Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. When people think of the NES two games come to mind. Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. Which is understandable, these two games were the benchmarks of the NES. They pushed the NES to its limits and were liked by kids and adults of all ages. To this day both game series are going strong and have become the games that everybody owning a Nintendo product look forward to playing. But there was one other series on the NES that also helped put it on the map and is often forgotten by the masses. That game, is Castlevania. Castlevania is what I like to call the original Dark Souls the Dark Souls before there was a Dark Souls. It was hard, challenging, scary, and boy was it great. It was a game that sent you on a horror filled quest as you sought to take down the dreaded and evil Dracula while playing as a member of the Belmont family. There were 3 games and each one was as hard, challenging, and fun as the last. However, unlike Mario and Zelda, the series never really continued its success after its NES run. It did have Super Castlevania IV on the SNES and Symphony of the Night on the PS1 which many will argue is the best in the series but that was a remake and a spinoff. Over the years the series would continue with spinoffs but it never reached that same level of success and greatness like it had on the NES and overtime the series started to depart from its original concept until this year when Netflix released a 4-episode animated series on the Castlevania franchise. Released this past summer and based off of Castlevania III which served as the prequel to the series, many were worried as video game adaptions usually suck but this series proved to be the exception. It was a big hit, everybody loved it, and today we’re here to review it. I’ve been wanting to review this series for a while now and I can think of no better place to do it than in the climax of Ani-ween. The timing is right, the moon is out, there’s a storm coming in and Halloween is only a few days away. Let’s look at Castlevania the Netflix series.
The series starts with a woman named Lisa a young doctor who was chased out of her village because she practiced science which everyone mistook for witchcraft (the people of this era were idiots). Seeking to expand her knowledge of science in an effort to help the world, she made the daring journey to Dracula’s castle past the field of impaled skeletons (yeah, they might be unsettling but they keep Jehovah’s Witnesses away). She enters the castle where she comes face to face with Dracula and in a rather cool scene she shows no fear whatsoever to him. She talks to him like a normal person, calls him out for not showing hospitality, and even offers to restore his faith in humanity (it’s like the show is giving the finger to Twilight and showing them this is how you make a vampire love story. Scene here: https://youtu.be/0uLFL4b4jYg). Dracula likes Lisa and gives her access to his vast knowledge of science and takes her up on her offer to give humanity a second chance and even getting married offscreen. 20 years later she was captured by the church where once again they accused her of being a witch and burned her at the stake. In her last moments she calls out to Dracula begging him not to seek revenge and become better than them (turn the other cheek man, turn the other cheek). Alas, poor Dracula was destined to wonder the land a former shell of a man having lost the love of his life (https://youtu.be/lxDInu6wOYg?t=09s). Once Dracula hears the news about Lisa being killed by the church he returns to his roots and vows revenge for his love. He appears before the town as a gush of fire and vows to take everything away from them within a years time (he wants you all to live in fear. Scenes here: https://youtu.be/JexVC8vYABM, https://youtu.be/whfuY16dABs, https://youtu.be/7t6UFNF5nLw, and https://youtu.be/w8S8aMQUC6U). A year passes and an archbishop comes out and gloats on how Dracula couldn’t deliver on his promise to destroy them but all of a sudden the sky goes dark and Dracula appears unleashing the gates of Hell on the city giving us some of the goriest stuff I’ve seen since Hellsing Ultimate and once they’re done there he wants them to head out to all the corners of Europe and kill every last human they find (scene here: https://youtu.be/hb8gv8YYs_o). After that intense scene of violence, we cut to a tavern where a bunch of drunks are chatting and we see our vampire slayer for the series Trevor Belmont.
