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The True Meaning Behind Hellsing’s Bird of Hermes
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- Опубліковано 13 сер 2024
- Hellsing Ultimate is one of the most iconic anime of the vampire genre. Whether you've come across this series through watching the original anime or the abridged version by TeamFourStar, you most likely know Alucard's most iconic line, "The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my own wings to make me tame." This video breaks down this line and explains why it appears in every title card in Hellsing Ultimate and what it ultimately means for Alucard's character as a whole.
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Time Stamps
0:00 - Intro
1:13 - The Bird of Hermes
3:17 - Alucard's Multiple Forms and What They Mean
6:24 - Alucard Story Mirrors the Bird of Hermes
9:53 - Eating My Own Wings
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Alucard, Hellsing Ultimate, Anime, Manga, Anime Analysis, Character Analysis, Otaku
#alucard #hellsing #hellsingultimate #anime #manga #makima #animeanalysis #otaku
Absolutely love those Abridged references.
I wouldn’t have discovered Hellsing without them.
@@LukewarmTakesYT I remember when TFS started dropping them. The old uni friends were all pretty excited to see what they would bring to the table. We had watched Ultimate as it came out so the turn on Alucards character was a bit of a surprise, but a welcome one.
@@smithyMcjoe I remember how agonizing the YEARS long wait for the last ep was! I had given up then suddenly one day on my feed...
@@LukewarmTakesYT me too... they are geniuses.. and the rap about alexander andersen is pure art
You mean canon
"One shudders to imagine what will happen once the bird of Hermes no longer need to eat its own wings." Well, I imagine several walks... Very enthousiastic walks
If Alucard had to kill all those souls inside him that means he can’t drink blood anymore or he’ll disappear like last time because if shrodingers soul inside him.
@@mightytaco123 Didn´t he also destroy that one?
Enthusiastic walks!
“So there I was….. Minding my own business….”
Forget walks, he's gonna run a one-man marathon.
@@livingchaosmatrix no because he wouldn’t be able to use his power. The major pretty much cured his vampirism by making it impossible for him to steal the life force of another again.
To my mind the poem says something pretty simple. That Alucard was never bound. He is choosing to give up his freedom(his wings) to make things more interesting. That he is such an overwhelming monster that he needs to hold back to have any fun. That his servitude to Integra is optional. He could leave any time he wished becoming an unstoppable evil. But that is boring and he finds life as a demigod monster to be tedious beyond words. So what to do? Give his agency to someone far weaker. Test their resolve when his overwhelming might is theirs to command. Try to seduce them away from their ideals. This is his relationship with Integra. This is their battle. Fighting not with strength of arm or sharpness of wits but with willpower. How long can Integra stay righteous while having this immortal beast under her command and knowing her word is all that keeps him leashed? That the power is never hers and she is just borrowing it...but that doesn't need to be the case. That she could have power and immortality any time she wants. Just have to ask.
While in a sense true, Alucard and Integra's relationship is a far more benevolent one from what I've seen- both in Hellsing Ultimate, and in the previous Hellsing Anime. Alucard is... Not fighting Integra at all. He is, however, eager to be amused by her decisions. The thing about Alucard is that, while he is himself a monster- he respects above all else... Humans. A human who REMAINS human, with all the limitations that brings, while fighting or dealing with monsters, instantly gets Alucard's respect. We can see this in his relationship with Integra, how he kneels before the Queen, and both his relationships with Walter and Anderson, as well as how ROYALLY PISSED OFF he got when both gave up their humanity.
@@bragnirI think this might even play into the fact that Alucard (Dracula/Vlad the Impaler) was originally human, but for some reason (don't remember if they state it in the anime) had abandoned his humanity for the sake of becoming a vampire/unfathomable power which he maybe ultimately regrets. Perhaps now he envies those that cling on to their humanity in spite of having the possibility of becoming a monster because he couldn't do it himself centuries ago, and which is why he despises those that choose to become a monster because he sees himself in them and is reminded of how he himself lost his humanity.
I'd tie it more to ideologies. Alucard tried hedonism, for all intents and purposes he 'won' at hedonism, but it failed him. He was utterly defeated, not by Hellsing himself, but by his inability to find any joy in a self-serving life. As such, he isn't a servant to Integra so much as he's a servant to the idea of servitude. Any master would do, but likewise he'd turn on any master the moment he deemed them inadequate.
Compare with Anderson, a monster who nominally serves Maxwell but is really bound to his religion. Also the Millennium vampires, who nominally serve the Major but, as he later explains, can't live for anything other than self-destructive war without meaning because of the ideology they were raised in.
Ultimately (no pun intended), they are all framed as tragic monsters deserving of pity but not mercy.
It reminds me of how Humanity works in the tabletop RPG Vampire The Masquerade. Eventually every monster has the limits of their morality tested so much that they are presented with three options: be the most ethical corpse, lose your grasp on human morality and become a near-mindless beast or give up on human morality and choose to adhere to a different set of ideals. Notably, this only applies to Vampires - human mortality and weakness acts as a grounding force for their ethics and there isn't a blood-hungry beast inside them waiting to hijack control should their sense of self falter.
