Und der 2. Teil der Zusammenstellung. Der Beitrag war zu groß, um in einem Zug hochgeladen zu werden:
Zitat:
TV Series Review: Castlevania – Season 1
July 15, 2017 The Disc
Castlevania’s first season is more like an extended prologue, a setting up of the characters, surroundings & circumstances. Each episode is about 25 minutes long roughly with the season being only 4 episodes long. Happily though, a second eight-episode season has been confirmed already.
Based off the Konami game series of the same name but particularly the 1989 game, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. The series follows Trevor Belmont of the fallen Belmont family as he tries to defend the lands of Wallachia from the hordes of Dracula.
The series begins by showing just how & why Dracula unleashed his army of Hell demons on the people of Wallachia. An interesting & thoughtful approach to the character, it makes for a compelling watch to see Dracula driven by emotion. As his army spreads across the land, the people place the blame on the kingdom’s noble families, including the Belmonts.
Episode 2 introduces Trevor Belmont who is trying to stay incognito because of the hatred towards his family. After a fight in a pub he ends up in the city of Gresit. The city is under attack from Dracula’s minions on a nightly basis. Trevor meets the Speakers, a group who travel city to city offering aid. However they are due to be executed this night by corrupt priests. They blame their use of magic as the reason for Dracula’s rage.
Trevor tries to get the Speakers to leave but they refuse as one of their own is missing having gone into the catacombs to find the ‘sleeping soldier’. A fabled legendary warrior who can defeat Dracula.
The third episode is the slowest of the 4 as Trevor finds the missing Speaker but battles a cyclops in the catacombs. He discovers they are in Dracula’s castle & that it can be transported wherever the vampire wants.
After defeating the cyclops, Trevor meets the Bishop of Gresit who turns out to be closely linked to Dracula. Planning to kill the Speakers tonight, he offers Trevor a deal. Leave & he’ll restore his family name. Trevor refuses & prepares to face off against the mob the clergy have arranged.
The final episode sees night fall on Gresit & Dracula’s monsters entering the town. Along with the townspeople, Trevor fights the monsters but the ground crumbles underneath him sending him deep into the catacombs.
It’s here he finds the sleeping soldier & wakes him. Unfortunately for Trevor the legend wasn’t quite accurate as the man he finds is a vampire. They do battle & after a lengthy & well matched fight the vampire relents revealing himself to be Alucard & agreeing to help fight Dracula.
That ending! Absolutely loved it, the reveal of Alucard isn’t that much of a surprise for those who know the series well but it’s still handled fantastically well. While this season might be geared towards fans of the game, you don’t have to know anything about it to enjoy it.
Visually Castlevania goes with a Japanese Manga style with art that bears similarities to the Symphony of the Night game. Aimed at an adult audience, the blood & gore flies & there’s a hefty amount of bad language used. It’s very flashy which can get a bit tiresome during some of the lengthier battles but it’s a lot of fun to watch.
That’s really helped by the quality voice cast. Richard Armitage giving Trevor Belmont a sarcastic edge is a highlight while Graham McTavish’s Dracula exudes coldness.
As enjoyable as Castlevania is, it does have a few problems. The first & most glaring is that we’ve seen it all before. While watching you’ll get a familiar itch that deepens as it goes on. Eventually it’s maddening & you have to scratch it. Castlevania isn’t doing anything particularly original. A few too many times it will make you think of Vampire Hunter D.
The second major issue is the pacing. The first episode packs in so much that during the latter half of the second & whole of the third not a lot goes on! Once Trevor is introduced, it goes a little flat. It doesn’t quite grab the attention in the same way.
Thankfully it pulls it back for a frantic fourth which leaves you wanting much more from this story. A very positive start, the issues here can be easily rectified for the second season.
Castlevania lives!
The Final Score - 7/10
https://gbhbl.com/tv-series-review-castlevania-season-1/Zitat:
Castlevania: 8 Things That Worked (And 7 That Didn’t) On Netflix
07.14.2017
by Renaldo Matadeen in Lists Comment
Fans were excited when Netflix announced an adaptation of Konami’s popular 1989 video game Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. This game focused on Trevor C. Belmont, an ancestor of the franchise’s original hero Simon Belmont, working together with the pirate, Grant Danasty, as well as Alucard (Dracula’s son) and Sypha Belnades, a young sorceress. This Castlevania adaptation would change things up a bit but under esteemed comic book writer Warren Ellis, who crafted a dramatic and powerful story. Ellis brought the creative dynamism he employed to other adaptations, such as G.I. JOE: Resolute and the Marvel Anime series involving Iron Man, Wolverine, Blade and the X-Men.
