The new Castlevania Netflix show dropped recently and last night I sat down to watch the entire first season. It's not hard to binge watch the whole show as it's only 4 episodes that clock in at about 30 minutes each. That said I really appreciated that the show didn't waste much time and completed it's first story arc in four episodes. My only real complaint by the end was that there wasn't more story waiting for me but Netflix has said that it's picking up another season of 8 episodes so if you liked the first season, more is on the way.
The basic premise of Castlevania is that Dracula lost his wife and wants to take his revenge on mankind for taking her life. The first episode focuses on Dracula and you really feel for him and understand why he decides to become a super villain. I was very surprised at how much I loved the story and how the choices the show creators made I didn't really expect. I was expecting some generic vampire hunter show and what I felt very fresh and original. The first season is an interesting take on religion, science and how power is used to control people. I didn't expect that Castlevania would start the show on such a pro-science bend but it does and it's an entirely surprising focus in a universe that is primarily focused on sword and sorcery. Kind of strange to consider but the Castlevania show expertly juggles science, religion, magic and monsters in such a way I was really impressed.
Simon Belmont is the main character of the show and he starts out as a defeated drifter who literally gets the shit kicked out of him when we first meet him. I really enjoyed Simon's character and the voice acting by Richard Armitage is superb. Other characters are brought in over the course of the four episodes but I don't want to spoil anything by telling you who it is.
The show feels like it's taking notes from Castlevania III and Symphony of the Night. Castlevania III is the highlight of the NES series for me but the show doesn't feel like it's a direct companion to the NES games. Frankly I really enjoy the fresh take on this universe, religion, science and the like so having the Netflix show have only light parallels to the video game is entirely fine by me.
If you have Netflix and are curious to watch the show I recommend you check it out. My only cautionary tale is that you take heed to the content as this show is very dark, bloody and contains some shocking stuff.
The basic premise of Castlevania is that Dracula lost his wife and wants to take his revenge on mankind for taking her life. The first episode focuses on Dracula and you really feel for him and understand why he decides to become a super villain. I was very surprised at how much I loved the story and how the choices the show creators made I didn't really expect. I was expecting some generic vampire hunter show and what I felt very fresh and original. The first season is an interesting take on religion, science and how power is used to control people. I didn't expect that Castlevania would start the show on such a pro-science bend but it does and it's an entirely surprising focus in a universe that is primarily focused on sword and sorcery. Kind of strange to consider but the Castlevania show expertly juggles science, religion, magic and monsters in such a way I was really impressed.
Simon Belmont is the main character of the show and he starts out as a defeated drifter who literally gets the shit kicked out of him when we first meet him. I really enjoyed Simon's character and the voice acting by Richard Armitage is superb. Other characters are brought in over the course of the four episodes but I don't want to spoil anything by telling you who it is.
The show feels like it's taking notes from Castlevania III and Symphony of the Night. Castlevania III is the highlight of the NES series for me but the show doesn't feel like it's a direct companion to the NES games. Frankly I really enjoy the fresh take on this universe, religion, science and the like so having the Netflix show have only light parallels to the video game is entirely fine by me.
If you have Netflix and are curious to watch the show I recommend you check it out. My only cautionary tale is that you take heed to the content as this show is very dark, bloody and contains some shocking stuff.
I haven't watched it yet, but it's on my huge watch list. I'm glad that you enjoyed it, which means that it's likely I'll enjoy it as well. I'm also glad it's getting another season. I am surprised that there are now only 4 30 minute episodes. I'm not sure when I'll watch this, I'll catch it eventually. I'm already working on other things in my watch list.
Thanks for the review!