User reviews

You know, I never imagined Netflix's Castlevania would turn out to be such a solid series back when the first season came out. Season 2 was phenomenal and Season 3 might be even better.

Taking place not long after the events of the last season, Castlevania Season 3 starts off strong with a focus on dialogue and character development which continues on for the majority of the episodes in a slower pace than what we've been used to before but justified and interesting since now there are several new characters, the world and lore is expanding (amazing worldbuilding), and the characters we know already getting further development (well-written and voice acted). There's also a lot of politics and scheming, kinda giving you early Game of Thrones vibes, and all of it was intriguing.

And while that's great and all, we are also treated to some truly magnificent fight sequences where the animators flex like crazy. And since the story grows and flows properly, those sequences become even more enthralling and thrilling aptly personifying the world 'Climax'.

On a technical level, it's a straight-up bump across the board. The art, the animation, the sound design, the soundtrack, all of it has been improved and I loved it.

It's hard to say whether I prefer season 2 over season 3 or the other way around because my favourite character is Dracula. But what I can safely say is that if you've enjoyed the previous two seasons, Season 3 will surely blow your mind. There's so much in it I didn't even expect or imagine that I'm purposefully being vague in order to not spoil anything. Watch it asap, I highly recommend it. And if I were to rate Season 3, I'd give it a 9/10.

P.S Trevor and Sypha are so cute together. And BADASS!

Really solid production from Netflix that knows its target audience and doesn't pull any punches. Make no mistake; this is animated fare strictly for adults. And that's perfectly fine.

The 2016 production of Berserk has sadly skimped on production values, leaving fans of the longtime manga series with a sour taste in their mouths. Castlevania, however, scratches much of that same itch. It's gratuitously violent, dark as pitch, and set in a medieval fantasy world. The writers go straight for the jugular and pull no punches, obviously inspired by Berserk and other series like it. It's refreshing considering that the original owners of the Castlevania IP, Konami, have taken an obvious downturn in the quality production of their various legendary properties recently in favor of instead developing pachinko and gambling machines and firing longtime creative leads such as Hideo Kojima. Fans of the series need not worry, plenty of the classic Castlevania feel is here, treated with proper reverence by the shows writers and directors.

The animation is very good, and the art in particular is superb. Animated features and series have been steadily improving since the dawn of the HD era, and Castlevania continue to represent them well. The English voice cast shines as well, with Armitage's performance standing out among the others. He does a fantastic job as Trevor Belmont.

My only complaint here is the brevity of the series. Four ~23 minute episodes is not that much content, and it makes me wonder whether Netflix wouldn't have been better served to put this "season" out as a feature-length prologue film instead in order to advertise a lengthier season 2. But all-in-all, it's worth the time, especially to those interested in the Castlevania series, but even to those unfamiliar with it and in search of a gritty, well-animated, well- acted piece of dark medieval fantasy.

Netflix made a good choice adapting this franchise. Castlevania has a fluid history line, with iconic characters and a beautiful art design. The soundtrack is not bad either, some Gothic and melodic songs, that make you chill with every encounter through the series. The only problem with Castlevania is the lack of explanation in some parts, and the size of the first season (only 4 episodes).

Castlevania is loyal to the games and has some incredible art design.It deserves your attention.

I'll cut this short. Castlevania is only 4 episodes due to it being the prequel to the actual show, Season 2 will feature 8 episodes based on Castlevania 3. Adi Shankar might have questionable taste in makeup, but his work ethic is incredible. Every person working on Castlevania was made to play Castlevania 3 on an NES from Ebay. This show wasn't made to rake in dollars, its first and primary concern is to make it into a goddamn masterpiece and while its not finished so I really should be more responsible with the way I'm rating it, from what I've seen I'm damn impressed. The animation quality is incredible, above most Japanese anime which this show clearly mimmicks. Voice acting is perfect across the board, the action is visceral and gory, but not mindless. The story and its pacing is unique and doesn't pick up on many generic tropes. It's a unique prequel to what is yet to come.