Along with Ellis, Adi Shankar was one of the executive producers on the project and after working on things such as Karl Urban’s Dredd and short films involving the Punisher and Power Rangers, you know the degree of violence you are about to get into. However, as flashy as the four episodes were, there was still a lot of tension and substance added in to the horror story. In fact, it had elements that made you wish it were made for cinema or a television live-action adaptation. That said, it also had its flaws, so CBR decided to look into what worked and what didn’t!
15. WORKED: THE ACTION
The action sequences in this show threw anime fans back to epic battles found in properties like Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D and Blood: The Last Vampire. Powerhouse Animation Studios worked with Shankar’s team and Frederator Studios, and brought its own expertise over from Mortal Kombat X and DC Universe Online to the mix.
What we got was something that felt and looked like classic anime. It was super fluid and had a retro ebb and flow, while still feeling as fresh as, say, the new Voltron cartoon ( which is on Netflix as well). Seeing Trevor cut down monsters, Dracula’s raids on humanity, and the overall effects of the world of Wallachia as it became torn by war and violence gave us gritty and action-packed sequences, leaving fans familiar with the property both aghast and in total awe.
14. DIDN’T WORK: TOO SHORT
This series felt like one movie chopped into four chapters and it was clear when you saw how abruptly each episode ended. The first one delved into Dracula’s backstory, with the remaining chapters expanding on Wallachia and how it was affected by his reign. They also informed us about Trevor as the last of the Belmonts, the Church as the main antagonist, as well as the Speakers (disciplined wielders of knowledge and magic).
We also got insight into Alucard and his family dynamic with Dracula. What these other episodes did was set up the sympathetic villain in Dracula, the real villain in the religious order and also, the protagonist team (including the spellbinding Sypha) to go after the vampire. However, the finale ended right when they headed off to Dracula’s castle and left us on a cliffhanger that won’t be resolved until 2018.
13. WORKED: THE ADULT THEMES
If you’re familiar with Ellis’ body of work, you’ll know he doesn’t pull punches in his stories. Castlevania was packed with profanity (as you’d expect from the writer) and revolved around very taboo subjects including… well, we’ll let you find that out for yourself. Then there was Trevor, who came off like a drunk Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. His character development was pretty spot on, but apart from all this cursing and talk of sex in the bars he frequented, we would rather focus here on all the bloodlust in the show.
The gore was off the charts as we saw men, women and children dismembered and skewered by various beasts from hell. Basically, the show held nothing back and left very little to the imagination, while at the same time packing in as much of Ellis’ nightmare fuel as possible. These adult themes undoubtedly left fans wondering how they would be pushing the envelope in 2018.
12. DIDN’T WORK: LACKED THE BELMONT BACKSTORY
Simon Belmont’s story is a huge thing in the Castlevania property. Diehards would have loved more insight into him and the rest of Trevor’s ancestors, their fallen House and just what the Belmont crest went through in the past. We knew they were once befriended by the Church before their unorthodox (and at times magical) methods saw them branded as heretics and enemies, so flashbacks, or even a dedicated episode to this past would have really helped. We wanted to see how the killer whip came to prominence!
We also wanted to witness how Trevor ended up like this, and the Belmonts’ history with the forces of Vlad Tepes, Dracula’s human identity. A fall from grace needs to be placed into context, especially as we saw that Trevor cared for humanity and wanted to be a hero. Also, watching Dracula take Trevor’s bloodline apart would have added to the rivalry.
11. WORKED: THE ANIME STYLE
This reminded us of what Netflix did for Knights of Sidonia and its Voltron reboot. However, Castlevania felt more polished, like Samurai X, really pushing us to petition Netflix for more series like this. This particular style was fit for action, sci-fi and horror, which begs for video game adaptations as well as comic book movies. Marvel and DC have echoed such a style in the past but they couldn’t find the right balance of look and story like this did.
Shankar is helping bring an Assassin’s Creed animated series to life at Netflix so hopefully, this style opens more doors of promise for the likes of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear, The Legend of Zelda or Doom. The possibilities are endless when you can tap into such a polished yet fluid style of animated and art.
10. DIDN’T WORK: LACKED A STRONG FEMALE PRESENCE
Sypha (a Speaker) was a pretty interesting character. We saw her evolve from a damsel in distress, rescued by Trevor, to someone who used her magic to help him avoid a mob. She grew stronger and threw verbal barbs as well, but it took a while to come. That said, apart from her, there’s no real female presence on the show.
Lisa (Alucard’s mother) would have offset this and she seemed set to in the premiere episode as the story opened up with her and her love for science drawing Dracula in. She was brave and bold, leading to a romance, but just when we started to feel for the duo, the story cut to her being burnt alive by the Church, which would incur her husband’s wrath upon the world. Such a male-dominated series deserved more fleshing-out for its female leads.
