Fresh Blood: ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Reviewed

Castlevania: Nocturne takes place during the French Revolution and follows a new cast of vampire hunters led by Richter Belmont. Richter’s vendetta against the mysterious Aztec vampire, Olrox who murdered his mother, acts as the emotional through-line over the 8-episode season. Richter is a very different character than Trevor Belmont, and it’s great to see the swashbuckling hero be so emotionally vulnerable.

The addition of the vampire hunters, Maria Renard,  Tera, Edouard, and Annette are all very compelling and charismatic in their own right. I was impressed at how quickly the new cast of characters endeared themselves to me. The villainous vampires of Drolta Tzuentes and Countess Erzsebet Bathory are wonderfully camp and play into J-Rock fashion.

Clive Bradley takes the reins as showrunner for Castlevania Nocturne and manages to maintain the tone of the series while also making some improvements. The episodes are much better paced with a balance of action, intrigue, and quiet character moments; and each episode ends on a propulsive cliffhanger. The dialogue is sharp and knows when to be sincere and when to be strikingly post-modern.

The thematic elements of religious and political satire are nuanced and expertly woven into the plot and the character’s motivations. I commend the series for its deep exploration of challenging subject matter. In doing so, Castlevania is not only a staple of successful video game adaptations, but a staple of genre fiction that explores what is means to be human.

Castlevania: Nocturne is a fantastic follow-up to an already stellar series. Rich, new characters, deep themes, and thrilling action make Castlevania: Nocturne Powerhouse Animation’s strongest project to date. I look forward to seeing where they take us next.

Castlevania: Nocturne is now streaming on Netflix.