This show is for adults, its almost objectively the best western "anime" (Korra was primarily animated by a Korean studio, that said I'd still rate this higher) and unless you like good bad movies enough, its the best video game adaptation I've ever seen.

Honestly I haven't felt hyped for anything for possibly a decade now, I've learned that hype results in nothing, but considering the directors work ethic, his past work, experience and what Castlevania is right now, I can't feel anything but hype.

This show is really really perfect and so underrated, i wanna thank the creators and all who contributes to make this show, please make more shows like this 💕💕

Season 1 - Amazing.

Season 2 - Outstanding Season 3 - Amazing and Outstanding Season 4 - Best of them all.

When I went in to watch Season 4 , I had my doubts. Usually , by the time of later seasons , some shows lose the narrative and wander around here and there but not Castlevania. Season 1 builds the story , Season 2 improves it , Season 3 focuses on character development and Season 4 brilliantly brings it to a close. Belnades and Belmont , "The" Alucard and the forgemasters. Each of their individual stories are brought to a fantastic close leaving the viewer satisfied as hell. No stone in their story is left unturned and while you once hated characters like Lenore , you warm up to them and while you once loved characters like Saint Germain , you turn cold towards them. Isaac who was a side character by season 2 but becomes one of my favourite in Season 4. Hector who I also come to admire later. The only cons I have which are in no way major is that the dialogue felt a little recycled as the writers just needed to fill out some space. The actions scenes were cool as hell but maybe too overused. The comedy was amazing and you have to give credit to the voice actors as their delivery is on point. For anyone that hasn't watched Castlevania , It is witty , funny , filled with suspense , brimming with horror , has amazing character development , has epic storylines that all come to interjoin with each other. THE best anime I have ever watched especially outstanding and unique amongst it's western animes. This show is a MUST watch.

MUUSST WATCH , Every episode is much better than the previous one all actions all twists and full of enjoyment you will never regret it and please leave good ratings so people watch it too

The Castlevania anime on Netlfix was fantastic. As a huge fan of the series, this was truly what it needed. I wanted it to be much longer though; at least 13 episodes or so. You can tell Konami took no part in the creation of this, because it actually had love for what the series was. On top of that, it follows my favorite Belmont, Trevor. While of course it had no "Vania-esque" music like the games, it did not need it. It felt in every way like a faithful Castlevania anime. Ignore the low ratings on here. Their opinions are utter garbage and are awful reasons for their scoring.

I eagerly await the next season and so should you.

When I fired this up, one of the most amazing things happened. I was 5 minutes in before I openly realized the characters were voiced in English and not Japanese! And really, really good voice acting! I know there have been good American animated shows and movies made, but to me, the last time I saw such great English voice acting paired with Japanese (style) animation was the Spawn animated series. I consider that series a classic and outsider... and now we may well have another!

There are obviously a number of quality pieces put into place to make this series - production, cast, writing. This is exactly the type of project a fan holds their breath and hopes, but does not have too high of expectations. Expectation shattered - this is high quality stuff! Very brutal content including horrific deaths of innocents, graphic violence, and no mercy shown... Hooray!!!

The villain, Dracula, is humanized immediately, which gives him cause and texture - not just a mindless slayer. The hero has a number of anti-hero qualities, which just makes him more interesting. Undoubtedly this series will unfold with a number of awesome battles and conversations that question morality, cause and purpose.

The content obviously will not be for everyone - wholesale slaughter of religions figures, women and children may prove to much for some, but for others? A true surprise and fun refreshing release.

