Castlevania: Nocturne quickly finds a fast-paced, blood-soaked rhythm in this satisfying sequel to the Netflix animated horror series.
“Warriors in arms. Family in hearts.”
Castlevania: Nocturne becomes another prolonged pursuit between skilled and sullen vampire hunters and the dark creatures that go bump in the night. This basic plot may not be groundbreaking and if anything it leans into the predictable premise of each Castlevania game. That being said, the first scene–an extended cold open that runs for a third of the episode–is really the perfect distillation of why Castlevania: Nocturne is worth watching. A stunning battle between Julia Belmont and Orlox, a 250-year-old vampire, plays out while multiple forms of magic release supernatural spectacles as the two battle to the bitter end. In a single scene, Richter Belmont’s entire purpose gets crystalized and sets him–and the series–off on a strong, confident note. Castlevania: Nocturne taps a rich vein that draws just as much fresh blood as its predecessor.
There’s such kinetic movement to all of the show’s combat and battle choreography where flowing spells, magical creatures, and spinning cameras keep these fights in constant motion and add a dizzying quality to these histrionics. Each fight is truly a visual marvel that combines incredible animation with vicious carnage. The series’ opening shot is the picturesque reflection of fireworks going off in water, which slowly ripples and separates as a boat passes through. It’s so beautiful and effortless as if Castlevania: Nocturne wants to immediately prove to the audience that its animation is immaculate and beyond criticism.
Castlevania: Nocturne gets just as creative with its night creatures, which are demons that are forged from human corpses. These episodes have fun with the limitless nature of what a demon can be. There are countless vampires and generic demons present, but also some inventive designs like multi-armed monsters, dragons, and medusa-like serpents. In fact, there’s a very Guillermo del Toro-esque quality to the series’ night creatures where none of these demons would feel out of place in Pan’s Labyrinth or Hellboy. The Vampire Messiah, in particular, manages to make Dracula look remarkably boring in comparison. Castlevania: Nocturne conjures some truly ghoulish images for its monsters and victims. The series embraces its horror influences just as much as it celebrates heightened action sequences.
Alternatively, there’s also such a sweet, sensitive beating heart to the series that reminds audiences that these are hurt people and not just grandiose action heroes and demon slayers. One of the series’ best sequences doesn’t involve any confrontations with demons and instead is a more muted moment of grief and reflection. Maria buries one of her magical familiars as she mourns the loss of part of herself while Eoudard immortalizes the memory through a melancholy aria (an aria of sorrow, if you will). It’s a beautiful scene about dedication and sacrifice where this group of heroes collectively expose their open wounds to each other. It’d be easy to remove such a moment in favor of more demonic duels, but these emotional scenes are as important as anything else in Castlevania: Nocturne. It’s not just about some war between good and evil, but the human cost of such conflict and how mounting losses can even make the living feel like they’re hollow and dead.
At Castlevania’s core, this is a story about revolution, power, and freedom, albeit one with vampires. Set in Western France on the cusp of the 19th century, crooked Kings, monarchies, and the aristocracy are a constant problem to this subjugated society. However, the Vampire Messiah–Countess Erzsebet Bathory–is also aligned with the old regime and pledges to make vampires masters of their own domains rather than a deadly extension of the aristocracy. This turns both the living and the undead into threats for Richter, Maria, and thier scrappy cabal of warriors as they fight against zealous monsters who strive to block out the moon and trigger eternal twilight so that demons can freely roam the Earth.
Castlevania: Nocturne finds a fun, effortless dynamic between Richter and Maria that’s not dissimilar to the banter that was present between Trevor Belmont and Sypha in the original Castlevania. Their riffing is often just as strong as their fighting. This duo naturally grows into a quartet as two more demon hunters, Annette and Edouard, become allies who are all united through similar trauma. Castlevania: Nocturne also makes sure to develop its vampire villains and their mysterious endgame goal just as well as it does Richter, Maria, and those who strive to end them. Every character, dead or alive, is rich in depth.
“I thought I was supposed to fight evil. I thought that was the whole point,” is the first line of dialogue that’s spoken in Castlevania: Nocturne, but this pledge also quickly becomes the series’ mission statement and guiding mantra across these eight episodes as the line between good and wicked gets increasingly blurred. Castlevania: Nocturne tells a satisfying story, but not necessarily a complete one. These episodes neatly set up what’s destined to be a deeper sophomore season, but Nocturne also feels more substantial than the original Castlevania’s first season, which functioned almost like an extended prologue.
Castlevania: Nocturne digs deeper and accomplishes much more than its predecessor. It doesn’t just feel like a tease, but rather the first act to a much greater war that can finally be properly tackled now that a certain familiar face has shown up. Nocturne goes out on an exceptional cliffhanger that should keep fans pleased until season two. The series is confident enough that it doesn’t need to stoop to such theatrics, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to cast the world in darkness and prepare for the next stage of this unholy war.
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