The Major (Hellsing)

"Then let me ask you, if your God would allow my madness to flourish across the globe, then wouldn’t it seem to you that any god like that would be just as mad as I?"

- The Major

The Major (少佐 Shōsa), as his name suggests, is a Sturmbannführer serving under the Waffen-SS. He is the Supreme commander of the Millennium Organization and the main antagonist of the Hellsing series.

Why He Rocks

 * 1) The Major is very well written and a solid villain, far more intriguing than those of the Hellsing anime (Incognito being amazingly powerful but a bland "I want to destroy the world cause I'm evil" type, and the greater scope villain we know nothing about). He's also quite dramatic, and his oration abilities is comparable to that of Hitler's. Listen to this speech if you want to see for yourself.
 * 2) He's not your typical Nazi, who's either pursuit of power, world domination or the spread of his/her hateful ideology. In fact, the Major couldn't care less about Nazi ideology, the only reason he joined the Waffen-SS in the first place was to ensure that he can relish on war. This made him more relentless and more dangerous than any Nazi.
 * 3) He's a master strategist, developing complex plans to achieve his goals for over half a century. He accounts for the personalities and usual mannerisms of allies and enemies alike and never takes anything for granted. In the OVA, we can see his plans falling perfectly into place one by one. Archbishop Enrico Maxwell even referred to the Major as "God of War's incarnation".
 * 4) Much like Adolf Hitler, the Major is a very effective and convincing leader. His soldiers, who are all eager to die and make death for him, are quick to train their guns on the Major's superior when he tried to beat the Major into submission.
 * 5) He laughs at the face of authority and fears none, never having a Villainous Breakdown and is still able to keep his cool even in the face of certain defeat and death (He actually shows disappointment when Seras can't hit him with her 30mm autocannons because of the bullet proof glass). He even consider angels to be below humans for not possessing free will.
 * 6) In opposite of Alucard and Father Anderson, when faced with a moment of utter despair and defeat, the Major chose to reject supernatural powers in exchange for his life and soul. During the fall of Berlin, he was shot up by the Soviets and left to die, he rejected the temptation to drink blood and ensure his survival by becoming a vampire, even though he seemed to be on the verge of death, and even though vampirism would mean he would be able "to taste life eternal and wage war throughout the centuries."
 * 7) His utterly pathetic marksmanship can be quite comical.
 * 8) Despiet failing his goal in the long run, the Major left quite an impact: London was reduced to smoldering ruins, more than 3 million innocent citizens where slaughtered, Alucard was defeated even after he unleashed everything he's got and had some of his powers taken away. Washington DC was also ravanged by the Nazis, not even the US President and his cabinet managed to survive the attack. Mind you, the Major achieved all this using nothing but a handful of true vampires, three Zeppelins and 1,000 Waffen-SS soldiers converted to vamipres wielding weapons that are 50 years out-of-date. Although his attack on London and DC was eventually classified as no more than a terrorist incident ("The Zeppelin Affair"). It will most likely be the most devastating terrorist attack in centuries to come.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The Major is more or less a monster in human skin, he's extremely dangerous, sadistic, cruel and wanting nothing but to see the world burn for his own enjoyment. He has little to no morality, cares nothing about his soldiers, his enemies or anyone else live or die, as long as he get what he wants: to wage eternal war. He even freely admits that he's evil fiend and utterly insane, stating that the Millennium Organization has no goals beyond wanton destruction and slaughter.
 * 2) Despite claiming that he still has humanity within him, the Major's body is little more than machinery and he's actions prove him a bloodthirsty warmonger no better than Alucard who he viewed as inferior for having no human will.

Trivia

 * The Major's desire for a war-torn world is similar to the motives of Liquid Snake from the Metal Gear series. However, their motives differ; while the Major loves war for its own sake, Liquid Snake wanted to create a world which always had a place for soldiers like himself.
 * The Major's prototpype appeared in Hirano's earlier manga "Coyote". In the manga, he was mostly the same character with a few slight differences including being a lot slimmer, and being referred to by the name "Montana Max". Fans of Hellsing as well as members of the OVA's English Dub cast have adopted "Montana Max" as the Major's real name, but as it has never been written in any of the dialogue, it is still considered unofficial.
 * The same anime also featured prototypes of several other characters: Pip Bernadotte (who is the leader of the Wild Gease mercenary corp in the OVA), Rip van Winkle (a vampire and an Obersturmführer serving under the Major), and Yumiko Takagi (a nun under Vantican Section XIII).
 * The Major is actually an otaku, At the end of Hellsing: Ultimate III (and also in chapter 21 of the manga), Major sings "Tough Boy" in German, which is one of openings from Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star).