Fresh Blood Or Does It Suck? Castlevania Season 1 Review

Castlevania is a Japanese video game series loosely based on the Dracula story. The games pick from a buffet of of different mythologies and aesthetics to create a truly unique vampire story. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s gameplay has spawned dozens of spiritual successors such as Hollow Knight and Dead Cells. With such an impactful legacy, how is a Netflix original anime adaption going to endear itself to longtime fans while also appealing to new audiences?
THE BAD

The characters are archetypal to the point of feeling flat and the plot is thin even by video game adaptation standards. Episodes end, not on cliffhangers, but rather peter out in the middle of scenes.
THE GOOD

The art and animation quality are amazing. Trevor Belmont is an excellent anti-hero and Dracula is a powerful yet empathetic antagonist. What few fight scenes there are are exciting and leave you wanting more. Warren Ellis is the lead writer producer. As a fan of his run on Moon Knight, I’m interested to see how the story progresses.
THE VERDICT

While not without its problems, Castlevania the anime was an entertaining watch even for a casual fan like myself. Netflix announced that Season 2 would double the number of episodes from four to eight. If the next season packs more monsters, magic, and adventure, it could develop into an awesome series. For now, I would only recommend watching Castlevania if you are already a fan of the video games.