Alucard

"The silver cross of Manchester Cathedral was melted down to make these 13mm exploding shells. Nothing I shoot ever gets back up again."

- Alucard, Hellsing OVA Volume 1

Alucard (アーカード) is the main protagonist of the Hellsing series created by Kouta Hirano. He is the most powerful weapon of the Hellsing Organization which works against vampires and other such supernatural forces. Alucard is no mere Vampire; it has been implied that he is the most powerful vampire alive and may be the most powerful character in the series, rivaled only by The Captain and Alexander Anderson.

Overview
Alucard has stated on more than one occasion that he can appear as whatever he wishes, and that the forms he takes on any particular occasion reflect no meaning or purpose. His hair length changes according to his release states from short to knee length. His teeth may also change from those of a typical human with slightly elongated canines, to large and triangular in a manner somewhat reminiscent of a great white shark.

Physical
He appears as a tall, long limbed, broad shouldered adult man of indeterminate but reasonably young age, as is commonly seen among vampires, Alucard possesses blood red eyes, which may glow when he is experiencing strong emotions. Though as stated above, he can change his hair as it's apart of his shadow, he commonly has short jet black hair and his bangs fall slightly in his eyes, with strands on the sides of his bangs framing his face in this form. Alucard's level one form, commonly known as "Nosferatu", doesn't change that much in terms of physical looks. He was commonly seen in this form supporting a long, black hair and slender body. One of Alucard's alternate forms resembles a little child, which is often nicknamed "Girlycard." In this form, he is petite and slender and has straight dark hair that drapes to just below his shoulders. Alucard is also capable of appearing as he did during his reign as Vlad Dracula. In this form, his general stature is unchanged save for being perhaps slightly bulkier, his face appears to age from that of a young adult to that of the middle aged man that he was when he died, and he grows a short, full beard and mustache. His hair also increases in length to his mid back, and becomes wild and unkempt.
 * -|"Count"=
 * -|"Nosferatu"=
 * -|Girly Form=
 * -|Vlad Dracula=

Clothing
His usual outfit is comprised mainly in a classic Victorian fashion, including a charcoal suit, leather riding boots, and a intricately knotted red cravat, covered by a full-length, red frock overcoat (similar to the duster coats often associated with cowboys) with cape. He also wears a red fedora with a wide, floppy brim and a pair of circular, heavily tinted, wire-framed orange sunglasses with goggle sidings. His gloves, which are engraved with the Hellsing seal (a pentacle decorated with occult symbols and several mottoes, reading: "Hell's Gate Arrested / Gott Mit Uns / And Shine Heaven Now") are also thought to be part of this mechanism and the source of Hellsing's control over him (Alucard's distinctive gloves are visible in the vast majority of his transformations, even when Alucard himself is not in a humanoid form). The first form Alucard had in the OVA was in a black straightjacket that kept his arms right behind his back, he broke free of the restraints in order to protect Integra Hellsing from death. Alucard's appearance changed since then but every now and then he goes back to this form, he has used it; in his fight with Luke Valentine, his fight with Tubalcain Alhambra, when he attempted to board the Eagle and succeeded when he finally killed Anderson, and in his fight with Walter. When Alucard was sent by Integra Hellsing to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, along with Seras Victoria and Pip Bernadotte, he changed his form to what seemed to be a business man. Only Alucard's clothes seem to change here, as his hair is as it was before Abraham Van Helsing defeated him, Alucard wears a dark grey suit with a long coat he only wears over his shoulders, along with the goggle sided sunglasses he usually wears. He wears a black office shirt with a white vest on top of it, white pants, white shoes, a red tie, a white trenchcoat, and occasionally, a fuzzy white cap. His attire changes from his usual suit to a full set of gunmetal grey plate armor sans the helm, and a tattered black cape with red inlay and a high collar. He also acquires a broadsword, which hangs from one of three belts at his waist. He also appears more reserved and stoic.
 * -|"Count"=
 * -|"Nosferatu"=
 * -|Brazil, Rio=
 * -|Girly Form=
 * -|Vlad Dracula=

Personality
Alucard fights with ferocity, and often extreme cruelty, rarely shooting to kill until his target has been completely disabled and humiliated. However, he does have some humanity left in him, as he is still capable of shedding tears and showing affection for those who are dear to him, taken by Alexander Anderson to mean that he is not completely lost. As he is essentially immortal and invulnerable, Alucard is very egotistical. He freely taunts and belittles his opponents, often allowing them to inflict seemingly fatal wounds before healing himself and counterattacking. One of his favorite methods of fighting is to allow himself to be blown to shreds before simply flowing back together. An example is shown in volume 2 when Alucard fights Luke Valentine. When Luke gains an advantage over Alucard, victory seems within his grasp. The tides turn when Alucard transforms a part of himself into a hellhound. Alucard then blows off both of Luke's legs with his guns before telling him to regenerate them, pick up his gun, and fight back. When Luke fails to do so, Alucard devours Luke, declaring him as little more than dog food.

However, even with his incredible powers, it is possible to take Alucard by surprise, usually because of his arrogance. In his first meeting with Alexander Anderson, he assumed he had easily killed Anderson with a single bullet but was caught off guard when Anderson regenerated. Alucard also expressed deep disappointment that Luke was not a more worthy adversary. Alucard states that he wishes to find an opponent, a human opponent, with sufficient willpower to destroy him despite his strength.

