Castlevania: Nocturne
Hey everyone and welcome, today we will be talking about the show Castlevania: Nocturne. Fun Fact This is a stand alone sequel to Castlevania and both shows are based off a video game series with Nocturne more specifically based off Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. This show came out in 2023 and stars Edward Bluemel, Thusu Mbedo, and Pixie Davis and was created by Clive Bradley. So without further ado let’s get right into it.
Castlevania: Nocturne follows Richter Belmont and his adoptive sister Maria in France during the French Revolution in 1792. They make new allies throughout the series to try and stop the vampire messiah from brining everlasting night.
Castlevania: Nocturne is a fantasy action animated show. It has similar vibes to Castlevania, The Legend of Vox Machine, or Blood of Zeus.
Castlevania is one of the best shows on Netflix and to me it’s one of those shows that ended on such a high note but they left it open for a spinoff which I’m glad they did. Nocturne starts off with a bang that immediately draws the viewer in while also making sure they understand what’s going and how this show will differ from its predecessor.
I was iffy about Richter at first because I lovedddd Trevor in the orginal and it was hard for me to just accept that Trevor wouldn’t be coming back but I slowly started to enjoy him more and more. We start of with his mom dying and throughout the show we see how he tries to be tough and fulfill his families legacy but once faced with his moms killer, he runs away and has a panic attack. I thought it was cool to show this to show that even someone who is hunting vampires and killing night creatures has something that scares him still, a weakness.
I was shocked that we see Juste in this show because I thought they would just keep It to one Belmont. Its sad that he’s pretty much turned his back on his families duty but I think the show did a great job of letting Richter meet him but not as like some plot point for them to be a happy family but for Richter to realize he doesn’t want to end up like him.
Annette’s story was kinda cool to see how she learned magic and helped get rid the vampire slave owners in the French Caribbean. She spends a lot of time trying to save Edouard who is a night creature and through this story line it answered a question for me which is do the night creatures retain any of their humanity and this relationship proved they do when he saved her and became an inside man by also helping other night creatures remember who they are. Im glad we got to learn about their connection which also showed how the vampire slave masters played into it. I feel like there’s so much more Annette can do and I can’t wait to see what else she does with her powers and how her ancestors and papa Legba will play into it.
Speaking of Eduard, he got killed so quick and I was like wow he wasn’t really made for this life but then as a night creature he’s out here about to start a rebellion. When he was singing in his human form I was like hmm is this song almost over but when he was singing as a night creature and there was a fight going on I was like wow this singing he’s doing is great background for a fight.
Tera is just a mother who was trying to do what’s best for her kids and it was so sad that in the end that leads to her sacrificing herself to save Richter and Maria. The moment of sacrifice did show how vampires are made in this universe which is something I wondered about cause there were so many but didn’t know where they came from. I wonder since she’s a vampire will she keep her speaker magic or will she only have vampire powers.
Maria is Terra’s daughter and adoptive sister of richter and also the child of the abbot which is unfortunate. She is a speaker with the rare ability to summon animal spirits which would come in handy in fight. I loved that throughout the season they showed more and more animals that she can summon.
Olrox opens the show by killing richters mom Julia after she killed his lover so I hated him going in to the show but by the end I was very interested in his character. I feel like he is the only vampire that dared question the vampire messiah and even after she shows him her power he is still very hesitant. He is an Aztec vampire from America and the vampire messiah wants to use his knowledge to move there next but it seems like he is not a fan of that plan. Im really interested to see what side he ends up aligning himself with and if he will really turn his back on Mizrak.
The vampire Sekhmet seems so powerful but there was a line in the show about everyone having a weakness in which Olrich stares at her as if he is trying to find hers. She says she is actually a god and I wonder if she actually is or just makes people believe that. She didn’t even flinch when Richter was throwing everything he’s got at her so I truly wonder how they will take her down.
Drolta was one evil vampire but I’m sorry she was a bad bitch and everything about her character was just great. Even at the end when I thought she couldn’t get any better they whip out this dope transition into a vampire with wings and pink ombre flaming hair and I was just like wow she’s out here looking better than everybody. Even with all this said I am very happy she died cause she was evil.
Ummm Alucard making an appearance was something I didn’t even think about when I was watching this show but I’m so happy It did. The Belmonts are strong but honestly Alucard is a big help and Is needed due to not only his vampire skills but knowledge . I love that he even comes in with a bang by taking out Drolta and looking just as regal as ever while doing it.
The animation style is similar to anime and I think it definitely makes the show even better. To add on top of this the design of all the characters are done so well to not only show what time period we are in but also just show how badass everyone is because everyone looks good. The vampires even have different iterations of their looks which further just showed the detail in this show.
In the show we learn how it has been about 320 years since the events of the Castlevania show and it was cool how they took elements from that show and showed how now in the future things would be different. Night creatures come up in both shows but in the orginal show they made them by hand but in this show they are making night creatures by using a machine from hell which is way more efficient. Even with Richter and Juste we learn that they inherited fighting from Trevor and speaker magic from Sypha which they mix together when fighting. These are small things but I’m glad they showed how things changed over time. But you know one thing that will never change? A Belmont trying to punch immovable people.
The combat scenes throughout the entire series were great. The scenes really showcased what everyone’s strengths and some of their weaknesses are. They did a good job of showing as well how these non vampires could hold their own with vampires, with a mix of skill and magic. The one thing I did wonder is if the old Belmont items that Trevor used or maybe something else from the family will make its way to Richter to make him an even more formidable foe in battle.
My favorite part of Caslevania: Nocturne is when Richter unlocked his magic again after not being able to use it for so many years and having a breakdown after running into Olrox and meeting his grandfather for the first time. He realizes that there are people that he loves and he is truly at his lowest point about to die after getting captured by vampires and realized that his mom sacrificed her life for him to be safe and carry on the Belmont legacy. With all this coming back up and him realizing he can’t let these people down his magic Is unleashed. We see an amazing display of hand to hand combat mixed with magic which showed not only how powerful Richter is but also how smart and quick he is while mixing these spells with these his fighting skills. They even give him his headband in this moment which you will remember if you played the game. I was also happy that they didn’t kill juste in this moment and have him be the reason Richter gets his magic back which is what I thought would happen but instead Richter proves that you can get your magic back after loosing it and he tells juste that his magic basically came back because he really has people he cares for and even tho juste had family left once his wife died he lost his magic because he didn’t have anyone he thought was worth fighting for which is sad cause his grandson and daughter was alive. It’s just such a dope scene that further solidified that this was a great expansion of the Castlevania universe.
Castlevania: Nocturne succeeds where many fail, making a show based off a video game that’s pretty good and making a sequel series that can stand on its own. We are introduced to so many characters with cool abilities and interesting backgrounds. I really hope we get a season 2 because the ending was a cliffhanger that just made me more excited for the future and hopefully it leads to more spinoffs.