Episode 2 opens up back up at the tavern where the drunks blame the state of the country on the royal families specifically the Belmonts. You see originally the Belmonts wanted to go to war and defeat Dracula once and for all but the church got involved and pinned Dracula’s attacks on them saying that they dabbled in black magic. This caused the family to be excommunicated, lose everything, and get blamed for Dracula’s attack. Trevor is now the last of the Belmonts and just spends his days drinking and eating (such is the life of a vampire killer) and just watching the gore Dracula unleashes in the name of vengeance. He gets into a fight with the drunks where they kick him in the balls twice (man, and people call me a dirty fighter when I do the Green Mist) but he manages to beat them and leaves (scene here: https://youtu.be/sJWcR5icdkA). He makes it to the city of Gresit, which has been attacked by Dracula’s forces every night (causing the body count to go up big time). He gets in using the shit pipes (his words not mine) where he explores the city and talks to the citizens who blame the Speakers a group of traveling magic users for the constant attacks (really? Are you sure it’s not because the church killed the wife of Dracula for no apparent reason?). Trevor saves the Elder of the Speakers from two corrupt priests by whipping off the finger of one priest and then whipping out the eye of the other (scene here: https://youtu.be/a7TSQC25w6A, damn). The Elder takes Trevor back to the hideout of the Speakers where he insists that they all leave as he doesn’t want any harm to come to them (you’re sober again, Trevor) but the Elder refuses to leave without his granddaughter Sypha who has gone missing after venturing into the city’s catacombs to look for the “sleeping soldier”, a legendary hero said to have the power to defeat Dracula (where was he about a year ago?). Trevor begrudgingly agrees to find Sypha on the condition that when he does they leave the city not helping anyone and getting to safety. The Elder agrees to his condition and he heads out to find Sypha (and some booze).
In episode 3 Trevor enters the catacombs (or rather falls through various floors which lead him to the catacombs) in his search for Sypha. In his search he notices that the catacombs are constructed with unusual devices (i.e lightbulbs and pipes. It’s the work of the devil I say) which can only be found in Dracula’s castle. His search for Sypha ends rather quickly when he comes across a cyclops and beats it saving Sypha who was turned to stone by the beast (scene here: https://youtu.be/9t-pATq6c5k). He takes her back to the Elder and the other Speakers and she insists on returning back into the catacombs still convinced that the “sleeping soldier” is down there but Trevor tells her to give it up. While the cyclops’s presence does hint that something is down there the fact that there are Dracula devices down there is another hint that whatever it is can’t be good for mankind. After saying this he takes his leave saying that he’ll help the Speakers leave at night and when he steps outside he gets captured by the priests who take him to meet the bishop (the same bishop who was the one responsible for killing Lisa which caused all this mess in the first place). The bishop tells Trevor to leave Gresit before sundown as he and the rest of the priests plan to kill the Speakers as they’ve convinced everyone in town that by killing the Speakers they can stop the nightly attacks (you know, this is a whole new level of insanity for the church). The bishop tells Trevor not to interfere and he’ll restore his family name but Trevor tells the Speakers what’s going on (crazy priests refusing to listen to logic and reason and do the crazy nonsensical thing. In other words, just a normal Friday for them) and they decide to stay refusing to let the people be lead down the wrong path (man, the Speakers are like the Mormons. They’re unbelievably nice and understanding that it’s almost scary). This inspires Trevor to help them once again, and he hides them in the catacombs with the dead body of the cyclops (they’ll be safe there) and takes on the priests and the mob before escaping into the city just as Dracula’s army is about to descend upon them (what a terrible night for an attack).
The final episode starts on a high note with the bishop getting killed by demons as they thank him for allowing all of this to happen saying they wouldn’t be here without him (you know you fucked up when even demons are thanking you. Scene here: https://youtu.be/RvGejozBe-g. You know as satisfying as this death is I was hoping Dracula would do the deed. He killed the man’s wife). Back with Trevor the mob and priests trap him in the city’s square where he gets saved by Sypha who can use magic (awesome). Trevor reveals the misdeeds of the church and the people of Gresit attack the priests (easy crowd to persuade. I mean just moments ago they were all set to kill him but then he reveals the misdeeds of the church with no evidence, mind you, and they believe him). Once the corrupted priests are dealt with, the demons are making their way to the square and Trevor tells everyone how to defeat them (holy water, salt, a whip, and lots of rage). As they fight the ground collapses on them and Trevor and Sypha fall into a deeper part of the catacombs (maybe they’ll fight a werewolf with retractable metal claws this time). After escaping a few deaths and falling numerous times, they managed to reach the end of the catacombs where they find the “sleeping soldier” aka Alucard the son of Dracula and Lisa. Remember that guy in the first episode who tried to stop Dracula from seeking vengeance, that was Alucard. Dracula severely injured him but he managed to escape to his underground coffin where he’s been spending the year recovering from his injury and resting up for the time when the chosen ones would come to awaken him and help him defeat his dad. Before joining them he and Trevor have an awesome fight scene with each other where both men get to show off their skills (trying to establish the alpha male of the group) and end the fight on a draw. Alucard joins their group and we end with the Belmont Experience (we will work on the team name) getting set to head out for Dracula’s castle (you might want to take care of that demon problem going on in Gresit first).
