He is lonely but he LIKES what he is. He’s proud of what he is. He’s fierce and predatory and has all of his traditional powers, including being able to turn into a bat, and wolf, and conjure storms. So few adaptations remember the wolf form these days.

This was the first truly empowered version of the Mina character (though named Lucy). And she is not some look-a-like or reincarnation of a previous love. No. He simply falls in love with her for who she is.

It is very likely this version of Dracula is demi (falling in love with personality before any physical attraction) which is also true of the Castlevania version of Dracula and the version in Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books.

Also based on the last dialogue from Dracula to Lucy (that he would return to her once they stopped hunting him) I choose to believe he faked his death in this version, especially by the wolf howl at the very end and the cryptic smile on Lucy’s face before the end credits. Long live The Count and Lucy!

4. Mina from Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books.

Very similar to Lucy in the 1979 Dracula starring Frank Langella, this is a romantic interest where Dracula sees the person as his equal.

This Mina is not the reincarnation of a lost love, nor does she resemble a lost love. When we first see this version of Mina it’s in the novel The Dracula Tape (retelling of Dracula from Dracula’s point of view.) Dracula shows up at her door to deceive her and try to manipulate her into getting the heroes to leave him be but she doesn’t fall for it. And she wrings the truth out of him. She’s clever and also manipulative and the two become lovers.

And in the contemporary world of the later books, though Dracula is having affairs with Mina’s own descendants (It’s a bit weird, I know but at least he’s honest about it.) he still seeks her for comfort and guidance. And constantly refers to her as his greatest love. It’s creepy yet sweet.

In this continuity he fakes his death at the end of the Dracula Tape. And when Mina finally dies of apparent old age she comes back as a vampire because his blood is in her system. As his kind of vampire can change their age based on how heavily they feed, she (like Dracula) can look any age she chooses. (Dracula usually looks roughly forty-five-years-old since that’s about the age he was when he died in his mortal life but sometimes he deliberately abstains from feeding to look older or even elderly.)

And with Mina to guide him, Dracula becomes the protector (and casual seducer...) of her mortal descendants.

Mostly the relationship and personality (as well as powers) are very similar to that of the 1979 Dracula film starring Frank Langella.

Another reason I like this version of Dracula is the cause of how he became a vampire is sort of ambiguous. He dies as the historic figure dies but in the Fred Saberhagen novel “A Matter of taste” (Book six of his Dracula novels) it’s revealed that loyalists stole his body and severed head and left a look-a-like in his place.

They prepared him for burial where candles kept going out and the wounds started to heal (including his head apparently re-attaching itself) so they hastily buried him. He rose as a vampire and insisted that it was a “transition of will” that he refused to die. In other words he has no idea how or why he came back as a vampire.

Considering most vampires in the Fred Saberhagen Dracula novels are created by a mortal drinking the blood of a vampire, after having been fed on, this made Dracula very unique and mysterious. I really like this origin. It’s my favorite origin for Dracula since it explains nothing while explaining everything.

It’s a lot better than someone renouncing God and drinking blood from a stone cross...

This one could easily be my favorite female love interest for Dracula, tied with the one I have listed for number 1 but I put two others between this and the number one spot because of their significance to pop culture and my love of some musicals.

3. Mina from Frank Wildhorn’s Dracula the Musical.

This is essentially the musical adaptation of the 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula movie. The biggest difference is there is no mention of Dracula’s mortal life’s wife and no suggestion that Mina resembles (or is the reincarnation of) an old love. The only problem is there is little explanation given as to why he falls in love with her other than that he seemed to have a mysterious psychic link with her all along.

Still, the songs are beautiful and the relationship is sweet and this version of Mina is very likable.

2. Mina from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992 film):

Before I proceed with this one, yes. Yes, I know Dracula and Mina are not actually lovers in the original Dracula novel. I know that when he makes her drink his blood in the novel that it’s more of a rape. But this version plays with the love story Dan Curtis created for his Barnabas Collins and later carried over into Dracula.

