On July 27, 2023, a first glimpse into the long-anticipated return to the “Castlevania” series came on Netflix’s YouTube account as an official teaser trailer. Fans have awoken from their slumbers to the fervent excitement that the sneak-peak of “Castlevania: Nocturne” had garnered with the trailer’s dynamic action sequences and the new generation cast of colorful characters. The buzz eventually grabbed the likes of famous internet personalities like Asmongold and MoistCr1tical to react with awe. In all, the ferocious fever for “Castlevania: Nocturne’s” Netflix-only premiere on Sept. 28, 2023 came over the prospective audiences for the show, especially coming off of the very successful four seasons of the first “Castlevania” series.
The Netflix series is based on the Japanese 1986 “Castlevania: Nocturne” video game franchise released on the NES and Famicom, and published by Konami. The brave quest to slay the monstrous Dracula in the notoriously difficult game featuring a hauntingly gothic aesthetic would find itself to be an extremely compelling original American adult animated series.
Set 300 years after the main events of the previous seasons, “Castlevania: Nocturne” follows Richter Belmont fighting vampire oppressors in the setting of France during the French Revolution. The monster hunter’s team would face these vampires alongside their monstrous night creatures to uncover conspiracies of the church, rise against a vampire messiah and lead the revolution.
Aesthetically, the show maintains a strong horror and gothic thematic, appropriately implemented to increase the weight of the dark, mature tone of storytelling. The vampire’s white skin has become likened to the aristocracy of that time, alluding to the predatory nature of the rich. On the other hand, the revolutionaries are incredibly colored and distinctly stylized, representing each individual as a unique part of a collective.
It would not be an exaggeration to state that this show’s substance comes mostly from the animated fights. The action sequences of the series stole the entire show’s spotlight due to its continuing high-caliber animation and accompanied masterful fight choreography. With an already-established magic system that resided in the first four seasons of “Castlevania,” “Castlevania: Nocturne” raises the bar by fleshing out the system further, evolving what every character can do. Beast-taming, mineral manipulation and elemental augmenting are fantastical feats that develop even further throughout the series.
And how the choreographers handle enemies that go against our heroes enriches the experience further insofar as every vampire, night creature and human foe is paid due respect by being given their own unique, distinct abilities. The creativity and dynamic entanglements between protagonists and enemies will have you feeling like you are watching a thrilling Dungeon and Dragons group tackle every obstacle in their way in a journey to ultimately slay the big bad boss.
For the slower and quieter moments, however, audiences will be met with powerful and charismatic voice acting that has you questioning if all of these talents should be in the ASMR industry instead. Fans of the series will be glad that this remained an incredibly beautiful feature of the series, imbuing the emotional moments of the show with thoughtfulness and moral ambiguity. Strong highlights from the cast are found in the multifaceted villainous Aztec vampire Olrox (Zahn McClarnon) with his deep voice enhancing the mystique of the somewhat anti-villain and Edouard (Sydney James Harcourt) with an enchanting angelic singing voice that belts out opera pieces that captures the melancholy and lament of grief at times.
While most of the voice-acting cast nail their roles, the show’s protagonist, Richter, feels more out of place with Edward Bluemel’s performance. His boyish voice performs inconsistently in tandem with the dark and mature narrative of “Castlevania.” At times, it feels both out of place with the horror narrative and incredibly appropriate as his cockiness and swagger serve as a coping mechanism for his haunting past.
“Castlevania: Nocturne” would be an absolutely worthy successor to its previous seasons, if not for how two issues seem to overshadow and cripple all excellent elements of the new Netflix series: its narrative and pacing. It is incredibly frustrating to see that this is where the series fumbles the hardest, considering the powerful character developments of the past seasons, such as Isaac’s and Hector’s incredibly satisfying and compelling journeys.
Where “Castlevania” seemed to peak at its most philosophical and slower dialogue-filled scenes, Nocturne almost feels too scared to explore itself, as it jumps dramatically from plot point to plot point. With romantic relationships sporadically appearing, the biggest antagonist sitting around until the very end and no time to sit and breathe with each character’s mental state, trying to follow the show feels like a hack recipe that is quickly pan-frying a cut of steak instead should be slowly smoked.
Unfortunately, the narrative thorns every aspect of its spectacularity. It won’t ruin your entire viewing experience as every other aspect still adds up to an incredible American animated series, but it still sits in the minds of those who see a season two on the horizon.
Verdict: ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ is an incredible watch considering its strengths akin to a thrilling action-filled Dungeon and Dragons adventure. Yet, the vampire-slaying series feels flat with its underbaked narrative.
