CASTLEVANIA NOCTURNE
~ A Netflix Original Take ~
In 2017 Netflix released the first season of their Castlevania animated adaptation. It was essentially a four episode pilot or 90 minute movie. This season essentially was an introduction to the characters and the concept. The second season had eight episodes and delivered, more or less, an ending to the show with a few dangling threads should they choose to continue. The first two seasons essentially adapt the story of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. No, it wasn't a perfect adaptation of the game, but it was close enough that I, a longtime Castlevania fan since the 80s, was over the moon about it. Although the show left Alucard alive by the end, which posed a narrative problem, still, I was pretty happy with it. These two seasons received great acclaim, particularly for its adaptation and faithfulness to the games, something which most video game adaptations in history have utterly failed at.
Season Three went off book a little bit. It explored a period immediately after the events of Castlevania III but before the events of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (the next chapter in the video game story following Castlevania III). Elements from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness had already been integrated in the second season of Netflix's Castlevania, marrying the stories and the lore more succinctly and I was okay with it. Despite going off book, Season Three didn't do anything to alter the course of the narrative set down by the video games, seeding yet more elements from Curse of Darkness. Furthermore, I could still see a path the show could take to faithfully adapt Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, more or less. Yet, Alucard's character was wasted on an utterly superfluous side plot that, in my opinion, started to damage the character.
Then Season Four came. For some reason or other, Season Four diverged radically from the video games and, in some cases, from what the Netflix series itself had started. I felt the show, in certain instances, deliberately diminished certain characters and unnaturally favored others in illogical ways, frustratingly so. But most egregiously, it broke the fundamental narrative of Castlevania: The Belmonts versus Dracula and the hordes of the night was no more. Dracula got his happy ending. There were a few good episodes in Season Four, but it ceased being an adaption and went into "fan-fiction" territory.
For those reviews, check the links below:
After Netflix's Castlevania Season Four, I could not see a path where a faithful adaptation of the games was even possible anymore. The fundamental premise of Castlevania was broken.
Which brings us CASTLEVANIA: NOCTURNE
THE PLOT
18th century France. The French Revolution is decimating the country. Vampires have infiltrated the French aristocracy and are preparing the way for their vampire messiah; Erzsebet Bathory. The latest generation of the Belmonts, a descendant of the Speaker magicians, an avatar of the Haitian god Ogun, and an opera singer are all that stand in the way of the vampires and eternal darkness.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Castlevania Nocturne debuted on Netflix in September of 2023, but only recently did I start watching it. As I stated above, after Season Four, I couldn't see any way that a faithful adaptation was possible (not necessarily a one to one adaptation, mind you, but one that more or less retold even the basic events of the games). When it was announced that Richter Belmont would be the protagonist of the next season I knew the showrunners were adapting the game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, with naturally the famed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night coming next.
Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night may be the most celebrated games in the Castlevania franchise and perhaps the stories most fans of the games were eager to see adapted. Personally, I love both games and have longed to see a film adaptation of both. But there were several problems with this from the get-go:
1) Dracula was no longer the villain (no longer a badguy even).
2) The titular castle of Castlevania was left standing and not tied to Dracula's existence.
3) Alucard was alive and well, so his dramatic and surprise return in Symphony was already undermined.
Needless to say, the end of Season Four already setup Castlevania Nocturne to be unable to faithfully adapt the games it was based on. The red flags for this series were waving even before it started.
The next red flag reared its head when the trailer dropped. The trailer was filled with characters I didn't recognize (prominently featured in the trailer too, I might add) and what I saw of Richter Belmont didn't reflect the character I knew from the games. Sure, he looked like Richter, but what little I was seeing of him, his actions and mannerisms, felt nothing like what I had known for most of my life.
After Season Four left me soured on Netflix's Castlevania, and not seeing anything promising from the trailer, I decided to avoid the show altogether. Then, recently, when I found myself with nothing better to watch, I decided to give Castlevania: Nocturne a try... to my chagrin.
To be honest, I couldn't stomach more than three episodes before stopping. Castlevania Nocturne is so far afield from anything remotely resembling the games that it turned me off completely. Like the "fan-fiction" that was Season Four, this was Castlevania in name only. As cued from the trailer, Richter and Maria's resemblance to their video game progenitors is purely cosmetic, their personalities being nothing close to how they should be. Their personalities and portrayals are wildly different from the source material. But at least they DO resemble their video game forbearers' designs whereas nearly all of the rest of the cast do not, in addition to possessing alien personalities to their origins.
And then the lion's share of the story doesn't focus on Richter, but rather on a minor character (yet important) from the game and an entirely new character who was never a part of the story to begin with. These characters felt forced and deliberately inflated at the expense of the video game's protagonist, constantly bringing Richter down to raise themselves up. It felt like the people making Castlevania Nocturne were going to great lengths and putting in tremendous effort into these new and different elements and spending no time or effort into actually adapting the game.
I couldn't watch any further. For my own sanity I had to stop. The thing that made Netflix's Castlevania shine to begin with was how it faithfully and wonderfully adapted the video game. Now, the very thing that Netflix's Castlevania was praised for was completely missing.
I've since read the spoilers and know what happens. SPOILER ALERT: Not even Alucard's cameo at the end, which everyone is geeking out over, will get me to watch (really it has me questioning why wasn't Alucard there to begin with? From my understanding, his appearance here only undercuts the main cast as well, doing their work for them and stealing their thunder). I will perhaps listen to the rendition of Divine Bloodlines in the show. But nothing more.
THE VERDICT
The very thing that made Netflix's Castlevania an incredible video game adaptation is entirely gone in Castlevania Nocturne.
This is NOT Castlevania. This is Castlevania fan-fiction and grossly disrespectful to the source material. Based on the egregious adaptation alone (which you can't accurately call an adaptation) I will not be watching the rest of Castlevania Nocturne nor anything else from Netflix's Castlevania to come. This is an alien creature wearing Castlevania's skin and not well either. Had it been an entirely new show, or even a show set in the Castlevania universe but with all new characters and an adjacent plot, it could be interesting. But this is not Rondo of Blood nor will we get Symphony of the Night.
Overall Ranking: I for "Incomplete"
Another IP is mishandled and mistreated by modern Hollywood.
For more of my ramblings about all things Castlevania, check out these links below
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