Within this framework, Alucard can remain sapient only because "obedience" and "disobedience" have supplanted "good" and "evil" in his mind.
I doubt that VtM influenced Hellsing, but they undoubtedly drew inspiration from many of the same sources.
Makes me think of Allen Watt's view on God. Basically if you can create a world and life and all of the things it, while amazing, that would get boring. In order to truly experience the world/life of his creation, God made himself forget and thus we are all God living out a particular experience each in it's own turn. We just forget while playing because God Mode gets boring in most games after awhile. Of course these ideas on the divine are far older than Mister Watts but he phrases it in an entertaining way.
"Imagine you're in a room with all kinds of buttons and each button does something different. These buttons can do everything, from giving you a good steak dinner to a concert hall orchestral performance. After trying all of the buttons one would get terribly bored but then they discover a button labeled "Surprise!" And then you're REALLY part of the game!"
IIRC it's from his lecture titled "The Joker" which can be found on youtube. Worth a listen. :D
@@jacobfreeman5444 Speaking of poems, one of the many details to love about the Abridged version, is their change of poem... While, yes, the Bird of Hermes was basically at the core of Alucard's relationship with Integra... In Abridged, so are Alucard's walks.
The wording of the poem, in specific, is what makes the moonlit walk have the same touch as the Bird of Hermes: "When hope is lost, undo this lock, and send me forth, on a moonlit walk" is... An instruction of use. From Alucard, to Integra. Just like in the Bird of Hermes, Alucard is actively giving up his freedom to have Integra command him- in the Moonlit Walk, he is giving her the key and advising her when and how to release the walking catastrophe that he is.
Important to both versions is the fact that, even when he is actively pissed off, Alucard NEVER shows initiative of his own, despite knowing Integra well enough to easily know when she'll give the order. He always wait for it. Even stops what he's doing to call her so she can give it.
It's awesome to think that Alucard is basically waging a constant war within himself, and winning, just for the sake of maintaining the self control needed to be a good servant.
It is reflected in his disgust/anger at Alexander turning himself into a proper monster using the nail, because he saw Alexander was fighting a similar war, but Alexander gave up in Alucard's eyes.
that is your casual wage worker every day tbh
@@truekurayamii never understood it that way! Thanks for that.
If you serve nothing you will be controlled by everything
Alucard is a pitbull named princess.
*Barking on leash bearing teeth*
"Nah dont worry he doesnt bite. Well he doesnt bite me anyway, as long as hes on the leash youre fine, lets take him for a walk.
"hi kids how's your health plan?... Apparently it's great"
So I was just chillaxing in my room like a baller.
"Hey kids! Wanna see a dead body!?"
@@stevenchristman257One of the soldiers screamed, "get on your knees!" To which I replied, "I'm not your mother last night!" And they took exception to that
What's up with the pride meeting?
@@imyoursuperbeast8220but you know how that song and dance goes, and I killed all but one of them
While i know it's more direct and a call back, "Went hope is gone, undo this lock. And send me forth on a moonlit walk." also slaps. It's Alucard saying that shit has officially hit the fan so let Dracula out to resolve this conflict
I'll say a moonlit walk is a walk of darkness
The helsing abridged version is way better imo
I've always liked from the little Nazi Louis C.K. "Contain...the calamity that is your mammaries." Just another funny way of saying calm your tit's 😂
@@tea-sus8722It absolutely sounds more epic but looses most of its deeper meaning. Depends on what you value more I guess.
What I find interesting, there in some Alchemical works, the stages to create the Magnum Opus, the Prima Matera to get the Phlosopher's stone, are four.
Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, Rubedo. The third one often is described as the "Solar awakening", and Schrödinger's outfit is decidedly yellow. Perhapsshowing that he has become an impurity for Alucard's Rubedo, or that he wasn't quite refined yet, and had to finish the last two steps.
I thought the yellow alluded to Seras but you’re onto something about the cat boy’s yellow outfit…
@@LukewarmTakesYT Both sound good
I mean they, Seras and Schrödinger, are Both decidedly dressed in yellow and also have a scene where they recognize each other as similar... So maybe both theories are right?
@@AkashadAzra "Fraulein... Fraulein... FRAULEIN... HEY, FRAULEIN!"
"...Ve vould make beautiful children~" ;3
( ua-cam.com/video/Bdu4t0CkV2k/v-deo.html )
@@LukewarmTakesYTCould be the "citrinitas" was a falsely identified ingredient for his alchemical formula? There are many yellow ingredients in the world but only one can be citrinitas; using the wrong one, from an alchemical perspective, could spell disaster for the alchemist (Alucard).
Seras was the correct choice, but he ate catboy instead.
(Fun fact: Phosphorus was discovered by accident while attempting to create the philosopher's stone from human urine. I dont recall all the logical leaps that led the alchemist/scientist in question, but it was along the lines of the human body is the apex of evolution ergo the ingredients must reside in the human body - urine = yellow, so the individual went about collecting VAST quantities of human urine to ferment, cook off, separate into base components, and refine. In the end their efforts were rewarded with a crystalline substance that glowed in the dark and could be ground into a workable powder. Sadly, the discovery never made them much money; they sold the patent for their process I believe to a candlemaker or someone who used it to illuminate the numbers on timepieces).