9. WORKED: THE MESSAGES
Ellis packed the story with so many deep layers. The message of man versus beast came out emotionally when Dracula tried to remain composed and in love, only for the very humans he hated to rip it away from him. Alucard then trying to restrain him in Lisa’s name further compounded the tragedy. Also, there was the story of redeeming a family’s name with Trevor.
These were great threads, as was the arc of religion being a tool that could be used to lead blind men astray. Ellis smartly wove in this modern-day issue between religion and science, too, with the latter being seen as a form of sorcery back then — showing that mankind were the true architects of the Dark Ages, and more so, they fooled innocents to perpetuate war.
8. DIDN’T WORK: LACKED DRACULA’S FAMILY
This was something that shouldn’t have been glossed over. We saw Dracula humanized through his meeting with Lisa, so a bit more insight into their romance and marriage could have built him up more. We’re supposed to be empathizing with him so things like his first kiss with her, their vows, Lisa announcing the pregnancy and the birth of baby Alucard would have truly painted them as a family torn asunder — and not just him as a man.
We also would have gotten more background into why Alucard was so stoic like his mother, as opposed to just one fatherly squabble that put him on ice for years. The backstory with Lisa would have also expanded on the traits of the father and son, so that when they meet we connect with all their despair. One episode was all we got to cover this ground.
7. WORKED: AWESOME MONSTER DESIGNS
You would expect an anime-influenced piece to go overboard with the monsters, especially in a vampire-driven story, but that wasn’t the case here. The bat-like creatures, as well as the Cyclops (with its Medusa-esque powers) looked simple yet badass. These subtleties really painted the show as one that wasn’t trying too hard, but which was still pulling off the cool factor.
Make no mistake, they were demonic — as seen when one of the bat-hounds held a baby in its mouth. However, for every gruesome aspect of their design, they looked unique while still having the essence of the video games. Maybe that will change when we see Dracula shift his true form from that of flames into something much more sinister. He may also have more armies from hell to unleash.
6. DIDN’T WORK: SLOW PACE
Don’t get us wrong, the slow pace didn’t kill the series but it could have been charged a bit more. The character development was great, the plot advancement was fine but at some points, the show dwelled on certain things and lagged. The bar fights, the meetings with the Speakers and some of the Church’s antics could have been run through faster.
Sacrificing these would have given us room for other threads such as Alucard and his daddy issues, or Lisa’s history with Vlad. Alucard’s fight with Trevor was a prime example of how speeding up the plot worked. If there were more episodes, this wouldn’t have been a problem, but given that only four were thrown our way, we’re seeing some fat that should have been trimmed.
5. WORKED: DARK TRAGEDY ANGLE
This was a fantastic twist because the dark tragedy gave us a villain we could have sympathized with and also, it really gave everyone ammunition to justify their war. It felt human as well, because this is a loss so many people endure in the real world. Thus Dracula had some justification to his actions.
It also lent so much to the Tepes’ family saga and drama, while placing all the chess pieces where they needed to be — namely the Church. With one romance burnt, Ellis also cleverly decided not to push a romantic agenda with Trevor and Sypha, keeping a love lost as the only one that matters… thus far, anyway. At the heart of every war is love, so as a catalyst, Lisa’s death hit the mark!
4. DIDN’T WORK: WALLACHIA SEEMED SMALL
Apart from Gresit, we really didn’t dive into Wallachia to see the extent of Dracula’s war, the reach of the Church, and how widespread the Speakers were. These things would have expanded the realm of Wallachia and really illustrated the struggles of the people, and just how dark things got when Dracula’s monsters began their reign.
What we saw kind of looked the same throughout the show, so next season, let’s hope we see some diversity in the people, the towns and maybe some rebellions here and there. Seeing the greater world frames things differently for us and shows the transition from a glorious time to one that’s now mired in blood. Ellis is great at world-building so next time around, this is one dimension that has to grow.
3. WORKED: VOICE CASTING
The voice casting on Castlevania was perfect. Richard Armitage really brought a sense of virtue to Trevor and it’s no surprise given how awesome he was as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit trilogy. His voice sent shivers down our spines in how regal it was. Graham McTavish (Preacher, Dwalin from The Hobbit) did the same, but with a sense of dread as Dracula.
James Callis (of the recent Battlestar Galactica stories) also impressed as Alucard, with Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha and Matt Frewer as The Bishop, all giving a cinematic resonance to the characters. In fact, fans compared the show’s sound to that of Game of Thrones, in that it suspended your disbelief because it felt like something real and close to home, even while being a nightmare far away.
