Castlevania Nocturne Season 1

Castlevania is a very important series to me. It was one of the games that turned me into a fan of the media, it introduced me to a lot of horror icons like Dracula and Frankenstein and it was the first series that got me really hooked into video game music.

When in 2017 Netflix announced an animated adaptation I was a little worried considering the track record of video game adaptations has been shaky for the longest time, with even the best works of the past mostly being enjoyable for the wrong reasons.

But through high and lows Powerhouse Animation put together a very fun show that to me was a great representation of the series and was made with a lot of love for the franchise. So after that first show ended up being a success, a sequel series was greenlit, and since by the time of this posting we’re really close to the second season coming out on Netflix, let’s talk about…

About the Plot

The story is set in 1790s France in the middle of the French Revolution a group of Nobles mostly composed of Vampires has been reuniting in a Château near the town of Machecoul, killing a lot of villagers in the process, especially those who’re active in the revolution movements. This increase in an activity is alarming to the vampire hunter Richter Belmont, his friend Maria Renard and his aunt Tera especially with talks about a Vampire Messiah which would come to France soon with the intent of bringing eternal darkness with her.

These rumors of a Vampire Messiah are soon confirmed true by Annette and Edouard, two revolutionaries from Saint Domingue who were sent by a priestess to help Richter in the fight against the vampires. Together they will work together to uncover the conspiracy going on in the dark world of Machecoul and prevent the arrival of the so-called Messiah, Erzsebet Bathory.

The events of the plot are very loosely based around Castlevania Rondo of Blood but the writers took some liberties in the adaptation process changing the origin and role of some of the characters, in particular replacing Dracula, the eternal nemesis of the Belmont family, with Erzsebet Bathory, which was also present as a villain in Castlevania Bloodlines. Those changes are in service of telling a more involved story which isn’t limited by the tried and true formula of the games and I’m honestly fine with exploring more characters with relations to Vampire culture and lore.

The series is still mostly an action show with a lot of gorgeously animated fights, from sword fights, to martial arts, to magic and summons, this series packs a lot for anyone looking to have some vampire and demon killing fun, with a touch of gore and blood that might be excessive for some but it fits perfectly well for me.

Not only is the animation gorgeous but all of the characters look perfect both old and new.

Maria and Richter’s design are taken straight from the games and for the rest of the cast you can see the influence and influence from the works of Yoshiaki Kawajiri.

A Highlight for me were the designs of the demons called Night Creatures, they were really weird and inventive, mixing human traits with animals and monsters. The only downside in terms of design was unfortunately Erzsebet herself, her design was a bit too busy and had a very weird silhouette, she still had a presence but it was lacking a bit of impact.

But this story is not all just action and demon killing, there are a lot of heavy themes that the writers aren’t scared of putting right in the forefront, mostly themes of overcoming oppression and slavery.

Putting the story right in the middle of the french revolution was a great choice, the vampires are all nobles or slavers who are scared of losing their power and position in a world in a constant state of turmoil and want to establish what they consider the “Natural Order” of things. The nobility of the Vampires will rule while all the other commoners are there to be fed on and exploited, if you’re a person of color you’re not even worthy enough to be considered a person you’re just a slave, and people should just accept that and be glad they’re even allowed to be kept alive in this world like they’re doing them a favor.

Of course there are people among the commoners who’re perfectly fine with the way things are right now and are actually scared of the changes forthcoming with the revolution and they’re willing to make deals for things to remain the same. Because life it’s easy when you’re comfortable and you're not even willing to deal with any adversity that might come so you become scared and complacent.

This show isn’t subtle at all with this message, and honestly I’m fine with it. Especially with the times we’re actually going through right now messages like these are important and it’s fine to have them feed to the viewer in a way when they cannot impossibly misinterpret stuff and forcing them to actually think about it instead of pretending these themes aren’t even present.

About the Characters

Another theme that I think resonates a lot with the main characters is about dealing and overcoming trauma.

Richter Belmont is our main vampire hunter of this season, when he was 10 he lived in Boston but after the death of his mother by a vampire called Olrox, he moved to France to live with his aunt Tera. After 9 years, Richter still has trouble getting over his trauma, he’s constantly haunted by nightmares of his mother and he has also lost his ability to do magic which makes him rely entirely on his physical prowess. He tries to desperately mask his trauma by constantly acting as the typical cocky tough guy, and while some of his lines can sound cringe at times I find him enjoyable and once his facade crumbles and he’s able to get over his own fears I think it leads to one of the best scenes in the season.

Annette is another character which is pretty much defined by her trauma: just like Richter she also lost her mother to a Vampire but her childhood was a lot more brutal. She grew up in slave camp in Saint Domingue and her mother was killed with the accusation of being a witch, with the help of her friend Edouard she manages to escape and join herself with a group of refugees that will eventually overthrow the slavers, during that time she discovered her own magical power of controlling metal. Her design is cool and her powers being rooted in African deities are something very interesting that have been rarely seen in our own culture.

Unfortunately Annette’s attitude is something that I can easily see getting on a lot of people’s nerves, unlike Richter who tries to hide his fear, Annette is driven by anger and thus she became very hot headed and sometimes rather arrogant, even when trying to be supportive she has an aura of smugness that I feel some might find rather annoying. I can see that the story is trying to set her up in order to let go of her past anger and be more loose with the rest of the cast so personally I’m very much looking forward to that. I really enjoyed her character and what they did with her.

