Netflix's Castlevania is based around Castlevania 3, it pays homage to the original Kojima's concept art, and to Vampire Hunter D and a dozen other vampire anime productions that came from Japan, jesus christ you people are unbelievable, what is it you should be "careful" about it? The inspiration is painfully obvious, and it was obviously done on purpose. Calling it "anime" isn't some sacrilegious thing, even if technically "inaccurate".
Lots of things are just words. That doesn't mean using them in the right context isn't important.
If it was up to me, I wouldn't call anything "anime", because of the confusion it causes, but it's not really up to me, haha.
Anyways, it's important (I think it is), because calling things different are will direct resources to different places. If they think something like this is anime people will have no reason to look outside Japan for high quality adult action shows. There hasn't been, to give an example, one single adult action animated shows out of the west since Spawn in the 90's. Of course, this year things are a lot better with quite a few adult animated non-comedies, but there's still a long way to go. If people are interested in western action shows for adults, there will be more people willing to invest, which will further development and so on.
That's why I think using the correct wordage is important.
I just don't like calling it an anime because it does the show a disservice. We barely get any action shows from Western studios as it is, so I think letting people know that most of the production was from America opens up the idea to general audiences that, yes, you can make animated shows for adults that aren't just comedies with dick jokes.
It doesn't really matter that it was animated partically in Korea, most shows these days are. What matters is that a Western studio is doing the showrunning because that sets up the entire foundation.
I know, I'm just saying this is so faithful to the source material that anyone criticizing anachronisms in Castlevania rubs me the wrong way, this is what the franchise is about, it's not meant to be historically accurate. tl:dr I agree with you.
I hope that, whenever Trevor/Sypha/Grant's final assault against Dracula happens, we get to see a version of this particular scene-landscape-iconic moment:
I hope that, whenever Trevor/Sypha/Grant's final assault against Dracula happens, we get to see a version of this particular scene-landscape-iconic moment:
I hope that, whenever Trevor/Sypha/Grant's final assault against Dracula happens, we get to see a version of this particular scene-landscape-iconic moment:
So I think Simon would get redesigned too. Of the Belmonts, I'm expecting Richter (if Rondo and SOTN are getting adapted after CV3 and 1's story) to maintain his Dracula X Chronicles look, just like Alucard maintained his SOTN look.
Seriously, is this first legitimately good video game adaptation for TV/film? I don't mean "good for what it is", but legitimately good good as in it's up there with other good non-game adapted media.
so THAT'S why I could never beat Castlevania III. Trevor was always drunk.
cool show. I didn't love it, maybe because I really don't know dick about the Castlevania lore, but it was cool. I would have gotten more into it if it kept going, but I guess that just means I'm excited for season 2
I'd looooove if Mortal Kombat got this kind of treatment
Finally got a chanceto sit down and watch it. Its shockingly good, and surprisingly brutal in ways even the games weren't. Intestines strung up like christmas garlands? monsters eating babies? Wow.
It Could have managed a few more iconic monsters, though.
We just got the cyclops, which wasn't really that iconic, and was in episode 4 supposed to be the werewolf?
I hope more get added in next season.
I loved how
Sypha blushed when Alucard asked if she knew the whole story. Shes supposed to end up with Trevor but i wonder if that might be changed here.
Great first episode, but it totally undercuts the other three. Totally sympathetic to Dracula and his kick-ass wife from the get-go and then I'm supposed to give a shit about Trevor and the shitty humans? Unlikely.
Great first episode, but it totally undercuts the other three. Totally sympathetic to Dracula and his kick-ass wife from the get-go and then I'm supposed to give a shit about Trevor and the shitty humans? Unlikely.
Yeah, this confused me too but ultimately I hope it's used when we get to see them all together. One dimensional antagonists, and relationships between them and the protagonists, are often dull as hell.
In fairness, Trevor Belmont was this in the NES games
So I think Simon would get redesigned too. Of the Belmonts, I'm expecting Richter (if Rondo and SOTN are getting adapted after CV3 and 1's story) to maintain his Dracula X Chronicles look, just like Alucard maintained his SOTN look.
Honestly I like how they ended up with Belmont designs
Trevor's takes the rebooted design but makes it a bit older and incorporates the fur into the design.
