Castlevania: Nocturne - "Vampire Revolution" [EN - ES]
The Netflix original anime, Castlevania, based on the video game of the same name, is one of the best animated productions of that streaming platform; the evolution of story, character development and especially its animation is what I appreciated about this story of magic, terror, love, hunters and vampires; that's why with the release of a sequel/spin-off of that anime, my attention was directed to enjoy a new story that recreates more than anything the animation of the last two seasons of the previous series and I can say that with a more direct and even smoother story, Castlevania: Nocturne in its first eight episodes seemed correct to me, with lower quality in certain aspects for example in the way this new story is told, but with an excellent animation that made me want to see more and precisely my wishes were answered with the premiere of a second season last January.
SPANISH VERSION
El anime original de Netflix, Castlevania, basado en el videojuego del mismo nombre, es de las mejores producciones animadas de esa plataforma de streaming; la evolución de historia, desarrollo de los personajes y especialmente de su animación es lo que aprecié de esta historia de magia, terror, amor, cazadores y vampiros; es por eso que con el estreno de una secuela/spin-off de ese anime, mi atención se dirigió a disfrutar de una nueva historia que recree más que nada la animación de las últimas dos temporadas de la anterior serie y puedo decir que con una historia más directa y hasta más suave, Castlevania: Nocturne en sus primeros ocho episodios me pareció correcta, con menor calidad en ciertos aspectos por ejemplo en la manera de relatar esta nueva historia, pero con una excelente animación que me hizo querer ver más y justamente mis deseos fueron respondidos con el estreno de una segunda temporada el pasado mes de enero.
To get into context, about my opinion of the second season of "Castlevania: Nocturne", I will make a brief synopsis of its story which takes place many years after the fights made by "Trevor Belmont" and "Sypha Belnades" who from them originated a new generation of hunters who now share the abilities of the Belmont family hunters and who can now use magic on Sypha's behalf; One of those descendants is "Richter Belmont", a young man who because of suffering a childhood trauma, can not fully achieve his power as a hunter, but the arrival of a vampiric messiah in a remote French village, will make the young Belmont, must join a group of allies to face the apocalypse in the midst of the French Revolution.
The second season offers a story just as straightforward as the previous one was, although I think it could have used fewer episodes, but I think that since there are so many characters it was to be expected that some should have a better development than others; the above described is both a virtue and a deficiency in the story, but one that has a certain value when you get a complete perspective of this particular story. In this batch of eight episodes, Clive Bradley, creator and screenwriter of this series, decides to soften even more the tone of the story, where both the horror or gore is much less; I am convinced that his goal was to make a fun story where the love relationship between "Richter" and "Annette" is the basis for this story offering romance, comedy and the main reason for the great final confrontation, something that I thought was good, but I think the lack of drama or better development of the characters detracted from its relevance, something contrary to the story of "Maria Renard" which I consider as the MVP of the season.
SPANISH VERSION
Para entrar en contexto, sobre mi opinión de la segunda temporada de "Castlevania: Nocturne", haré una breve sinopsis de su historia la cual se desarrolla muchos años después de las luchas que realizaron "Trevor Belmont" y "Sypha Belnades" quienes de ellos se originó una nueva generación de cazadores que ahora comparte las habilidades de los cazadores de la familia Belmont y que ahora pueden usar la magia por parte de Sypha; uno de esos descendientes es "Richter Belmont", un joven hombre que a causa de sufrir un trauma de su niñez, no puede alcanzar por completo su poder de cazador, pero la llegada de un mesías vampírico en un remoto pueblo francés, hará que el joven Belmont, debe unirse a un grupo de aliados para hacer frente al apocalipsis en plena Revolución Francesa.
La segunda temporada ofrece una historia igual de directa de lo que fue la anterior, aunque creo que se pudo usar menos episodios, pero creo que al existir tantos personajes era de esperar que algunos deberían tener un mejor desarrollo que otros; lo antes descrito es una virtud y a la vez una deficiencia en la historia, pero que tiene un cierto valor cuando se obtiene una completa perspectiva de esta historia en particular. En esta tanda de ocho episodios, Clive Bradley, creador y guionista de esta serie, decide suavizar aún más el tono de la historia, en dónde tanto el terror o el gore es mucho menor; estoy convencido de que su meta era hacer una historia divertida en dónde la relación amorosa entre "Richter" y "Annette" es la base para esta historia ofreciendo romance, comedia y el principal motivo para el gran enfrentamiento final, algo que me pareció bien, pero creo que la falta de dramatismo o mejor desarrollo de los personajes le restó relevancia, algo contrario con la historia de "Maria Renard" la cual considero como la MVP de la temporada.