Dracula is seeking the reincarnation of his deceased mortal-life wife. And not only was he lucky enough to find her in a look-a-like body but she’s also the age the first wife was when she died (by total coincidence!). At first it seems like he just thinks she looks like his dead wife and he can seduce her but he seems shocked when she starts to actually remember details of his home. (watch his expression as she starts to talk about his homeland. He’s genuinely surprised).

The two begin a consensual love affair that sadly ends with Mina putting him out of his misery.

A least it’s implied he was forgiven and got to go to Heaven despite the things he had done (Much like in Stoker’s original novel. No, really, that’s in there.)

I like the Frank Wildhorn musical adaptation of this version of Dracula slightly better than the original non-musical movie because in the musical you don’t get the weird bleeding cross / renouncing God origin for Dracula’s vampirism. and 2. Mina doesn’t seem to be anyone’s reincarnation or look-a-like. They’re just in love (Even though yes, I know that is not in Bram Stoker’s novel.) But I do have a soft spot for this one because most of it does follow the novel and the musical probably would not exist if not for this movie.

1. Lisa Țepeș from Castlevania.

Lisa fast became one of my favorite love interests for Dracula. She went to Dracula’s castle seeking knowledge and bravely stood up to the antisocial vampire.

Much like Lucy from the 1979 Dracula film she talked back to him. She was bold and brave. She wanted to learn and she wanted the ability to save lives and damn it, she would risk her own life to do it. Dracula fell in love with this personality almost instantly. It was her personality, not her physical beauty that he became infatuated with.

And they were both happily nerdy together. She humanized Dracula and reminded him that there is good in the world. Dracula married her and the two had a son together.

For her sake he learned to trust and love. But it was for that love that he was driven to madness by her death...

Lisa was only forty-five-years-old when she was burned at the stake as a witch while simply trying to help people as a medical doctor.

This version of Dracula was a good man deep inside but pushed to madness and governed by his vampiric instincts he couldn’t bear to be without her. And when she was murdered he blamed almost all of humanity (save for a select few) for it.

And so Dracula began a subconscious quest to be destroyed by going through the motions of wanting to destroy the world. This is not the only plot where Dracula plans to destroy the world and the protagonist catches on that it’s an elaborate and “world’s longest suicide note”. This was also done in the Hammer horror film The Satanic Rites of Dracula. But here it was for heartbreak of a deeply lonely man.

#Count Dracula #Lisa Tepes #Castlevania #Hotel Transylvania #Love at first Bite #Mina Harker #Bram Stoker's Dracula #Carmilla #Renfield #Ericka Van Helsing

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lxcrimcsx · 5 years

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I decided to list the works I’m familiar with and might show up on this blog. The works in italic are not part of this blog, but I would interact with characters from these fandoms or with verses based upon these works. Strikethrough means that yes, I’m familiar with, but I’m not compelled to take it into consideration.

Dracula (1897 novel)

Dracula's Guest (1914 short story)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 movie)

Dracula 2000 (2000 movie)

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003 movie)

Van Helsing (2004 movie + PS2 game)

The Batman VS Dracula (2005)

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Hellsing (anime and manga)

Vampire Hunter D (both OVAs)

Fate/Apocrypha (anime series and manga )

Fate/Extra (PSP game )

Fate/Grand Order (mobile game, has both Apocrypha and Extra versions)

Castlevania/Akumajo Dracula ( NES, SNES, GEN, PSX, PS2, GB, GBA, DS, PSP, ARC games (IGA verse))

Netflix Castlevania (animation)

Fables / The Wolf Among Us (comics and game)

Code : Realize (game and anime)

Now on more in-depth for the Castlevania games I’ve played. The ones under the same bullet are the same game/history. Strikethrough is not part of the canon so it’s not being considered; The italic means that even if it’s not canon I don’t mind having it considered here; and bold means Soma Cruz related (except for HOD, which has both) I think the only Castlevanias I haven’t played was the PCE version of Rondo , Encore of the Night and the Japan-exclusive pachinko and arcade.

