Castlevania Animated Series Studio Strengthens Netflix Partnership

As one of, what, three and a half Hollywood companies that have recently made 2D animated movies again? Yeah, it quite possibly is.

Castlevania was great, despite the overdone cursing.

I think that Netflix has better animation alternatives that the Castlevania series (Like “the midnight gospel” or “love, death and robots”) but people seems to love the Castlevania one… so there must be something on it that I am
Not seeing. To me It looks like a Saturday morning cartoon trying to be edgy.

My favourite Video Game adaptation ever is Castlevania. So many nice nods and touches to the games, whilst being able to tell a good story along the way. Will be interesting to see if the new series is as good without Warren Ellis on writing duties.

really enjoyed the castlevania series, cannot wait to see what richters' series has in store for us

@AlienigenX I think it's because it's Castlevania and people enjoy the IP.
I love the games, but I found the animation to be average and the story weak.

These articles are always awesome because half of the comments are "Best series ever" and the other half is "Worst garbage ever put on a TV".

I liked the series.

I enjoyed the Series.

Does somebody know why other animated Series on Netflix are stuttering as a "style?" As did the last animated Spiderman Movie?
I really do not like that.
It is worse than the Framerate of some N64 Games

I'm glad that at least some people in the west still seem to like animation. But the rest of the world still has a long way to go to catch up to the quality of even the average Japanese anime. Hopefully we'll get there someday, the competition is welcome.

@AlienigenX I got that vibe, too.

@Azuris I've been seeing a LOT of that as well and with gaming being as high-def as it is with 60fps being the norm, it amazes and confuses me to see over-glorified anime-inspired shows with frame rates between 15-25fps.

I know it's done mostly by computer nowadays, but why not flex the gpu and processing power?

@Pat_trick agreed. Honestly an awful series.

Netflix isn’t changing the industry at all haha. Castlevania has crap animation and is just an overall mediocre show. Only good Netflix series is Violet Evergarden and Saki K

I thought Netflix Castlevania was pretty good. Was it the best, most faithful adaptation ever done by the Gods of Animation? No. But it was a welcome approach I never thought I'd see and it helped Castlevania be relevant in the 2010s and bring in many new fans, which I approve of. The series can only go up from here.

i surprised how mixed the comments feel on the show when generally everywhere else feedback seems positive. especially on the art, i loved seeing the fight scenes and just staring at the detailed bgs

the fact that someone argued animation should have more frames like games already shows the divide they have between the mediums.

@Azuris for me could be 2 reasons, budgeting or the animation compensating in some other form. like spiderman having that comic book aesthetic and 2d-looking 3d, or castlevania saving its budget to make room more dynamic fight scenes, as it already deals with detailed character models and fleshed out bgs. but thats common in anime-style shows in general. it can look choppy but i think snappy movement can add to the feel if its done well

you can get away with less frames in animation (common fps is 25-30) cause its just cinematic, no need to control a character or have precise movement

Trevor is a bum constantly harped on by his overachiever "totally badass chick rawr" girlfriend. St Germain is a genius Count reduced to simping, and the 4 Vampire "sisters" are suddenly crusading to rule the world and dismantle the Vampire patriarchy. Heavily slanted, shall we say.

Striga (wow. Wow... I have no words for that beauty) and Morana's story was endearing. I was quite happy to see them freed from that psychopath Carmilla's hold.
Whoever wrote/created Isaac deserves a mountain of riches.

@VoiceofMidnight Well 12-24fps is commonly regarded as the standard for cinematic animation since its inception. Anymore than that and it becomes a nightmare to draw out/rig (if 3D) every frame as such. Interpolation can really make the animation lose its lustre in squash, stretch, overshoot, etc.

Game animation is different because usually it’s fewer animations that are used constantly and usually rigged by an AI for said repetitive motions that won’t fly unless you want your tv show/movie characters to look robotic af. Even if a game is 60fps the animation is still 24fps it’s just that your inputs are registered at 60 so it makes it feel smoother to play.

@OmniMan I thought a big theme for the last season was Sypha beginning to see the world from Trevor’s point of view. Initially she was high and mighty but now she’s getting exhausted and more crass due to the never-ending barrage of monsters, similar to what Trevor had to deal with throughout his entire life. Even Alucard starts acting more like Trevor as he deals with more bs.

I thought it was a clever play on the old trope. It also shines a better light on Trevor from the first two seasons as he’s not just some drunk, he’s someone who’s been worn down by the burden of being the last monster Hunter of his lineage for most his life and cast out by the church.

Germain still had some good moments and Carmilla is heavily implied to have gone made with power now that Dracula was gone. Also yes, Isaac is great.

@Supaguy

I do see that. You're correct.
My broad points were superficial, but they really stuck out to me. Your more nuanced interpretations are cathartic. Kudos.

Glad to find another "Isaac is Amazing" club member. He truly is a transcendent being. Such an analytical mind is seldom balanced by a just and kind heart.

What does this have to do with Nintendo?

Castlevania was great; really enjoyed it.

2nd to last episode of Season 4 of Castlevania is one of the most visually stunning episodes I've ever seen in an cartoon or an anime.

@Supaguy Ohh... Good to know.

Castlevania Isaac storyline been simply wonderful. Love his character progression from one who hates the world for what it had done to him to now a man of forgiveness. Amazing.

The battle with Carmilla is fuking badass too. He got all the best scenes and budget lol.

@OmniMan I think the point in season 4 is that Camilla has very much become as corrupt, vengeful and power hungry as the corrupt men in her past that fuels her drive for conquest in the first place. The irony being that where she turned on Dracula for losing the plot, she herself has lost it too. It shows that with her own anger and hate that the world is in no way better with her at the helm. Isaac with his own abused backstory showed that he can be better and make his own decisions in spite of the past.

I dont think anything was meant one way or the other by the creators regarding gender - Isaac (a male) essentially ends her reign in what was an awesome battle (even if Carmilla ended it on her terms, id say thats just more the megalomaniac she has become in not letting anyone have the last laugh on her).. I also agree with supaguy’s comments on Sypha.

@boxyguy I cant help but think that when a show like this is praised theres inevitably people who are motivated to comment otherwise (possibly even for the sake of it). There’s a great many shows that others like that i dont watch but I dont go to any and every comments section related to said shows and trash them.

Im always interested in reading reasoned and thoughtful comments as to why someone didn’t particularly like a show, but the inevitable ‘it’s crap lol’ comments are pretty pointless.

@Arkay I dont mind the amount of swearing. I remember reading some of the initial complaints the show got in season 1 over it, but I feel that just exists to further sell just how dark and disgusting their world actually is. It kind of shows why Trevor himself is in the position he is in and in how he navigates the crap of the world and in finding reason or motivation to still be a hero.