First half of episode 1 (and the cyclops fight) was somewhat interesting, but from then on, it's boring - shockingly boring! Nothing happens in the plot and the characters are paper thin, lacking any sort of charisma (Dracula shines only in comparison). Very generic and safe aesthetically speaking (especially music/sound) and not particularly well animated. Makes the more boring moments of the LoS series look like SotN. The main character mumbling under his breath doesn't really work (and is animated like crap), but even if it did, it would still be way over used. Surprised people liked this so much. I guess it wasn't offensive, like a schlocky "anime" could've been, but there's simply nothing to it; felt like I just ate ice chips drizzled with seltzer water.
That would be a hilarious explanation why 8-bit Belmonts walk hunched over, slow and can barely aim their jumps: chronic alcoholism running in the family.
so THAT'S why I could never beat Castlevania III. Trevor was always drunk.
cool show. I didn't love it, maybe because I really don't know dick about the Castlevania lore, but it was cool. I would have gotten more into it if it kept going, but I guess that just means I'm excited for season 2
I'd looooove if Mortal Kombat got this kind of treatment
Considering how low budget the animation actually is, and how much more fighting Mortal Kombat would demand in comparison to this, that probably wouldn't work out too well. Would love to see Warren Ellis write it though.
Finally got a chanceto sit down and watch it. Its shockingly good, and surprisingly brutal in ways even the games weren't. Intestines strung up like christmas garlands? monsters eating babies? Wow.
It Could have managed a few more iconic monsters, though.
We just got the cyclops, which wasn't really that iconic, and was in episode 4 supposed to be the werewolf?
I hope more get added in next season.
I loved how
Sypha blushed when Alucard asked if she knew the whole story. Shes supposed to end up with Trevor but i wonder if that might be changed here.
the "sleeping warrior" prophecy is future knowledge, referring to the 200+ year slumber Alucard will undergo between CVIII and SOTN. The next Belmont he should interact with is Richter, Trevor's heir.
This series kinda makes me wonder if Konami would ever be okay with licensing Castlevania games out to "lesser" or independent studios with Konami's current situation.
I couldn't see that with Metal Gear for example as it is too big a risk on the brand but Castlevania seems far more doable.
Seriously, is this first legitimately good video game adaptation for TV/film? I don't mean "good for what it is", but legitimately good good as in it's up there with other good non-game adapted media.
Castlevania II, for starters. And Dracula X had an inferior/nonsensical variant in which the whole castle could be seen in the background but you were (obviously) already in the castle - and it was at the start of the stage instead of at the end.
I think Circle of the Moon doesn't have it either, but I don't remember.
That could easily be, I can't read Japanese so I have absolutely no way of knowing. I read a translation that used male pronouns and even referred to Sypha as "an apprentice monk in pursuit of becoming a priest" in the manual's story intro. It was likely done by a fan, so who knows how accurate it is.
The "in pursuit of becoming a priest" part is false because that's not mentioned in the original Japanse text at all. Sypha is refered to as a "僧侶" which you can translate as both monk or nun.
Just saw the first two episodes. Pretty awesome, the animation and specially the art direction are great. Oh and the intro is fucking amazing.
The voice acting and overall dialog/writing didn't convince me though. Pretty much every performance sounds weird IMO. The very first voice we hear with the woman reacting to the castle was almost in "so bad it's funny" territory. Lots of characters sound like they are from some dark and twisted version of a Disney movie ... Though I'm not sure if that's intentional
The "in pursuit of becoming a priest" part is false because that's not mentioned in the original Japanse text at all. Sypha is refered to as a "僧侶" which you can translate as both monk or nun.
I got around to seeing it - overall, I ended up liking it, though not without reservations. The pacing and music stand out as some of the bigger problem areas - the latter is basically serviceable but disappointing in comparison to the series' typical legacy, Araujo's LoS scores included. The absence of existing music from the series is understandable with potential licensing costs taken into consideration, but the new score's utter lack of style isn't. Still, I will say that only one scene was seriously hurt by its accompanying music - the jaunty guitars playing over the bar fight - while the rest was just mildly agreeable wallpaper.
The pacing was a constant issue, and more than any issues with tone or dialogue, the series' direction in that regard held it back. Still, there were only two scenes I'd have wanted to be shortened or significantly altered - respectively, the bar fight and the extended falling through catacombs bit. The latter totally undercuts any sense of triumph and resolution after
the town is shielded from the horde, and a simple scene of Trevor and Sypha just going back through the passage they were using earlier past the Speakers in hiding would have done a better job at building tension for the meeting with Alucard compared with a tedious scene of platforming with no hook or progression.
