Castlevania on Netflix

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I just watched season 1 of Castlevania on Netflix, all four 23min episodes of it. It is a good thing it is getting a season 2, because seriously even by anime standards that is not very much.

I was of course skeptical about the series, but it actually turned out great. It is full of action and decent writing/acting. It also turned out to be funny, in a good way, and it totally didn't need to be. I want more of it, and Castlevania in general since it's been forever since before Lords of Shadow killed it and Konami has been dancing on the corpse.

Some possible criticisms may come from one joke in particular which kind of becomes a running gag within those 4 episodes

Spoiler

Trevor falling through the floor constantly

but I doubt that will comprise much of future episodes. Or it could end up being the main antagonist in a shocking twist.

The actual animation is decent enough, and I could only dream of a similar series for Shadowhearts or Metroid.

Did anyone else like it?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I remember people complaining that the show will be a grimdark Game of Thrones like tone and one guy told me he prefered it to be a self aware comedy

Glad I am hearing a positive reception of this.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Seeing the first episode oh my they sure made Dracula quite "handsome"

Has there ever been an adaption where Dracula looks exactly like his book description?

Spoiler: Dracula from the Book

And yes I know Castlevania is based on the games but still I never seen any portrayal of Dracula that looks like the Old Man above.

And I just found out Dwalin is voicing Dracula and Thorin Oakenshield is voicing Trevor Belmont.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Spoiler

You are Trevor fucking Belmont yet you get beaten up by a bunch of peasents

Simon Belmont is the best Belmont

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Ok seriously I am not digging Trevor Belmont's charcater. He reminds me too much of the typical anime Shounen Jump protaginist:

Likes to Eat (and drink booze in this case) has a "don't give a shit" attitude and seems to not care about how dire the situation is.

Can we have a grim badass that at least cares about the little people. I mean even Geralt is nicer than this.

I mean if anything he reminds me of a less angry, more sarcastic Inuyasha or someone along those lines.

 

[twistedmic]

Seeing the first episode oh my they sure made Dracula quite "handsome"

Has there ever been an adaption where Dracula looks exactly like his book description?

Spoiler: Dracula from the Book

And yes I know Castlevania is based on the games but still I never seen any portrayal of Dracula that looks like the Old Man above.

And I just found out Dwalin is voicing Dracula and Thorin Oakenshield is voicing Trevor Belmont.

Didn't Dracula look younger and more handsome once he got to London, and (presumably) started feeding more regularly?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Seeing the first episode oh my they sure made Dracula quite "handsome"

Has there ever been an adaption where Dracula looks exactly like his book description?

Spoiler: Dracula from the Book

And yes I know Castlevania is based on the games but still I never seen any portrayal of Dracula that looks like the Old Man above.

And I just found out Dwalin is voicing Dracula and Thorin Oakenshield is voicing Trevor Belmont.

Didn't Dracula look younger and more handsome once he got to London, and (presumably) started feeding more regularly?

From what I thought, his older form is his natural real form, the young and handsome look he had in London was basically a disguise.

 

[Kae]

It was good enough, and I was pleasantly surprised that they decided to base it on Castlevania 3, though that does make me wonder if they will do Rondo of Blood and then Symphony of the Night.

As for Trevor, I liked him, that's pretty much the attitude that he should have at that point in time and I like that he gets to become better by sobering up and accepting his responsibilities, nothing particularly original or surprising but then again the Belmonts have never been all that complicated in the games, I just hope that for next season they don't make Alucard the main character, after all, it is Castlevania 3, Trevor's story not Alucard's he should get his chance to shine on the Symphony of the Night which is hundreds of years after Trevor's death and even then after Ricter's story, I personally think it's fine they skipped Simon, that way he can remain the mythical figure that managed to defeat Dracula twice, after all people would complain about his characterization even though he had close to 0, but let's be honest almost no one remembers Trevor and he was only in Castlevania 3 and had an extremely brief cameo and mention on Symphony of the Night.

In any case, it was decent, it wasn't fantastic but for a long time Castlevania fan starved for more Castlevania it was more than good enough and well, here's hoping for the next season and that they don't fuck it up.

A huge caveat though, they didn't use any of the music, not even Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer, that is hugely disappointing.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

So this show is essentially an adaption of Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse.

All the charcaters from that game are here:

Trevor Belmont
Sypha Belnades
and Alucard

All that is missing is Grant Danasty unless he's cut out of the show.

The creator or creators of the show clearly must be big fans of the 3RD NES game.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

It was good enough, and I was pleasantly surprised that they decided to base it on Castlevania 3, though that does make me wonder if they will do Rondo of Blood and then Symphony of the Night.

