Attack of the Fangirls' Profiles

On May 5, 2004, a Doujinshi-Ka's Inbox strip addressed the question several people had asked: Would the fangirls ever return?  The answer: Yes, and if you fill out this simple form and send it to Erin, you can join them.  My inbox was flooded for the next few weeks.

 In total, there are seventy-seven this time around.  Their habits and preferences outline a lot of interesting patterns - some obvious (for instance, Alucard is the fan favorite by far) and some surprising (Alex came in second here).  Here's a graph of the breakdown.

The most interesting subject, in my opinion - and one that causes perhaps more controversy among Hellsing fans than any other - was that of which pairings people shipped.  (Shipping = the act of supporting romantic relations between two characters you think would do well together.)  I personally am a fan of AlucardxIntegra (there's an amazing case for it) and PipxSeras (which, I might point out, is canon), so I was happy to see those two take the lead.  But that's not all . . .

 I definitely wasn't expecting IntegraxEnrico to come in next, for instance.  Or AlucardxAlexander to score as many fans as AlucardxSeras.

Young WalterxAlucard is another one I ship; it just barely registered on the list.  It's interesting that this category has such a large intersection with the Pip fangirls.  My theory on that: both Pip fandom and youngWxA fandom are manga-based, so manga-savvy people are more likely to subscribe to both than those who've only seen the anime.

"Other" pairings included IntegraxSeras; Seras with a few minor characters from the anime such as Helena, Paul Wilson (the chief FREAK in the last few episodes), and Harry Anders (the MI-5 agent); and Enrico with Yumiko, Heinkel, and Alex (not all at once).  The sheer variety is astounding.

A few other interesting facts from this batch of fangirls:

  • Of the PxS fans, the vast majority also supported AxI.

  • Quite a lot of fans shipped multiple pairings for the same character: for example, AxS and PxS, or AxI and ExI.

  • Fans who hadn't seen all of the anime tended to become Alucard fans.

  • While some fans supported Hellsing/Iscariot cooperation, and others seemed to hold their obsession's organization in contempt, the number was about equal.  (You'd think more people would support cooperation...)

  • In total, the second fangirl storyline comprised 107 strips, two of which were Flash animations (and one of which was a GIF animation).

  • It ran for four and a half months, inspiring a sizeable minority of readers to complain - and the next one will be shorter, I promise.

    • In general, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, although by September I was still getting inquiring emails about whether the sender could still be a fangirl.  (I'm quite sure that one of you, reading this, will ponder sending me such an email as a joke.  Please don't.  ^_^; )

    Disclaimer: Hellsing isn't mine - it's copyright by Kohta Hirano, Gonzo animation, Geneon Entertainment, and probably some other groups I've missed.  So please don't sue me.