Alucard with just Schrodinger is unstoppable. He doesn't need more souls anymore, you can not kill what isn't there
He is a living walking concept that as long as there's a living being with sentience, He exist.
I'm actually curious about that. One of the things repeated in Hellsing by Alucard is that immortality doesn't exist. His own "immortality" was the result of him consuming so many lives. Schrodinger makes him immune to a violent death, but I wonder if age might have a hold on him now. Or if he can rebuild his collection of lives starting from the foundation now that he has gained control over Schrodinger's powers.
@@Wolfgang9Hype Problem is, why would he do that? he'd become a monster again but this time just for the sake of being a monster, far removed from the world he camme from, no ties with anyone like the Hellsing. I think he will just lose his sense of sense and disappear by the effec of shcrodinger's power.
@@VashdaCrash To add to this it can reasonably be assumed that Alucard regrets becoming a monster given his reaction to Alexander Anderson's transformation after using the nail, so it seems even more doubtful he would want to consume anyone else.
@@GrimbobThe3rd Not entirely a regret. He wanted Alexander, another servant of a different master to kill him as he saw an equal in him. Maybe more than that because, despite the alterations to his physical form, it's still Alexander and no one else, spiritual purity. The second that nail came into play, that was an affront to his view and that stunned him long enough for Alexander's monster to get as far as it did. As he was no better than him, a tainted soul.
It's so busted that alucard gets shrodingers power. Previously alucard needed souls from other people in order to keep resurrecting himself. He was only so powerful and hard to kill because he had so many souls in reserve, essentially someone would have to kill him over 3 million times to succeed without him absorbing any other souls during that time.
But now that he has schrodingers ability, he only needs his own soul and can bring himself back infinitely, which is nuts.
for real, bro's omnipresence now
Not quite how that works i think. He can decide when and where to exist, but that only works as long as he is alive. Fully dead people do not decide things anymore. Even if you go with the example of Schroedingers cat, as soon as one of the states (dead or alive) is decided and witnessed, the experiment collapses. It only works as long as there is no observer.
Either that or purify his soul, like what Anderson almost did.
Alucard has/had many souls through the blood and flesh he's consumed to restore his body over and over, he still only has his one soul among the forest of those he's consumed.
i don't think he simply "gained" his power. he lost the other aspects of himself, and every single soul he had previously devoured. i think it's more like, he tamed it. to bring himself back. it isn't so much that he can or can't use it. it's that it was never his, and he doesn't want it. it's not in his nature.
he prefers to go on a walk. to Alucard, life is about having fun, and making friends. if he can just think of a destination and instantly be there, that diminishes the journey of getting there. so he may or may not have it, but, he'd rather experience life as it comes to him. not teleport to wherever he needs to be
"When all hope is gone, undo this lock and send me forth on a Moonlit Walk. *Release Restraint Level: ZER0"*
:: goosebumps::
*party party starts playing*
#lifehack
"This is the first time he followed any of my orders without any back sas. It's simultaneously satisfying aaand disappointing"
The funniest thing to think about would be if in her final moments Integra leaves the organization to be led by Seras. Arguably the bridge walked between monster and human that kind of had it forced on them but the series didnt make a grandiose stand on it like other series would, trying to make that character all tragic jesus like cough tokyo ghoul cough.
I can see it now. Seras is just like "youve got to be joking."
And Alucard is like "I feel like i should be more insulted. But the idea of my underling now being forced to have to deal with my shit from a desk job is both amusing and a kink i didnt know i was into until recently."
That last part literally reads as something T4S would have come out for HS abridged
Bought. Him playing along "cuz funny" is irrefutable relatable for me.
Dang. It's shit I would be doing just for the shits and giggles without letting anyone in.
Or play pokerface and dumb if necessary. When I told a good friend of mine about a more pressing affair where I kept quiet and not letting in that I was very well aware of the full story, he went: "Yeah, that's so like you! Keep your f*cking mouth shut and playing pokerface without letting anybody know xD"
Alas, can't always be shits and giggles.
@@deimudda2130 I'm sure this sounded fine when you said it in your head but reading this post felt like having a stroke... I don't wanna grammar nazi this post and honestly I don't even know where to start... it just reads worse than text shorthand spoken out loud. Like you had a conversation with someone and dictated it here but only your side of said conversation or something... like have someone else just read this out loud while pausing correctly at each punctuation and it is the most broken thing...
@@nonaG123 If you don't want to be a grammar nazi then don't ☠
@@big_shotgunNo he's got a point; that other comment was very much like someone having a conversation only they were clued into all the active participants of.
There was no indicator for tone shifts or changing narration, so the end result is one person talking through what kinda sounds like multiple perspectives but at the same time possibly not? Very obfuscating and desire for clarification is absolutely warranted.