Enjoyed like a fine wine 9/10

edit: finally got to the 2nd season, and while I won't change my score, the 2nd season is a disappointment. Everything is in place for success, production wise, but the content (by comparison to the first season) is restrained, common, Boring. the charm of the first season was how refreshing the content was, which included exciting, entertaining, sinister content. The first scene in season 2 attempts this, but does so in a completely anti-entertainment manner! All the fun of the first season is absolutely smashed right to begin with, then the viewer gets 2-4 episodes of dialog, with very little action, and when thing finally do get going? Not that interesting! What happened? It's like the main creative force behind the first season was intentionally fired, and someone more PC was hired to make a generic, boring (albeit well produced) sequel! I doubt this is what happened, and likely good intentions just led to an average product. But damn! I expected a way better follow up to what I considered an instant classic first season.

The latest season keeps up the momentum of the first two seasons. I just want more, so much more. I want a 100 episode season more.

I'm not going to waste your time. Make some popcorn, get a drink and start watching it... Thank me later..

Edit: I had to change the rating from a 9 to a 10 after seeing the trailer for season 4! What is up with this show? How do they do it? It feels like it's getting better every season! This forces me to write a longer review.

First of all, oh my god the voice acting! I've never heard better voice acting in any anime ever, period. And believe me, I've watched many animes from FMA, Attack on Titan, Dragonball and One Piece to less popular ones like Chobits and Ajin, both, in English and Japanese.

Then the character development! This show can seriously rival Game of Thrones in that regard. The characters are so well written and versatile that they truly bring this fictional universe to life! There are certain scenes and dialogues in this show that even thouch philosophical ground, truly remarkable and unique for an anime! I can't remember the last time an anime made me think about existence and identity.

What else can I talk about? The music is phenomenal, the animation is astonishing, the fights feel meaningful and inevitable and i love it when a show knows how to do that. The upcoming (and probably final??) season looks very promising as well.

Game of Thrones used to be my favorite show but now Castlevania takes the cake! Seriously! 10/10!!

In four short episodes that amount to just over one and a half hour, Castlevania does a good job of introducing its basic plot and characters. Due to time constraints, this is all the first season does, and they couldn't have made a better decision. The atmosphere is great and the static backgrounds are a treat to the eyes. The biggest problem is in the animation. Often, movements are limited and stilted. The voice acting is great, but the almost static faces fail to live up to what the characters are saying. Hopefully, the creators will have a larger budget in season 2(the show has been renewed for 8 new episodes), and will address the technical issues that prevent Castlevania from being as thrilling as it should,

Disclaimer: While I'm an avid gamer, I won't be judging this show for how well it adapts the source material, the Castlevania series of video games. Instead, I'll judge it by how well it stands of its own - as any honest reviewer should.

Mixed feelings about this one. Castlevania has some of the best visuals I've ever seen in an animated show, great action scenes, overall nice atmosphere. If that's all a show needs to be good, I'd give Castlevania a 10/10. But here's the thing: it's NOT enough. There are also things like story, plot structure, pacing, acting, characters... I'm sorry, fellow video game connoisseurs, but I have to say that Castlevania has some serious problems with those.

The premise of the show is as simple as it is dumb, but much could've been forgiven if the story that followed was developed and - more importantly - presented in a sensible manner. That didn't happen. Pacing is horrible - at times the show seems to drag on for no reason. There's a lot of filler, while the better parts seem to be compressed. The characterization of characters (the acting) and their choice of actions (the plot) are often idiotic to the point that it's distracting and immersion-breaking. The show is incredibly stupid and devoid of nuance, like it was deliberately made in such a way that even a five-year-old could understand it - a needless concession, considering the absolutely-not-family-friendly content of the show.

You know how when you're watching a really cheap, badly made live-action TV show, you'd sometimes think to yourself: "Gosh, that's so stupid. Why would they do that?" in regards to the writing decisions of the show-runners? That's how I felt about the entirety of Castlevania. Obviously, not every story can be (or needs to be) a Shakespearian work of art with deep philosophical undercurrent. But there needs to be at least some substance, a meaning, something, anything for the brain to latch onto. As it stands, Castlevania only has pointless filler, designed to carry the events from one action set piece to the next. And it's not the 'turn your brain off and enjoy'-kind of situation, either - the show is too slow and too pretentious for that, and there's no tension to keep you engaged.

