Japanese or foreign fans? Hellsing creator Kouta Hirano revealed who is more excited to meet him

Kouta Hirano managed to mix blood with comedy elements. Hellsing. This peculiar mixture of such different elements has attracted many fans around the world. In the early 2000s, when Hellsing When anime was still being released, it wasn't as mainstream as it is today. There were only a few anime that were successful enough to reach fans overseas.

With its impressive appearance Hellsing attracted international attention. Even today, the series enjoys a loyal fan base that is always on the lookout for Hirano's new works.

Kouta Hirano about his fans abroad

Hellsing balances extreme violence and horror with short amusing interludes. The manga is more stylish than what is considered normal, and the characters stand out with their elaborate character designs. What appealed to fans in the first place was the visual aspect, followed by Hirano's ability to keep things intense and then suddenly turn the tension into an amusing part. Originally, Hirano had a smaller goal in terms of the audience he wanted to reach, as he said in an interview from the official guide of Journey to hell.

After discussing the popularity of Hellsing Among the international fans, the interviewer asked Hirano about the difference between his Japanese fans and the foreign fans he meets at conventions. Hirano said (via a translation on Tumblr) that it's always great at conventions to see how excited the foreign fans are.

At overseas conventions, the fans go crazy no matter what. I've heard things like, “You rock!” or “Hell yeah!”, they're always so excited. It makes you think, “Wow, I'm really famous.”

Hirano further shared that he cannot pinpoint the difference between his Japanese and foreign fans, or if there is one at all. He sees himself as a simple Japanese mangaka whose works are aimed at the Japanese audience, and there are very few of those. The creator may have highlighted Hellsing's Nature of addressing a niche audience.

Even if the mangaka is not quite Hellsing The enthusiasm of fans is understandably due to the international popularity, as conventions are a way for them to meet their favorite creators and like-minded enthusiasts, especially creators like Hirano, whose works are considered entertaining.

The creator’s experience in drawing Hellsing

Kouta Hirano also discussed his process and the difficulties he faced while working on Hellsing. He loved telling the story and characterizing the characters, but he had trouble with drawing. He explained how difficult it is to create a manga. He was asked if he ever had to take the easy route by drawing an alternate version of his idea simply because the original one seemed too difficult to illustrate. He explained that he only had single versions for everything.

Actually, I only ever have one idea for everything. I have no choice but to draw it.

Being limited by a single idea often delayed his process and he expressed some concerns to the higher-ups in charge of publishing it. However, these concerns were quickly put aside during the interview when he excitedly shared that he loved drawing villains. He always tried to draw them in an unconventional way and it is safe to say that he succeeded as most fans admire the way the characters in Hellsing.

Hellsing And Hellsing Ultimate can be streamed on Crunchyroll.