2. DIDN’T WORK: NEEDED MORE DRACULA
Let’s be real, one episode with Dracula cutting loose just doesn’t cut it. We wanted to see him unleashed. After all, this is a hellspawn who lost his truest love to his greatest enemy! Also, a bit more of his fight with Alucard should have been shown so that we could have seen his grief and felt his anger. After all, taking out your own son illustrates the torment mankind is putting you through.
We loved how powerful he was depicted as being, especially on the magical side of things, but we needed a rabid beast. Something along the lines of 30 Days of Night would have been amazing because as scary as he was, we never truly got to watch him getting his hands dirty. Dracula should have been the one killing the Bishop that executed his wife. Also, is he asleep in his castle? Or just sulking? So many details were left obscure.
1. WORKED: WARREN ELLIS
Warren Ellis’ resume is stacked. He’s done work for so many comic book publishers that you would be hard-pressed to pick any specific one that stands out from his material. Be it at DC Comics, Marvel or even on the creator-owned front, he’s done some of the best-regarded stories in the history of comics.
His knack for sussing out what makes characters resonate with heart and soul rears its head once more here, from the inner-battle with Trevor, to his redemption story, to Sypha seeking justice, to Alucard wanting to follow his mother’s dream. Then there’s Dracula being relatable in his quest for revenge; and of course, the politics of the Church through the Bishop. Ellis’ plot rolled and roiled from there into a tapestry of death, tragedy and maddening redemption, or something very much like it. As always, he proved to be a master of the game (in any medium) and left us thirsty for more.
http://www.cbr.com/netflix-castlevania-worst-best/Zitat:
‘Castlevania’ Review: Does Netflix Do The Series Justice?
By Jeffrey Scott on July 15, 2017 in Horror, Reviews
Castlevania is one of those series that, despite consistent and stellar releases, has never reached beyond a fairly niche audience. I mean for fucks sake, there’s a damn genre of video games named after it (Metroidvania), but unless your fairly into retro gaming (or badass soundtracks) there’s a solid chance you’ve never really experienced the masterwork that these games are.
While there is some variation, the basic premise is you’re a vampire hunter, often of the Belmont family, who storms Dracula’s castles with your magic whip, murdering monsters, minions, and freaks of all shapes and sizes, occasionally busting open a stone wall to eat the (most likely rotten) ham inside.
For me, and I’m guessing for a lot of others, the best part about Castlevania is the monsters. From the MAN-EATER, a giant insect living inside a skull, to a mirror teleporting jester who cackles madly as he shoots lasers from his fingertips, these are some of the most creative bosses and enemies in gaming history, and an absolute joy to fight against for any fan of the macabre and grotesque.
And that’s the reason Netflix’s new Castlevania series falls a little flat.The action, done in that slick style only anime seems able to accomplish, all looks and feels great, but there’s just so little of it. Beyond Dracula himself, a few flying gargoyle like creatures. and an excellent fight with a Medusa/Cyclops hybrid these four episodes feature very little of the beasts that make the video games iconic.
Granted four episodes isn’t a lot of time to accomplish much of anything. More episodes are promised to come next year, but the streaming giant might have done better to keep this one in their money lined pockets until they had more to show.
The character work is pretty rudimentary as well. Our hero, disgraced Belmont clan member Trevor, is a witty enough protagonist, despite the occasional tacky one liners, but his two companions magician Sypha and Dracula’s do-gooder vampire son Alucard aren’t much more than their wikipedia descriptions.
I never played Castlevania 3, the game this tv show is based off of (my experience with Castlevania is mostly the Playstation era and above), so I couldn’t tell you if their more faithfully portrayed there. I also can’t say whether or not they will grow as the series moves on because, like I said earlier, this is just four episodes.
I didn’t hate what Netflix has gave us so far, but I didn’t love it either, certainly not in the way I love the games. With the crew assembled and Dracula’s demise imminent, I think next season has a shot at being a lot stronger. But until that season does come out, proceed with caution. Right now we don’t know if this series will be sharp as a whip, or moldy as wall ham.
http://horrorfuel.com/horror/castlevania-review-netflix-series-justice/Zitat:
TV Review: Castlevania
Brad WestonBrad WestonJuly 14, 2017
Like many others, hearing the announcement that there would be an animated Castlevania series evoked a number of concerns within me. Even after seeing the most well-established plot-driven video games fall to Hollywood’s curse of horrid adaptations, I was beginning to think that no franchise would break the voodoo that seemingly lurked over their heads, especially not one based on a game from 1986. How well can that possibly translate? What level of authenticity would it display, if any, and can it capture the magic of the timeless franchise that’s as old as gaming itself?
The answer is yes, yes it can.
It’s not perfect, but Castlevania’s jump to Netflix restores some faith in me that a video game story can successfully make the leap to television or film. Its wickedly intriguing villain, enthralling dark medieval fantasy setting, and solid voice acting and animation put it on the elite list of Netflix originals. It’s a faithful adaptation whose shortcomings come in the form of its limited episode cap and clichéd story devices that stop the season one short of excellence, but manages to tick most of the right boxes.
