Professor Abraham Van Helsing (エイブラハム・ヴァン・ヘルシング教授,,Eiburahamu Van Herushingu-kyōju?) is a minor, yet pivotal character in the Hellsing series created by Kohta Hirano, and one of the main characters of Dracula by Bram Stoker. He is voiced by Chikao Ōtsuka in the Japanese sub and Curt Lowens in the English dub.
A Dutch doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc., etc." The character is best known as a vampire hunter and the arch-enemy of Count Dracula. The founder of the Hellsing Organisation, and former arch-nemesis of Dracula, he is the father of Sir Arthur Hellsing and grandfather of Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing.
In his initial appearance[4], he closely resembles his son Arthur in terms of facial appearance. A tough man, someone who's old and merely a human, Van Helsing is generally well built. He had a heart face shape, and generally looks rough. He also had a thick high-arching eyebrow, and a slicked, short albeit, messy brown hair with two two little hairs that stick up which resemble horns. He also had stubbles. Like his son and granddaughter, Van Helsing's pupils are colored blue. In Volume 8 and 10, his hair appears to be much more longer and messy, with the top of his head now balding. His "horns" are also removed completely.[5][6]
Van Helsing wore a white long-sleeved shirt with a black cravat under a dark gray vest, and red duster coat. His outfit is finished with a pair of dark grey trousers and brown boots, along with a pair of white gloves. His duster coat however, appears to be just a normal coat with golden buttons in Volume 8. His cravat was changed in Volume 10 and appears to look just like Alucard's, but black.
Personality[]
As a man with a wide range of variety of titles in his name, Van Helsing is simply nothing but a genius. He's an expert at his field, first one to be noticing the existence of vampires as everyone around him calls Helsing crazy for believing a myth. He's competent and calm, he's experienced and cool, yet during the speeches he made; he comes across as "bumbling." Incredibly open minded, he becomes a perfect nemesis that contrast to the strong and powerful, yet egotistical and dumb Count. A philosopher and metaphysician, Van Helsing's mission simply is to defeat the Count; so he departs as soon as he arrives.
John Seward, his student, described him:
"He is a seemingly arbitrary man, this is because he knows what he is talking about better than anyone else. He is a philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day, and he has, I believe, an absolutely open mind. This, with an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, and indomitable resolution, self-command, and toleration exalted from virtues to blessings, and the kindliest and truest heart that beats, these form his equipment for the noble work that he is doing for mankind, work both in theory and practice, for his views are as wide as his all-embracing sympathy." — Dracula (novel), Chapter 9: John Seward's letter to Arthur Holmwood
History[]
Abraham was born into a Catholic Dutch family in the mid 1800s. As he came into adulthood, he married and settled down to start a family as he studied several fields of science, medicine, physics, and psychology. His family was wracked with tragedy when Van Helsing's only son passed away. The passing drove his wife mad to the point that she became dead to Abraham, yet his status as a devout Catholic prevented him from divorcing her. Abraham continued his academic studies to receive degrees and doctorates in several fields, including medicine, philosophy, and scientific study. In the course of his career, Van Helsing became a professor and took on students. Among these students is John Seward, who would one day become a doctor himself. During an incident involving a knife that had come into contact with gangrene, Van Helsing was cut and poisoned by it. Thinking quickly, Seward sucked the poison out and saved Abraham, a favor he wouldn't soon forget.
Dracula[]
When the woman Seward cared most about, Lucy Westenra, fell ill with a mysterious disease, Seward sent a telegram to Van Helsing requesting his knowledge of rare and obscure diseases to help cure her. Remembering his debt, Abraham made great haste in coming to their aid. Upon arriving, Van Helsing was instantly able to see Lucy's ailment was that of a Vampire's bite, but wary that Seward and his companions would find it crazy, he refused to immediately tell them his diagnosis. Van Helsing had been learning about Vampires for quite a while, though the field of study is difficult to grasp for those who have no first-hand experience with them. In an effort to save Lucy, Abraham attempted several blood transfusions on the girl, but their attempts to save her were appearing for naught. Abraham then left for Amsterdam, giving them explicit instructions to watch over Lucy and her family. Instructions that never arrived with those to whom they belonged.