Maria Renard is the character that got the lucky draw in this series, she happily grew up in Machecoul with her mother Tera, she inherited her magic which makes her able to summon various magical creatures, and she’s a very level headed and proactive girl that gives her all into guiding the revolution and be the most motivational force about it. Maria is awesome, her speeches are great and she might very well be a highlight of this series, especially for what they’re setting up for her in the next season.

As for the cast of the villains: while Erzsebet Bathory didn’t have enough time to really shine, her right hand woman really took the spotlight. Drolta Tzuentes is a character that exudes aura from every pore: she’s smug, cunning, fun and she just looks freaking gorgeous. You can clearly see that designers and animators loved this character because every moment she’s on screen she steals the show.

While the cast as a whole is very strong, it may also be a touch too crowded for its own good. I’m gonna talk about characters like Edouard and Emmanuel later in the spoiler section since I liked them both for very different reasons, but characters like Mizrak, Olrox and others that kinda got left on the side. They’re probably gonna have their time in the sun for the second season, but I still think the writers might’ve been juggling way too many plates on this one.

In Conclusion

The biggest issue for this season is that it’s very much dependent on the payoff that might come next. The tone is generally dreary and dark, there’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t get resolved and plot points that need resolution, which by itself is not an issue, but if those resolutions and payoff aren’t met in the finale that might also retroactively make this season feel much worse than what it actually is.

Personally I loved this season, I think Nocturne has the potential to be better than the previous Castlevania series.

The cast is really strong, the show looks incredible, the soundtrack is perfect with some iconic inclusions from the video games, and I think the writers proved that they understand what makes Castlevania work and they can be trusted with the work of taking the stories from the games in new twists and turns that don’t need to rely on the videogames continuity.

With the second season just days away you just have to take the time and watch this show. This Season is only 8 episodes with an average of 20 minutes per episode so it flies by really quickly. Let me know what you thought about it after you watched and as always for those who wanna hear more spoilery stuff follow me to the…

SPOILER SECTION - Proceed at your own risk

Now let’s talk about my absolute favourite character of this entire show, Edouard.

He’s an opera singer from Saint Domingue who used his privileged position to help guide the slaves and rebels to freedom. He’s a very smart, charming man who’s quick with his tongue and he’s not scared about putting himself in the first line. Unfortunately he dies very early in the show, killed by a pack of vampires, but death only made him stronger.

His body was used a vessel and transformed into a Night Creature, now these demons usually are mindless slaves to their forger, but Edouard was able to maintain his own conscience and thus he rejected the orders of his own master being thrown into jail until he decided to comply, but instead he dedicated himself to his own passion, music.

His singing ends up affecting some of the other night creatures who just like him are able to reawaken their mind and secretly join him in an effort to help them regain their freedom from the forgemaster. Edouard becomes the voice of those who got stripped of their humanity and turned into monsters whose only purpose is to be cannon fodder in the battlefield. It’s an absolutely incredible concept which if used well might make him into one of the best characters ever in Castlevania.

Might sound weird that I liked an original character way more than the ones from the video games, but between the strength of his concept, his beautiful demon design and his wonderful singing, I just fell in love with him.

Another character that I kinda enjoyed for completely different reasons is Emmanuel, this guy is a total scumbag.

He’s the Abbot of Machecoul, the fiercest opponent of the revolution and the guy behind the devil forging and secretly helping the Vampires. He’s willing to crush the revolution with all his might because he’s disgusted by their whole uprising; especially because of the many church burnings and members of clergy meeting the sharp edge of a guillotine, he’s willing to put everyone in the line of fire while gladly using his faith as an excuse for his bloodshed.

He gets so far gone by the end of the series that he’s willing to sacrifice Maria, his own daughter, just to keep his personal crusade going, and while she does get saved by the end, her mother and Emmanuel’s lover, Tera, gets to be the sacrificial ram, turned into a vampire by Erzsebet herself.

This final development was the perfect final twist of the knife for a very dreary season. Erzsebet wins, our heroes have to run away in defeat and Maria loses her mother becoming one of the most fearsome foe for our heroes in the next season, and I’m pretty sure Emmanuel is gonna face the worst of hell too, can’t wait to see how this plays out.

Finally I have to talk about the biggest surprises in the season especially for the videogame fans like myself. First of all was the surprise appearance by Alucard coming at the very tail end of the final episode to be the shining ray of hope for our heroes in the next season. His arrival was welcome but honestly kind of expected, since the events of Rondo of Blood lead directly into his own game, Symphony of the Night.

But the most unexpected surprise came in the form of Juste Belmont, grandfather of Richter and protagonist of one of the least celebrated entries in the series, Harmony of Dissonance. He has unfortunately seen better days, in this series he’s a fallen hero, his friends and loved ones brutally murdered by a vampire called Lord Ruthven. Just like Richter, his trauma for the loss cost him the use of his magic and has since surrendered himself to evil being impossible to vanquish and thus fighting it being pointless.

Juste basically serves as a warning for Richter of what will happen to him if he’s unable to overcome his fears, and Juste is actually the guy that, in his own way, ends up helping him when he’s at his lowest, even if he’s reduced to a sad and grumpy old man. But who knows he might decide to dust off his red coat for the second season.

Honestly I’m really looking forward to what’s in store for us, but even if the payoff doesn’t end up hitting as hard as I’m expecting, this still doesn’t take away from a very strong and excellent first season even if it can’t exactly stand on its own. The future is very bright for Castlevania and I hope that once Nocturne is done, it’s not gonna be the end of the journey.

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