Adi Shankar, a man all too familiar with dark adaptations of older IPs, producer behind the R-rated Power Rangers bootleg, Punisher: Dirty Laundry, and many others, forms a perfect team with genius Warren Ellis, writer of countless violent animated series such as Wolverine, Blade, and 2009’s hit horror video game Dead Space. Both Shankar and Ellis appreciate what makes the original property so special, but they also clearly understand what elements are and aren’t needed to convey a drab world that still manages to contain a little fun and humour.
As I’ve said before in other reviews, a story is only as good as its villain, and Vlad Dracula Tepes may be the most recognisable villain in all of dark fantasy. Castlevania’s Dracula isn’t just an all seeing benevolent evil, he’s a broken soul. After experiencing a heinous tragedy and witnessing the loss of his greatest love, Dracula swears vengeance on mankind — and, as the audience, can we blame him?
It’s this sympathetic element that makes Dracula’s revenge so satisfying to watch. I don’t necessarily like the fact he’s butchering thousands of people and opening the pits of hell, but I understand his motives. Voicing Dracula with a deep crispness is Graham McTavish (Hobbit, Preacher), who does a stellar job of conveying the pain and wrath of the prince of darkness. It’s truly the standout voice of the series so far, and may be one of the best voice acting performances in recent memory.
In later episodes, Dracula loses all screen time. In contrast to the immortal vampire is the series’ alternate antagonist: the Church. The Bishop and the rest of the clergy goons are all-around evil, and as much as it makes sense with the themes of “fearing what is the unknown,” the church kind of seems evil just for the sake of it. The Bishop, who is voiced by Orphan Black actor Matt Frewer, is a down-right sinister man whose sole objective seems to simply be burn anyone who he thinks God doesn’t like. He’s an asshole with no real depth or purpose beyond being a brainwashed egotistical menace who makes you say, “Oh I really can’t wait to see this dude die” whenever he is on screen.
In most dark fantasies that involve vampires and eastern Europe, the protagonist is a shining champion of justice, destined to rid the land of evil. Here? Not so much. Ellis brings his signature grim satirical style to the series’ protagonist Trevor Belmont, who fits the antihero mould completely. He’s not just a wise-cracking and cynical drunk, however.
Castlevania continues the theme of fear and loss with Belmont, whose family has been persecuted by the church and deemed by the public as unholy monster killers. Trevor no longer cares for the follies of man, but through a clichéd turn of events, he again takes up the sword and whip for good. The voice behind the whip-branding monster slayer is Richard Armitage (The Hobbit, Hannibal), who does a mostly decent job of conveying Belmont’s constant brash and cheeky attitude, though sometimes his voice almost sounds too subtle for the character.
Joining him in his journey is the good-willed Sypha Belnades, voiced by Alejandra Reynoso (Winx). She’s not a female character shoehorned in for diversity and a neat tie-in to the original game, though; she acts as Trevor’s only positive influence and a morale bridge back to what his family stood for. She holds her own and serves as the conduit for some of the shows better lines.
Season one does a lot of character and world establishing in its four-episode run, but occasionally, Castlevania displays some more visceral moments as well as a few smooth animated action sequences. There isn’t a lot of over-the-top combat exactly, but the glimpses we get at the higher quality of animation stands out as perhaps Castlevania season one’s best instants that promise additional shining moments in the future.
Castlevania also shows off worthy character design of a series that oozes a legendary gothic style, especially that of the vampires in the show, who move and appear like vampires should. They’re graceful in a terrifying manner and maintain all the qualities a classic vampire should possess.
As you can imagine in a show with vampires, slaughter, talk of sex with animals, and the occasional F-bomb drop, Castlevania isn’t a show for the faint-hearted or the young. That said, Castlevania never oversteps its boundaries, despite how much Shankar and Ellis would like to push it. Instead, it actually utilises the shows gratuitousness nature in a stylistic manner, mainly in the form of its colour palettes and framing. An assortment of different shades of red constantly treat the eye, and the intelligent use of simple shots — like one of the Bishop’s hand slowly gripping tighter and tighter as he talked about his control on men — really unveil that the showrunners put thought into every aspect of every episode.
Containing only four episodes that run a little over 20 minutes each, Castlevania season one seems to be entirely devoted to establishing its core cast of characters as well as the factions within it. I could imagine doing so much in a four-episode frame would be a difficult feat, but a mature animated show based on a video game from the ’80s is probably a hard sell, so I understand Netflix’s hesitation to allow a grander first season. Unfortunately, this leaves Castlevania season with a lot left to be desired in the terms of a solid payoff.