Upon returning, he found that Lucy had passed away from a wolf attack in the middle of the night, and had been buried. Despite the apparent death and burial, however, several reports began to come in of a beautiful woman matching Lucy's description attacking innocents in the night. Finally realizing he couldn't hide the truth any longer, Van Helsing confided in Seward, and Lucy's other suitors, Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood, about the Vampire's curse and that their dear Lucy is now among the undead. The men soon found Lucy and, after a heated confrontation, succeeded in killing her with a beheading, allowing Lucy to finally rest. At that point, Jonathan Harker joined the entourage after barely surviving an encounter with their previously unknown enemy. Now knowing his name, Count Dracula, the group set out to destroy the vampire once and for all.
Now in London, the horrid Count went to accomplish one of his goals, to take Mina Harker for himself. Having seen a photograph of her and Jonathan, Dracula found he desired her, and in the middle of the night, he succeeded in biting her. He proceeded to drink from her and feed to her his own blood, making her into a vampire as well, but bonding her to himself as his servant Vampire. Knowing time is short, and the only way to save Mina is to defeat Dracula, Van Helsing lead a frantic search for the Count. Due to her telepathic link to the No-Life King, they were able to use Mina to trace Dracula's steps, finally finding his whereabouts after putting her into a hypnotic state.
Hellsing[]
The group finally followed the count back to his castle and confronted him for a battle just before dawn. After a fierce fight, Quincey Morris struck Dracula down with his bowie knife at the price of his life. Now battered and wounded, the powerless Count stands in a carriage with a wound on his chest. Before then the wafer marks across Mina's shoulder is now gone. Taking a look at the battered and bleeding Count before Helsing orders the others to flee the place.[7]
Once gone, Van Helsing drags Dracula's body to a gravestone, while waking for him to wake up in doing so, crouches. Quoting a line said in the bible, Van Helsing grabs a Wooden Stake and plunges it onto Dracula's heart; in the same spot where Morris put his Bowie Knife in. Coughing up blood, Dracula awakes at the sight of Sir Helsing waiting for him, the man he called a "lot." Questioning if he have been defeated or not, Van Helsing confirms this yet he notes that "no nightmares last forever."[8]
Dracula bleeds all over due to the Stake being plunged deeper to his heart, done by Prof. Helsing
Commenting about how all those who worked for him, his fiefs and his castle are now burned down and gone; lost forever, even the "eucharist wafer" has vanished. Now, the fortunate Mina Harker will never be his. Clutching his fist and charging it, he slams it onto the stake placed onto the Count's heart before then Dracula screams in agony and gets ragdoll upwards. In the midst of that, Van Helsing grabs onto the Count's neck and shouts at the pathetic Count; now he's got nothing left- just a miserable No-Life King with no purpose in life.[9] However, Helsing decided not to deliver the finishing blow to his felled foe, instead taking Dracula's now powerless form with him back to England.
The events of Abraham's life after defeating Dracula are unknown, but it is commonly known that he began research to tame his one-time enemy. Through science and possibly some form of sorcery, Van Helsing succeeded at his task and turned the once proud Count into a servant whom his family would later re-dub Alucard.[10][11] The rest of Abraham's life is mostly unknown, though it is assumed that he settled down and had at least one other child.
Later, by Van Helsing's own hand, an Organisation was established in England to research and combat these occult and demonic threats to humanity, such as the Vampire.[12] At some unknown point, Abraham converted to Anglicanism, and had the family name Anglicized as Hellsing. The Organisation would eventually take on this name as well, and become officially sanctioned by England and the Church of England.
Later Appearances[]
The first time he appeared in one of Alucard´s dreams, Van Helsing made many allusions to Dracula when referring to Alucard. At the end of this dream, Alucard seems to cry blood.[13][14] The second time Van Helsing appeared as a silhouette after Alucard transforms into the "Count," this last one is the most direct reference to the novel in the manga, since this time, besides Van Helsing, Alucard mentions Quincey Morris, Arthur Holmwood, and Dr. Seward, although, mysteriously, not Jonathan Harker.[15] He appeared for a third time in a flashback showing Alucard's previous deaths, now featuring Harker and Mina.[16]
Abilities[]
Abilities and Skills
Intelligence: Abraham was an incredibly intelligent man, to an extent; he was a Doctor, Professor, Lawyer, Philosopher, Scientist, and Metaphysic. Also, without his intelligence and remarkable skills, the group would've likely lost to Dracula. John Seward also described him as one of the most advanced scientists of his day, and an absolute "open mind."
