Castlevania - Netflix

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Awesome. I haven't watched a good vampire anime in a long time. Hmm, I guess this wouldn't qualify as an anime, but an animated series. The US needs a new term for adult based cartoons / animated series. Calling everything an "Animated Film" or "Animated Series" to avoid the term "cartoon" seems a bit off to me now.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I received an email from Netflix this morning telling me this series is now available.. and its only 4 episodes. I was hoping for a normal sized series. I'll watch it this weekend.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I just watched this and it was actually really good. I saw on facebook this has been approved for an 8 ep 2nd season as well. This season is basically a movie cut up in to 4 eps... they honestly could have just played it through.

Pros: Great animation... finally a western animation that isn't cartoony bullshit with realistically drawn humans. The sounds are great, music is limited to necessary moments. Very little time is spent on world building without completely leaving those new to Castlevania lore in the dark. No origins story here, There is a premise and you're thrown straight into it after that. No lengthy intro sequence you'll just skip after the first time you watch it. The gore is spectacular. Limited subtle humor that fits with what is going on when its injected.

Cons: The voice acting isn't terrible, but there is a lot of whisper-y characters. No one is straining their vocals for these roles that's for sure. It's only 4 episodes with a Legend of Legendary Heroes type finale... If you didn't know a second season was approved, you'd be pretty upset.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I watched this last night. It was enjoyable but way too short. I'd have rather waited another 6 months for a full season than get 4 episodes of an incomplete story. The voice acting wasn't that good and shifted way to much in volume from normal talking to whisper dialogue that had no reason to be whisper quiet. The action scenes were good but it felt like they spent as much time falling as they did fighting. Lol.

I'm looking forward to season 2 but it needs to be more than 4 eps.

[animequeen 12]

Just 4 episodes? I hope that they will add more, this anime looks promising. I will watch this once the series is complete. 

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

There will be 8 more... maybe more you never know. But it will all be season 2. This seems to be a new trend in television making. TWD and Into the Badlands first seasons were very short. I want to say Falling Skies was the same. New shows are expensive to make with the anticipation that there is money to be made off its success. But over the past few years so many shows have tanked hard after 1 season, these studios were just eating massive losses. I guess everyone is being a bit more conservative with things that aren't cop and doctor shows. It's still ok to lose money on those, but new fresh ideas? Nah 4-6 eps to test the waters.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I just binged Season 2. It was decent. I wish they'd just commit to 12 eps though. It was a bit slow, they introduced brand new characters that don't have much of an impact because they're being road mapped for the next season if there is one. The last three episodes are outstanding.. so you get a bunch of build up and a payoff.. I just feel like 12 episodes would have served it better. I felt like they kinda wasted too much time to where Dracula didn't really matter.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I forgot to reply after watching season 2 just over a year ago. It was much better than season 1. I like how they're keeping the series going after Dracula is dead. Considering they left multiple enemies in place for season 3 it'll be good to watch some more carnage.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

This season is 10 eps. Its definitely more of a build up to season 4. I hope we dont have to wait a whole year for this. Overall it was enjoyable. It was never boring, but you feel left hanging. The new characters are interesting.... well Lenore mostly 😍. Isaac is getting some serious development too. I enjoyed his plot line the most despite getting the least amount of time.

There are 4 different plots, none of them intertwine, well, Isaac and Carmilla/Hector's are loosely connected. And those are the two that are left unresolved. This season is also way more mature themed than the previous. Not only is there violence, but language and sexual content. 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Netflix is making animated shows like HBO now. I was not expecting the sex. After Dracula died in season 2 I figured the show would have another season to tie up the leftover plot lines, but they've built this up for the long haul. They could easily make multiple seasons going forward. I wonder if Alucard is going to eventually become evil. Some demented shit happened in this season. And I thought forge masters had some messed up powerful magic, then we see whatever the hell that one guy was with the crown control magic, wtf. I was not expecting that kind of power.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]