Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1 Review

Castlevania Nocturne Season 1
Image Source: IMDB

TV Show: Castlevania: Nocturne
Release Date: 28 September 2023
Genre: Action-Adventure, Dark Fantasy & Animation
Creator: Clive Bradley
Directors: Sam Deats & Adam Deats
Age Rating: 18+
Length: Eight Episodes

Introduction To Castlevania

Are you looking for your new animation fix? Then look no further than Netflix’s animation series, Castlevania: Nocturne. Castlevania: Nocturne bears many elements that watchers will enjoy such as its rich cast of characters, stunning animation, epic battle scenes, vampires, and commendable voice-acting performances. Castlevania: Nocturne is a spin-off of the original animation series, Castlevania first released in 2017 and is based on Nintendo’s Castlevania game series. Castlevania: Nocturne is a commendable successor to the original animation series that provides a pleasurable viewing experience in a way that entertains both new audiences and old fans of the Castlevania audience.

Synopsis Of Castlevania

The series takes place in 1792 in France during the French Revolution, the story follows a vampire hunter, Richter Belmont, and his adoptive sister Maria Renard, alongside allies such as Annette, Edouard, and Tera as they try to put a stop to the rise of the Vampire Messiah and the rise of vampires.

Vampmania

Like its predecessor, Castlevania: Nocturne is rampant with its vampire characters. The vampire characters in the show are cold, menacing, and bloodthirsty as antagonists to the main heroes. Castlevania does well with creating malevolent and blood-curdling characters and provides scenes of dread and gore as the audience is forced to watch in horror and anxiety. Castlevania: Nocturne much like the previous show characters from vampire literature are adapted and historical figures.

In this series The Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory an alleged serial killer is the main villain of the show. However, not all vampire characters are evil and guided by bloodlust like Drolta and Ezrebeth Báthory, Olrox, an Aztec vampire is a character that has emotional complexities and nuance that flesh him out and separate from the other antagonists, having the audience conflicted with feelings of hate for him but also empathy.

Analysis Of Castlevania

Epic Battles

The animation is stellar, and this is brilliantly displayed in their epic battle scenes. The fight sequences are beautifully smooth and quick. The scenes are exciting for audiences to watch back and keep them on the edge of their seats. The scenes are quick yet smooth and you can’t help but be mesmerized when watching Richter killing vampires and night creatures. It’s gory for those who aren’t afraid of it. Scenes, where magic is used, are epic and striking and are a joy for fans of magic in the fantasy genre.

Voice Acting

The voice-acting performances from the cast are exceptional and masterful. The voice acting talent goes hand in hand with the mesmerizing animation to complete it. The lines delivered don’t feel awkward and feel right in the scenes. One of the voice talents that stood out to me was Edward Bluemel as Richter Belmont. Edward Bluemel is seen in shows such as Sex Education, Killing Eve, and The Discovery of Witches but also a voice acting credit in the game Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me.

Edward’s performance as Richter Belmont is formidable as the lead. Edward can portray all sides of Richter, he’s able to provide humor and sarcasm well and is epic when he delivers trash talk during battle. However, he stands out in emotionally intense performances like in episode 6, Guilty Men To Be Judged where Edward has an emotional outburst of magic during a battle against vampires.

Cathartic

Now, the scene is both epic and cathartic when Edward’s voice acts when fighting the vampires. Another standout is the vampire, Olrox voice acted by Zahn McClarnon, and you might have seen him in works like Reservation Dogs, Westworld, and Dark Winds. Olrox as a character is menacing but also suave and alluring and Zahn’s voice acting completes this. When you first meet the character at the beginning of episode 1, A Common Enemy in Evil, he delivers his lines where he talks low and slow in a way that is both creepy and seductive. Both Edward and Zahn have great chemistry as rival characters in their scenes providing great performances.

Summary Of Castlevania

I found the show a good adaptation of the Castlevania game universe and a worthy successor to the original Castlevania animation (2017). And I enjoyed how some characters adapted from the games were done refreshingly by rewriting the characters like Annette, Olrox, and Drolta. I enjoyed the decision to set the story in the French Revolution and vampires being part of the ruling class. The show is heavy with philosophical and political debate like the previous show which was something I’ve always been intrigued by talks of social class, rebellion, colonization, freedom, and trauma but in some scenes, it felt surface-level.

It’s unnecessary to watch the 2017 animation as the writing separates itself as it is set 300 years later. The show was too heavy at times and there wasn’t enough light to balance it so after some episodes I felt depressed. The ending is a wonderful cliffhanger, leaving the viewer wanting more especially a cameo of a beloved character from the original animation. Nocturne is confirmed for a second season, and I cannot wait to immerse myself in the Castlevania universe again; it’s a triumphant adaptation!

Overall Rating: 8.5/10 – Excellent