The first season of Castlevania restores (if only a little) faith back into the idea that a video game can indeed break ground and successfully make a good story told via television or film. Luckily for audiences, however, season two has already been greenlit and will contain double the episodes, meaning there’s a lot to look forward to. For now, we can only hope the showmakers take the positive aspects of season one and step on the metaphorical pedal, capitalising on the shows violence, style, and deliciously dark setting.
http://www.geekbomb.net/tv-review-castlevania/Zitat:
AD: Netflix’s Castlevania Review
Published by Irina Curovic on July 12, 2017
So, I just finished Netflix’s Castlevania and I need to get some things off my chest. Let me start by saying that I am not a gamer and I haven’t played any of the Castlevania video games. I cannot comment on the quality of this adaptation in terms of its authenticity to the source material. Therefore, I will be looking at the show as a stand alone feature.
As you may have noticed I’ve been carefully avoiding the word anime. That’s because I cant’t in good conscience call Castlevania an anime. Anime, for me, has always been something that came out of Japan. I can’t exactly give you a valid reason for this belief. That’s just how it is. But, Castlevania does look like an anime. It feels like an anime. And to some people it probably is anime, regardless of the fact that it was made in the United States.
But, anime or not anime, I have to give credit where credit is due. Castlevania is actually a solid series. The story is intriguing enough, albeit all we got was the introductory part. The characters are interesting and show a lot of potential. The animation is of surprisingly good quality. The voice acting is superb. I guess the only big qualm I have with Castlevania is the music, because it doesn’t really accomplish anything.
Story & Characters
Castlevania starts off with a brief story about the vampire count Vlad Dracula Tapes. Dracula’s wife is burned at the stake after being falsely accused of witchcraft. Upon finding out about her death, Dracula unleashes an army of monsters and demons upon the people of Wallachia as punishment.
Distrust spreads through the country and people start living their lives in fear of Dracula’s wrath. Enter Trevor Belmont, a disgraced demon hunter, who unwillingly teams up with a Speaker magician – Sypha Belnades. The two set out to stop The Bishop’s misguided plan to sacrifice the townspeople to stop the demons from coming back.
Anyway, shit goes down, a fight ensues and Trevor and Sypha are plunged underground where they find Alucard, aka Dracula’s son. Distrustful toward the sleeping vampire, Trevor attacks Alucard and they end up inches from killing each other. Sypha then saves Trevor and Alucard pulls back. Alucard reveals the truth about who he is and what his plans are. With that out of the way, the trio sings kumbaya and heads off to slay Dracula and save Wallachia.
There is an obvious discrepancy between the first episode and the remaining three. The first episode recounts Dracula’s background story, setting the foundation for what’s to come. The main storyline begins with episode two. Even though, in such a brief time the show only manages to introduce the story and main characters.
It’s a minor pacing issue, which could have been avoided. For example by telling Dracula’s background story through a flashback in one of the latter episodes. But, considering the length of the show, pacing issues were to be expected.
Because the show is only four episodes long, there wasn’t that much time for character development. But, we still got to know them a bit. I liked Trevor’s cynicism and humor, Sypha’s devotion and strength and Alucard’s charisma. I trust they will have a good dynamic once they actually start their journey.
Animation & Sound
The animation is surprisingly good with shots that look downright gorgeous. The backgrounds are rich in detail, the characters look vivid, the action scenes are rather good and the show generally looks polished. So, despite the fact that there were instances where the animation was a bit lacking, Castlevania still gets a passing mark.
Now, when it comes to music, I have to say I’m disappointed. Not because the music is terrible, but because it doesn’t really accomplish anything. It just falls flat and you don’t even notice it’s there. The opening theme does stand out compared to the rest of the soundtrack, but it’s nothing extraordinary. The animation for the opening, on the other hand, is splendid.
Now, the dub for this show is impeccable. The entire cast did an amazing job at bringing these characters to life. Richard Armitage‘s performance as Trevor Belmont is absolutely flawless. James Callis‘s posh voice fits Alucard to a T. And Matt Frewer was the perfect choice for the voice of The Bishop.
Concluding Thoughts
So, what is my final say on Netflix’s Castlevania?
Well, it’s worth the watch. Castlevania has its shortcomings, but it also has potential to be a decent show. These four episodes succeed at introducing the story and the characters. Castlevania certainly peaked my interest and I’d really like to see how the story unfolds. Good news is, the second season, which will consist of eight episodes, has been announced for 2018. Hopefully, Castlevania will make use of its potential and come back even stronger.
http://mydevzone.com/animediscourse/index.php/2017/07/12/ad-castlevania-review/Zitat:
CASTLEVANIA Recap: (S01E02) Necropolis
Posted by Renee Lopez | Jul 11, 2017
In the first episode of Castlevania, we were introduced to our main cast of characters. We know Dracula’s motivation for seeking vengeance upon the people of Wallachia and why Alucard will be the one to try to stop him. We got our first glimpse of Trevor Belmont and we also got an introduction to the Bishop, a man who will undoubtedly play a key role in this story. Now we’ll see where all of this takes us in episode 2, “Necropolis.”