Actually the irony is that Alucard wants to die, that is his actual one true desire, and he loves and respects humanity as a concept because he hates being a monster
But only by a worthy human. He probably would’ve let Anderson succeed if he hadn’t become a thorn monster
He wants to die in battle against someone who embraces their humanity, but he'll absolutely resist death.
"Only a Human can kill a Monster, only a Human could dare hope too."👁️
So Alucard so loved the world, huh
@@JFirecracker He does love the world and humanity more than any real human, which is why he was pissed off so badly when Anderson gave up being a human just to obtain victory - being defeated by a human was his wish all along.
Thank you SO much for this vid🔥
I rewatched this show recently and remembered how absolutely _hard,_ and mysterious this nickname "The Bird of Hermes" was.
At the end of the show I remembered the story of the Bird of Hermes in which the bird would physically devour its own wings to stop it from flying, like how Alucard constantly kept himself restricted so as to not fully unleash his devastating power
(Love the Abridged references)
The sheer power of that moment motivated me to make the vid, Hellsing Ultimate always goes hard but the Bird of Hermes line just hits different.
I'm more partial to the... owl of Athena. Well, Minerva more so.
Hermes is fitting for Alucard for Hermes is the following:
Messenger
God of commerce, roads
Protector of herdsmen, rogues and the like.
But the most important is the Conductor of the Dead.
No I didn't remember the line Bird of Hermes until this video reminded me. I was too consumed by Alucard's top tier power flexing (ultimate and abridged version). 🙏
It is hard to notice when Alucard whipped out level zero.
Honestly, I don't even remember him flexing that much. Other characters are definitely more boastful. It's quite lame in comparison (though I'd argue it was one of the better parts of the series) but Kirito flexes against those like 5 assassins by just standing there letting them hit him and is like, "My HP regents faster than your pathetic weapons can hurt me."
Then there's characters like Escanor from 7 Deadly Sins who is definitely boastful.
Tbh, I barely remember Hellsing at all... but did he like ever brag? Or did he just unleash his power and let that do the talking?
@@Paradox-es3bl Mostly just being an absolute boss and letting that do the talking.
He doesn't need to boast, he's basically a God
@@Paradox-es3blwhat about that scene where he shows up in front the 3 armies and everyone there shit their pants and attacks him?
One of the Hardest anime scenes ever..well that and Yamis Dark Magic: Dark Dimension Slash: EQUINOXXXXX!!
4:13 "Taking way more walks" is the funniest abridged series reference I've heard in a while.
Hellsing Ultimate has been my favourite anime ever since I first watched it but this video was so insightful and well put together it's made me fall in love with the series all over again. Thank you for rekindling my interest in the show that got me through some of the worst years of my life
I’m glad you hear my work affected someone in a positive way!
So, more then ten years laters a youtube channel gives me even more reason to love my favorites anime while giving me a class about medieval alchemy.
Great job my dude, thanks for that video.
14:19 Nigredo usually represents the "void" or chaotic unrealized potential. It's also called the Prima materia or "First matter." Basically, what the universe was born from. Other than that, it was a great video, bro!
His Dark Materials
As someone who researched this a few years back, this is an exceptional video! Good job!
I like the difference between the dub and the written words (I.e. the bird of Hermes is my name/eating my wings to keep me tame vs “here standeth the bird of Hermes, eating mine own wings to keep myself tame”. The older words age the quote and reference the alchemical text but it’s also a declaration. The only time the bird of Hermes is referenced in the dub is this time and it’s to declare “I’m here”.
It’s the most badass statement in the show for me because it’s both alucard’s battle cry, his introduction and his threat: you stand before an immortal Phoenix, unkillable even to the god I thought on my side. I cut off my power to keep myself tame… you will see how strong I am without my wings. Thank and pray to your impotent gods you don’t see me with them.”
Also, calling himself the bird of Hermes means he’s calling Integra Hermes, which adds layers to her. Hermes is the messenger, the swiftest of the gods and so is Integra, always the messenger of death, raising the Phoenix perched on her arm to spew fire in her name. Just as .hermes is the god of messengers, Hellsing only fights when SHE says so.
As a kid, I was slightly bored by the endless “give me your orders” and gun analogies but when I rewatched it again, I fell in love with them. He’s putting Integra on a pedestal. Every time he requests her orders, he’s saying “I’m a Phoenix and you are the god of messengers, give them a message through me.”
Perhaps It’s not necessarily that he doesn’t act save through her, but instead maybe he’s reminding her that as the goddess of messengers, THE prime messenger of the humans, it is simply not his place to send messages.
He IS the message which is why every time he acts without Integra (e.g. like hotel scene) he doesn’t make a fuss, or make it public, as he said “I killed them. It doesn’t matte what these things are, this is just the way it is”. Note how when it’s defense it’s “this is the way it is” but when Integra gives an order to send a message, it’s “by your orders, I hope you enjoy the show”. He knows every public kill is a message, so he makes no public kills without her say so. Without the word of Hermes.
When alucard and Anderson met in the imperial war museum, maxwell orders him to stop btu Integra remains silent because she knows SHE is the messenger, she is Hermes and Alucard will not deliver a message without her say so. It’s a subtle point of deep trust in the show.