As for Trevor, I liked him, that's pretty much the attitude that he should have at that point in time and I like that he gets to become better by sobering up and accepting his responsibilities, nothing particularly original or surprising but then again the Belmonts have never been all that complicated in the games, I just hope that for next season they don't make Alucard the main character, after all, it is Castlevania 3, Trevor's story not Alucard's he should get his chance to shine on the Symphony of the Night which is hundreds of years after Trevor's death and even then after Ricter's story, I personally think it's fine they skipped Simon, that way he can remain the mythical figure that managed to defeat Dracula twice, after all people would complain about his characterization even though he had close to 0, but let's be honest almost no one remembers Trevor and he was only in Castlevania 3 and had an extremely brief cameo and mention on Symphony of the Night.

In any case, it was decent, it wasn't fantastic but for a long time Castlevania fan starved for more Castlevania it was more than good enough and well, here's hoping for the next season and that they don't fuck it up.

A huge caveat though, they didn't use any of the music, not even Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer, that is hugely disappointing.

Isn't Castlevania 3 a prequal to the Simon Belmont Castlevania games? Simon Belmont is not even born yet in Trevor's time.

 

[Kae]

It was good enough, and I was pleasantly surprised that they decided to base it on Castlevania 3, though that does make me wonder if they will do Rondo of Blood and then Symphony of the Night.

As for Trevor, I liked him, that's pretty much the attitude that he should have at that point in time and I like that he gets to become better by sobering up and accepting his responsibilities, nothing particularly original or surprising but then again the Belmonts have never been all that complicated in the games, I just hope that for next season they don't make Alucard the main character, after all, it is Castlevania 3, Trevor's story not Alucard's he should get his chance to shine on the Symphony of the Night which is hundreds of years after Trevor's death and even then after Ricter's story, I personally think it's fine they skipped Simon, that way he can remain the mythical figure that managed to defeat Dracula twice, after all people would complain about his characterization even though he had close to 0, but let's be honest almost no one remembers Trevor and he was only in Castlevania 3 and had an extremely brief cameo and mention on Symphony of the Night.

In any case, it was decent, it wasn't fantastic but for a long time Castlevania fan starved for more Castlevania it was more than good enough and well, here's hoping for the next season and that they don't fuck it up.

A huge caveat though, they didn't use any of the music, not even Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer, that is hugely disappointing.

Isn't Castlevania 3 a prequal to the Simon Belmont Castlevania games? Simon Belmont is not even born yet in Trevor's time.

That is actually correct, I forgot because well it's been a while since I played it and I forgot the text crawl, regardless Simon's story isn't really fit for a series, because it's just non-stop action, he doesn't even have a supporting cast, don't get me wrong I love Simon but a lot would have to be changed to make his story into a good show.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

It was good enough, and I was pleasantly surprised that they decided to base it on Castlevania 3, though that does make me wonder if they will do Rondo of Blood and then Symphony of the Night.

As for Trevor, I liked him, that's pretty much the attitude that he should have at that point in time and I like that he gets to become better by sobering up and accepting his responsibilities, nothing particularly original or surprising but then again the Belmonts have never been all that complicated in the games, I just hope that for next season they don't make Alucard the main character, after all, it is Castlevania 3, Trevor's story not Alucard's he should get his chance to shine on the Symphony of the Night which is hundreds of years after Trevor's death and even then after Ricter's story, I personally think it's fine they skipped Simon, that way he can remain the mythical figure that managed to defeat Dracula twice, after all people would complain about his characterization even though he had close to 0, but let's be honest almost no one remembers Trevor and he was only in Castlevania 3 and had an extremely brief cameo and mention on Symphony of the Night.

In any case, it was decent, it wasn't fantastic but for a long time Castlevania fan starved for more Castlevania it was more than good enough and well, here's hoping for the next season and that they don't fuck it up.

A huge caveat though, they didn't use any of the music, not even Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer, that is hugely disappointing.

Isn't Castlevania 3 a prequal to the Simon Belmont Castlevania games? Simon Belmont is not even born yet in Trevor's time.

That is actually correct, I forgot because well it's been a while since I played it and I forgot the text crawl, regardless Simon's story isn't really fit for a series, because it's just non-stop action, he doesn't even have a supporting cast, don't get me wrong I love Simon but a lot would have to be changed to make his story into a good show.

Since this is Castlevania 3, I wonder if the final confrantation against Dracula will him the man turn into this:

 

[Kae]

Since this is Castlevania 3, I wonder if the final confrantation against Dracula will him the man turn into this:

I don't think they'll use that design as so far they don't seem to care much for the games monster designs which, to be honest, is highly disappointing, however Dracula has a Demonic form in most Castlevania games including Symphony of the Night which is the one the creator's of the show seem to favour, so it is likely he'll have a demonic form.

 

[BrawlMan]

It was good enough, and I was pleasantly surprised that they decided to base it on Castlevania 3, though that does make me wonder if they will do Rondo of Blood and then Symphony of the Night.