Castlevania (NES) , Haunted Castle (ARC) , Super Castlevania IV (SNES), Castlevania Chronicles (PSx)

Castlevania II (NES)

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES)

Castlevania Bloodlines (GEN)

Castlevania: The Adventure (GB) , Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (Wii)

Castlevania: The Adventure II : Belmont's Revenge (GB)

Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy (comic)

Castlevania : Rondo of Blood (PS4), Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSx, PSP, PS4)

Castlevania Legends (GB)

Castlevania 64 (N64)

Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (N64)

Castlevania : Circle of the Moon (GBA)

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)

Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisōkyoku (novel)

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PS2)

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PS2)

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)

Castlevania Judgment (Wii)

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (PS3)

Castlevania: Order of Shadows (mobile)

Kid Dracula (NES)

Kid Dracula (GB)

#. meta #. headcanon #long post

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mr-shimurka · 2 months

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Pt.1

I suppose you should see again this sweet novel(◕‿◕✿)

#bernaseras #hellsing #hellsing ultimate #seras victoria #pip bernadotte #victoria seras x pip bernadotte #hellsing ova III #my artwork #mlw #dijital art #mr shimurka

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mi5016alishia · 2 years

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Studio Trigger

Studio Trigger holds a very important place in my heart and played a major role in pushing me toward the dream of becoming an animator. Before getting into the history of Studio Trigger however, I think it’s important to briefly cover the history of Gainax first.

Gainax began as a small studio operating in a rented room in a textile factory, back then it was called Daicon Film. They got their starting recognition for their short Daicon III and Daicon IV an animated short in 1983 at a Nihon SF convention by that same name. They would then change their name in 1985 to Gainax going on to create numerous shows, movies and OVAs such as “Nadia the Secret of Blue Water”, the incredibly renowned “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, one of my favourite romantic shows animated or otherwise aka “His and Her Circumstances”, “Gurren Lagann”, “FLCL”, “Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt” and “Otaku no Video”.

The creation of Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1995 marks the start of the Gainax Golden Years, the most common consensus for it’s duration is up until the release of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt in 2010 which is deemed the final show of the Golden Years. Gainax has had a vast history of studios forming from their staff who have just left the company for example; In 1992 several employees left to form their own studio after Gainax not having come out with any animated shows of its own in around 4 years. Studio Gonzo was founded by Shouji Murahama, Mahiro Maeda, Shinji Higuchi and Hiroshi Yamaguchi, they full embraced experimenting with new digital 2D animation. It seemed a promising start-up however they have very few shows they are known for, mostly mid-tier projects like “Full Metal Panic”, “Rosario + Vampire” and “Strike Witches” with the only two shows of real lasting praise being “Hellsing” and “Welcome to the NHK”. They were also a strong supporter of online streaming, having pushed enthusiastically to work with Crunchyroll even in the very early stages of the streaming platforms existence, likely to save itself from its worsening financial situation. Studio Gonzo bleeds talent like no other with talent of its studio leaving in short timeframes, including several departures that went on to set up another studio David Productions that went on to create the ever popular JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures Adaptations and Blah that has gained them strong popularity. Maeda left the studio and pursued freelance and Murahama left and has pursued several ventures since but the studio itself has largely fell to the wayside. In 2007 Hideaki Anno, Gainax co-founder, splits off to create his own studio, Studio Khara. The studio gets royalties to all the Gainax shows that Anno worked on; it’s mostly known for in-betweening for other studios and its Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy.

