Castlevania

Fero McPigletron

Feel the fear!
Citizen
I'm actually very disappointed with the Castlevania anime, not just because of the lack of Grant but the introduction of side plots that never went anywhere or were necessary.

While I love Warren Ellis' comic work with Stormwatch and such, I didn't like his GI Resolute or Castlevania. Is he still involved in this Nocturne?

If Nocturne is Rondo of Blood, beast master Marie should have a substantial role.
 

Exatron

Kaiser Dragon
Citizen
Ellis is credited as the writer for all four seasons of the show. The news about allegations against him broke about two months after he'd tweeted that he'd finished his work on season 4.

Overall, I loved the show, so I'm really looking forward to this new one. Hopefully, the creative team shakeup won't result in any drop-off in quality, and any changes in tone will blend in naturally with the change in setting. There hasn't been any release date announced, right? I think I saw a news article somewhere listing it for 2022, but it wasn't clear to me if that was confirmed.
 

Shadewing

Well-known member
Citizen
The good thing about Castlevania, is that thanks to the games it can easily be an anthology and no series has to be exactly like the last one. So I'm fine with seeing how a new team handles Rondo and likely SOTN, there's gonna be A LOT of expectations on this series, between the love of the first 4 seasons and the love of those two games.
 

Caldwin

Woobie Destroyer of Worlds
Citizen
Look, I know when it comes to Metroidvania games, part of the experience is unavoidably going to contain a certain amount of trial and error exploration as well as a decent dose of backtracking. But I really must express myself when it comes to Harmony of Dissonance.

Hug you, developer's. Hug and and hug the horses you came in on. I hope when you find yourselves burning in the eternal fires of hell and damnation when you die that playing this torture device of a shit-stain on the name of the Castlevania franchise is part of your punishment.
 

Caldwin

Woobie Destroyer of Worlds
Citizen
I've never played Dead Cells before. But if it means more Castlevania, I'm all for it.
 

Fero McPigletron

Feel the fear!
Citizen
Nocturne is out. 8 eps.

Who the hex is Clive Bradley and why does he have the 'created by' title?
 
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Steevy Maximus

Well known pompous pontificator
Citizen
“Created by” sounds more prestigious than “adapted by”. Heck, Konami hardly gets a mention in the credits!


All told, I think the season was, broadly, more consistent than the prior Castlevania series, on a per season basis. And consistently good at that. The big thing that stood out to me was how more maturely the series handles itself, compared to the prior. That’s not to say it doesn’t earn its TVMA rating, but compared to the…excesses…of the prior series, it handles its content with a bit more…dignity? Aside from Belmont, but that’s just a family quirk at this point.
A big step up is in the character work. It’s LEAGUES better. While the “big bad” is pretty much a traditional “final boss evil evil”, she’s practically not a concern for a majority of the season. The original, perceived, antagonist actually ends up displaying a shocking degree of depth. While the big villain and her main lieutenant are pretty cut and dry as “bad guys”, the shades of grey run FAR deeper, including a fascinating subplot concerning the Night Creatures. While Richter CAN be a bit whiney, I think they kept it restrained enough not to ruin his character arc. The Revolutionary France setting and associated with the fading of slavery as a practice all seem to try and come up with some commentary about progressiveness (the Revolutions) against conservatism (the Church, literally, siding with devils to maintain the status quo), but I’m not sure it is really hitting the marks I think the writers intended. I at least appreciate the attempt at some broader depth, though.
Compared to the first series, Nocturne has a FAR stronger start with how well they’ve handled the characters and their motivations.

Animation, especially the non-action sequences, show a bit more flair in style and integration. It is FULL of some really beautiful shots. The music also feels a bit more impactful, with the classic vibes complimenting the Revolutionary era look.

I’m not sure the episodes hit AS high as some in the first (thus far), but it also doesn’t get DOWN as low as the first got as well. That said, a special cameo and the end of episode 6 definitely hit hard. But it IS nice to see an ”adult animation” that actually handles its content with some dignity. Because to too many people, “adult” is just an excuse to dump buckets of gore, use language saltier than a sailor, and plenty of tits.
 

Fero McPigletron

Feel the fear!
Citizen
I'm not reading your review yet since I'm just halfway but my initial impression is who the hex are these people? Are we getting side characters again instead of game references?

What the hex did they do to sweet, precious Marie? Did she just say wanker?!?!?!
 

Fero McPigletron

Feel the fear!
Citizen
Okay, is this some sort of Castlevania thing, or a you thing? And is it new, or have I just never noticed until now?
Whoops! It's a me a thing, hehe. I was using 'hex' instead of 'hell' for when there are WTH moments, haha. (First heard it used by side character MizSpell from the Justice Friends in Dial M for Monkey's Barbequor ep in Dexter's Lab, haha.)

4:23

Anyhow

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Saw all eight eps.

It's MUCH better conceived than the first series since, yeah, it was originally suppose to be just Dracula vs the trio eps but it was successful that they extended it with side quests and filler (like that whole trio of vampire ladies and the forgemaster journeying so far to beat them and they didn't interact with Trevor, Sypha and Alucard, sheesh).

Nocturne doesn't suffer from the long winded dialogue parts, which was a relief.

Good action but we haven't gotten to the best action yet (main boss battles, haha) so expecting more, haha.

Did NOT expect the mature attitude Maria, haha. Orlox got upgraded with his looks, haha. The others, I forgot the names from Rondo of Blood so I didn't realize who were the homages. I thought some were extra at first.

Liked two of the new people. Wasn't fond of the talent of one, haha. Cool on the surprise.

Kiiiinda trying to figure if some of the monsters are from the game. Like the many handed fodder person.

Hope this is successful enough to get Aria of Sorrow with Soma and his crew.
 

MEDdMI

Nonstop Baaka
Citizen
Just binged Nocturne. Yeah, more cohesive. I kinda wish they didn't release it all at once, though. I like being able to ponder about things for awhile. Saw a lot of stuff coming but
I didn't want to like Olroz b/c he killed Richter's mom, but dang. Aztec dragon vampire hottie? XD
Olroz and Mizrak got together so quick, lol. Some very nice butts there. Too bad we didn't get to see them actually making out. Maybe next season. Almost all the Nocturne fanart on Danbooru right now is of these two.
 


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