Reference to hellsing abridged detected, good video by the way
I really enjoy the small hints towards the abridged Version. You are a man of culture
That was a 70 inch…plasma screen TV….
I do not think Alucard will ever truly stop serving the Hellsing line, not just in literal Bloodline, but in spirit.
I doubt someone as meta-physical as him would care too deeply about the children of the Hellsing line, but rather would care about who Integra chooses to be in charge.
Love your video btw
No, I don't think so. The philosopher's stone isn't just a "rock," it is the "perfect being." It is the will of the user that tames the stone and draws out its power.
The Hellsing bloodline is what contained the willpower necessary to keep the stone, Alucard, in check and doing as they wanted. If there are no Hellsings, then there isn't anyone with enough willpower that can control Alucard.
That's ok, though. He's finally in control of himself after his last transformation. He is the true "perfect being" now.
@@Ortorin I disagree, but I respect the take.
It's an interesting perspective I hadn't considered
It's been a while since I last watched Hellsing, but didn't Integra specifically refuse to sire an heir because she considered her organisation being headed by a line of nobles as something no longer fit for the modern age? Hellsing in its current form is supposed to end with her and be taken over by the government after her death, so her directly choosing a successor would run counter to that idea. Makes me wonder what's going to happen to Seras and Alucard after that. They are fundamentally inhuman monsters and _need_ someone to hold their leashes. Plenty of things that could go wrong here. Who knows what would happen if whatever ends up replacing Hellsing is run by idiots who don't understand this fact?
@@nineflames2863 In that case alucard will simply go on a walk lol
eating his own wings, might also parallel his willing servitude, for he is hate the monster he has became, and with with all his power' need help by restrain his nounstrous tendercies... the "opposite side of the same coin" of yujiro Hanma, who spread his wings with pride, and bow to no one, but to his his impulsive tendercies, strengh and apex will without restrain.
8:00 - We know Schrodniger's backstory.
Doc made a catgirl as a failed weapon, so The Major banged her instead, and from that popped Schrodinger. It's in an H-manga by Kouta HIrano himself.
Coyote
It makes no sense
Waaaaaat
But isn't he a robot...?
Ew.
Your constant references to the Abridged Series warms the hackles of my cold, black heart. Thank you!
Love the references to the abridged series as well, you have easily earned my subscription
Monster being extensions of there masters by choice is the most chilling part of this and I'm disappointed we didnt get more of that
Once you said that a lot of things clicked in place for me it feels so weird you didn't touch on that more since it shows the connection Alucard has with Helsing and with millennium and the church
The monsters are the same but the masters are different So the only deciding fractor between them was only one master wanted what was best for the monster
Even god saw Anderson as a vessel before a person
Or was He just honoring Anderson's wish?
@@DIEGhostfishthis goes into something I’ve thought about the nature of God and his ‘gift’ that is the Earth and our life here. Could god out of love, love us to a fault, a fault they are capable of fixing but allow to happen? That being allowing us free will and the ability to choose wrong because in the end after our time with the gift God can right those wrongs in a way incomprehensible to us and therefore making it work to his plan. This would then set aside Integra who is tempered by her weakness to make a more suiting master for this world. Where as God’s power enables God to let this issue slide as they can fix it down the line in the more overall grand scheme of things?
This was such a great vid!
Thank you!
Okay, but may I just point out in hindsight-
I only JUST realized what Alucard drinking Integra's blood could imply post-Schrodinger.
Because Integra never had an heir, and lived to old age, yet Hellsing seems to still be active with Seras as well-
Could Alucard accepting Integra's blood imply that he's taking part of her into himself, and thereby making her immortal as well? Not as a vampire, but occupying the same paradoxical state Alucard does-
Since if Alucard exists everywhere, and no where, and Integra BECOMES part of Alucard...it implies that there was a damn good reason the series ended with Alucard drinking that specific bit of blood-
A fully immortal Hellsing.
This is a wild theory that makes some sense. However, I personally think Integra wanted to end her life as a human, not a monster like Alucard. The immortality would go against the theme of Integra’s human nature being her best and most terrifying quality.
@@LukewarmTakesYTCould be that hers will be a second soul to keep him grounded. Giving him an angel on his shoulder to stop the apocalypse that he might otherwise become.
If this were the TFS version I’d like to imagine Integra’s soul occupying a big deal in Alucard’s soul and nagging him over the phone.
@@LukewarmTakesYT the difference between blood taken and blood freely given. We see this with Sares and the Captian, I think the deciding factor is also life. But we also know that the blood of a virgin is powerful to a vampire and he hasn't fed in 30 years, so perhaps it was simply an act for him to regain strength after having killed all his familiars.
Doesn’t Alucard berate those who try to become immortal or eternally young? He finds those who choose to grow old gracefully as attractive and says that “only a human can kill a monster”. He may have let Anderson succeed if he hadn’t become a thorn monster himself, he was practically begging him not to go through with it.
