Castlevania (2017)

This time I am going to write about an anime show I recently saw on Netflix. Yes, an anime. If you’re still with me let’s talk about a great show called Castlevania. The story follows how the lands of Wallachia is under siege by the vampire Dracula and the unlikely hero Trevor Belmont who is trying to stop the vampire, but more on that later.

I have to admit: the first minutes did not appeal to me. I stopped watching after the first dialogue mainly because I am used to watching anime in Japanese and it felt a bit wrong in English. But then I had nothing to do so I watched it anyway and I have not regretted it.

For those who don’t know the Castlevania series, the anime is based on the video game series of the same name. This anime show is particularly based on the game: Castlevania III: Dracula curse (1989). I have never played any of the games but it did not stop me from enjoying the show. The anime tells a story on its own and is good at creating interest in the characters.

The story starts with a woman called Lisa Tempes who visits Dracula’s castle to become a doctor. Apparently, vampires are scientists and scholars in that world. When she enters the castle Dracula immediately shows up and tries to scare her and mock her for her wishes. She in return scolds him for not having manners because he had not offered her anything to drink or to take her coat. He is taken aback by her boldness and courage but furthermore gets more interested in her. He takes her to his lab where there are machines and invaluable knowledge. First, he is reluctant to share his knowledge with the humans but she insists that they can make the world better and that she would start with him if he starts with her. Dracula is pleased and allows her to learn and work in his lab.

Some time passes and they fall in love and get married. He made a promise to her that he would walk like a man and travel into the outside world. To learn to live as a man so that he could love her as a man. However, when he was gone the church of Wallachia had taken his wife and burned her alive for witchcraft which in reality was advanced science which the simple folk could not comprehend and the archbishop of Wallachia preferred if life in the lands were kept simple.

Enraged when he discovers what had happened, he visits the town that burned his wife and gives them a warning that he will give them one year to make their peace and leave the lands of Wallachia. (Which is quite generous of him in my opinion). Every sane human being would take that offer and leave. The good people of Wallachia do not only not leave the lands after one year but they celebrate the day that they had burned a “witch”. Dracula does what every badass vampire lord does and unleashes his dark army and hordes of demons into Wallachia to kill literally every human and purge it from what he calls the human stench. I have to say, the slaughter is really gory and I did not expect it seeing in the show the first time. After seeing the first people getting killed by demons, I was literally thinking in my head “okay it’s going to be this kind of an anime”.

While the demon hordes of Dracula travel through the lands slaughtering everyone they encounter and attack every major city, we meet our unlikely hero Trevor Belmont in a small village drinking in a tavern. Why unlikely hero? Because when we meet him, he is completely drunk. He sits in a corner while he eardrops on some of the local peasants talking about the demons moving around and how they are blaming all the great houses of Wallachia, especially the house of Belmont. They talk about how the house of Belmont dealt in dark magic and how dark magic now flows through the lands. When Trevor tries to order another beverage they see the crest of house Belmont under his coat. They confront him about it which he tries to deny. In that conversation, we find out that the house of Belmont was specialized in hunting demons and monsters until the church decides to excommunicate them and the Belmont family is then hunted and driven from their lands. Trevor Belmont is the last living son and heir of the house of Belmont and he has fallen on hard times. He gets into a bar fight when the peasants don’t let him go and gets his ass handed to him. (Which gives me second thoughts if this really is the right person to be stopping the armies of hell).

It really showed a washed up hero in a hilarious way, how a legendary monster hunter gets beaten up by peasants. Our protagonist knows this as well because Trevor (after standing up while spitting blood) yells: “Listen! I used to fight fucking vampires!” That line really cracked me up.

After the beating, he continues his travels and encounters the first major city under siege by monsters. He enters the city not to help, but to find himself in breakfast. He, however, gets in all kinds of problems with the corrupt church, the angry mob and of course demons. He eventually gets involved and decides not to give up on the very people that had betrayed his family and is going to stop the monsters and Dracula. He finds others that are willing to join his party but I won’t give away who they are.

It’s a really cool anime with pretty effects and with pretty animations, but some times over the top gory situations. What I really love about the show is the protagonist Trevor Belmont. He has a foul mouth, constantly cursing and making sarcastic remarks and witty banters. He has a good heart even when he does not want to admit that. The voice actor of Trevor Belmont is Richard Armitage or also known as Thorin Oakenshield from the Hobbit movies. He does a wonderful job in portraying a washed up hero. It’s worth noticing that Dracula is being voice played by Graham McTavish who plays Dwalin the right-hand dwarf of Thorin Oakenshield. Don’t know if it is a coincidence. The biggest downside of this anime is that it is short. It only has four episodes which only takes 24 min per episode. Luckily season 2 has been announced with 8 episodes for somewhere in 2018.

There is more I can talk about but it would be too long. I suggest you just start watching the anime and bring some garlic and wooden stakes with you.