During the Netflix Geeked event, the company showcased a very brief tease at its new series, Castlevania: Nocturne. The show stars Rondo of Blood poster boy Richter Belmont in a slightly different anime art style than the one his ancestor carried off to great success.
The Castlevania series ended on a high note, while at the same time leaving the doors open for continuation thanks to Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades welcoming their son Simon to the anime’s world. Thus, a new series was first announced roughly a year ago with confirmation that it would follow Richter, the other Castlevania guest character from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, who’s looking quite different from past iterations.
The Castlevania: Nocturne announcement did not give away much at all, but it did shock many fans thanks to the official reveal of its protagonist. As fans can see in the teaser, the protagonist is, among other things, sporting a radically different hairstyle, though one that still finds its roots in some of the franchise’s original artwork. With this also came confirmation of prior plot elements, such as Nocturne being inspired by both of the games that Richter is known for and two of Castlevania's greatest entries, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, with the entire story arch being set during the French Revolution.
Naturally, Richter is armed with the Belmont family’s prized weapon, the vampire killer. Yet, this more stylized character design already hints at a renewed aesthetic to further reinvigorate Netflix's rare success with this video game adaptation. Already in production, the vampire anime's creative direction will lie in the hands of the Deats brothers, Adam and Sam, who spearheaded the entire Castlevania series, with Sam Kolde stepping in for disgraced showrunner Warren Ellis.
Nocturne borrows its name from the eponymous lullaby originally featured in Symphony of the Night's score, though that one is also available on the Rondo of Blood remake The Dracula X Chronicles; or it might as well be a reference to the obscure Japanese radio drama Castlevania: Nocturne of Recollection, which takes place shortly after the events of that game. It’s precisely that PSP title that seems to have jumped onto the artists' minds when creating this Richter, as the lighter brown curly hair more closely resembles that of the illustrations where he has a longer hairdo.
Regardless of these details, the teaser does appear to have garnered a positive online response from fans, not that Netflix's handling of Castlevania really can’t be worse than Konami's. As one of gaming's classic franchises, Castlevania still doesn't fail to get its fans hyped over new content despite its absence as of late from the video game space.
Castlevania: Nocturne is currently in production.
Source: Netflix | YouTube