Speaking of Alucard, I have no complaints about how he or Dracula were handled tone-wise. The human side of things has a tendency to fall on its face at times (particularly where Trevor is concerned), but the earnestly cheesy gothic melodrama of the Tepes family is something it really gets right - it's exactly what I wanted from the series in that regard.
Also, Trevor has ugly hair and a really fake-looking scar. His design definitely could have used some revisions in contrast to the other leads, even if it isn't necessarily bad.
I didn't mind it either - some sections may have been static or choppy, but when keeping in mind the budget it was produced on, I don't think I had many complaints overall. The important sequences were fluid and dynamic, and the show as a whole demonstrated consistent art direction.
It keeps the red hair from the redesign without making him look like just another Alucard w/a whip. I also like the elements from his original design implemented throughout. I'd love to see something for Simon akin to the above, though I'm unsure how well his games' stories would work as a series. There aren't really any characters for him to play off of, and without the Lisa angle to work into Dracula's motivation I feel it won't be anywhere near as satisfying as this original series. Though it would be interesting what they come up with.
I agree though, Trevor's design for the series is my favorite for any Belmont now.
It keeps the red hair from the redesign without making him look like just another Alucard w/a whip. I also like the elements from his original design implemented throughout. I'd love to see something for Simon akin to the above, though I'm unsure how well his games' stories would work as a series. There aren't really any characters for him to play off of, and without the Lisa angle to work into Dracula's motivation I feel it won't be anywhere near as satisfying as this original series. Though it would be interesting what they come up with.
I agree though, Trevor's design for the series is my favorite for any Belmont now.
They could always integrate other characters from other games like Carmella to flesh out the Simon storyline and I think focusing on the CV2 story might be better where Simon is gathering the parts of a Dracula to lift the curse on him. They basically did the same thing with the Lisa story.
Finished the first season and I have to agree with AVGN, it looks more like an adaption of CV3 in the style of SotN. It lacks some of the things that make it old school Castlevania if that makes sense. Sure, there's a whip and holy water, and it uses characters from CV3, but there's something off. For starters, they made Dracula sympathetic. The real villain is religion. When the demons killed the bishop I was like yessss lol. Maybe they should have kept it a secret as to why monsters are appearing, have the band together and revealed it at a later point. Now I'm like it's not even Dracula's fault lol.
Also, it was pretty odd that twenty years went by and Lisa hasn't seemed to age one bit lol.
They could always integrate other characters from other games like Carmella to flesh out the Simon storyline and I think focusing on the CV2 story might be better where Simon is gathering the parts of a Dracula to lift the curse on him. They basically did the same thing with the Lisa story.
Finally binged this as well and I really did enjoy it but man, the omission of Grant was felt immediately for me. I do hope Ellis puts him back as while he is a bit hokey compared to the other 3, he did have a part in the story.
Animation was good to great, though there were moments of quality here and there. I did like that there was no shortage of blood and gore, since demons and goblins and all...
Most of the humor came from Armitage's Trevor, which worked well for me, and I liked Trevor and Sypha's interactions. Alucard was cool, but I think his best interactions will be with Richter and Maria (once we get there). It also made me sympathetic towards Dracula, which oddly, the games could never really sell me on his motivations.
Style was definitely influenced by Kojima's art, so I loved Trevor's look and lamented the moment he ditched the cape, it looked awesome on him. His scar looked goofy though.
Finished the first season and I have to agree with AVGN, it looks more like an adaption of CV3 in the style of SotN. It lacks some of the things that make it old school Castlevania if that makes sense. Sure, there's a whip and holy water, and it uses characters from CV3, but there's something off. For starters, they made Dracula sympathetic. The real villain is religion. When the demons killed the bishop I was like yessss lol. Maybe they should have kept it a secret as to why monsters are appearing, have the band together and revealed it at a later point. Now I'm like it's not even Dracula's fault lol.
Also, it was pretty odd that twenty years went by and Lisa hasn't seemed to age one bit lol.
Seems in line with what to expect when you consider that the project started when IGA was still in Konami, and Ellis consulted with him while writing. Apparently he gave a lot of notes and it went through 8 rewrites? All the CHURCH BAD, DRACULA MAYBE ANTI-HERO, and SECRET TECHNOLOGY THAT TRANSCENDS TIME AND SPACE stuff is all from Igavanias!