You must be Richter Belmont
In 2017, Netflix launched their animated adaptation of the Castlevania franchise to surprise acclaim. The show followed the exploits of Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades and Dracula’s son Alucard (the ensemble from Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse) as they tried to stop a vampire apocalypse brought about by a heartbroken Dracula. Using a conceit from the games, the sequel series picks up centuries later following the story of another Belmont, this time Richter (a descendant of Trevor and Sypha) as the world is once again threatened by dark forces.
Loosely inspired by the classic games Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, Nocturne follows the story of Richter and his friends as they fight against overwhelming odds. This includes his adopted sister Maria Renard, a magician who conjures sacred beasts, Annette, a powerful Vodun sorcerer and her opera singer companion Edouard, and Maria’s Speaker magician mother Tera. They unite to repel the various forces conspiring to ensure the rise of a Vampire Messiah intent of blocking out the sun, thus allowing vampires to conquer the peoples of Europe, and eventually the world.
Set during the backdrop of the French Revolution, Nocturne beautifully mixes historical events with dark fantasy elements as the aristocratic vampires of the French courts plot their ascension as the world’s dominant species. Annette has been reimagined here as a former San Domingo slave-turned-vampire-hunting refugee, which allows the show to draw historical parallels between the Haitian slave uprising and the French Revolution. The real Haitian slave revolt drew inspiration from the French Revolution, which in turn was influenced by the American Revolution, and the show deftly touches on all three through intertwining character threads.
The story mostly takes place in the town of Machecoul, the real life site of a famous massacre during the War in the Vendée, which was precipitated by the subordination of the Catholic Church to the French Government. The show takes several story beats from the acrimony between the church and the rebellion, mixing in real life conflict with elements of the vampire’s own designs for control of humanity. In Machecoul, patrician vampires, in exquisite masquerade attire, are found literally sucking the blood out of a disenfranchised proletariat. It can be a bit on the nose at times, but it works well within the confines of the story. The social commentary remains earnest without ever leaning too far into sermonizing the ills of the crumbling establishment.
The setting allows viewers to peek behind the curtain on both sides of the conflict. Our heroes battle foes who lurk in the shadows as well as their daylight accomplices, whose greed is a combustion point for the creeping rot already spreading within their institutions. Annette’s experience as a self-liberated slave dovetails with the larger narrative in France, providing clarity to both her plight and the plight of all the story’s marginalized people.
As a far-flung sequel set in the same universe, Nocturne can be enjoyed both by newcomers to the Castlevania story and as a satisfying continuation of the story that came before it. One of the joys of the game franchise is playing as various Belmont descendants throughout different eras, but with each experience feeling familiar to what came before. That legacy also functions as the bridge between this series and the last.
Like its predecessor did so skillfully with video game villains such as Isaac and Hector, Nocturne excels at drawing out compelling dynamics from initially one-note characters. All of the game inclusions get a glow up but the award for “Best re-imagining of a classic character” goes to Olrox. Making his video game appearance as a boss who turns into a dragon in the game Symphony of the Night, Olrox (here an ancient Aztec vampire) has been fleshed out with a backstory that intertwines with the larger narrative. He’s a man who has seen firsthand the damage that colonizers and revolutions can do. Introduced as a villain, like several other members of the cast, Olrax is more than he appears. Even in a world as cut and dry as Castlevania, many characters dance on the spectrum between good and evil.
That said, not all character have shades of gray. Every fantasy needs a good old-fashioned villain and we get a terrifying one in Erzsebeth Báthory, the Vampire Messiah. Erzsebeth, also know as the Devourer of Light, is based on infamous historical figure Elizabeth Báthory, a notorious Hungarian noblewoman and alleged serial killer. According to legend she and her servants were accused of killing hundreds of girls and women in the 16th century. Though the true history of Bàthory and her supposed crimes is murky at best, this version, a vampire queen who drank the blood of the Egyptian warrior goddess Sekhmet, is clearly influenced by one of the most profane legends about Bathory: namely that she bathed in the blood of her victims in hopes to achieve eternal youth.
On the other side of the conflict is Richter, who like Trevor before him, is undoubtedly the main protagonist. Most of the characters have connections to him in some way, with several large plot points revolving around those connections. But this show is an ensemble at its core. Each supporting character, from Olrox to Tera to the Abbot, is given some space to flesh out their intentions and motivations. There is even an entire episode dedicated to Annette and Edouard’s backstory. Still, with the Belmonts being the lynchpin of the story, the show further expands on the legacy of the famous vampire hunting dynasty. I won’t spoil it here, but suffice it to say Richter isn’t the only Belmont you meet this time around.
It’s made clear very early on that Richter, like Trevor, was raised in the Belmont tradition. This time around, we get to see some of how that was forged. In Castlevania, the death of Trevor’s parents and his struggles as an excommunicated member of the community they fought to protect but were ultimately betrayed by, is only referenced in exposition. Here the fantastic cold opening of the first episode sets the tone for Richter’s trauma. We see in vicious detail what drives him and also what wounds him, and it makes his journey feel so much more personal.
Bolstered by an excellent score with some key arrangements of fan favorite tracks like Divine Bloodlines (which plays over a particularly thrilling sequence), Nocturne starts off at a brisk pace. It steadily rushes along from beat to beat to its climatic conclusion, keeping up the high octane energy throughout, bolstered by gorgeous animation, top notch voice acting, and realistic if not occasionally nauseating violence. The show ends on a dramatic cliffhanger that will have fans of the original series (myself included) cheering and rewatching at length. It’s almost enough to forgive how long we may have to wait to see the adventures continue (given the current writers strike and other factors), but when they do, the ending promises that Season 2 will expand the world in new and exciting ways.
Season 1 of Castlevania Nocturne is now streaming on Netflix.
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