Alexander Anderson

Alexander Anderson (アレクサンド・アンデルセン) is a Vatican priest, working as a vampire purifier and slayer for the Iscariot branch of the Vatican. He is also the arch-rival of Alucard. In the English dub of the anime and OVA, he is portrayed as having a Scottish accent, though canonically his nationality is "unknown". He lives in Italy, operating an orphanage outside Vatican City. He serves as the foil to Alucard as both an antagonist and type of anti-villain in the series, both in the TV anime and the OVA series.

Appearance
Father Alexander Anderson has short, spiky gold hair (silver in the manga), blue eyes (green in the TV series), a defined squared jaw, and light facial hair. In the anime, his hair is slightly different, flattening out towards the top instead of being spiked straight up. He also has a large, wedge-shaped scar on his left cheek. In the first televised anime series, he was depicted with prominent, sharp canines, possibly to heighten his resemblance to a vampire and make him a symbolic counterpart to Alucard, the "tame monster" of the Hellsing Organization. He is lean with broad shoulders and very tall, being slightly taller than or as tall as Alucard.

He wears round glasses, a large white cassock (which has purple trim in the TV series and blue trim and interior in the OVA), grey pants (black in the OVA and white in the TV series), black boots, a black shirt (black with blue trim in the OVA and white in the TV series), a clerical collar (absent from both of the anime series), white gloves, and a silver cross (which often glows and is gold in the OVA) around his neck. On his gloves, there are inscriptions written across the crosses drawn on the back. The right-hand says "Jesus Christ is in Heaven". The left-hand says "Speak with Dead". This is later changed to "Speak with The Dead" and in his last few appearances said, "Iscariot Section XIII".

Personality
Alexander Anderson is an ardent Catholic. He carries an obsession for what appears to be his "crusade", and compulsively quotes passages of the Holy Bible as he speaks. He is extremely determined to achieve his end, usually by whatever means necessary. His words and his constant quoting of scripture indicate a clear, almost fanatical obedience towards "the word of God". His behavior in the first volume was depicted as an intense Catholic priest, who went as far as calling Integra "Babylon", as a reference to the Whore of Babylon, and displayed an immense hatred for Protestants (like Integra) as a reference to the long history of hatred between the two.

In the first episode of Hellsing Ultimate, some of Anderson's statements heavily imply a hatred for all non-Catholics. Anderson tells a pair of young boys that they should only engage in violence against "monsters and non-believers," and comments to his superiors that it is fortunate that a large vampire population must be killing many English Protestants. Anderson resents the control of England over Northern Ireland, which he believes is Catholic territory, and states that it is his mission to kill non-believers. Despite this, it is shown that he will become angry when innocent people are killed, despite their beliefs.

In Order 3: Sword Dancer of Hellsing (anime), Paladin Alexander Anderson's actions are vaguely relativist. He ignores his true mission, and instead focuses on the basic requirements of his crusade; thus, attacking Seras Victoria, Alucard and killing Captain Gareth of the Hellsing Organization, though Gareth was a human being and attempting to exterminate the same target as Alexander Anderson. While his orders from Iscariot specified the extermination of a single rogue vampire, he engages in combat with Alucard as well.

In the manga (and by extension, the OVA, which is closer to the manga than the TV series), however, his character is much more complex. In battle, he is merciless and almost unstoppable due to his abilities. He has a habit of hissing during fights and often loses all control of himself much like Alucard. Despite this, he can stop himself and focus on his mission. He shows a greater sense of morality both in his treatment of the orphans under his care and his eventual assistance to Integra and betrayal of Enrico Maxwell (who becomes drunk with power and starts killing innocent humans), quite unlike the TV series Anderson who is portrayed as little more than a mindless, psychotic killer.

In the Manga he normally appears as a calm and collected priest; he works at an orphanage in the manga and OVA and acts very kindly towards the children under his care. His complexity in the manga is later demonstrated by his respect for Integra's conviction and for Seras' bravery. Specifically, he agrees to escort Integra to Hellsing HQ, because it would be impolite to leave a lady to walk there alone. Anderson tells the members of Iscariot to retreat from battle when Alucard releases his familiars, wanting them to live on and protect the Catholic religion; as he believed there are already enough souls in limbo.