The overwhelming praised this show has received is really surprising. I've seen people describing it as 'the best animated video game adoption'. Really? Are we really so desperate that we gobble up any soul-less piece of fan-service, as long as it doesn't outright butcher the source material? 'It's based on a video game' is not a valid defense, nor is it a valid excuse for the show being so stupid. For crying out loud, I've seen actual games that can rival the very best of movies, TV shows, and even literature when it comes to quality of writing and direction. There is absolutely no reason for us to be content with something as low-quality as Castlevania.

Action scenes and visuals are the only redeeming qualities of this show. Perhaps it is enough of a reason to watch it, but I suggest lowering your expectations quite a bit, unless you want to feel intellectually-offended.

I was in the mood for some great anime binge watching and FINALLY got around to watching Castlevania. Years ago I played the video game one time and totally sucked at it, so when this premiered I wasn't very interested. However, after reading several reviews I decided to give all four seasons a shot and I am glad I did. This was fantastic on so many levels, but for me the stand out was the absolute stellar voice acting. Richard Armitage shines as Trevor Belmont, and Graham McTavish brings the thunder as Dracula. After I watched all the episodes, I just went back and started watching them again. If you haven't watched this or are on the fence don't hesitate any longer. If you like anime or adult animation then you will love this. If you love tales of the supernatural then you will enjoy this. If you just love a good story with a satisfying ending then you WILL LOVE this.

10/10.

My all time favorite animated series remains AIRBENDER, but there is a rare purity to this story which is almost hypnotic. Callis as Alucard and Armitage as Belmont are nothing short of brilliant.

I think the show is fantastic both first and second season, but I am disappointed in the way that there is simply too little, like the Warcraft movie, if you are gonna do it do whole heartedly, why not start at the beginning with Leon Belmont and how Dracula came to be, and workout a series of good seasons based on one of the best game storylines ever created?

I'm done with season 2 and I just want more, and I really hope too see some lord of the shadows spin off down the line. I'm just hoping Netflix will continue their work on this series because GOD I think it's good with potential to be completely amazing!

This series is a gem. Everything about it seems like art. It's always emotionally complicated when a story has as sympathetic a villain as they do here with Dracula. I found myself literally rooting for both sides. I hope there is a 3rd season and if there is, I hope they find a way to keep the story as top notch as it has been.

Ellis' character development is absolute second to none. I have watched every episode multiple times each. So tender, so brutal, so melancholy. If you are a fan of the game series, you will watch in utter glee. Every season, every episodes builds and builds and builds but never disappoints. This franchise has been delivered into loving hands who have created an almost masterpiece. Thank God Nexflix seems to keep its popular animated titles going. YES I DID JUST KNOCK ON WOOD!

I went in expecting a fun romp, perhaps with a nice homage or two. What did I get? Video Games answer to Game of Thrones.

I am not too heavily invested in the original Castlevania series. My first and really, only game that I played was "Symphony of the Night". Truly a work of art, a masterpiece but I didn't play the games prior and only saw the games after on YouTube walkthroughs. Though I learned a bit about the rather rich lore.

When I heard this was being made, I didn't know what to make of it. There are way too many bad movies and TV shows based on video games (which is sadly nearly all of them) and some of them had NO RIGHT to be bad. Max Payne, Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed immediately come to mind in that regard. Even the Final Fantasy movie, Spirits Within was rather lackluster and it was directed by the series creator and visionary, Hironobu Sakaguchi (Though I think there were production issues and "too many chefs in the kitchen" during that time)! I had just given up on VG to screen adaptations.

Then after many friends told me to watch these few episodes, I was curious at most... but then it grabbed my attention when I heard that after the series premiered and got critical acclaim; a second season was confirmed and announced IMMEDIATELY after it was released. So I made time for it... and I am so sorry I didn't watch it earlier. It is nothing short of spectacular!