Underneath his arrogance, Alucard is deeply sad and appears to be envious of humans. Alucard also has great respect for humans who have the willpower to endure old age and death because he had none of these qualities when he faced death. All of these feelings are shown at various points throughout the series, such as when Alucard tells the Queen that she is that "same spirited young woman" from 50 years ago and that now she is truly beautiful. He became infuriated when Anderson stabbed himself in the heart with the Helena's Nail, as he viewed it as Anderson making the same mistake Alucard made. While facing off against Walter's younger, vampire form in chapter 74, Alucard said that Walter's old, aged body was "a trillion times more beautiful" than his new, vampiric one. Alucard is also capable of affection, as he shows a great deal of it to Seras and Integra on occasions.

In conjunction, Alucard also holds a great affinity for humans who take pride in themselves, often expressing his desire to die by a human/mortal. He often shows respect for certain humans for their bravery, such as the mortal Iscariot members who fought to let Anderson reach him. Alucard has expressed extreme disgust with the vampires he has been hunting for the last 100 years, especially when they kill without purpose. In chapter 3 of the manga (Murder Club), he lists the two vampires' pointless killing in his catalog of how pathetic they are.

Despite his disgust for homicidal vampires, he is not entirely against immortality. Rather, he believes it is something one must earn. Presumably, he views his own transformation as an escape from death and a cowardly action. He happily gave Seras immortality (despite his self-reflection) due to her indomitable will and courage, for continuing to fight against the monsters in Cheddar and not giving up even when she was about to die. He also viewed Walter in the same regard for a time, even indirectly offering him immortality before Walter revealed his true colors. Another important aspect of Alucard's personality is his relationship with God. As a human, he was raised by the Turks and was raped by the sultan as a prisoner and as a child soldier. As a warrior, he believed that words alone were not enough to establish one's faith. Rather, he believed that the only way to attract God's attention was to accomplish deeds in his name, a belief shared by his rival, Alexander Anderson. In accordance with this belief, he never asked God for favors, but instead did many great and terrible things. He became famous and feared for punishing and impaling evildoers and those who opposed his methods in his own lands and abroad, for waging a war against the Muslims in hopes of bringing down "the New Jerusalem," and for sacrificing his troops and his people to achieve his own goals. He believed that if he and his men put forth great enough effort and sacrificed enough, God himself would intervene on their behalf. His actions caused even his own people to fear him, and subsequently, only a small amount of his peasants and soldiers showed up to aid him in his last battle. When he lost his war and was taken prisoner by the Turks, he realized that he had failed and that his country, his kingdom, his people, his friends, his family (his wife and his child) had all been killed because of his desire for revenge, greed, war, violence and power. Because of this, he felt abandoned by God, so he abandoned God in turn, and drank up the blood of his scorched and besieged homeland, thus becoming a vampire. Over the years, his hate against God deteriorated and he accepts the truth that it was his own hatred against those who wronged him in his youth that drove his actions, and that he used the name of God to mask his own hate and lust for power and battle. This is similar to how Count Dracula was portrayed in Francis Ford Coppola's film, Bram Stoker's Dracula, which Hirano has cited as one of his greatest sources of inspiration.

Seras Victoria
Seras Victoria is Alucard's first fledgling since Mina Harker. Alucard holds deep feelings of admiration towards his fledgling, Seras. He states to Walter and Integra that he turned her into a vampire on a whim based on Seras' own decision to live. He reveals to Walter that he finds her a fascinating creature and seems to admire her will to live despite the hellish events in Cheddar Village. As he watched her die, he apologized for shooting her and told her it was necessary, and while he watched her die with tears in her eyes, he actually went so far as to hold her hand. While he is frustrated with her refusal to drink blood at first, he was always confident that eventually she would drink and seemed quite proud of her when the time came. Alucard takes on a role of a mentor and teacher to help Seras reach her full potential. As Seras lost her parents at a young age, her fondness and love for Alucard could be similar to a daughter's love for her father. Hirano said that the love they share could be something closer to the ties of family. When questioned about them having a father/daughter relationship, the author answered "There's no one way to distinguish how they (Alucard and Seras) feel about it (their relationship). We cannot just say it's father and daughter." One thing to keep in mind is the fact that Mina was his fledgling, until Alucard's defeat, which caused the curse on her to weaken (although his essence still remained inside her). At times, Seras seems nervous and uneasy around Alucard, mainly due to his constant berating about her being a pathetic vampire during the early days of Seras' vampire life. She also strongly objects to Alucard's unnecessary cruelty towards human beings. While she does not partake in the slaughter of the SWAT team, she aides Alucard in his combat with Tubalcain Alhambra and later attempts to fight Alexander Anderson (though her attack is comically cut short). As the series progresses, her shy and nervous behavior towards Alucard loosens up a bit once she becomes a full-fledged vampire, and he addresses her by name. During Alucard's fight with Anderson, Seras comes to his rescue in a desperate attempt to save him. After stopping the strike by Anderson, Seras' alarmed calls bring Alucard back from torpor. The last visage in his dream was Seras' face, ending the flashback and chapter with the words: "There is a voice. There is a voice calling out. It's...you?" Before facing Anderson, he compliments her: "Why so loud, Police Girl? Your voice sounds fine regardless; like fragments of shattered melody..." By volume 9, Alucard fully recognizes Seras' growth and tells her, "Go with our master. Go and conquer, Seras.” Later, he calls Integra and Seras good girls and his beloved master and beloved servant. In the end, Seras is the only one who has undying faith of his return.

It should be mentioned that Alucard's and Seras' behaviours switch somehow between the first series and the OVA.

Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing
Alucard is extremely devoted to Integra Hellsing, his current master and the Hellsing Organization's leader. In all versions of Hellsing, Alucard and Integra share a complex but strict "master and servant" relationship. Integra has been connected to him since her father's death. Arthur Hellsing named her the new head of the Hellsing Organization, a decision that drove her jealous uncle to try and kill her. Using the air ducts, Integra snuck into the dungeons of the Hellsing estate's sub-levels (recalling that her father said she would find her "salvation" there, should she find herself in the face of death at the hands of her enemies) and found Alucard's corpse (Hellsing's "greatest legacy" according to Arthur) in one of the rooms. Shortly upon discovering him, Richard finds her and shoots her. The bullet grazed her arm and the blood from her injury fell onto the corpse, awakening Alucard. He kills all the men in the room and severs Richard's arm before pledging his allegiance to his new master. After protecting her from Richard's final attempt to kill her, Alucard allows Integra to kill her uncle herself. In the television series, Alucard offered Integra to be a vampire shortly after his awakening, but only when she bravely defied him did he consider her worthy of his respect and servitude and fit to be the head of the Hellsing family. Alucard claimed that Integra "Hasn't changed, she is still so childish..." Even so, he describes her as his "beloved master", showing his undying loyalty to her. Over the years, Alucard and Walter help her grow and mature into the leader and master she becomes. As such, Integra is the only person whom Alucard will obey. Integra is also one of few people whose life and honor Alucard will bother to openly protect. In Volume 2 of the manga (Hellsing Ultimate III in the OVA), when Enrico Maxwell calls Integra a sow, Alucard appears and threatens to kill Maxwell for daring to believe he could leave England alive after insulting his master. In Volume 8, Alucard addresses Integra with his own title, calling her "hakushaku" ( 伯爵 ) or Count, meaning that he accepts her as his equal in power. ("Hakushaku-fujin" is the term for countess") After the 30 years he spent with killing the absorbed souls to regain control over Schrödinger's ability, he reveals his return to Integra first, as he manifests in Integra's room.

Walter C. Dornez
Alucard and Walter are old and close friends, almost like brothers. However, when Walter betrayed Hellsing, Alucard began to see him as a mere plaything, even going so far as to call Walter's younger vampiric body ugly and state that his elderly human body was "a thousand times more beautiful".

Arthur Hellsing
Arthur Hellsing was Alucard's previous master before Integra Hellsing. Nothing is known about their relationship, although it's possible that Alucard respected him.

Queen Elizabeth II of England
Alucard had previously met the Queen 50 years before the events of the Hellsing manga and OVA. Upon his return from Rio de Janeiro, they speak to each other as old friends. Alucard sees her as the "same spirited young woman he met fifty years ago," and that to his eyes, "time had made her even more beautiful." This is one of the few moments where Alucard and another character openly express affection for one another, as the Queen touches his face as she talks to him, and Alucard looks at her with a gentle and genuinely kind expression.

Alexander Anderson
Anderson and Alucard have an intense and fiercely competitive rivalry that borders on kinship; their remarkable similarities and nature as polar opposites fuel both their intellectual and physical combat.

The relationship between the two grows as the series goes on. The two almost seem to live so that they can fight each other. When Anderson turns into a monster towards the end of the season and is defeated by Alucard, Alucard cries. The sense of respect between the two is most apparent when Anderson tells Alucard not to cry and points out that he (Alucard) became a monster so that he no longer had to cry. Unlike many other enemies, Anderson is the only opponent that Alucard has ever shown respect for in battle, and even states he would have let Anderson kill him when he had the chance as a human.

The Major
Not much is known about Alucard's interactions with The Major before the series, but the two hold a great deal of hatred for each other. The Major explains that his reason for hating Alucard is because he is "a monster with the trappings of a man", and The Major is "a man with the trappings of a monster". The Major also holds this grudge most likely stemming from Alucard's and Walter's attack on Millennium's headquarters during WWII and has vowed to exact revenge ever since. Alucard, in some strange sense, seems to almost feel a sense of joy upon the return of the Major and the Millennium Organization, which is evidenced by him stating: "Excellent. I can't wait to destroy you again!" upon hearing the Major's declaration of war in OVA IV. Alucard seems to think of himself and The Major as "incorrigible warmongers" and the lust for battle never being enough for them. It could be possible that The Major reminds Alucard of his former life as Vlad the Impaler, and because of this, Alucard seeks to destroy him once and for all.

Luke Valentine
During the first fight between him and Luke, he was at first very impressed by Luke's abilities and comments his reflexes are amazing. Due to the fact that Alucard rarely praises his opponents, this could be considered a form of respect, similar to how he praised Alexander Anderson. While the battle goes on, Alucard asks for Luke's name again; he states the battle was the most fun he had in ages, and remarks that his skills are above that of even the most powerful vampires. Once he transforms, however, and impatiently waits for Luke to regenerate his legs, he realizes that Luke is nothing but a spineless coward who ran away in terror when faced with an opponent more powerful than him. After Luke is eaten by the Baskerville, Alucard says he was nothing but dog shit. When Luke was used by Walter against Alucard, he once again praises Luke for his skills and states that his talents were wasted being inside Baskerville, implying that Alucard regretted not making Luke into a familiar instead of letting him rot inside of Baskerville. Alucard also states that dog shit would do in a pinch, after successfully fooling Walter into attacking his double which was Luke's body.

Overview
The following are Alucard's powers gained from both his being a Vampire and due to several years of research by the Hellsing Organization. Alucard is an extremely formidable and deadly opponent who can cut down most supernatural enemies without releasing the seals that contain his true power.

