03—Sword Dancer is the third episode (stylized as "Order") of the Hellsing anime series produced by Gonzo. It originally premiered in Japan on Fuji TV on October 24, 2001, and subsequently aired in the United States on October 18, 2003, on Starz Encore Action. This episode is helmed by Manabu Ono, with a screenplay written by Chiaki J. Konaka and animation direction by Tomoaki Kado. It is the last of the three episodes included in the Rescript I DVD.

Hellsing Organisation Intelligence has reported that a mysterious computer chip implanted in a human allows them to be artificially turned into vampires. A foreign college student, already deceased, comes back alive after having the chip removed. After armed policemen were killed in the morgue, Seras Victoria goes along with a Hellsing paramilitary squad to take him out. A Vatican-based paladin named Alexander Andersong appears in the scene and murders the entire unit and incapacitates Seras before Arucard comes to fight Andersong and save her life.

Synopsis

Prologue

Inside a Catholic private school dormitory, Enrico Stivaletti, a newly transferred student, is seated next to his deceased lover, Mick, on his bed. Mick's death occurred as a consequence of Enrico drinking too much of his blood, and Enrico solemnly apologizes. Enrico assures Mick that they would be together forever and leans in until a group of men suddenly bursts through the door, taken aback by the scene. The priest calls out for a prayer, while Enrico expresses his wants to Mick. A train from Paris arrives at the London station, and an imposing, blond-haired Catholic priest steps out to bestow a blessing upon the welcoming attendant.

Story

Enrico's remains are subjected to examination in a private autopsy, observed by Integral Hellsing and the lieutenant of the London Police. The lieutenant notes on Enrico's background as a student from Italy hailing from an aristocratic background, highlighting the necessity of keeping the autopsy confidential. Integra makes a sarcastic remark on Enrico's aristocratic background and chuckles, causing a concerned look from the lieutenant towards Integra's unusual behavior.

When a computer chip is removed from Enrico's neck, Integra's attitude reverts, claiming that the situation is troublesome. The lieutenant suggests that the recent surge of vampires could be somebody's master plan, prompting Integra to assert that Hellsing's policy of "Search and Destroy" remains unchanged. The lieutenant simply exhales in reply as Integra prepares to depart, before reminding the lieutenant to look into Enrico (the circumstances of his transformation into a vampire) and his associates.

Confusion arises in the assistant when he is instructed to stitch Enrico's body, despite their policy explicitly stating that the bodies of non-human beings should be cremated. This leads the surgeon to inform him that a representative from Rome will arrive to collect his body. In the basements of the Hellsing Headquarters, Seras Vitoria enters quietly and exhausted. She notices the medical blood set aside for her and pours it into a bowl, looking at it with desire. However, she is unable to force herself to consume the blood, and in the end, she disposes of it in the toilet.

Unexpectedly, Arucard scolds her for her actions and reminds her of her dwindling strength, which ought to surpass human limits. Seras understands this yet conveys her fears regarding the loss of her humanity. She leaves the room, bowl in hand, looking for Arucard's guidance. The Catholic priest strolls through the alleyways of London, extending his blessing to a bored prostitute before letting out a breath when she departs.

Arucard materializes in Integra's office as she reflects on the computer chip extracted from Enrico's body. The two deliberate on the chip and its ramifications for the age they are living in before she criticizes Arucard's prideful remark, subsequently probing the differences between his kind and the kinds of vampires made through the chips. With simplicity, Arucard stretches out his hand, causing the chip to levitate, and then releases it to drop back down.

Upon being overlooked by Arucard, who seems insulted, she apologizes and makes it clear that she recognizes the distinction. Frustrated, Arucard questions her behavior and her choice of words, admitting his lack of comprehension of human behavior. A call that Integra receives interrupts their conversation, informing her about the arrival of the messengers. As Integra concludes the conversation on the phone, Arucard has already left. A few moments later, Integra grants permission for the messengers to enter the office.

Awakened from his vivid dream, Enrico Stivaletti frantically seeks Mick. In the process, he wreaks havoc in the morgue, decimating anyone who attempts to hinder him, including the police officers who arrive to detain him. Upon the departure of the Messengers from her office, Integra violently slams her palm over the picture of the blond Catholic priest, cursing the Vatican's Iscariot Organization. She trembles but regains her composure as soon as the telephone rings. In her room, a melancholy Seras reflects on a picture of her old D-11 team.