Relation to Alucard
He appears to have a form of respect for Alucard, shouting "The black peril comes!" while laughing as Alucard enters the Thames at the end of Volume 7.

In his final moments, Anderson consoled his grieving rival in his own way, telling him that monsters do not cry. In the TV series, Alucard refers to Anderson as a "dog of the Church" and is neither human nor monster (and is, therefore, incapable of killing him, only a human can do that). In the manga and OVA, however, Alucard shows great respect for Anderson and goes so far as to compare him to the men who were able to defeat Dracula (Integra's grandfather, Abraham Van Hellsing and the other men from Bram Stoker's Dracula), stating that although they were mere humans, they possessed the will to destroy a monster such as Alucard. This changes, however, when Anderson chooses to use the Nail of Helena on himself in order to become a monster that he believes to be on an equal level to Alucard. At this point, Alucard rules that Anderson, having sacrificed all of his humanity in exchange for power, is no longer worthy of destroying him and that Anderson must be killed. Alucard had previously stated that he would be proud to die in battle against Anderson, but clearly, Anderson forfeited that right by turning himself into a monster rather than remaining a human.

History
The early history of Alexander Anderson is largely unknown, such as when he joined Iscariot or what his childhood life was like and even appeared in Crossfire alongside Enrico Maxwell discussing missions to Heinkel and Yumiko. However, it is sometimes speculated that Kouta Hirano's hentai series Angel Dust, which depicts a younger character named Anderson who shares many similarities with Alexander, can be used to show some of what happened in Anderson's past.

In confirmed canon, Anderson first appears in Hellsing Volume 1, when he is convinced by Father Renaldo to travel to Northern Ireland to deal with Alucard and Seras Victoria who are hunting a vampire. Believing that Northern Ireland is Catholic land and Protestant England has no jurisdiction there, Anderson agrees and travels there. He confronts Alucard, cutting off his head and chasing Seras through the building they are in. He catches up to Seras and is stopped by Integra just as he is about to kill her. Anderson states that he will not back down against a "Protestant whore" and swiftly kills Integra's bodyguards. Before he can kill Integra herself, Alucard regenerates himself and engages Anderson. Anderson retreats when he realizes he can't defeat Alucard with his current weapons and teleport's away, shouting: "We'll meet again, Hellsing! Next time, I'll butcher you all".

Anderson appears in Volume 2 with Enrico Maxwell, the head of Iscariot to discuss with Integra about the instigator of the attack on the Hellsing manor led by Luke and Jan Valentine. Alucard appears after Maxwell insults Integra, and Maxwell responds by calling Anderson into play. Before they can start another duel, Alucard and Anderson are interrupted by Seras leading a group of elderly Japanese tourists (possibly because of some agreement with Walter that Alucard would not destroy the museum since the two smiled at each other after everyone had gone). The two decide to postpone their fight. Anderson proceeds to leave, commenting on the quality of the museum and asking Maxwell if next time he could bring some of the orphans to visit. In an almost humorously agitated manner, he then swears that he will rip Alucard to pieces the next time they meet.

In Volume 3, Anderson is briefly seen watching the fight between Tubalcain Alhambra and Alucard on television, at first looking amused, but later enraged.

In Volume 4, Anderson is sent to deliver a message to Alucard and Seras to return to London and report on the Millennium Organization, a task which he fails to accomplish without first getting into a brief scuffle (specifically, a fistfight) with Alucard. Afterwards, he engages in battle with some paramilitaries sympathetic to the Millennium cause.

In Volume 6, after The Major declares war against England, Anderson brings the rest of Iscariot with him to England and saves Integra from a group of Nazi vampires. When Heinkel Wolfe attempts to apprehend her, Integra disagrees and asks Anderson if this is permissible, to which Anderson says it is not. He instructs Iscariot to follow Integra's instruction by escorting her back to the Hellsing manor.