Then in 2011 two major Gainax employees, Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Otsuka, decide to break away and form Studio Trigger and they took a very sizeable chunk of Gainax staff with them. Imaishi had made a strong name for himself in the industry for his work being a key animator on Evangelion, his directorial work on both Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt and Gurren Lagann and the animation director of episode 5 of FLCL as well as making storyboards for FLCL as well as for His and Her Circumstances, while Otsuka had been an assistant director on Gurren Lagann and various other positions in other Gainax shows, Studio Trigger has effectively made itself into the new Gainax in the eyes of the animation community, it’s spiritual successor. Like Gainax it had a modest start with it’s first piece of animation created was an opening for a 2012 3DS game called Project Cross Zone. Studio Triggers first full length show was Kill la Kill in 2013, it was faced with a very mixed reception with some praising it for its stunning animation and it’s commentary of the animation industry whilst others argued it was nothing but a pretentious excuse for in your face fanservice. Studio Trigger has gone on to create Space Patrol Luluco and Kiznaiver in 2016, Little Witch Academia in 2017, Darling in the Franx in 2018, Promare in 2019, BNA: Brand New Animal in 2020 and is even going to be making a show this year set in the world of Cyberpunk 2077 called Cyberpunk EdgeRunners, coming as a slight surprise as Imaishi rarely takes on adaptations and instead sticks to originals suggesting they are being granted a lot of creative freedom for this show so there is of course some excitement in seeing how that’ll pan out; it is scheduled for release in 2022, based on the production timeline it’ll likely be around summer or after.

I’d like to go over some of the shows from Studio Trigger that I absolutely adore and why. Starting with Little Witch Academia, the original short film was released in theatres in March 2013 and then streamed on YouTube with English subtitles in the following month; the second short film was partially funded on Kickstarter and was met with astronomical support, meeting and surpassing its funding goal of $150,000 in just under 5 hours, with the total raised landing at $625,518 by the end of the campaign, this second film was released in 2015. Little Witch Academia evokes a strong feeling of nostalgia for me, it really beautifully captures that childhood wonderment within it’s themes and characters particularly the protagonist Akko, the pursuit of a goal that seems neither realistic to others and even a goal that seems pointless with magic in this world being treated more as a relic of the past and not necessarily the best job prospect it reminds me of how throughout my childhood I was repeatedly discouraged from creative jobs, art was good as a hobby or just to admire but to pursue it was silly and would be a poor decision for my future as much as my younger self’s desire to want to become a mermaid or witch was. Akko has no innate magical ability, but she doesn’t just believe in herself and hope for the best she works hard with the help of her teachers and friends. The show has a beautiful colour palette and what I notice across Trigger’s works is they keep things colourful but dark enough to really make their neon accents pop when they get used for the effects of magic, explosions or other special effects. The show is very episodic although it does have a level of an overarching plot, its comedic episodic nature bursting with charisma and energy that takes me back to cartoons of my childhood like Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Codename: Kids Next Door, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Kids and Billy and Mandy to name a few. As with many of Studio Trigger’s work, it stands out for its beautifully fluid animation creating powerful and realistic movement as well as creating a lot of impact when it needs to. Back to discussing the plot, as mentioned this world doesn’t really need magic anymore, part of the shows theme is the clash between tradition and modernity, technology is quickly replacing the need for witches and as a result Luna Nova Magical Academy, the school Akko manages to get into, is struggling to get new students to enrol as well as facing a lot of funding cuts and debt. Magic is not an infinite resource, it can only be cast around what is called a Philosopher’s Stone or near some of the few magical ley lines which has rendered witches as being pretty redundant especially when paired with the evolution of technology that has replaced many of their roles. The witches cling to traditions instead of evolving with the changing times. Akko not coming from a magical lineage is starting from scratch and has to really forge her own path which often leads to her not following tradition even from her even being at the school in the first place considering her background; even her inspiration to become a Witch comes from watching Shiny Chariot, a witch who ended up outcasted due to using magic for showmanship which was seen as not respecting traditions. Akko also puts her own spin onto the spells she learns and due to that “disrespect” towards tradition she rarely gets recognised for her ability nor her huge amount of work she puts in to get there. This theme is further seen with one of the teachers in the second season Croix who has embraced combining both magic with new technology in order to evolve with this changing world which gains her huge disapproval from the rest of the faculty. As a creative I can relate a lot to this theme as I’m sure many others can, it’s hard enough having people view the arts as not being “real jobs” to begin with but added onto that even within those circles your art may not be viewed as “real” either because it doesn’t follow the elephant in the room market that fine arts oriented teachers pretend is bad to follow whilst enforcing the ideals of the market onto their students which then in turn continues to uphold said market. Drawing cartoons and certainly wanting to make cartoons for a living was something I constantly got passive aggressive comments and jabs about from teachers especially since they knew I could pursue fine art as that was the work I had to make to pass their classes but in my free time was actively choosing to draw what I suppose they saw as degenerate art, not good real art but something without soul or talent necessary to create it. The underlying message always was and continues to be “You are making art wrong” and I can’t comprehend how art can ever be wrong no matter how it appears, I might not like “Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue” by Barnett Newman but it’s still art. Traditions are good but they are allowed to evolve and change and not all traditions are worth holding onto, that is something I see highlighted in the show a lot.