A few moments later, Integra makes her way to the Hellsing military, who are in the midst of preparations, accompanied by Walter C. Ddollneazz. They converse on the hectic situation in the hospital, with Integra expressing her immense frustration over Enrico's reawakening. Shortly thereafter, Peter Fargason arrives to salute Integra, declaring that he and his team are prepared for the mission. When the military is set to proceed, Integra commands Walter to dispatch Arucard, even though the target consists of just one rogue vampire. She declares, "This is a Protestant country. I won't allow the Vatican to do whatever they wish!"

Within the hospital, Enrico persists in his unrestrained killing spree while calling for Mick. Seeing the Hellsing military vehicles, the priest grins smugly. The Hellsing units reach their destination and commence deployment. Upon losing contact with the troops that were sent forward ahead of Gareth Henderson's team (and Seras), he concludes that they are no longer alive. A dense fog permeates the space as Enrico's fury intensifies, shouting Mick's name while Seras, utilizing her third eye, detects the awakening of Enrico's ghouls through a scream.

As she continues to hold her position with the Anti-Midians 13.7mm, Arucard, through telepathy, instructs her to aim for either the heart or the head only, since the only means of liberating a person from the unfortunate fate of transforming into a ghoul is by putting an end to their anguish. "Yes sir, my Master!" Seras exclaims, instantly killing the forces of Enrico's ghouls. Emerging from the thick smoke, Enrico stumbles out of the passage while continuing to call for Mick.

In her thoughts, she feels sympathy for Enrico's plight, saying that his lover no longer exists in this world. However, a noise from a sudden fall beside her draws her focus, prompting her to turn around and find Gareth lifeless with a bayonet lodged in his spine. She rises and slowly pivots only to be pierced by a bayonet in her throat. Collapsing to her knees, the Catholic priest condemns her vampiric existence, then begins striding forward. He hopes—with the blessed bayonets in his hands—Enrico's soul will regain peace, as he is the instrument that delivers the punishment of heaven.

With his blessed bayonets, he advances towards Enrico the instant the manic vampire lunges at him, only for Enrico to be impaled through the heart from behind and then disintegrate into dust before his eyes. Shocked, he finds Arucard, who denounces his arrival. In a fleeting moment of hope, Seras attempts to call out for him, prompting Arucard to command her to cease moving. The two acknowledge one another as the secret weapon for their individual organizations, prompting the priest, identified as Alexander Andersong, to take pride in Iscariot's historical background.

Andersong wards the hallway, fixturing pages of the Eusebian Canons on the walls of the passage to counter Arucard's immense powers. Gesturing a cross with his bayonets, he asserts that Iscariot's mission is to exterminate fools who go against their god—to crush everything, down to their last pieces of flesh—ending his speech in the exclamation of "Amen!" The two find themselves in a standoff when Arucard brandishes his 454 Casull against Andersong, deriding him as nothing more than a mere human.

As the countdown progresses, the two are filled with intense anticipation. In a rapid motion, Andersong charges at Arucard with a forceful lunge, necessitating that Arucard sidestep the sudden attack. Andersong adeptly maneuvers himself and propels forward a sweep towards Arucard, intensifying the offensive. Arucard is forced to evade the slashes until the encounter reaches a stalemate when the barrel of his gun is aimed at Andersong's head at point-blank range and Andersong's bayonet is thrust in his stomach.

Amidst the deadlock, Arucard realizes that Andersong's bayonets are blessed, eliciting a smirk from Andersong. Cursing him to hell, Arucard pulls the trigger, sending the paladin crashing back to the ground. He turns to Seras, withdrawing the blade from his abdomen, and extends his hand to the hopeful Seras to offer her assistance. However, Seras cries out for Arucard, but he is delayed in his reaction and is subsequently pierced by numerous bayonets through his torso. He regains his balance to witness Andersong's gash regenerating, infuriating him.

He realizes that Andersong is a human regenerator, labeling him as a defect-ridden failure when Andersong claims his transformation to be "a fruit of God's miracle and the technology of a man." A further confrontation arises between the two when Arucard brandishes his 454 Casull once more, while Andersong counters Arucard's taunts regarding his use of man-made weapons as a vampire. Suddenly, Andersong's momentum is stopped by Integra's voice. The two are taken aback by her unexpected arrival. Andersong maintains that a proxy of god cannot be stopped.