Im not so sure alucard post series is a threat. His servitude to the hellsings is evidence of his self control, not the final thing keeping him in check. I imagine that the last order he'll receive will be something like "protect the people of britain from vampires", and he'll choose to follow it in perpetuity.
When Integra dies he will probably just become the count again
I've always loved this line, but this video made me like it even more. Great explanation and great video.
Amazing video, I remember going around in circles in high school on what in the world that phrase could possibly mean. One thing you did miss though: In the manga, the first time we see the Bird of Hermes phrase is during the Elevator Action arc, when one of the Brazilian SWAT guys raids the hotel and reads it as an inscription on the lid of Alucard's coffin.
This is interesting. About two years ago I tried to find the meaning for that line. Or perhaps it's been five years... or seven years. So to have this UA-cam clip of yours pop out of nowhere on the front page on this site is really amusing. Thank you for your interpretation and have a nice day!
Bro, you added so much depth to the opening there. I always thought it was just some cool stuff to say before the beginning of the show. This really opened my eyes to how deep not only the lines but Alucard's color schemes are. Great work, really earned your new sub today!
Great breakdown for sure. From one Hellsing lover to another, thank you.
I totally did not expect such a good video behind that title! Really great analysis and research
The colors of the characters bit you did shows why this has over 88k views in just one day. Great job.
Great explanation of something I was always seeing but never understood. I never got deeper into that quote. Thanks
1) Hermes was the God that transported the death to the Underworld
2) At 02:00 That is a Harpy,... Perhaps a "Phoenix" style Harpy, but a Harpy nonetheless
3) Hapries were also messengers of the Gods, symbols of bad omens and death, and they ate people
This adds more context to Alucard since Integra be the ones sending souls to the underworld with Alucard being the one doing her bidding.
Hermes is not the god that transported the dead.
Hermes was occasionally seen as working with Thanatos to deliver the dead, which is what this statement is a reference to.
He's a servant to a servant.
Harpies are not "messengers of the gods" they were messengers for Zeus, and carried out his will.
I'm not sure how you're interpreting that as a harpy so I won't comment on the symbolism, but a Phoenix is also symbolic of the sun, light, and rebirth, which is symbolic unironically and ironically of Alucard in helsing.
And then there is also Chiron, who brings you to the other side of the river styx.
@@MrDoreius
1) Because UA-cam does not allow external links, I cannot add my sources, but my sources are not Wkp
2) Not sure what are you correcting, exactly
a) Hermes "delivers" the dead to Thanatos, the God of the Dead,... Because "Delivering the Dead" is different than Transporting the Dead?
-- Also, where are getting "Ocassionally" from? I did not find anything about this being just an "Occasional" job for Hermes
b) You can look up Harpies being referred to as Messengers of the Gods, not just for the God Zeus, please look it up
3) _"I'm not sure how you're interpreting that as a harpy"_
*Do you mean the image at minute two?*
That's in fact the image of a Harpy, whether the author, and/or artist who originally made that image intended it or not, I can't speak for the artist, but that is the image of a Harpy, not a Phoenix
@@DarrkGreedNo, one of the epithets of Hermes is Soul Deliverer or something to that effect. That's why Orpheus uses the side door of Hermes to gain entrance to the underworld.
beautiful video man
Thank you!
EASILY one of the best explanations/reviews I've watched about Helsing.
Absolute legend with all the Hellsing Abridged references. Love it!
Excellent video. And bonus kudos for you for placing a cute Overlord's Albedo in the explanation.
Once he’s free I think he would seek out another adversary.
It’s clear he WANTS to die but to a worthy mortal soul not another monster.
I think he respects that someone that SHOULD be weaker is able to beat him, despite all his power and all his might that he could lose to such a person. I truly think that tickles his fancy as an immortal Demi god.
I love how team four star cemented their place with hellsing abridged, every breakdown off hellsing always mentions the walks alucard went and I laugh everytime! shoutout team fourstar!
2:12: And yes, this IS a Four Star reference!
Great job!! Love the video. I would also add, alchemy is also understood to be the spiritual/philosophical journey of the individual. The metaphor of lead to gold, is the idea of becoming a better self. Hermes is also named Mercury which is also a an element on the Periodic table known to be unstable. The idea of "eating it's own wings" to make it tame, follows the metaphor of needing to be cautious with volatile chemicals/elements. If carefully controlled and in smaller doses you can achieve the chemical reactions you are looking for (ie. don't use everything you have, use the smaller and more correct proportions). The 3 stones you pointed out also directly address the philosophical idea. The bigger clue is the philosopher's stone. It could be any name, but they use "philosopher". The idea of immortality, starts to dip into the spiritual component. The concept of the immortal soul, etc. Any who, great video. Nicely done!!
Oooh...some Casltevania crossover potential lol. Hope you don't mind me talking about this to piggyback off your Hellsing vid since we're both talking about Dracula here...