This episode starts where the first one left off, in the tavern in the small town of Murdenu. Bosha is still complaining about the Belmonts, much to the unnamed man’s chagrin. Just as Bosha starts to rile up him companions, the man stumbles his way to the bar and asks for another drink. The bartender is disinclined to give him another until he’s produced some coin. Fumbling through his clothes, the unnamed man doesn’t seem to have any luck, but unfortunately Bosha sees the family crest on his shirt. He identifies it as the Belmont crest right away, but the man tries to diffuse the situation.
It doesn’t work. Bosha and his cousin Kob come after him, and we get a little backstory about the Belmonts. The story goes is that the Belmonts were excommunicated by the Church and lost all of their lands because of their dealings with black magic. Bosha blames the Belmonts for bringing evil into the world and for the rise of Dracula so he finds this as the perfect opportunity to rid the world of one of them, but he demands a confession first. The unnamed man refuses and tries to set the record straight, and tries to leave.
Bosha stops him and an altercation ensues. After kicking the unnamed man right between the legs, the man admits his name: Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), the last son of the Belmont clan. After that things get a little comedic. Trevor does his best to fight off the four men, but being inebriated doesn’t help his fighting moves. After a few punches to the face and yet another kick between the legs, Trevor tries to fight back. “I’m Trevor f-ing Belmont, and I’ve never lost a fight to man nor f-ing beast,” he says as he wipes blood from his face.
The second wind is short lived as he is tripped and falls to the ground. Kob grabs a chair and slams it down on Trevor.
Somehow Trevor is able to stumble out of the tavern, perhaps he was the victor after all.
The next morning, Trevor awakens in a forest and he is a little worse for wear. Coming to a clearing he sees the ruined city of Gresit down in the valley. Knowing that this is the only place where he can find food for miles, he prepares to make his descent. Off in the distance he sees some stragglers from Dracula’s demon army leaving the city and he hears the screams of some of the townspeople. “Here we go,” he says, resigned.
While he’s in the town Trevor is able to buy some food and talk to the townspeople. He learns that Dracula’s army comes at night and attacks the people, but there are no defenses in place. The only people there to help are called the Speakers. Some townspeople hope that the Bishop will be able to fix their demon problem, while other people believe that the Sleeping Soldier will awaken from his slumber to battle the demon army.
Either way, Trevor is not too interested in the townspeople’s plight. He seems to have a complete disregard for some of their troubles, even going to so far as to spit as he passes by a mass grave. However, something does stop him when he comes across an old Speaker being harassed by two men of the Church. He warns the men to leave, but they refuse to listen. Trevor, being “stone-cold sober,” rather adeptly (and brutally) teaches them a lesson.
The older man introduces himself as the Elder of the Codrii Speakers (Tony Amendola) and leads Trevor to the Speakers’ house in Gresit. Curious as to why the Speakers are there, Trevor questions their motives, and the Elder tells him about what has happened in the town, the death of Dracula’s wife, and the Speakers’ need to aid the townspeople.
As keepers of oral histories, the Speakers are also there for another reason: they are looking for the Sleeping Soldier. Unfortunately, they lost one of their own, the Elder’s grandchild, who went down to the catacombs looking for this hero of legend.
The Elder wants to know what Trevor plans on doing next, and Trevor, still intent on leaving the townspeople to their fate has come up with a plan to sit on a tall tree and watch the city burn. This appalls the Elder, but to Trevor the Church has made it clear that they don’t need the help of the Belmonts to fight off the monsters.
Knowing that the Speakers will face the same fate as the townspeople, Trevor tells them to leave, but they have made up their mind to stay in the town. Trevor makes a deal with them: if he retrieves the Elder’s grandchild, then they will leave before nightfall. The Elder reluctantly agrees.
Before Trevor leaves, the Elder imparts some wisdom, “It is not dying that frightens us. It’s living without ever having done our best.”
“I don’t care,” Trevor says before he walks out.
Deep Thoughts:
Richard Armitage as Trevor Belmont is just perfect. You want to dislike him, but you can’t. It’ll be interesting to see his character evolve from an uninterested, uncaring drunkard to the Hero. It makes me look forward to his meeting with Alucard.
We got to meet Trevor and learn about him. I can only assume that in the next episode we’ll meet Alucard and learn more about him.
Did I already mention that Richard Armitage is great in this?