Powers

 * Superhuman Strength: As a true vampire, Alucard is inherently strong. To start, his guns Jackal and Casull are far too unwieldy for a human to hold, let alone use, but he does both with ease. He has been seen going up barehanded against even some supernatural weapons and destroying them, such as Tubalcain's magic cards. Despite their armor, Alucard was able to disembowel and tear apart several police officers with one hand. The extent of his strength is unknown, though it appears to vary with the release state that he is in, as his black, jumpsuit clad form has significantly greater feats of strength and durability than his other forms.
 * Superhuman Speed and Reflexes: Alucard is too fast for the human eye to follow, but other vampires such as Walter and Tubalcain Alhambra can keep pace with him just fine. Alexander Anderson, a regenerator, can also do this, near-matching him step for step and blow for blow in a fight. Alucard's reaction times are top-notch, letting him catch Rip Van WIinkle's bullets with his teeth, despite a single one of these bullets penetrating an SR-71 blackbird multiple times while the plane was moving as fast as possible. It also safe to assume that same as strength his reflexes and speed becomes more potent in other forms.
 * Enhanced Endurance: Alucard takes most damage without flinching or making a sound, quietly allowing the enemy to attack before retaliating tenfold. He can even attack after being torn asunder by bullets. After Rip Van Winkle crashes his Blackbird, he exits the craft without a scratch and easily destroys everyone aboard, even as they use high caliber weaponry on him. He's been thrown through skyscrapers, bled excessively, and even Walter knows of no certain way to defeat him other than killing him again and again until he stays down.
 * Enhanced Durability: Alucard appears to have the ability to harden the surface of his body to the point where, in a direct clash with one of Tubalcain Alhambra's playing cards, he was able to shred it apart without any difficulty despite the cards having been demonstrated to be able to cut a depleted uranium cannon shell in half.
 * Regeneration: Alucard has the ability to perfectly and quickly recover from any physical injury. He has been torn to shreds by conventional weaponry and holy weaponry designed to kill his kind and has survived all of it. Holy weapons, while they do affect him more, are regenerated all the same if not as quickly.
 * Extrasensory Perception: Alucard has senses that are not only sharper than a mortal's, affording him abilities such as perfect accuracy, but he has abilities that they completely lack. In particular he possesses a 'third-eye' which allows him to see things from far, far distances. Though he never uses it to do so, he can likely see through things that fool human eyes, as Seras does when facing Zorin Blitz. This is not an inherent ability and must be used consciously, as Alucard was unable to see through Tubalcain's illusionary clones. Similarly, Seras was unable to see through Zorin's illusions until told outright that's what they were.
 * Dark Composition: Though he generally dons a corporeal, humanoid form, Alucard is made up of a highly variable otherworldly substance that is black in core and reddish on its edges. This can be especially seen whenever he takes heavy damage, the darkness being immune to conventional weaponry. Along with composing his being, it can serve as a weapon. Alucard is able to transform this material into virtually anything he chooses, like a puddle of goo.
 * Intangibility: Alucard has the ability to walk through solid objects, such as walls.
 * Immortality: It is unclear if Alucard is a true immortal, but he is at least biologically immortal, immune to disease and aging. Alucard has suffered all manner of injury to the most extreme degrees, only to reform himself. This seems to indicate structural immortality as well, but the vampire himself asserts that there is no such thing as a true immortal. This means his immortality is only biological, and there is a way to kill him. Anderson's talk of him being "alone" and his duel with Walter implies that after his seals are removed, his heart is vulnerable to being impaled if not other forms of destruction, which would in turn destroy him for good. After absorbing Schrödinger, his immortality may have been augmented, but if so, it is not known how.
 * Hematophagy: As a vampire, Alucard has the ability to consume blood raw. He has long, conical fangs to assist in this job as well as serpentine-like tongue. His feeding habits have been seen to vary: from the traditional neck-biting to simply ripping people to pieces and outright devouring them. Alucard doesn't seem to need blood to survive, however if starved of of it, he will enter an inactive death-like state.
 * Aestivation: Alucard will enter a dormant state if he goes too long without blood. It is unknown if he can be starved to death, as he goes decades without a drop of blood before a young Integra finds him. It is never made clear if this is unique to him or if all vampires can do this.
 * Hemokinesis: Alucard has the ability to manipulate blood . This ability seems to be limited to blood outside of the body, as he is never seen influencing the blood of enemies while they are intact.
 * Soul Absorption: By draining a person of their blood, Alucard gains dominance over their souls and very forms. He also takes on whatever knowledge they possess, as he was able to find out about Millennium by draining Tubalcain Alhambra of his blood.
 * Alucardfamiliararmy.pngFamiliar Control: Alucard can summon forth anyone he's taking the soul of at will. . He has an entire legion dwelling within him but seems to favor using Baskerville, the Black Dog. Whoever he absorbs, their powers are at his disposal. While Seras gives her familiar, Pip Bernadotte, some free reign within her own soul, Alucard seems content to completely dominate everything living inside him. It is unclear if this is due to their individual wills or a lack of experience on Seras' part. It is unclear if Alucard is able to gain any familiars after consuming Schrödinger.
 * Shapeshifting: Though form is of no particular importance to him, Alucard claims to be able to change into anything. He has changed into a child, several bats, an amorphous darkness , has several "default" forms , and can assume the form of a hellhound . It is unknown if he can take the shape of inanimate objects such as tables or chairs.
 * Mist Body: Alucard is capable of turning his body into some sort of dark reddish mist in order to render attacks against him useless.
 * Telepathy: Alucard is able to communicate telepathically with his fledgling, Seras. The telepathy doesn't seem to have a maximum range. He can also read the thoughts of others, if he wishes.
 * Teleportation: Alucard is able to vanish and reappear at a different location. The range in which he can teleport is unknown. He also can't cross large bodies of water this way as shown when he had to pilot a plane to the H.M.S Eagle and later take control of the ship in order to return to England.
 * Telekinesis: Alucard showed said ability when he was able to move the HMS Eagle to London overnight. Said ability was also demonstrated in the OVA when he knocked away two of the queen's bodyguards without even touching them, and how he slammed the door shut when the SWAT team attacking him in the hotel tried to escape. It can also be assumed that he used telekinesis to toss all the SWAT team out the hotel to impale them on flag poles.
 * Daywalking: Other vampires operate in the dark, because of a presumed weakness to light. Alucard however seems to have no problem with sunlight, only complaining that being up during the day is exhausting.
 * Weather Control: The ability to control the weather to an unknown limit, as demonstrated by the fog created when he returned to London aboard the H.M.S Eagle.
 * Hypnosis: Alucard has the ability to control minds, doing so on exclusively with Humans. The afflicted human will enter a euphoric, stupor-like state and their eyes will glow red. They will be pliant to all of Alucard's designs, doing and speaking as he wills. This hypnotic link is established through direct eye-contact and does not waver, even when Alucard's attention is elsewhere.
 * Gravity Defiance: Alucard, during his fight with Tubalcain, is shown not only to be able to stand vertically on a wall, but run backwards up it. This would indicate some ability to defy gravity. Also, during Seras' first mission, Alucard is seen floating behind Seras.
 * Omnipresence: After consuming Schrödinger accidentally and being lost within himself for 30 years, Alucard emerges with the Werekin's powers. He is both nowwhere and everywhere. As people saw that Schrödinger couldn’t die when shot in the head, the reason behind this is due people thinking of his existence that he able to escape death. Thanks to this Alucard is able to do this as well as being able to be in places where normally he could not do
 * Supernatural Detection: The ability to sense supernatural activity. In The Dawn, a prequel to Hellsing, Alucard knew the Captain was a werewolf the moment he saw him, and in the OVA, he could see the blessings on Father Anderson's bayonets as well as the holy barrier preventing their escape.