Talking about the stones, it's revealed in the canon timeline of the series that in timeline game one "Lament of Innocence" that two major treasures of the vampires are the Ebony Stone and the Crimson Stone...the Crimson stone traps the soul of a powerful vampire and grants immense power to the owner...while also inflicting vampirism on the holder. This is how Mathias Cronqvist became Vlad Dracula after he recreated the stone using alchemy in his attempt to defy God's decree of limited lifespan and cast aside his humanity to spite God for taking his wife from him while he was away on a crusade, faithfully serving God. After having Death trap the vampire Walter Bernhard's soul in the stone and taking control of it, he gained immortality.
The Ebony Stone is an accidental byproduct of trying to create the Philosopher's Stone, it's a less powerful version of the Crimson Stone, granting invulnerability instead of immortality, it also grants the owner of the stone the ability to cast a Shroud of Night....meaning the vampire who owns it never need fear the sun in their domain as they can enshroud the location they call home in eternal night. Walter owns the Ebony Stone and kidnaps Leon Belmont's wife which has him seek to defeat and destroy him...his defining color is his white longcoat that he wears...his defeat of Walter could be seen as the Purification stage while Matthias having recreated the missing/possibly long destroyed Crimson stone is the final stage. After the soul of Walter is trapped in said stone then the process is complete starting with the Ebony Stone/Walter, moving to the white stone/purification stage through Leon Belmont, and then finalizing as the Crimson Stone/Dracula's immense power and immortality.
I was gonna comment something like this. Castlevania's Dracula also being tied to alchemy as well is interesting
“Soft locked from reality” is such a great metaphor
11:44 Only a Human can defeat a monster. Only a human would... dare hope to
This is a phenomenal deconstruction and explanation, thank you so much for laying it out perfectly!
The most important detail about Alucsrd are his red mantel and hat paired with white gloves.
The mantel and red, strikingly crimson red, symbolise blood, he is drenched in from his long, long life filled with bloodshed.
Yet, his gloves are white, not a mark or stain on them.
The hands of an innocent, he is free of any guilt no matter how much harm or death he causes, for he is a simple servant, a hammer to strike.
Integra carries this responsibility whenever she lets her attack dog run loose.
Really nicely put together. I like it, makes it ever much easier to understand.
My fav quote would be:
Giving up is what kills people.
If you didn’t know all ready nigredo and rubedo are both in overlord
Unfortunately we have never seen Rubedo so far. And likely never will as overlord is ending in 2 more books. Sad
@@Charlie-eh2hy I know maybe for the last book but at the very maybe a character sheet
Albedo too .... (she's the succubus)
@@quentinchambon9362 yeah everyone knew that that's why it wasn't mentioned
These concepts existed long before overlord. And Hellsing has been around for some 20 years at least.
Legitimately, thank you for this video. I've always wondered about this line but couldn't find any proper explanation on forums, it plagued me for years since watching.
Really needs to be a list of alchemical creatures and symbols. Green lions, ouroboros, and now I found out about this
Love the abridged reference: "even if you follow steps 2-10"
Max Derrat is a great channel if you want to learn more about alchemy and its relation to anime.
Neat, I’ll be sure to check them out. As you can imagine I am NOT an alchemy expert.
@@LukewarmTakesYT Yeah me either but I saw their videos on Full Metal Alchemist and I was hooked. That's also a good anime to watch if you haven't already it's one of my favorites.
@@LukewarmTakesYT
I love Max Derrat as well, your video was great and reminded me of his ones, you should check 'em out
Thank you for posting this :) Brilliant take on my favorite series, and the historical aspect of the video is just the cherry on top lol
I wonder if Schrödinger represents citrinnitas. A fourth step in the alchemical process inbetween albedo and rubedo. It's represented by the color yellow, and given the boy's blond hair and yellowish attire, I'm inclined to think so.
Perhaps their interaction represents how Alucard's "rubedo stage" wasn't complete and needed to go through his inner self and purify every unwanted element in order to gain what's seemingly outright omnipotence.
All in all, very interesting analysis. I hadn't considered the symbolic refferences to the colors and states of mind it all represented.
This is legit my favorite series of all time! And this phrase has been burned into my mind eternally with me renaming my Red Army Robin from team fortress 2 the bird of Hermes is my name with the description being eating my wings to keep myself tame. I'm straight up considering having this phrase tattooed onto my body at some point
"So how long will it be then, how long before you're no longer cursed to walk the earth?"
"Until the weight of my past is shattered by my oncoming future. It shouldn't be too long my nemesis, I'll see you in hell."
I am so happy whenever someone talks about hellsing again
Hermes was a psychopomp. Hermes carried the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Messenger god was his side hustle.
Alucard: So what you're saying is... I'm a philosopher's stone and i should take over the Full Metal Alchemist universe.
No no no
Alucard: Bitchen, HANG ON ALPHONSE I'LL GET YOU A NEW BODY!!!
OMG! I can't tell if you are trying to explain the phrase or talking about the Abridged version! I love it!
Hell yeah, great video my dude. That line stood out to me after watching it, I kinda understood the 'eating my wings to keep my tame' part of it, the rest was awesome to learn.
This analysis is done very well. The same oppinion about Hellsing brought me here, i love this anime, manga and the T4S-Version to this day, since day one.
I also tattooed one of my legs with the sygill from Alucards gloves plus a bit of additional things from Hellsing.
