Kill House
From Anime Indepth
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The eighth episode of the Hellsing anime.
Summary
Opening in Hong Kong, we’re shown a brief scene of uniformed men discovering one of the manufacturing sites for freak chips, which is then subsequently attacked and destroyed by some outside military force.
At Hellsing HQ, Fargason is observing members of the mercenaries and members of the English special forces try out for placement within the Hellsing organization. Integra, exiting the training facility, is informed by Walter that a freak chip manufacturing facility was discovered in Hong Kong, but that the evidence was destroyed. Walter also makes a slight that for the first time Hellsing is allowing “pagans and atheists” into their honorable organization, but Integra merely notes that they need a strong group of loyal soldiers who won’t become ghouls. Elsewhere, in Palo Alto, CA, a group of Americans discover an overturned car with a ghoul inside. After briefing some of the potential Hellsing recruits, we are shown Seras as she disappears into London during the daylight hours, while elsewhere a scientist, giving a lecture on his research into the freak chip, suggests the possibility that human beings may have an inherent demon or “freak” gene. Integra interrupts the man, however, stating that their opponent executed the freak chip’s creator in Hong Kong, in fear of the authorities, leading her to the conclusion that their enemy is nothing but a mere human.
Seras, returning to her old apartment with a kidney pie, stares longingly into a picture of her and her father, realizing that she can no longer enjoy this food or the lifestyle her father would have wanted for her. However, Seras is interrupted when the MI-5 agent from episode 4, Harry Anders, appears at her door. Though Seras seems surprised by his appearance, he notes that investigation is his job, and promptly asks if he may have Seras’ pie. Seras demands to know what it is he wants from her and, after noting that he once knew her father, asks Seras to accompany him.
The two enter a mysterious residence housed on a rooftop, occupied a solitary young girl named Helena, who is surrounded by old records and books. Helena notes that Seras hasn’t been a child of the night for terribly long, and Seras realizes that Helena has been trapped in this small form for all this time. Anders notes that Helena is part of one of the oldest vampire clans, and that the freak chip vampires that recently appeared lack the same morals her species does. Helena notes some annoyance at the presence of a Hellsing agent, as the organization has executed many of her friends, though she eases down upon realizing that Seras was sired by Alucard, noting that Seras is “lucky.” Helena, declaring that she has no interest in Anders’ affairs and wishes to live the same free, independent life of her brethren, explains that, like humans that were created from Eve, these freak vampires have a source vampire from which they were created from, as well as commenting that such work does not originate from England. On the drive back, Anders begins to note that, if he was a bit younger, but then cuts himself off, letting Seras out at her apartment, though, as Anders begins to drive away, his car explodes, and Seras screams his name into the night.
Integra, returning to her office at Hellsing HQ, is suddenly tied and gagged to a pole, about to be executed by the mercenaries from earlier in the episode. Alucard’s voice begins to trail in, while the symbol from his glove hovers over Integra in the sky, and Alucard realizes that Integra has been hiding a truly strong enemy from him all this time, the camera panning to a mysterious purple man in a trenchcoat with various piercings all over his body.
Trivia
-The mysterious character seen at the end of the episode is sometimes suggested as being from the “dark continent” or “the continent,” the “dark continent” is an older word used for Africa, and in a later episode this character is seen brandishing South African weaponry, however, “the continent” is a Japanese word for China.
-Why does Helena believe Seras is “lucky”? While it could be seen as an indication of a prior relationship between Helena and Alucard, it is most likely in reference to the fact that Seras indicates that Alucard is her “master,” showing that, unlike Helena, she is still a servant vampire with a strong emotional attachment.
-This episode plays on many of the themes within in the show, first that of blurring the line between human and demon, by having one of the scientists theorize that people possess an inherent demonic or “freak” gene, showing that, while we may try to separate ourselves from the demons of our world, we are just as much alike as different. It also works into the theme of vice, contrasting Seras’ new vice, blood, with one of her older one’s, the kidney pie. A person’s past is also given significance, as Seras’ past as the daughter of a respected police officer comes back to haunt her in several ways; Seras is also shown a clouded version of her own future when faced with the demure and eternal vampires, Helena.
-Kidney pie, often known as steak and kidney pie, is a British pastry which contains beef broth and kidneys incased in a thin layer of crust.
-The importance of the scenes in Hong Kong and California is that it demonstrates just how far the ghouls, and whatever group is behind them, have proliferated into the world’s infrastructure.
-Seras’ briefing session in this episode is where, in the manga, we were introduced to another main character within the series, Pip Vernedead, leader of the mercenary group the Wild Geese. For more information on Pip and other Manga-exclusive characters, check out Hellsing Indepth’s “Manga-only Characters” section.
-This is at least two days since the previous episode, “Duel,” which stated that Fargason, while under a three week recovery period for a broken lower jaw, would return to active duty within two days.
-During both the Japanese and English dubs of the scene in Hong Kong, the characters speak in what appears to be Mandarin Chinese, and is one of several instances in this episode, and the series as a whole, of characters speaking a language outside Japanese. Later in the episode, during a scene in Palo Alto, you can hear Americans speaking in broken English, a common instance in Japanese dubs of American voices.
-This episode appears on the Volume 3 DVD, titled "Search and Destroy," of Geneon’s release of Hellsing.