Later, in Volume 7, Maxwell arrives in England with the remnants of the armies used in the Holy Crusades and takes the opportunity to kill all English "heretics". Seeing this, Anderson believes Enrico has quit serving God and now only serves his own power. When Heinkel informs Anderson of Iscariot's new orders to take Integra prisoner, Anderson expresses his displeasure. Before he can act against the rest of Iscariot, Seras arrives with her new powers awakened and does it for him. Anderson acknowledges her new found power, telling Heinkel (and Yumie in the OVA) that Seras was not something the ordinary members of Iscariot could hope to fight any longer. Volume 8

After watching Maxwell's attack on London and Alucard proceeding to decimate the Catholic Army and the Last Battalion with his familiars, Anderson decides that it was finally time for him to finish the vampire. He calmly tells the rest of Iscariot to head towards the Vatican in order to protect the Pope and all of Catholicism in general before wishing them farewell (he knows the fight with Alucard will likely take his life) and teleporting to Alucard and Integra's location. However, when he engages Alucard in combat, Alucard introduces him to the Jackal which Anderson had never encountered before. Using the Jackal, Alucard blows off a large portion of Anderson's left arm, which does not seem to be able to regenerate itself. Alucard then taunts Anderson, who blindly charges into Alucard's familiars in an attempt to re-engage him. Alucard is impressed with Anderson's spirit, stating how interesting humans and their indemonstrable will are and even compares Anderson to Van Hellsing himself (it seems that Alucard would be proud to die in combat against Anderson). Anderson manages to defeat many of Alucard's familiars by using an explosive and bayonet-lined chain, but he is still overwhelmed.

Trapped in the mesh of undead, Anderson is saved by the remnants of Section XIII. Headed by Heinkel Wolfe and Yumiko Takagi, the Iscariot soldiers use suicide bomber-like tactics to fend off the familiars. Anderson finally arrives before Alucard and reveals the weapon that Vatican Section III Matthew had provided him with: Helena's Nail. Alucard begs Anderson not to become a monster like himself. Anderson doesn't heed the warning and states that he wishes to become a being neither human or demon, but a whirlwind of destruction and piety. After impaling himself with the nail and transforming, Anderson and Alucard do battle, with Anderson nearly being allowed to defeat Alucard with his newly acquired powers. Seras intervenes but is overwhelmed by Anderson's thorns. Note that, even though Anderson became a monster, Alucard would have still been satisfied if he'd been defeated. By being defeated, Alucard would have earned a period of rest and comfort, knowing that his own "trials became yours [to Anderson]". Seeing his fledgling in danger, however, Alucard wakes up and intervenes to save Seras, and is reminded of his belief that only humans should slay monsters, thus snapping out of his dream of finally resting in peace. After healing, Alucard dissolves the thorns surrounding him and shatters Anderson's blade. Alucard then charges Anderson and, plunging his hand into Anderson's chest, removes the nail along with Anderson's heart.

This destroys most of Anderson's body in the process. As Anderson dies, he and Alucard exchange words as what remains of him decays and turns to ash. Anderson tells Alucard that although he is about to die, Alucard will forever live on, as he always has throughout the ages. He also has a moment of deep insight into Alucard's state of being, rhetorically asking him if he became a monster so that he would not have to cry. As he dies, Anderson hears the voices of the children from his orphanage playing, implying that he has been accepted into Heaven, and reminds them to say their prayers daily before he finally passes away. Integra bows her head and respectfully places Alucard's sword on the ground in order to form a crossover Anderson's body while Yumie, Heinkel, and Seras all engage in prayer or deep thought for the fallen paladin.

With a final "Amen" (which Alucard repeats with a slight smile on his face, signaling the respect he felt for Anderson), a DE-aged Walter descends from the sky and crushes what's left of Anderson's ashes under his shoe and grinds it into the ground. Walter then insults Anderson by saying "Mourning is not necessary for rubbish". Yumie attempts to avenge this desecration of Anderson's remains but is swiftly cut down by Walter. Later, in Volume 10, during the fight between Alucard and Walter, Alucard taunts his former friend by stating that if Anderson couldn't defeat him then a "brat" like Walter never could. In the epilogue, Heinkel had became a regenerator like Anderson and had succeeded him as the main enforcer with rivalry with Seras resembling their mentors' rivalry.