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TV Brew – Castlevania Series 1 ReviewPosted on July 12, 2017 by belleburr
We need more!Belle’s Non-Spoilery Review:
Confession time: I vaguely remember playing Castlevania back in the day. I knew the game existed, and would play it if I were with my cousins, but it wasn’t one of the ones I was obsessed with. So, coming into this series, I had only the barest idea of what it was about. Guess what? That absolutely doesn’t matter.
Written by Warren Ellis, this series comes out the gate telling you exactly what it is and then snatching the rug out from under you regarding those expectations. From the badass ladies (yes one of them dies, but even that was on her own terms, because of who she is, not because of the men around her) to the villains, who elicit unexpected sympathy even as you know that they’re completely in the wrong, this series is strongly written, beautifully animated and filled with social commentary that is brutal.
As for the cast, everyone brings their A-game: Emily Swallow, recently of Supernatural, combines warmth, intelligence and a no-nonsense attitude to give us scientist Lisa Tepes, whose love of learning and ability to see the good in anyone is the catalyst for the events of the series. Graham McTavish, who is everywhere nowadays, is genuinely terrifying as Dracula; you immediately know it’s about to go down when he shows up. Richard Armitage (apparently it’s a Hobbit reunion up in this piece) is brilliant as Trevor, a gigantic dork who’s exceptionally competent with pretty much any weapon you place in his hands, hiding behind alcohol and apathy to disguise a deep well of pain.Rounding out the cast is the legendary Matt Frewer as The Bishop, the kind of man who gives religion a bad name, who honestly believes his own hype and is shocked when things turn sideways due to his own behavior; Tony Amendola as The Elder, who is his polar opposite and a reminder of all the good belief can bring; Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha a badass bookworm of epic proportions, and James Callis as Alucard, who is tied to all of the above in unexpected ways.
This series left me wanting more; I was literally yelling at the television “That’s it?!” – and made me want to get into the game so I could know what twists and turns might be coming next. In other words, well done Netflix, well done.
5 fields of bone out of 5.
Ashley’s Spoilery Review:
When it comes to original anime, Netflix has been killing it! From Voltron: Legendary Defenders to Cyborg 009, Netflix has been breathing life into beloved series and drawing in a new crowd to anime. Castlevania, a series of action-adventure horror video games by Konami, is no different.
I’m deadly invested in Castlevania right now. Everything that was packed into those 4 episodes was just what I needed. You have Dracula going on one heck of a revenge bender because the Catholic Church burned his wife at the stake. He literally opens Satan’s screen door and lets all the air out in the form of ravenous bat-gargoyle things who pick humans off like unruly eyebrow hairs. He slashed his own son across the chest, causing him to go into a coma for a year because his son basically said he was being too petty. Man, what?!
Unlike Voltron and Cyborg 009, Castlevania is a video game series that has had many spinoff games since ‘86. For me, I was concerned how Netflix was going to take a game with a rich history and story and do it justice. I was not disappointed. Netflix dropped season 1 a few days ago and I was too ready! Before I even started, I already knew there were only 4 episodes and heard how some people were upset. Not me though.
In terms of Netflix series, we’re accustomed to getting 10-24 episodes in a day and binging all episodes before the day or weekend is up. This short season of Castlevania reminded me of my middle and high school days when I used to buy manga or japanese graphic novels/comic books. You would drop $10 or so on a book with 4-5 chapters, and be told at the end to wait a month for another 4-5 chapters. The wait was brutal especially since the last chapter always left on some kind of cliffhanger: Did the evil stepfather come back? Did the lead male’s horrid past come back to bite him? Sometimes you would have to wait 2 months just to see if the main couple held hands for the first time! As much as it sucked, it made me excited, pumping me up for the next book. I would look forward to picking it up and raving over newly formed friendships or character development. Even better, I would look forward to the discussion it led to with friends to talk about the what-ifs and endless possibilities.
Yes, I could use more than 4 episodes of Castlevania. Yes, I kinda wished there was a full season but at the same time I don’t. Instead of ending a beautiful moment in an instant, Netflix is stretching it out just like how you would with a manga or a video game. Some things are best enjoyed in pieces so you can take in the craftsmanship and appreciate the beauty in it’s story. You totally get that in 4 episodes and I’m satisfied for now.
Good job Netflix; you caught my attention. I’m over here waiting on season 2 like how I stalk my
Amazon purchases that give a tracking number. This is how series are supposed to be, spaced out so discussion can happen and excitement can build. THIS is how you create buzz around a series that is a trailblazer in its own right. Speaking of season 2…is it dropping next week or nah?
Rating: 4.5 burning wives outta 5 https://popcultureuncovered.com/2017/07/12/tv-brew-castlevania-series-1-review/