Release States
Being too powerful to be left on his own, his power is restricted by the "Control Art Restriction System" and has to be accessed by the "Cromwell Invocation". There are shown to be six levels of restriction and six corresponding states, with lower numbers meaning greater levels of power. He can often be heard stating what level he is releasing immediately prior to combat ("Releasing control art restriction to level two"). This is, perhaps, a requirement of the release mechanism, but this has never been confirmed and is likely a literary device. Another possible reason is that it is to unnerve his opponents as he goes into battle. Given what has been seen of his personality, this is quite likely. Alucard can release his power up to Level One by himself, but he needs his master's approval to release his final state - Level Zero, the lowest level, allowing him full access to his most devastating powers.

"Releasing Control Art Restriction Systems 3...2...1. Approval of situation A recognized; commencing the Cromwell Invocation. Ability restrictions lifted for limited use until the enemy has been rendered silent."

- Alucard's iconic Restraint quote.

It is noticeable that Alucard's attire sometimes changes according to how much power he is using: as he charges up to engage in battle, first his sunglasses, then his fedora will disappear; in the manga he also removes his arms from the sleeves of his coat letting it simply just hang on his shoulders like a cloak whilst he fires from underneath it. It has been posited that these articles of clothing are direct physical manifestations of whatever system Hellsing uses to control Alucard, with his leather straight jacket representing his true nature. His gloves, which are engraved with the Hellsing seal (a pentacle decorated with occult symbols and several mottoes, reading: "Hell's Gate Arrested / Gott Mit Uns / And Shine Heaven Now") are also thought to be part of this mechanism and the source of Hellsing's control over him (Alucard's distinctive gloves are visible in the vast majority of his transformations, even when Alucard himself is not in a humanoid form).

However, in Hellsing OVA II, in the flashback scene where Alucard recalls being beaten by Abraham Van Hellsing, Alucard is still seen wearing these gloves, despite the fact that he was not yet under their control. This is a continuity error, because when compared to the panel from the manga, it shows normal white gloves. In his final release state, Alucard reverted to his original form back when he was still Vlad III Dracula. In this form he appeared as his former, 45-year-old self with a thick beard and mustache. He also wore heavy medieval armor with a huge tattered cloak and carried a long sword. However, he quickly returned to his normal form when confronted by Anderson. The enormous army surrounding him in this state, along with the souls of every single person he has ever drank the blood of, accompanies this form as well.

Some fans claim that his "girly form" is the Hellsing family doing. However, in Hellsing: The Dawn, chapter 4, Walter questioned Alucard's girly form and asked if he is still half asleep, in which Alucard answered "I can change my shape into anything. The particular form I take... it means nothing to me." It is clear that he chose this form of his own accord, simply because he can. Also in volume 9, Alucard also admits in his 'Girlycard' form that "There's never any meaning in the form that I take".

The only real difference between each form is the preferred method of fighting; in "Girlycard" form he uses a tommygun, in "Count" form he uses his dual pistols, in "Nosferatu, the no-life king" form he uses his hands and shadows to fight, and in "Dracula" form he primarily uses his Claymore sword.

To sum it up, the release states are not just the markers of Alucard's growing powers, they also have an effect on his appearance and fighting methods as well. Up to level 1, Alucard usually takes his "Count-form", even with his new personality, he still takes the form he once had as Count Dracula. (It can be assumed that the vampire sees this form as the one which is fitting his monstrous being the most.) In this state, he usually fights with his guns, using his bare hands only against human targets or to finish off his vampire victims, often by impaling them.