It opens up with a scene which was heavily inspired by Symphony of the Night (I won't dare spoil it) and it shows WHY Dracula is the world's enemy... and it's really friggin' heart breaking! Then we're introduced to Trevor Belmont in a way that is both epic and hilarious!

I think that's where I should stop because I don't want to spoil even the slightest detail. The characters are great, the voice acting is absolutely brilliant! Kudos to Armitage, Reynoso, McTavish, Frewer and ESPECIALLY Callis! I did not expect that voice to come from James Callis, so low and rich and he's surprisingly intimidating when he wants to be.

The score is great too, but it's Trevor Morris. I've come to expect good work from him. Seriously, I don't get why he hasn't composed a score for something like a Marvel movie yet he really knows how to work the scenes.

The writing is outstanding. Warren Ellis is a very solid writer, his work on the 2011 X-Men animated series is truly something to admire. The animation is BEAUTIFUL! Absolutely stunning! Anime inspired styles done by a Western is something I do have a soft spot for, even the ones which are a bit "standard" !but this is just gorgeous-and where, WHERE did they find Sam Deats!? What an incredible debut! Apparently, this is the first thing he has ever worked on as a director... That is hard to believe. This is definitely a love project, you could FEEL the respect that was being put into this!

It goes to show that when creative freedom is given to the right people, you really can make artistic magic with ANYTHING! Right here is proof that video game to screen adaptations can work. It took nearly two score and twain, but they finally did it!

Kudos to Sam Deats and the entire cast and crew for this masterpiece! Also, expect a few Annies to go to this series. I'm expecting Callis to get the award for voice performance as Alucard.

Just finished season 3 and I'm already waiting for season 4.

I watched season one and the first few episodes of season two. The beginning is pretty interesting, but over time it just gets more boring. All the technical aspects, voice acting, animation, and music are fantastic though so there's that.

Complete Review Summary of (Seasons 1-4)

This isn't the first animated project based on a video game series and certainly won't be the last, but it's by far the most memorable and most well executed.

Castlevania does what so many fail to do, they keep it simple yet entertaining. Regardless on if you have played the games or know nothing about the lore, the show makes it easy for newcomers to understand the and engage with the plot, while keeping things original and fun with the fans.

The voice acting is superb and the soundtrack is splendid, but where this show really shines is its graphic and beautiful action scenes and cinematic animation.

Whether you are a longtime fan of the Castlevania games, love anything Vampire/Supernatural or enjoy a good anime this is the show for you. The series starts off strong in the first season and has a satisfying ending that while may not suit everyone makes you feel like the entire journey was worth it. Would highly recommend.

Dialogue is horrible, characters drop exposition and repeat lines constantly. There's almost no character development, like season 2 did so well. Every episode seems to have characters just wondering around doing nothing important. A total waste of time in comparison to the first two seasons. Very disappointing.

First when the series appeared on Netflix I was excited as Castlevania is one of my favorite game but I am not happy with the results.Although the animation art is not bad it is not Ayami Kojimas art which was amazing.Today they could easily replicate the style of Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust from Madhouse inc. which would have fitted better to the world of Castlevania.Actually this series lacks everything what made Castlevania games fantastic: story , characters and music -yes the cool music from Castlevania is not there.Sometimes you can hear a familiar theme but it quickly goes away and through the episodes you either hear nothing or a silent meaningless music is going in the background.This tv show deserved so much more, but the stories are slow, halting and some of the characters like Isaac is depicted as a moron when he kills people after receiving the mirror and top of it he goes with his little shop of monsters to look for a ship and the captain welcomes them just like normal people.The screenwriter really knows how people would act in a situation like this..The voice acting is also boring.You become sleepy while just listening to the powerless conversations and again if the music would be good it is not. A lot of unnecessary cursing during dialogues which are absolutely not fitting to the characters. The potential is there but somehow the creators, writers and actors did not do their homework. Unfortunately this is a poor realization of an amazing story.