Abilities
As Iscariot's "trump card", he is the single greatest warrior the Vatican can bring to bear, and the only known being who can match Alucard's power (albeit when augmented by Helena's Nail). Alucard noted that he was the only one who he'd let defeat him (in accordance to Alucard's own belief that only a man can slay a monster). Anderson possesses extraordinary strength, speed, senses, balance, coordination, and stamina, far above what is considered normal for a human. It is unknown if these abilities are a result of artificial, biotechnological enhancement or a combination of his natural skill and fighting experience, similar to Walter.
 * Superhuman Strength: He has fought Alucard, who is unfazed from taking high-caliber bullets to the chest, to a standstill with his bare hands, staggering him with a single punch. With his immense strength, he threw his bayonets through a tektite composite protecting Maxwell and bisected artificial vampires in half. In the first anime series, Anderson slices a subway car in two using only his bayonets.


 * Superhuman Speed and Reactions: His reflexes are sufficient to allow him to react to bullets, although he prefers to take them head-on thanks to his regeneration. He has caught Alucard off guard with his speed during their first fight and blitzed Millennium’s artificial vampires with his bayonets. During the Battle of London, he clashed with Alucard equally and sliced through his army of ghouls at a great speed.


 * Superhuman Durability: Enhanced by his regeneration, Anderson is very durable. He effortlessly shrugged off shots from a dozen automatic rifles (none of which pierced through his flesh) as well as from Alucard’s Casull - even a point-blank bullet was lodged in his skull. He could take several blows from Alucard who can easily tear apart human soldiers and vampires with single hits. Anderson’s incredible endurance allowed him to keep on plowing through Alucard’s massive army of ghouls despite having his arm nearly shot off by the Jackal and taking damage from Rip’s magic bullet and Alhambra’s anti-regeneration magic cards. This is all a testament to Anderson’s fighting spirit which made Alucard deem him as the worthy rival who can kill him.
 * Regeneration: Anderson has a strong regenerative factor which he typically relies on in battle, and it easily heals damage from automatic gunfire and high-caliber rounds. Most notably, he was shot at point-blank in the head by Alucard’s Casull (which fires massive explosive bullets), and regenerated  a few moments later. This ability also slowed down his aging process, so he is much older than he looks. Anderson claims that his ability is "the divine gift of God," but later states that it is due to "man's technology." Integra calls it bio-technological regeneration that surpasses any known nanotechnology. However, Anderson's healing factor still has its limits. Using the Jackal, which was specifically designed for use against strong regenerators like Anderson, Alucard is able to shoot out a huge chunk of Anderson's arm which doesn’t regenerate
 * Bayonet Mastery: Alexander Anderson uses scores of blessed bayonets presumably made of silver. The blessed nature of the bayonets can sting vampires and negate their regeneration. He skillfully wields the bayonets with great dexterity in close-combat like swords and can also throw them with extreme accuracy (especially considering that he often throws the bayonets in large numbers, usually holding them between his fingers). The type of he uses most appear to be Austrian sword bayonets, with custom hand grips for an easier hold. The bayonets could originally be destroyed by a well placed amount of shots (done so by Integra), but later could withstand shots from the Casull, indicating that Anderson had their durability greatly increased for later use. During the Battle of London, Anderson prepared a chain holding dozens of bayonets which can explode and destroy swarms of Alucard’s familiars. He calls this the “Exploding Chain”. Anderson can throw his bayonets with great intensity. He could crack hardened tektite glass and has skewered vampires from Millennium’s foot soldiers to Alucard himself. He could throw the bayonets so fast that an entire squad of Millennium’s artificial vampires could not react to them at all. In the Hellsing Ultimate OVA, the bayonets caused sonic booms that shatter windows. Anderson seems to have a limitless supply of bayonets that he can pull from, suggesting that he benefits from Hammerspace. It is unknown if the bayonets are concealed with some sort of holy power or can be generated by nano-technology in his clothing or body. Hirano claims something among the lines of Anderson being '4th-dimensional”.


 * Scripture Manipulation: Anderson can summon a horde of scripture pages and use them for a variety of purposes:
 * Holy Barriers: Anderson can affix scriptures pages onto the walls of a building to erect a barrier to ward off vampires. Specifically, Seras was blocked from escaping as if there was a physical wall. In the Hellsing Ultimate OVA, Anderson used the scriptures to erect a divine barrier around himself when clashing with Alucard, which set all of the pages on fire. In the first anime series, Anderson can use the scriptures to purify the house and prevent the use of black magic.
 * Transportation: Anderson can use Bible pages to seemingly teleport. He used this to leave his first fight with Alucard after realizing he did not have the equipment to kill him, and again when trying to ambush Alucard in their final fight. He also used this to appear before Integra when she was attacked by Millennium’s vampires.
 * Ensnaring: In the first anime series, Anderson was shown to use Bible pages in order to trap Alucard. Specifically, he used them to entangle Alucard's arms before slicing his head off.