In his level one form, he usually wears the black leather coat/straightjacket seen right before Integra released the vampire from his captivity in the dungeon of Hellsing HQ. This form is sometimes called "Nosferatu" or "the no-life king" as noted during his final battle with Anderson. This form seems to possess the most raw physical power when it comes to fighting hand to hand, as shown when he used it against Luke Valentine (implying that he was a very powerful opponent), Tubalcain Alhambra (whose powers amused Alucard), Alexander Anderson (when the priest was reinforced with Helena's Nail) and the vampirized Walter. In this form, the vampire seems to prefer fighting with hand-to-hand combat, however, he can also use firearms. It is only in Alucard's level one and level zero states that he uses Baskerville.

In Ultimate's eighth episode, Sir Integra issues the command "Release control art restriction zero. [...] Say the words and release your full power." However, Alucard's power is not unleashed until he incants the words written on his coffin, "The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to make me tame." This demonstrates what is called "the two-man rule", a protocol requiring the actions of two persons to advance, used in cryptography and nuclear weapons launches. Alucard remains at release-state zero for his final fights with Alexander Anderson and vampirized Walter Dornez. In release-state zero, Alucard appears, at different times, in all forms seen throughout the anime to that point. In the final minutes of his fight against vampire Walter Dornez, Alucard adopts his "Girlycard" form to mock Walter's age-regression.

Forms

 * Alucard smile at Anderson.png first form Alucard had in the OVA was in a black straightjacket that kept his arms right behind his back, he broke free of the restraints in order to protect Integra Hellsing from death. Alucard's appearance changed since then but every now and then he goes back to this form, he has used it; in his fight with Luke Valentine, his fight with Tubalcain Alhambra, when he attempted to board the Eagle and succeeded when he finally killed Anderson, and in his fight with Walter.
 * Young-alucard.jpgAlucard Rio form.jpg World War II (September 1944, specifically), when he arrived in Warsaw, Alucard took on the form of a little girl, known as "Girlycard". Although he changed his looks, Alucard didn't change his voice (at least, in the OVA. It is possible that his voice changed in the manga). In this form, Alucard wears a hat made of fur, a white suit including a long coat, and for a weapon he has a Tommy gun.
 * When Alucard was sent by Integra Hellsing to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, along with Seras Victoria and Pip Bernadotte, he changed his form to what seemed to be a business man. Only Alucard's clothes seem to change here, as his hair is as it was before Abraham Van Helsing defeated him, Alucard wears a dark grey suit with a long coat he only wears over his shoulders, along with the goggle sided sunglasses he usually wears.
 * Trailer 3-1.jpgrd is Count Dracula, the King Of Vampires, which means when he was human he was originally Vlad The Impaler, a three-time Voivode of Wallachia. Alucard's Vlad form is his "original" form, and when he is using it he wears shining silver armor and a large black cape (red on the inside), In the English dub he also gains a Romanian accent. In real life Vlad had a beard but in Hellsing he does not, he does however have a lot of stubble when he transforms. Also when Alucard returns to Integra Hellsing and Seras Victoria in London, Seras asks Alucard after he transformed into Vlad- "You originally had a beard, didn't you?" (In the English dub she just playfully points out that he grew a mustache).
 * Alucard Jackal .jpgrd's most common form is his "Count" form, which is the same form described at the top of the page. It is possible that Alucard mimicked this attire from Abraham Van Helsing, who wore a similar uniform in Alucard's flashback in OVA 2. Alucard uses his "Count" form in through the whole story of Hellsing, but only wears the fedora hat up to OVA 3, and the glasses up to OVA 4. Alucard sometimes manipulates this form; by increasing the length of the cape of his overcoat even after reaching his feet, or he simply wears the coat without having his arms through the sleeves and over his shoulders, as he does when he reaches the Eagle in OVA 4. Even though in "The Dawn" Alucard uses his "Girlycard" form, in the WW2 clips in the OVA 3 credits, Alucard is seen in his common "Count" form while being gunned down by Nazis, and regenerating shortly after. Alucard even reverts back to his "Count" form half way through his second fight with Anderson, right after leaving his "Original" Vlad form. Interestingly enough, when he regenerates, so does his clothing.
 * In the 1st volume of the manga, Alucard wore a full-length trench coat that could be buttoned to cover most of his face just below eye-level. However, after receiving much criticism from readers saying he had too many resemblances to other characters outside Hellsing (Vash The Stampede in particular), Kouta Hirano redesigned Alucard with his current design. The anime and the OVA has him in the "Count" form from the beginning.Baskervillehound.png
 * One form which is the least used appears to be his usage the Black hound of Baskerville's form. It appears as a large black dog with multiple eyes on each side of his face. Alucard is seen as the dog in the Hellsing opening as well as in the trailer for the Hellsing OVAs.

Before Hellsing
It is not known what Hellsing changed with regard to Alucard's/Dracula's original powers. However, the ghoul army formed by the devoured souls in Alucard may be one of these alterations. Dracula didn't use this ability against Prof. Van Helsing and his crew according to the flashbacks in the manga (and of course according to Bram Stoker's novel, which is a base of Hellsing). In addition, Van Helsing admitted that they had destroyed all of the vampire's servants (which means these servants can't re-appear in 1999). It is possible that through occult, the Hellsing family managed to unlock Alucard's ability and allowed him full access to all the souls he had consumed, and made it possible to release them on the battlefield in Control Art Restriction System Level Zero. In the ending of Hellsing OVA III, which is a trailer of The Dawn, it can be seen that some of the WW-2 German soldiers are impaled much like the Millennium and Crusader infantry in the battle of London. Also, the Major seemed to know much about Alucard's release states. It's possible that Alucard may not have had these abilities while Dracula, but naturally got them later on, without Hellsing's interference, as Alucard expected Luke to summon his familiars during their battle. This contradicts the conjecture that this is exclusive to Alucard, however, it is yet to be revealed in the ongoing Dawn-series whether these assumptions are true