Final Thoughts
So that was Castlevania the series and can we just take this time to celebrate because after years of waiting they finally did it. They finally gave us a video game adaptation that works. This series does an excellent job paying homage to the original series while adding its own spin to the series. The dialog in this series is great along with some good animation that matches the tone and setting from the game. This is what everybody wanted Berserk to look like. It’s dark, violent, gory, and scary just like in the games. The characters are great as well. I like how Trevor is this noble but drunk vampire killer who despite being betrayed by his countrymen continues to fight and live on in the name of his family and for the few good people left in the world. He’s exactly how I always imagined he would be like if not better. Sypha is a good foil for Trevor. I like how she thinks from a more logical standpoint than him. While she’s not as well verse in monster knowledge as Trevor, I do admire her attitude to stand up to him and make him rethink his actions. It’s also great to see that she won’t be some damsel in distress as she shows her worth and fighting prowess by being able to do magic which will go great with Trevor’s fighting style. While Alucard didn’t get much screentime that bit with him in the last minutes of the episode establishing his character as well as his fighting style and personality was well done and I look forward to seeing the banter he and Trevor have in the future as these two are like the complete opposite of each other. While Trevor is great I think my favorite characters in the show are Lisa and Dracula. I just love how Lisa showed no fear when she came face to face with Dracula and actually had the balls to call him out on his rude behavior. Stuff like that is great and makes me wish we had an episode to see more of her as well as her relationship with Dracula. Speaking of Dracula, I like how they gave him a justifiable reason for attacking everyone. He’s not just spreading chaos for the fun of it but rather doing it out of anger and sadness for the loss of the only person he truly loved and it’s all justifiable. They turned this monster among men into a tragic Shakespearian character who tried to be human for the one he loved only to lose her and return to his monster roots. The stuff with the church may have been a little cliché but for a series like this I think it was necessary and welcomed. As a Christian, I’ll be the first to admit that we’ve made a lot of dumb mistakes in the past.
The animation as I said before is good. It really does feel like the game has come to life and the designs of the characters and monsters look great. The music could use a little more work. While not bad I do feel it didn’t add much to the weight or atmosphere of some scenes. Some scenes it does but a majority of the scenes just fall flat when it comes to the music. The fight scenes were great. The bar fight was funny, the Trevor and Alucard fight was incredible, and the level of gore, violence, and brutality is on par with Berserk (the original not the new one) and Hellsing Ultimate. So for those of you who get easily disturbed by blood and gore this is not a show I recommend for you.
Final Score
The final score for Castlevania is 8.5/10 with a must watch stamp of approval. This is how you do a video game adaptation correctly. The series has already been renewed for a second season next year so I’m excited to see what happens for the Belmont Experience. Thanks for reading and tune in next week for the Project Nitsuj Halloween special. Now’s the time when I do my maniacal laugh and something bad happens to me. Well I’m sick of it! Why does this keep happening to me? Can someone give me a sign or reason?
*Lightning shoots through the window and strikes Nitsuj*
(Nitsuj): AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!
*Nitsuj falls to the ground unconscious as Baron and Corbin rush in to check on him*
(Corbin): Holy cow! Nitsuj, speak to us!
*Nitsuj slowly begins to gain consciousness*
(Baron): Oh thank God! Nitsuj, are you okay?
(??? Nitsuj): I am better than okay. I. . .am. . .broken!
(Baron and Corbin): . . .cool.
To be continued next week
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