Why be obsessed with Integra? Why be a totally adoring Integra fangirl? Why revere this woman to no end? The answer should be obvious to any random passerby: Integra is the most incredibly drop-dead cool anime character of all time.
She's incredibly strong, and always (well, most of the time) cool, calm, and in control. She's efficient and frank; one of her earliest remarks in the TV anime is, "Lieutenant, it is not my responsibility nor my intention to dwell on your mistakes." Watch the woman layer a distinguished air, a sense of control, a hint of disdain, and a call to move forward, all into one sentence.
She has piercing aim with guns as well as the spoken word. She holds her own in the Round Table where her age and gender make her the underdog. Perhaps more impressively, she holds her own in even the most intense conversations with Alucard. Her cool and measured speech leaves no crack to pry open.
Her devotion to God, Queen, and country is unshakeable, as well as her duty to uphold the honor of the Hellsing family and organization. Though justifiably proud, she doesn't let it hinder her; when Enrico Maxwell childishly insisted that she say "please" before he shared essential intelligence, she said it without batting an eyelash (much to Enrico's irritation).
Integra has been strong all her life - ever since, at age thirteen, she wiped the tears from her eyes and put her oversized glasses back on her nose, determined not to give up although her father had died just three days before and now her uncle was out to kill her. She found Alucard, and watched him rip through her uncle's goons like rags; tried to shoot him when he approached her, to no effect; and then still had the confidence to tell him to "shut up!"
Because of her position as head of Hellsing, every vampire in England wants to personally take a bit out of Integra. Jan Valentine, the baobhan sith, Incognito . . . all try to take a piece out of her. Jan, she just shoots. Incognito, she isn't fazed by even when pinned to a stone floor with axes; she sics Alucard on him. The baobhan sith comes closest, actually chomping her neck - but once she's been shot (by Alucard), Integra tears through her own throat to undo what the baobhan sit tried to do to her. And it works.
In the manga Integra is now in charge of the last line of defense against Millennium. Her allies in England are mostly dead; the living (or undead) ones are cornered. And the Iscariot organization has turned on her, planning to let Millennium and Hellsing duke it out and then clean up what's left.
How does she cope with this? She faces down an army of ghouls with nothing but a sword and a glare. When Iscariot forces attempt to apprehend her, led by Anderson with all his bayonets, she first demands a light for her cigar, then informs them that she's going back to the Hellsing house to command the troops, and they'll have to shoot her to get her to accompany them. To top it all off, she insists that they escort her home.
This is Integra: tough, calm, and pragmatic to a fault.
And let's talk about her relationship with Alucard for a moment. They clash constantly - master and servant, human and vampire. He teases, taunts, and tempts her; she deftly parries and makes thrusts of her own. She refuses to be intimidated by him, although she does get irritated. But at the end of the day they do care about each other. Although he's a genuine monster, Integra places her full trust in him when the pressure's on; he in turn is devoted to protecting her. They fight like a married couple, and they make a sexy pair.
For more background on this pairing, see
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