Hellsing ARMS .454 Casull Auto
The Casull is a semi-automatic magnum pistol, based on two pre-WW1 handgun designs by Colt: the M1903 and M1905 pistols (the early versions of the M1911). The gun weighs approximately 6 kg unloaded and has a magazine capacity of six .454 Casull cartridges. Its appearance is also similar to the AMT Automag III. The overall design of the Casull is simple, using the Browning short recoil mechanism. Its most recognizable feature is its long slide, counteracting the weapon's heavy recoil with its weight. The barrel is 10 inches long (specified on the slide) and finished with titanium nitride which gives it a characteristic gold color. The Casull is able to kill normal vampires with only 1 shot. It is too heavy and unwieldy for a human to use, yet a perfect match for Alucard's strength.


 * Caliber: 454 Casull Magnum
 * Total length: 335mm
 * Weight: 4kg
 * Magazine: 14+1 rounds since highcap magazine (The magazine is the same size as the Jackal, so the magazine probably only holds 6 rounds.)
 * Inscription


 * HELLSING ARMS WEAPON Hellsing 454 Casull INDUSTRIAL CO.LTD.

The Jackal
The Jackal is a massive pistol made especially for Alucard, and one of the most powerful handheld weapons in the Hellsing series. It has a length of 39cm (16 in), a weight of 16kg (35lbs), and a black gunmetal construction, and uses massive 13mm explosive rounds. The words "Jesus Christ is in Heaven now"  are engraved upon it, in mockery of a similar statement on Alexander Anderson's gloves.


 * Caliber: 13mm steel jacketed explosive bullets
 * Total length: 390mm
 * Weight: 16kg
 * Magazine: 12+1 rounds since highcap magazine (According to Walter, the Jackal's magazine only has 6 rounds.)
 * Inscription:


 * Jesus Christ is in Heaven now HELLSING ARMS WEAPON INDUSTRIAL CO.LTD.

Identity
Alucard's true identity - that of both the historical Vlad Ţepeş and the fictional Count Dracula - is only hinted at in the earlier volumes. Such early hints include his anagrammatic name (Alucard is Dracula, reversed), the title of the series and the name of Integra's family, and the impalement of the GATE officers in volume 3. From there, the hints become much less vague, and his identity as the fictional Count Dracula is brought to light. In volume 4, a dreaming Alucard recalls his defeat at the hands of Abraham van Hellsing, which marked the beginning of his servitude to the Hellsing family. In volume 7, the narration alludes to the Count's arrival in London aboard the Demeter, from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.In volume 8, his full identity is made plain when Integra places his control level at zero and greets him with, "Welcome back, Count." Reverting to the body he had at the time of his "death" at age 44-45 (as the historical Vlad III's death occurred in either December of 1476 or January of 1477, and his birth-month is unknown), he summons massive hordes of souls he had devoured during the centuries. These include his own Wallachian army, his slaughtered peasantry, the Turkish Janissary, war horses, and countless others. Throughout his battle with Anderson, Alucard frequently compares his rival to the man who defeated him a hundred years ago - Abraham van Hellsing.

Additionally, in Hundred Swords (3), the other protagonists are spoken of by Alucard - Abraham van Hellsing, John Seward (mistakenly written as "Jack" Seward in the manga), Quincey Morris, and Arthur Holmwood (Jonathan Harker is strangely omitted). The final chapter of volume 8 - Castlevania (1) - consists of a flashback of Alucard's life and "death" as the Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad III Dracula. Another indication that Alucard is Vlad is the fact that he frequently impales his victims; the priest and Leif with his bare hands in volume 1, the GATE officers in Brazil on flagpoles in volume 3, Rip Van Winkle with her own musket in volume 5 and hundreds of victims in London during the Millennium/Vatican siege.

Historically, Vlad Ţepeş was responsible for the deaths of between 40,000 and 100,000 of his enemies and various villains in his own country during his reign as the monarch of Wallachia (a major portion of what is now present-day Romania). His most well known way of execution was impalement. For torturing people by impalement, it is alleged that his executioners learned how to have the victims placed so that the pikes, spears, or other shafts on which they had them impaled would pass most or all of the victim's vital organs, entering their lower nether regions and exiting near the back of their neck. In this way, the victims could be kept alive for days on end before they finally bled to death. When simply executing a person, they were typically impaled straight through the center of their torso, with the shaft entering their groin and exiting through the mouth.

Vlad was also known for his deeds as the Voivode of Wallachia, particularly the fact that any criminal, thief etc. would be punished severely. When the Ottoman army attempted to invade Wallachia in the mid 15th century, they encountered several thousand impaled and rotting corpses staked on the banks of the Danube River. Historical records state that the Ottoman emperor saw his forces return shortly after, many of them sobbing and ranting that whoever had slaughtered all those people had to be the Devil.

Perhaps the best-known incident regarding Vlad's mean of execution was the way by which he prevented the Ottoman Army from invading Wallachia again (following the fall of Constantinople) in 1462. Reports show that he had 20,000 captured turkish soldiers and convicted criminals impaled and staked out on the borders of his capital city, Târgoviște. Mehmed II, the leader of the Ottomans (who was well-known himself for his use of psychological warfare), was sickened by the sight of the corpses outside the Wallachian capital and ordered his forces back to Constantinople.

