|
Feature Presentation:
Special thanks to Geneon Entertainment for sending a copy for a review for this site. This is the forth release of an Anime UMD. What a wicked series & just in time for Halloween. The title of this series, Hellsing, might sound familiar, but it got nothing to do with the real-life movie Van Hellsing. However, here comes the vampires & the unholy undead to haunt the world of mortals once again. For some reasons, vampires are going wild, killing innocent peoples, turning them into grouls. However, there is one group to stop them, the Hellsing Organization. They are the police of the supernatural for generations. As things get tough, they sent out Arucard. Strangly enough, he is not a man, but a vampire himself. During on a mission, a by-stander, Seras Victoria, got in the way & she must choose, in order to survive, to become a vampire. Now, joining up with Arucard, we see the journey facing a life of a vampire...
Video:
Geneon Entertainment did a very great job. You might noticed, this is the first non-widescreen series to be release on the PSP. The PSP does play full-screen, just black out the side. There is some watermarking done, translating the credits to English. It is crisp & clear, no problem. Each episodes are separated into 5 parts: the introduction, part A, part B, ending & the preview for the next episode! There is one little problem, the episodes are not in a single track, as in it won't play all the episodes in one turn. You must select it one by one as the episode ends. Hopefully, the next volume doesn't have to face this annoyance. I do note that you can skip all those warnings & logos when you first load the UMD by just selection the "Menu" on your PSP. There is already a DVD out already, if you wish you see it on your TV!
Dubbing: English:
The dubbing is really very well done. It's about 85% of the original Japanese.
Audio 01: English 2.0:
No problem found. Recommended listening via headphones or an external speaker system.
Audio 02: Japanese 2.0:
No problem found. Recommended listening via headphones or an external speaker system.
Subtitle:
Geneon Entertainment have selected a great font, very easy to read, but as always, since the PSP has a small screen, you might have trouble reading it without looking closely. Of course, it varies from person to person. White is the prefer color for the regular subtitling & Japanese signs & text. There is only one subtitling track, which is for the Japanese dialogue, so if you want to see the translation for the vocals, you must turn the subtitle on. I might note that every odd numbered episodes, the ending subtitles are in English, while the even numbered episodes are in Japanese original text on this volume.
Menu Option:
Even the series is in full screen, the menu is actually in widescreen format, fits right on the PSP screen. The menu is a little plain, it's something like a river a blood. There is the "Play", "Audio Setup", "Subtitle Setup" & "Previews". When selected, each section will pop out the options you want to select. The background music is one of the background music from the series.
UMD Extras:
Even there is a section for extras, there isn't really any extras, just trailers for other Anime releases. This might be due that, well, UMD discs have a limited space, so you're pretty much stuck with none.
Packaging:
The package is almost the same as the DVD release, if you have seen it or own it. On the cover, you will see Arucard. Creepyness looking right at you. In the back, you see some screenshots from the episodes in this volume with a hint of the enemy! The insert is simple, but there isn't any chapter listing, just information on the DVD releases, along with the OST CD & for all you new to your PSP, there is instructions how to work an UMD disc! On the UMD disc itself, it's Arucard, the same as the cover. Since the UMD disc case is a clear one, a nice artwork of a little fight screen.
Overall UMD Rating:
A little bit more, there are three episodes. A life of a vampire, both the good & the bad. If you got a thing for vampires, this series might be for you. Plus, it's perfect for Halloween. By now, most of you have seen the DVD version, so if you love that series enough, this is perfect to bring along with your PSP to watch during long trip! For all who have not, this is a perfect addition to your UMD collection!
| 
