‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ season 2 review: Revolution comes to dark fantasy animation

The character Richter Belmont, voiced by Edward Robert Bluemel. | Courtesy of Netflix

One of the beautiful things about animation is that it can often realize concepts on screen that live-action is still too limited to do justice. It’s one of the many reasons adult animation can give us dark, fantastical concepts with the literal stroke of a pencil. Yet, that doesn’t mean the stories they tell must be so outlandish as to be completely removed from our reality. Mixing real-world themes and events through vibrant color and artistic style is often more compelling.

Such is the case with Castlevania: Nocturne. The adult animated dark fantasy action series brings historical revolutions to the screen in an immersive and spellbinding way while delivering the artistic flare and exuberance that animation fans have come to expect and love.

In its second season, the series continues to delve deep into lore and history, presenting viewers with an expansive tale featuring compelling characters and high stakes.

Castlevania: Nocturne was created and written by Clive Bradley and led by producer Kevin Kolde. The show serves as a sequel to the Castlevania animated series and, like its predecessor, is based on the video game franchise by Konami.

The story focuses on Richter Belmont, a young man who belongs to a long line of vampire hunters. It’s 1792, and Richter and Maria—a teenage sister-like figure in his life—are both supporters of the French Revolution, holding regular meetings with those who back the cause. Yet, things grow deadlier when it is revealed that the ruling elite are working with—and sometimes becoming—vampires.

France’s rulers wants to usher in a so-called “Vampire Messiah” who will help crush the revolution and bring about literal eternal darkness by blocking out the sun. Richter is soon joined by two young Black revolutionaries from Santo Domingo who have been fomenting revolutions of their own in the Americas through slave revolts and uprisings. The four join forces, realizing that the vampire threat attempting to crush the French Revolution will do the same to other uprisings around the world, especially since many slave owners are also vampires.

Through this setup of the characters and historical setting alone, Nocturne has a vast playground to explore a range of themes connected to class politics, race, history, and religion. Luckily for viewers, it takes full advantage of it all, giving us compelling character arcs and storytelling.

Nocturne follows in the footsteps of Nosferatu 1922, allowing the vampires to be both literal monsters and symbols for real-world issues. The ruling elite of Nocturne want to restore the so-called natural order of the royal families and the aristocracy to rule over the “lowly” peasants and the enslaved. They see the vampires as powerful beings who rule the food chain, with everyone below being lesser than them. It seems like an easy alliance for the figurative societal blood-suckers to join leagues with the literal ones, and the series has no issue pointing the irony of that out.

In between the impressive action scenes are the characters’ pointed conversations regarding the ruling class and how any semblance of justice under oppression is often limited and biased. We are treated to quite a few beheadings of royals as well—something the French Revolution was famous for.

Each character, from their different walks of life, weighs in with an authentic voice that lets you know the series’ creators did not haphazardly come up with the vision for these characters but methodically planned them to help bring the story to a higher level.

The character of Annette stands out in the show as an escaped enslaved person who uses her powers to liberate her people and seek revenge against the slave owner who killed her mother. She is a young Black woman significantly connected to the deities of her culture. In the original game series, the character Annette is a white woman who simply serves as a damsel in distress for Richter to rescue.

The creators keep with the romance element—beautifully so—but allow Annette to be a full-fledged character with her own motivations and convictions. She also serves as a way to shed light on the slave uprisings happening in the Americas during the French Revolution, showing us that moments in history are not separate and apart but intertwined and influenced by one another.

While Annette stands out, other characters are just as engaging and essential to the story. Their identities and lived experiences add dimensions to the show that we would not have gotten had everyone been French and white. The Aztec vampire Olark, voiced with finesse by Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon, steals every scene he’s in. He’s an old-world vampire who has seen the damage humans can cause through the decimation of his original people.

Those who want the same old story-beats with characters who all fit a particular look will no doubt disparage the adaptation as being “woke” or “DEI” because they feel threatened by characters of color showing up prominently in forms of media in which they’ve have been historically excluded or limited.

Yet, make no mistake, Nocturne’s story is better for the expansion. As a reviewer, I bring this up and explain how it helps the story because there will be one too many “critiques” that will lambast this series for arbitrary gripes while only thinly veiling the fact that their real issue is that the characters of color are not in the background but are fully integrated into the main plot.

Nocturne doesn’t only bring the literal telling of historic revolutions to the screen; it brings a revolutionary element to the medium as a whole because it dares to boldly tell its story with the characters it chooses without trying to appease certain hostile elements of fandom that push ridiculous “anti-wokeness” ideas.

Our main character, Richter, is not to be underestimated either. His journey from traumatized young boy to young man with a purpose while showing his vulnerability is a great story to witness. While other characters are allowed to shine, Richter never feels sidelined, as it is clear the characters around him help shape his personal growth.

Maria is another powerful force on screen, as she is the staunchest supporter of the French Revolution. She’s a young girl who doesn’t shy away from what she believes, and this season sees her questioning her resilience while wondering if she should lead with fury or mercy against those who oppress others. Her conflict is often with the church’s role in dissuading the people from fighting for their rights, leading to some haunting dialogue and action sequences.

All these elements and more are brought together with gorgeous artwork that bursts out on the screen in a captivating way. The most significant shortcoming of season two (and the first season, for that matter) is that the episodes needed to be longer (on average, they are 25 minutes each), with more episodes than the eight we got. With the limited time, some story arcs don’t get as fleshed out as they could, and some characters could have done with more screen time. But wanting more of a series is better than needing less.

Viewers will no doubt go down a research rabbit hole on the French Revolution and the slave uprisings during this time—as they should. It was a complex and nuanced era in history deserving of more reflection and stories told. The series adds to this in a unique and engaging way.

Castlevania: Nocturne has excellent pacing, engrossing action, and a compelling story. It goes beyond the surface level and shows that one of the best ways to use the dark fantasy and horror genre is to incorporate real-world elements, giving the stories weight and resonance. Nocturne also proves you can do all this without sacrificing the fun and excitement often associated with great adult animation. Also, you don’t have to watch the first Castlevania series to enjoy Nocturne, although it is highly recommended.

Castlevania: Nocturne seasons one and two can currently be streamed on Netflix.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Chauncey K. Robinson

Chauncey K. Robinson is an award winning journalist and film critic. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, she has a strong love for storytelling and history. She believes narrative greatly influences the way we see the world, which is why she's all about dissecting and analyzing stories and culture to help inform and empower the people.