Again, very well made. It was a nice and interesting video to watch
Eating one's own wings can be interpreted as eating oneself. The other creature that's depicted as eating itself is the ouroboros.
I look at it as voluntarily abandoning freedom
Very nicely done and beautifully informative. I love this series and I make time to watch/listen to it each year because it fires my blood!
I've always said that the Major literally just put Alucard in a 30-year time out and unintentionally made him even more powerful 😅
I like the reference joke of tfs nice
Gotta pay respect to TFS
This is awesome, I feel like you would be able to make an amazing FMA video
I really appreciate the nod to hellsing Abridged with the 70 inch plasma screen tv reference.
I thought I had watched all of both of the Hellsing animes, but every video I watch is full of a ton of clips that I don't just not know, but have absolutely no context for
I feel Alucard would continue to work for Hellsing, as long as its leader was someone he could respect. Great video, one of the best ways I've seen that final WTF in Hellsing Ultimate explained
Very well done. Keep up the great work. Makes me wanna rewatch Hellsing Ultimate again lol
That line has been living rent-free inside my head so long, I'm glad it actually has meaning. And such meaning...
Bro dived very deep into the depth of Alchemy and ancient poems just to explain us about Alucard🗿. What a dedication. Love you Man💜
From what I recall, the writings on the scroll are also a sort of poetic code that describes how the creation should proceed. It describes what you should see at each stage of the process, but it's done almost entirely in symbolism; you have to interpret the imagery provided by each sentence, usually by having some level of familiarity with other alchemical texts, or at least having a keen analytical mind.
Following from this; I know that the stone is reputed to grant immortality and turn lead into gold, but I believe there's also a mention of its maker gaining absolute knowledge and understanding. However, this can be interpreted another way. To an alchemist, if someone could create this object, the world would basically be theirs. Their name would never be forgotten (immortality), they'd be able to easily obtain wealth (lead into gold), and the mere fact that they managed to create this thing would not *grant* them perfect knowledge, but rather would prove they *already had* perfect knowledge, because it requires such a sophisticated understanding of alchemy to create.
(Also, just in terms of anime: if you use the definition from Fullmetal Alchemist, Alucard is literally a walking talking philosopher's stone - more specifically, he's like a really really filled up homunculus. He's got a shitload of souls (four times as many as Father starts the series with, in fact!), he regenerates from death at the cost of one soul a pop, and he's capable of transforming his body to an incredible extent. He's basically Pride but on steroids and not needing his container to remain unbroken).
This was great! I would love to see more analysis videos on Hellsing!!!❤
I love how you kept referencing the abridged! It’s my canon, despite its many anachronisms within 1999 London. 😅
While I knew that the bird of Hermes was an alchemical reference, it never occurred to me that his designs represented the stages of alchemy. Since alchemy was about purifying the soul of the alchemist as much as purifying the materials into noble ones, it does make a perfect allegory. I'm gonna have to rewatch or reread Hellsing with that in mind for Halloween.
I just can never get tired of Hellsing! Great analysis!
2:44
Does that strike anyone else as looking like a collection of Quarks and Glueons making up a subatomic particle?
Small addendum: Hermes is also known as the herald of the gods, the one who sends messages of the gods, be it to other gods or mortals, signifying the philosopher's stone's connection to the divine.
Significantly, he is also the one god able to move quickly and freely between the world of the gods and mortals, once again referring to the blurring of the border between the 2.
Finally, he is the one who guides souls into the afterlife, ruling over that aspect of mortality as well, though this time regarding that of life and death.
And, as a small side note to clarify, for those of you familiar with Charon and his role in greek mythology, the ferryman guides the souls of the dead across the rivers of the dead, while Hermes is the one that leads them to rivers themselves to be picked up by Charon. Bureaucracy, am I right? Not even the ancients nor their gods could escape it.
What a great breakdown that I am happy to see quite a bit after this shows release
Saw the thumb nail, couldn't unsee the tiny pupils in the glasses being cross eyed.
YOU SON OF A-!
Eh if you look at the other side of the glasses you can unsee it
still one of my favorite childhood animes
Great video, loved it!
I want to see a prequel of sorts where we see Abraham Hellsing on a mission to take down Dracula.
Great analysis.
Only one thing: alleged Hermes Trismegistos was "deified" subsequently by his followers. He is said to be the author of Emerald Tablet, crucial to alchemy and Caballah. Tablets were believed to be written ain 1st or 2nd Century, and Hermes was believed to be a scholar, mage of sort, who later was connected to the Greek god of this name.
I would love a Crossover with HellSing Alucard. That would be Freaking Awesome. 🔥💯
That was a pretty cool way to explain this phrase, good job!
This is a question I had long forgotten, thank you for finally answering it
This is the third time I'm listening to this in a row. It is a brilliant video for a brilliant show. Abridged is my favorite! XD
"He was taking way more walks back when he was Dracula".
The implications of that sentence are TERRIFYING.
"I'm going for a walk..."
Randomly watched hellsing again and wanted to know about his quote. This released 2 days ago. NUTS. Thanks for the great video!