Occult Knowledge: Furthermore, with his knowledge of vampires and such, he was able to track down Mina Harker due to her telepathic link with the Count. His intelligence and knowledge also helped during his many experiments with the Count after he had been tamed, allowing him to be more powerful than before, however, for all eternity, he must serve the Hellsing family.[17]
Control Over Dracula
After Dracula's defeat, Van Helsing took Dracula and saved his life. In return, Dracula was to be under the bidding of Van Helsing's family. With his extreme knowledge in the supernatural, Van Helsing experimented on Dracula so much so, until Dracula became the Ultimate Undead.[18] It is not until Helsing's son in which Dracula was renamed "Alucard."[19]
A Wooden Stake is a popular choice of weapon wielded by vampire hunters. Though only specific types of woods are capable of exterminating a vampire, and the vampire hunter must impale the vampire in the heart with the stake. Notably, once a vampire sleeps in their coffin, a vampire hunter would take the chance to end the vampire with the stake by the heart, or catch them off-guard somehow. When a sleeping Alucard is revealed to have a stake shoved down his heart, and Van Helsing in front of him, it's assumed that Helsing was the perpetrator.
Other Weapons[]
Wooden Axe: When Alucard recalls the group of men that totally defeated him a century ago, Van Helsing and his friends appears on screen, each wielding varying different of weapons. Van Helsing specifically is shown to have been equipped with a wooden axe and stake.[20]
Name[]
In the original novel, Van Helsing was a devout catholic, but since the Hellsing Organisation is formally known as the "Royal Order of Protestant Knights," it's assumed that the family converted at some point, later adding an extra "L" in "Helsing." However, it also may be a mistake on Hirano's part, as in Japanese, Helsing is romanized as "Herushingu (ヘルシング)." The same katakana is used to write "Hellsing."
It is unknown if Van Helsing himself became the father of two boys, Arthur and Richard Hellsing, or if Arthur and Richard were Van Helsing's grandchildren. As another generation between Arthur and Abraham would explain the change in name and Religion more clearly. However, if a middle generation did exist, when this unknown Hellsing either retired or died, the reins of the organization were passed to the eldest child of Abraham.
Quotes[]
"All flesh is like grass. All human glory is like flowers. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord endures forever."
"That's right. You lost. No nightmare lasts forever. Both your castle und your fief are gone. Your loyal servants are dead und gone too. Even her mark from the eucharist vafer has vanished. She'll never belong to you. (城も領地も消え果てて。配下の下僕も死に果てた。彼女の聖餅跡も消えて失せた。彼女はおまえのものになんかならない。,Shiro mo ryōchi mo kiehatete. Haika no geboku mo shinihateta. Kanojo no seibei ato mo kiete useta. Kanojo wa omae no mono ni nanka naranai.?)" — Abraham, to a weakened Dracula.
"You've got nothing left now, Count! Miserable No-Life King! Everything you had ist now gone! (おまえにはもう何もない伯爵。哀れな「不死の王」よおまえにはもう何もない。,Hakushaku. Omae ni hamou nanimonai. Awarena nōraifukingu yo omae ni wa mō nani mo nai. Nani mo.?)"
Trivia[]
His brand new appearance in OVA X may be inspired by Van Helsing's appearance in the 1992 movie Bram Stoker's Dracula, where Van Helsing's hair is grey, slicked to the back, and balding.
His appearance is decribed as "a man of medium height, strongly built, with his shoulders set back over a broad, deep chest and a neck well balanced on the trunk as the head is on the neck. The poise of the head strikes me at once as indicative of thought and power. The head is noble, well-sized, broad, and large behind the ears. The face, clean-shaven, shows a hard, square chin, a large resolute, mobile mouth, a good-sized nose, rather straight, but with quick, sensitive nostrils, that seem to broaden as the big bushy brows come down and the mouth tightens. The forehead is broad and fine, rising at first almost straight and then sloping back above two bumps or ridges wide apart, such a forehead that the reddish hair cannot possibly tumble over it, but falls naturally back and to the sides. Big, dark blue eyes are set widely apart and are quick and tender or stern with the man's moods." by Mina Harker in the novel.
Although not physically appearing the 2001 anime of Hellsing, Van Helsing was mentioned by Integra during the raid of the Valentine Brothers. The latter whom said "The ordeals that the first master of the Hellsing family had to go through one century ago were much greater than this."[21] The line was derived from the manga itself, but was said by Walter instead of Integra by the telephone.
Alucard bows down towards a Hellsing Family master that could be likely Abraham or Arthur
In the ending sequence of the first OVA, the first scene shows Alucard bowing down to a member of the Hellsing family. The member in question is likely to be Abraham or Arthur, as they both share close resemblance.