Holding documents in her grasp, Integra declares that Andersong's mission is considered impossible to accomplish due to the demise of Enrico Stivaletti and hands him papers instructing his return by his superiors in the Vatican. Andersong catches the documents thrown his way, a smug smile on his face, as he tells Integra that he anticipates their paths will cross once more. She proceeds to berate Arucard and Seras for their respective failures of their missions. Afterward, she steps out to smoke, watching as Andersong leaves in a vehicle. Arucard, filled with shame, begins to remove the bayonets from his torso one after another.

Removing the bayonet embedded in his right arm, he kneels in front of Seras, offering her the blood that is gushing from his injured forearm, catching Seras by surprise. He further tells her to drink his blood, thereby liberating her from the status of a servant vampire, allowing her to exist as a No-Life King who drinks blood and wanders the night of her own free will. Driven, she attempts to lick the blood from the wound but manages to hold herself back. Disappointed, Arucard rises and vanishes, inquiring if that is her decision. She can only answer that she is not yet ready.

Next Episode Preview

The fairy wiggles itself, intending to compose a theme song for Andersong, the "Dancing Priest." Seras appears and tells the fairy that they have already done that, so it is not a preview. Nonetheless, the fairy continues his whim, "Doing the 'hot, hot thing' among men! Insects crawl in the Meguro Parasite Museum!" Upon hearing of the place, Seras admits to having a liking for it.

Appearances (In Order)

Characters

• Mick^{(first appearance), (death)}
• Enrico Stivaletti^{(first appearance), (death)}
• Alexander Andersong^{(first appearance)}
• Lieutenant
• Integral Wingates Hellsing
• Seras Victoria
• Arucard
• The Queen's Messenger
• Walter C. Ddollneazz
• Peter Fargason
• Gareth Henderson^(death)
• The Spirit of Harkonnen

Factions

• The Vatican^{(first appearance)}
  • Iscariot Organization^{(first appearance)}
• Hellsing Organisation
• London Police

Credits

Order: 03—Sword Dancer Credits
Director	Manabu Ono
Animation Director	Tomoaki Kado
Script	Chiaki J. Konaka
Storyboard Artist	Manabu Ono

Music

Order: 03—Sword Dancer Music
Start	End	Track	OST
1:20	2:01	Unreleased Track	N/A
5:28	6:33	Unreleased Track	N/A
8:29	9:28	Unreleased Track	N/A
10:33	11:54	Unreleased Track	N/A
8:46	9:50	Unreleased Track	N/A
12:32	13:20	Bodhisattva of Cathedral ~Featuring Tatsuo Tabei~	Raid
14:34	15:17	The Mask of the Priest and the Bell of the Chapel (alternative version)	N/A
15:00	17:57	Certain Victory Lotus Sutra Tune	Raid
20:09	21:17	Unreleased Track	N/A
22:40	22:50	From 666 to 777	Ruins

Manga/Anime Differences

Trivia

• The episode title is derived from the fourth chapter of the manga, "Sword Dancer (1)," which itself is derived from a 1992 video game.
• A small error is made when inserting action sequences made for the Hellsing: Psalm of the Darkness promotional video in the episode, where the aspect ratio (16:9) was left unadjusted for the 4:3 format the anime uses (specifically, during the scene where Arucard is hit by numerous bayonets).
• Notably, the letdown stemming from the anticlimactic ending of the episode prompted Hellsing series creator Kohta Hirano to label the anime as a "waste of time," and consequently, he deemed the personal casting of Nachi Nozawa as Andersong a "shame," opting not to create any artwork for the series and selling the free copy of Rescript I that he received.^[1]

Citations

Notes

References

Hellsing Animated Media Navigation
Anime Rescript I 1 2 3 Rescript II 4 5 6 Rescript III 7 8 Rescript IV 9 10 Rescript V 11 12 13 Miscellaneous Psalm of the Darkness
OVA Season One I II III IV Season Two V VI VII Season Three VIII IX X The Dawn 1 2 3 Miscellaneous Promotional Video Digest for Freaks Cross Fire (Drama CD)