As for Trevor, I liked him, that's pretty much the attitude that he should have at that point in time and I like that he gets to become better by sobering up and accepting his responsibilities, nothing particularly original or surprising but then again the Belmonts have never been all that complicated in the games, I just hope that for next season they don't make Alucard the main character, after all, it is Castlevania 3, Trevor's story not Alucard's he should get his chance to shine on the Symphony of the Night which is hundreds of years after Trevor's death and even then after Ricter's story, I personally think it's fine they skipped Simon, that way he can remain the mythical figure that managed to defeat Dracula twice, after all people would complain about his characterization even though he had close to 0, but let's be honest almost no one remembers Trevor and he was only in Castlevania 3 and had an extremely brief cameo and mention on Symphony of the Night.

In any case, it was decent, it wasn't fantastic but for a long time Castlevania fan starved for more Castlevania it was more than good enough and well, here's hoping for the next season and that they don't fuck it up.

A huge caveat though, they didn't use any of the music, not even Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer, that is hugely disappointing.

I agree to most of what you are saying. I really love the miniseries and wish they had made more episodes. I know they're greenlit for a second season, but I felt that they should have had more time to least have more episodes for one season. Series for Simon Belmont, I honestly do not mind. If not they can jump straight to Rondo of Blood, then Symphony of the Night, and maybe Bloodlines. Speaking of Simon, I think design-wise; it should be a cross between his original design and is Castlevania Chronicles design.

 

[Scarytown_v1legacy]

I thought it was well done, but do feel a bit miffed that it's pretty much only leads up to the "Press Start to Play!" part of the game. Not that I minded the backstories, but I just didn't want ONLY the backstory and nothing else for a year or however long it takes them to do season 2. Animation is well done. I thought I read it was done all in house in Austin Texas, so that's impressive if that's true. Definitely focused on the detail side rather then smoothness. Though I will say the cyclops and Alucard fights were impressive. Speaking of Alucard's, I loved his dynamic with Trevor Belmont. It's a pity that it's only a half of an episodes worth. Glad they are keeping true to his SotN look with him being overly pretty. Also, maybe it was just me but the sound mix was way off. The characters voices were entirely too quiet.

So here's my hope for season 2:

Get to the god damn castle already.

IMO remove Grant. I'm not sure how to involve a pirate/acrobat at this point, but maybe they can come up with something creative.

Get some nudity going. Dudity. Lewdity. Doesn't really matter, but American animation is sorely lacking in good ol' fashioned nakedness.

Get some form of the original soundtrack incorporated. The whispers on the net is that Konami isn't letting Netflix use them, but I'm putting my hope that they are just waiting for the castle.

That's my 2 cents for whatever it's worth.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

So... Will we see an adaptation of Aria of Sorrow?

 

[dscross]

I'd like it to go through the entire timeline from dracula's curse onwards.

 

[DaCosta]

It was alright.

Environment design is gorgeous, but the character design is downright ugly. I know that in animation you do the characters and the environment separately, but c'mon, it shouldn't look like you photoshopped your characters on top of your backgrounds.

P.S.: How can you adapt Castlevania and not feature a single one of the songs? I hope they fix this in the second season.

 

[Kae]

It was good enough, and I was pleasantly surprised that they decided to base it on Castlevania 3, though that does make me wonder if they will do Rondo of Blood and then Symphony of the Night.

As for Trevor, I liked him, that's pretty much the attitude that he should have at that point in time and I like that he gets to become better by sobering up and accepting his responsibilities, nothing particularly original or surprising but then again the Belmonts have never been all that complicated in the games, I just hope that for next season they don't make Alucard the main character, after all, it is Castlevania 3, Trevor's story not Alucard's he should get his chance to shine on the Symphony of the Night which is hundreds of years after Trevor's death and even then after Ricter's story, I personally think it's fine they skipped Simon, that way he can remain the mythical figure that managed to defeat Dracula twice, after all people would complain about his characterization even though he had close to 0, but let's be honest almost no one remembers Trevor and he was only in Castlevania 3 and had an extremely brief cameo and mention on Symphony of the Night.

In any case, it was decent, it wasn't fantastic but for a long time Castlevania fan starved for more Castlevania it was more than good enough and well, here's hoping for the next season and that they don't fuck it up.

A huge caveat though, they didn't use any of the music, not even Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer, that is hugely disappointing.

I agree to most of what you are saying. I really love the miniseries and wish they had made more episodes. I know they're greenlit for a second season, but I felt that they should have had more time to least have more episodes for one season. Series for Simon Belmont, I honestly do not mind. If not they can jump straight to Rondo of Blood, then Symphony of the Night, and maybe Bloodlines. Speaking of Simon, I think design-wise; it should be a cross between his original design and is Castlevania Chronicles design.

I don't know about going with the Chronicles Redesign, he's a bit too pretty and looks more like bondage fetishist than a warrior, I think they should keep him pretty but go with a more barbaric design more akin to a middle ground between the original design and the more modern ones, I don't think I'd like the Chronicles design to show up.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

I saw my roommate/housemate watching it with his wife and thought it looked good enough to check out.

Was pretty darn right, I loved it. My only complaint is that it was too damn short.

The action was stylish as hell, the dialogue was fantstic, it was oozing with amazing lines, and it wasn't afraid to have moment that made me laugh my ass off to contrast the otherwise grimdark world.