10 August 2018

Hellsing Ultimate: Life Eternal - Seras Victoria


“Giving up is what kills people. Those who refuse to give up are entitled to trample upon humanity”.

The reason Alucard saved Seras speaks to the depth of both his and her characters:  For Alucard, he only respects humans who are persevering despite everything, because that’s what he considers the defining (and best) trait of humanity. He admired the fire in Seras and offered her a chance to thrive over the rest of humanity.  For Seras, she proved her character from the moment she jumped at that opportunity without the slightest hesitation.

An interesting thing to note:  Alucard has the "Improbable Aiming Skills" that enable him to hit any target without even looking (you can see it in his fight with Luke Valentine). He could have just shot the priest and spared Seras. But he wanted to take her, that's why he shot both of them. So... he took advantage of the situation to force her to make a choice.

Since then, Seras follows him without questions and shows great loyalty to him - without taking a moment to observe what kind of person her master is. Is this blind loyalty?  I think either Seras was unaware of Alucard's abilities or she didn't mind that he was an opportunist.  Nonetheless, I think she could conclude that she's alive because he was there at the right time.

Notice that Alucard only offered her his blood after she displayed great loyalty to him: in the encounter with Anderson where she brought his severed head along with her despite being severely wounded herself. The scene in OVA 1 where Seras refused to drink blood is poignant when you realize that her motivation to live for many years was her family's death and her feeling that she needed to remain strong. But a vampire is a servant until they drink blood. So... despite being in a fatal encounter with Anderson in OVA 1, Seras' instinct was to resist drinking the blood because she now has a parent figure in a time when she feels extremely vulnerable. It partially explains Alucard's shocked response: a vampire that didn't want to walk alone was a rare thing for him to witness. Seras had "parental issues" as hers died a violent death at a young age. I think it's similar to her having "daddy issues". Alucard is like her adoptive father. She is very loyal to him and certainly holds some affection. But that affection does not stretch romantically. There isn't anything that suggests romance between these two to me. She just seems to be devoted and loyal.

Since then, Alucard never told Seras to drink blood again because (1) he was betting on her survival instinct and (2) if she didn't step up, she didn't deserve to thrive over the rest of humanity. Then Pip comes along, bringing out her hidden backbone and she brings out his hidden heart of gold. She supports him, and he strengthens her. In OVA 9, she pulls Alucard back from the brink of death, and he finds the will to fight again.

Alucard sees in Seras something that he had lost long ago: the will to live.

And Seras finds in him something that she had been longing for: a real family.

The role of Seras Victoria is to relate to us, the viewers: a normal police girl, 19 years old, innocent of the world despite going through childhood trauma. She wants to live; she would rather live as a vampire than die. She does not see immortality as a weakness. She represents humanity's greatest dream. She serves as the average-human connection to Alucard to offer us insights into his character. Very few of us would probably relate to a powerful nobility figure like Integra. So there needs to be something, some character, that makes readers think, "This could be me, I would do the same thing and/or feel the same way she does". And that is Seras for you.

No comments:

Post a Comment