Voice Actors

 * French Dub: Eric Peter (TV), Antoine Tomé (OVA)
 * German Dub: Torsten Munchow
 * Czech Dub: Martin Stránský (TV)
 * Japanese Dub: Jōji Nakata
 * English Dub: Crispin Freeman
 * Korean Dub: Eung-sik Min
 * Italian Dub: Roberto Pedicini (TV), Lorenzo Scattorin (OVA)
 * Portuguese Dub (Brazil): Affonso Amajones
 * Spanish Dub: Jose Manuel Vieira

Trivia

 * In Hirano's setting, Alucard's weight ranges from 0~100 Kg, depending on the form he takes. It is also stated that Alucard's hair is part of the shadow, so it changes all the time.
 * Below the star on Alucard's glove it has the German words, "Gott Mit Uns", which translates to "God With Us". Interestingly, those words were used by the German military until the end of World War II, and during the Nazi era by the Wehrmacht (the regular German army) whereas the Nazi Waffen-SS used "Meine Ehre heißt Treue", which means "Loyalty is my Honor", instead.
 * In the original fan-translation of the Hellsing: Volume 2, the translators incorrectly translated Walter's line referring to the Jackal, making him call it the "Joshua" even though the Katakana reads "KASURU", which would be the correct Katakana for "Casull". Since then, many fans have perpetuated the name, so much so that ADV (the Official European Distributor for the TV Series) called it "Joshua" on their Official Website, the Special Features, and the booklets on their DVD release. Regardless, this name is incorrect as it never appears in the Original Japanese version of either the Manga, TV series, or OVA, or any official Translations of Hellsing, not even ADV's, as they use Geneon's dub and subtitles.
 * Interestingly, in the English commentary for the first Hellsing Ultimate OVA, Crispin Freeman notes that he was originally going to give Alucard a Romanian accent, but decided on an American accent instead. Most likely, the Romanian accent heard in the intro of the English OVA II, and the one in OVA VIII upon unleashing level 0 is what Alucard was originally going to sound like. It's also likely that Alucard is meant to have a Romanian accent in the manga.
 * Interestingly enough, Freeman voiced a different version of Dracula in the Castlevania series. In Lament of Innocence, Freeman voices Mathias Cronqvist, a tactician who later becomes Count Dracula in the series.
 * In many of the sequences after Alucard receives the Jackal, he is seen using it alongside the Casull in a dual-wielding style. The Jackal has a left-facing case ejector, something most guns do not have, and this makes it appear as though the gun was meant to be used with the Casull. However, Alucard is almost always shown in the Manga and the Anime holding the Jackal in his right hand and the Casull with his left, causing the case ejectors to face each other (which would throw spent shell casings into his face). This is most likely an error on Hirano's part, as Alucard (with his extensive experience with guns) would know to face the case ejectors outwards; in the OVAs, this is exactly the case.
 * Considering his personality, it's also possible he purposefully does this to challenge himself, making the bullets blind him. It's also possible this isn't even a factor for Alucard, considering his 'third eye'.
 * It has been noted by some that during Alucard's flashback, Prof. Abraham Hellsing is wearing a similar red outfit to Alucard's usual dress.
 * This could have been the inspiration for Alucard's well known "Count" form.
 * Hirano has admitted he drew inspiration for Alucard's appearance off of Vash the Stampede from the manga and anime series Trigun (with similar jacket and glasses shared by the two characters). This is most notable in Volume 1, back when Alucard's art design was vastly different from the rest of the Manga.
 * In some scenes of the manga, the pentagram on Alucard's gloves changes to a hexagram or sometimes disappears entirely.
 * It is stated in the official guidebook that the term "The Bird of Hermes is my name/Eating my wings to make me tame" etched on his coffin is his pledge of loyalty to serve the Hellsing family after his capture. So his coffin not only serves as his resting place, it also serves as the promise and contract he made to the Hellsing family.
 * Alucard has two Paganism references on him. The obvious one is the Pentacle symbol on his gloves. The second is his epithet "The Bird of Hermes." Hermes was the Greek messenger god, noted for his winged sandals and ability to fly. Hermes was also noted for transporting souls to the Underworld, while Alucard, in contrast, devours them.
 * "The Bird of Hermes is my name/Eating my wings to make me tame" is also part of the Ripley Scroll, a medieval work about emblematic symbolism. George Ripley was an alchemist who lived around about Vlad the Impaler's time and is also said to have known the formula to create the Philosopher's Stone.
 * Oddly during the final episode of the anime, during the brief moment when it shows half of Alucard's face as that of Vlad Tepes, his skin is paler than that of his vampiric self, despite this form being able to go out in the sun.
 * At the end of the credits of OVA 1, Alucard's girl form is shown, but with a dark greenish-brown jacket instead of white and the hair is purple instead of black.
 * In the manga Alucard's gloves hold an easter egg, one of the words readable was "Excel Saga" which is the name of an anime/manga made by Rikdo Koshi.
 * Before becoming a vampire, Alucard's eyes were a bluish-purple in the OVA. However, in his famous portrait, Vlad Tepes has brown eyes. There are also historical records which describe him as having "threatening" green eyes.
 * The character Solomon from Genndy Tartakovsky's Sym-Bionic Titan cartoon is a visual reference to Alucard.
 * Alucard's seiyuu, Joji Nakata, and his western voice actor, Crispin Freeman, also voiced a Catholic Priest from Fate/stay night series: Kotomine Kirei . This is a contrast to seiyuu Norio Wakamoto, who voiced Dracula from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to fill Alexander Anderson's voice in the OVA.