Nail of Helena
The Nail of Helena was Anderson’s trump card in his fight against Alucard, and he called it a weapon capable of genocide. It is the epitome of holy weaponry and deemed to be sufficient to kill a vampire as powerful as Alucard. By imbuing himself with the Nail’s power, Anderson would gain peculiar plant-like powers and become a monster like Alucard. Alexander Anderson receives "Helena's Nail" from Section III Matthew, the Vatican's relic retrieval division. Discovered by Helena, Constantine's mother, it is said to be one of the nails of the True Cross that cruicified Jesus Christ. Anderson stabs himself in the heart with it and he became, in the words of Alucard, 'one of God's monsters.' The use of the Nail prompted Alucard to officially label Anderson a monster rather than a human, and therefore must be destroyed.
 * Enhanced Strength and Speed: In particular, Anderson’s speed increased considerably. He was able to easily slice off Alucard’s arm and head before the latter could pull the trigger on his gun right after Alucard charged at him in anger. Later on, Anderson jumped above Alucard and impaled his head before the latter could react again.
 * Enhanced Regeneration and Endurance: Anderson’s regeneration jumped to supernatural levels - on par with Alucard’s. He could regenerate his arm that his human regeneration could not heal, and could even restore his head which was completely blown off by the Jackal. Anderson was able to shrug off combined barrages from Alucard’s Jackal and Casull with little effort and healed the damage to his mangled arms quickly. Anderson’s tolerance for pain increased massively, as even after his heart was crushed and half of his body was ripped from him, he could still live on for a short while after. When Anderson regenerates, thorny vines tend to sprout around the damaged tissue. Anderson is an immortal at this stage, and the only way to kill him is to destroy his heart.
 * Holy Vine Manipulation: Anderson’s body becomes a humanoid composition of thorny plant-like vines, which he can manipulate. These vines are particularly powerful, as they could stop the Jackal’s bullets with ease and wrap themselves around his foes, causing injury. Anderson can spread these vines around him and fire a massive swarm infused with bayonets at his opponent. He uses this as a final attack against Alucard and his remaining army of familiars, and it took considerable effort for Alucard to get through this. All of his familiars were ensnared and roasted to death by the vines’ flames, but this eventually allowed Alucard to get to Anderson and kill him. In the Hellsing Ultimate OVA, Anderson could use it as a weapon to rip apart Alucard’s shadows.
 * Holy Fire Summoning: The vines can ensnare the target and generate flames. This fire is particularly effective against supernatural creatures as powerful as Alucard and Seras, as it affected Alucard’s immortal-like regeneration as well as ignite millions of his familiars all throughout London. Anderson can infuse his bayonets with the vines to generate the flames. This let Anderson raze the London capital by creating wildfires bigger than city blocks.

Quotes
"We are the servants of God, and the messengers of His justice. We are the instruments of His divine wrath on earth. We are called upon to cleanse His kingdom: bringing ash from the flesh of thine enemies. Praise to our Lord!"

"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and for thy possession, the ends of the earth. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces, like a potters vessel. Be wise now therefore, ye kings. Be admonished, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, though His wrath be kindled but a little."

Voice Actors

 * Japanese Dub: Nachi Nozawa (Anime), Norio Wakamoto (OVA)
 * English Dub: Steven Brand
 * Italian Dub: Mario Zucca
 * Brazilian Portuguese Dub: Marcelo Pissardini (Anime)

