Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 Review – An Earnest, Overstuffed Epic

Castlevania: Nocturne season two joins the lineage of one of the best video game adaptations ever made. The original series captured the franchise flawlessly in its four seasons, but Nocturne was something special. It was certainly tough to follow, but the second season mostly delivers. Its biggest problem is that it simply doesn’t have enough episodes to explore all of its best ideas. The show needs a little time to breathe between each excellent encounter.

Brothers Sam and Adam Deats directed every episode of the new season, along with most of the entries in the previous season. The Deats siblings crafted a few episodes of the original series as well, but they’re far more involved here. As members of the Powerhouse team, they also worked on projects like the Epic Mickey remaster from last year. Fans will probably see their work again in future Netflix projects.

The Prodigal Son Returns

The first season of Castlevania: Nocturne almost ended on an “all is lost” moment, but Alucard arrived to save the day. That grand reveal left fans on the edge of their seats for the last year and a half. Finally, in season two, Dracula’s son partners with the latest Belmont and Annette the Earthbender to face Erzsebet Bathory. Bathory ascended to near godlike status last season, but she’s not quite omnipotent yet. The heroes will have to brave armies of the dead to keep the sun in the sky. Meanwhile, Maria faces the horror of her father’s decision to sacrifice her mother to the vampires. Her conflicted quest for revenge leaves her fighting an internal duality that often finds the season’s high points. Also, Edouard tends to his small army of awakened Night Creatures to seek freedom. Oh, and Olrox, Juste, Drolta, and others have plotlines too.

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I won’t pan Castlevania: Nocturne season two for its ambition, but it certainly could have done with more than eight episodes. There’s simply too much here to address in such a short timeline. The original series had 10 entries in their third and fourth seasons; it’s not like they’re locked to eight. This unfortunately shortchanges some of the characters and narrative beats. The show extends fascinating plotlines to just about every big name, but they don’t have the time they need to play in those spaces. Edouard and Olrox probably suffer the most in the edit. They’re extremely compelling characters that deserve a lot of attention, but all they get to do is sing and skulk, respectively. Even Maria’s stellar plotline loses a bit of impact from its brevity. Of course, the lion’s share of those eight episodes go straight to the top-notch action scenes.

A Symphony of Violence

Netflix’s Castlevania series stands among the finest action anime of modern memory. From my perspective, it can do no wrong when it comes time to trade blasts and blades. This is a show with a masterful grasp of unique and interesting superhuman combat. Every action sequence comes with half a dozen compelling new ways to use a distinct and recognizable moveset. Castlevania Nocturne season two might be a new high point for an already astonishing franchise. Every character comes with a kit; their personality shines through their fighting style, and the visual spectacle drops jaws every time. Alucard’s new design, vaguely in the style of a church window piece or a porcelain doll, keeps him engaging in every exchange. Finally, they found the perfect balance between the medieval box art and the anime game design. Everything looks incredible, especially in motion.

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Action is meaningless without compelling characters to perform it. Thankfully, the cast in Castlevania: Nocturne remains excellent. The voice acting is across the board excellent, with several seasoned professionals delivering stellar performances. James Callis’ return to the role of Alucard is perfect and very welcome. Edward Bluemel as Richter, Thuso Mbedu as Annette, and Pixie Davis as Maria are all still very at home in their roles. Sydney James Harcourt’s flawless voice still comes out to shine from time to time. Zahn McClarnon as Olrox doesn’t get as much time as he deserves, but every line still drips with seductive malice. Iain Glen also stands out as Juste Belmont. His role is such a unique bright spot in both seasons, especially as he enjoys more screentime here. The dialogue is often far from perfect, but just about every performer delivering those lines puts in incredible work.

Castlevania: Nocturne remains a stellar action anime series. The show has its faults, especially in the pacing department, but it always sets out its goals and achieves them. I don’t know if there’s another season of this show to come, but I could see so much more from this team. We may never see another great Castlevania game, but at least we’re still enjoying this glorious world of vamipres and the heroes who hunt them.