The show is really carried by character interaction mainly that of the protagonist Akko and her two friends Suzie and Lotte, Akko is hyperactive, hardworking and a real go getter whilst Suzie is lazy, slightly sadistic and Lotte is shy, sweet and prefers to avoid getting into conflicts the way these characters bounce off of one another is incredible entertaining. Another part of character interaction that really makes the show compelling is the rivalry between Akko and Diane. Akko often fails all the spells she tries to start and has to work extra hard to keep up with her peers however in contrast Diana comes from an elite lineage of witches and has an incredible level of magical ability and performs spells seemingly effortlessly, they also clash in terms of personality with Akko’s excitability contrasting Diana’s reserved nature. Their rivalry creates a lot of interesting scenarios as well as pushing both characters to grow. I love this show and it is one of the ones I recommend to friends who are looking to get into Studio Trigger’s work, usually due to me rambling on about it for extended periods of time. There is one other creation of theirs I recommend alongside it for those looking to dip their toes into the works of Trigger. Promare.

Promare is a movie by Studio Trigger that came out in 2019 and my lord are the visuals phenomenal. Promare does something I feel a lot of animated shows and movies worldwide don’t do that often is be bombastically fun in a way only an animated movie can be. Of course lots of both western and eastern animated shows and movies make use of the medium, they are beautiful, breath-taking, serene and moving but sometimes I feel in their direction they aren’t fun in the way a rollercoaster is or having a water fight with your friends or going to a small under ground concert and just losing yourself to the energy surrounding you. I get this sense of a lot of animated content where it fears being too adult but takes itself too seriously to capture the feeling of childhood imagination and wonderment because adult audiences might think the aesthetics are too childish, it rarely puts being fun before story, when I think there is something so beautiful about an animation being fun first and then having a strong story be built into that foundation. It takes you through a beautiful, exciting childlike imaginative world and picks the right moments to contrast it with the exploration of moral relativism. Everything and particularly the characters are created with silhouettes displaying excellent clarity and simplicity. The film is Studio Trigger making fun of themselves with refreshing self-awareness, it doesn’t take itself to seriously and remains fun before all else but doesn’t stray away from telling a story. Promare is an experience and I would prefer to avoid spoiling it but it is something I’d certainly recommend as it really is in my mind the epitome of what I see as Studio Trigger’s style, it’s unique print, you can see influence from the Imaishi’s time at Gainax.

Studio Trigger loves taking inspiration and making references to both Japanese and Western pop cultures and I really love that and it inspires me to allow myself to make references to influences and references from Ireland, Sweden, Britain places I’ve lived and grown up in alongside America, Japan and South Korea who’s media I’ve also grown up alongside and I’ve taken an interest in since I was young. The aesthetics of their work a further huge inspiration from colours to character silhouettes to the buttery smooth animation and stunning direction and beautiful choreography.

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