Trivia

 * In Volume 1 of the manga and OVA I, Walter says one of his nicknames is Angel Dust Anderson, a reference to one of Kouta Hirano's hentai works, Angel Dust, which featured an Anderson prototype. This was changed to Dust to Dust Anderson in the English dub because of the fact that "angel dust" is a popular term for PCP, a drug with hallucinogenic and neurotoxic effects that causes abusers to become a danger to both themselves and others.
 * In episode 7 of the 2001 anime, a wounded (presumably younger) Anderson is shown in a military uniform facing the shadow of a vampire resembling Alucard. He places a gun in his mouth, presumably to avoid becoming a vampire or ghoul but the scene ends before revealing what happens. It is unknown if this scene is canonical to the Manga (and the OVA, by extension), and it likely is not.
 * Contrary with the commonly accepted romanization of Anderson's name, in Hellsing OVA 4, his name is written like the Japanese pronunciation ("Andersen") though this is likely a mistranslation by the Japanese.
 * Alucard refers to Anderson as "Judas Priest" which is no doubt a reference to the Iscariot Organization he works for.
 * Walter also mentions that he is called by other titles, such as Paladin, Executioner, and Exorcist and many others.
 * In the English dub of OVA 5, He is also nicknamed Saint Guillotine by Nazi vampires.
 * The inscriptions on Anderson's gloves sometimes change in the manga. Hirano changed his left hand's inscription from "Speak with Dead" to "Speak with the Dead" and in his later appearances his gloves read Iscariot Section XIII, the organization to which Anderson belongs.
 * It is implied at times that Anderson's healing has kept him always young. In flashbacks, Anderson was shown to have raised Enrico Maxwell, Heinkel Wolfe and Yumiko Takagi as children (this makes sense as he is commonly shown to take care of orphans for the church), explaining the fatherly attitude he has towards them. Anderson appears physically the same in the flashbacks as he does in the present day, making it likely that if he received his regeneration after the events shown in the flashback that he his forever young. As Enrico Maxwell is around 30 in the present day and appeared as a young child in the flashbacks. This is backed up by the appearance of Heinkel in the final chapter; despite it being over 30 years since Millennium's attack, Heinkel is forever young. Furthermore, she still retains the bullet wound inflicted by the Captain, which further justifies the theory that the regenerator retains all prior wounds gained before the process (save for re-growing limbs, as Heinkel's previously severed arm and leg have been replaced, though they could be prosthetics).
 * It is noticeable that as it is mentioned by Alucard, Anderson ceased to be a human much like the vampire. Compared to Vlad the Impaler's last minutes, Anderson suffered from the same type of exasperation: an exasperation caused by losing his beloved ones and the feeling of being defeated. The desire of being "heartless and tearless" made both Alucard and Anderson to deny themselves. As Anderson says to Alucard in the ninth volume of the manga: "When a human's tears finally dry up forever, they transform into a monster. They dry up themselves."
 * Anderson has a seemingly limitless number of bayonets at his disposal; Kouta Hirano jokingly attributes this to him being four-dimensional. More or less Anderson is considered to have his own version of "Hammer-space", a common phenomenon in animation, in his coat.
 * Anderson, like many of Kouta Hirano's characters, was recycled from one of Hirano's old hentai works called Angel Dust, where he is involved in a few action sequences and is depicted with black hair, as well as using assault rifles rather than his bayonets.
 * In the OVA, Anderson's hatred of non-Catholics doesn't seem to be as severe as he implies. When actually witnessing murder he becomes angry regardless of the victim, such as the police killed by Alucard and the Vatican attack against England.
 * The name "Alexander" means "protector of men".
 * Alexander stabbing himself in the heart with the Nail of Helena adds a visual irony to his intent as it resembles a wooden stake through his heart, a commonly known method of killing vampires.
 * In the Manga and Anime, it is implied when Alexander and Alucard met in Barick it is their first meeting due to Alucard being surprised at his regenerative powers. However, Dracula (Level 0 Alucard) taunts Anderson in OVA 8 and claims that the two of them had fought both 500 and 100 years ago. It was a likely metaphor for Anderson being the third "Nemesis" of Alucard, the other two being The Sultan Mehmed and Dr Van Helsing. However, his actual age, and the source of his regeneration are unconfirmed.
 * Anderson's choice of weapon, his bayonets, are referencing the knife put on the end of a rifle, literally meaning Anderson is God's Gun.
 * Norio Wakamoto voicing Anderson's lines ("If anyone does not love the lord, Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Our lord come. Amen.") in English is memetic for how poorly he had spoken them.

Gallery
See Alexander Anderson/Gallery