Regarding the animation, there is no doubt that it is the highest point of the season; there is no scene directed by Sam and Adam Deats, where the opportunity to show the beautiful and almost perfect animation is lost; the decision to make fun, dynamic and fast action scenes in the first episodes was the right thing to give everything in the last episodes that pleasantly surprised me; just that style of animation was the one used in the final season of the series that starts this anime franchise and although I think it is not at such a high level, it still manages to be a good visual experience, as it tries to differentiate using bright or bright colors, which seems to print more dynamics to the scenes.
SPANISH VERSION
Con respecto a la animación, no hay duda que es el punto más alto de la temporada; no hay ninguna escena dirigida por Sam y Adam Deats, en dónde se pierda la oportunidad de enseñar lo hermoso y casi perfecto de la animación; la decisión de hacer divertidas, dinámicas y rápidas escenas de acción en los primeros episodios fue lo correcto para dar con todo en los últimos episodios que me sorprendieron gratamente; justamente ese estilo de animación fue el que se usó en la temporada final de la serie que da inicio a esta franquicia de anime y aunque opino que no se está a tan alto nivel, de igual manera consigue ser una buena experiencia en lo visual, ya que se trata de diferenciar usando colores vivos o brillantes, lo cual parece que imprime más dinámica a las escenas.
The second season of Castlevania: Nocturne is not perfect, far from it, I think the rushed in the story affects the development of certain characters, mainly in its main characters and that can cause some disconnection with the story, but in turn, as there is another group of characters, with a better story or better development, is what creates expectations for what this anime can offer in the future, which is something I look forward to know some positive news about the renewal of the series because I need to see more of these stories that despite getting an ending, the foundations for a better story are laid. If by any chance you played the video game or watched the previous series, don't miss out on this entertaining sequel between the struggle of good versus evil.
SPANISH VERSION
La segunda temporada de Castlevania: Nocturne no es perfecta, ni mucho menos, creo que lo apresurado en el relato afecta el desarrollo de ciertos personajes, principalmente en sus protagonistas y eso puede causar cierta desconexión con la historia, pero a su vez, como hay otro grupo de personajes, con un mejor relato o mejor desarrollo, es lo que crea expectativas por qué lo que puede ofrecer este anime en el futuro, lo cual es algo que espero con ansias saber alguna noticia positiva sobre la renovación de la serie porque necesito ver más de estas historias que a pesar de obtener un final, las bases para una historia mejor están puestas. Si por alguna casualidad jugaron el videojuego o vieron la anterior serie, no se pierdan de esta entretenida secuela entre la lucha del bien contra el mal.
Cover image edited in canva; the image was taken from the following source
I have used deepl.com as a translator
I remember when it came out and it was a huge thing. People were really skeptical over it given Netflix was only just starting to jump into that world of animation.
I do remember it being pretty decent, but for some reason I ended up just not watching beyond one of the seasons. Perhaps it was a long season break or something, I can't remember.
I do also remember seeing some backlash over some of the more recent episodes though.
I watched the first season of Castlevania and I thought it was very good, the animation was excellent, but the pause between seasons made me lose interest and that's why when I found out that the last season would be released, I decided to watch the remaining seasons and enjoy the story completely.
With "Nocturne" to be honest, the two-year wait did not seem so long and after watching only 8 episodes of the second season, I understand the time they took to make one of the best animations I've seen from a Netflix production and I agree that in story it is not the best, but in the action scenes and animation, it is very good anime, a very entertaining one.
I am struck by how you highlight the animation as the strong point, especially the vibrant colors and dynamic scenes. Mixing the French Revolution with vampires sounds chaotic, but if the animation holds up, it might be worth it.
The French revolution thing is an excuse to keep the story within an ancient era which I appreciate because it uses very little reality in a story with a lot of fantasy; this season keeps the vampire factors because in the end it's part of the basis of everything in Castlevania, but the use of other types of creatures is also evident.
I will not get tired of praising the animation in this season, it is outstanding, it is the best, it is quite dynamic and is what I expect to see in an anime, character performing the impossible, if you have not seen it I recommend it.
I like this kind of action anime so much that I can keep it in my favorites list and maybe watch it sometime
This particular anime has a lot of action, it's a straightforward story that is resolved very quickly, I think that's a good feature and now that it's finished, I recommend it even more.
I hope you will be able to watch it soon
My anime list has a lot of anime that I haven't seen yet. I will try to see soon.
Thank you for sharing this post with the community and for preferring us, it is a pleasure for us to have you here.
We hope to see you soon. Best regards!
It's always a pleasure to write for the @theanimerealm community, I hope to soon finish Dragon Ball Daima and write my review and then focus on other new (to me) anime I want to watch.