I’ve craved Season 2 of Castlevania ever since the first season came into my life with three episodes and the nerve to astound me and virtually leave me high and dry after slapping my dface. Then an 8 episode order, though left me frothing with anticipation like a rabies infected loon too afraid take a drink of water, left me disappointed.  Especially after a 24 episode feast that was delivered by the likes of the Seven Deadly Sins.  I’m overjoyed to say that after the second episode of Castlevania they had managed to strike a profoundly deep chord that truly and eloquently compelled me, a feat that took The third Season of Seven Deadly SIns nine episodes to accomplish. Introducing so many new players and dynamics, the small Castlevania crew becomes a colorful Game of Thrones that built on the foundation of Dracula’s beautiful tragedy, an elegant finite plot that sees itself to absolution.

The true majesty is that every character is given an equal amount of stage time, the  protagonists Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), Sypha (Alejandra Reynoso), and Alucard (James Callis) command the screen as a trio, bickering with each other as they get to the root of their individual struggles, becoming stronger along their journey. While the antagonist, Dracula (<3)(Graham McTavish) and his army effectively triples the ensemble in the most gratifying way, filling the halls of the titular castle with such vibrant life and turmoil. Somehow giving everyone their fait focus, It’s so fascinating, the vampires Dracula summons to cull humanity are juxtaposed by the two humans Dracula trusts to lead them, Hector (Theo James) and Isaac (Adetokumboh M’Cormack), his forgemasters. These two are top of the line characters, the narrative devotes as much time to understanding their motivations as it does making them vital to the goings on of Castlevania. They exemplify the rich talent filling in Dracula’s ranks, a couple of the many performances that captivate effortlessly.

I believe this is because of the videogame serious Castlevania, serving as a strong source material for this anime. I was jealous as a writer myself, they had so nonchalantly crafted such sensical characterizations, weaving them into such a complex narrative like it was nothing. It blew me away, I actually couldn’t fathom getting such captivating personas on the first try, but these characters have years of history that made them reincarnations of themselves.

In lieu of Cinematography, the animation invoke Avatar The Last Airbender, fight choreography is fast paced and fluid, the magic visually stunning, the landscapes portraits from Victorian England. The encounters are thorough and with the stakes so high the a bout could legitimately be their last. Legend of Korra for adults, there are nightmarish monsters racking up body counts, those said body counts leaving bloody mangled corpses piled up in view for everyone to see, acts of brutality can’t be looked away from. And finally the character design is gorgeous, portraying even the most dramatic moments as if we were looking a living breathing person in the face.

Standout Episodes:

S2E2, Old Homes: Alucard left me speechless by stating the obvious pitfalls of their journey.

S2E4, Broken Mast: Dracula isn’t the only Vampire with a past, we get to know one of his inner circle as things really get Game of Thrones.

S2E6, The River: Trevor Belmont throws down!

S2E8, End Times: A definitive ending that was incredibly touching.

A standout aspect of the show is it’s smart humor, which is to be found in the most unlikely of places. Trevor and Alucard’s back and forth insults is iconic banter, they basically roast each other, half ruthless, half trying to make each other laugh. Amid such smart dialogue are crass moments of simple curse words like “What The Fuck”, that made me cackle with how appropriate it was. Even Dracula gets to be amused by a sex joke amid his somber gravitas, Castlevania pleases on all fronts.

My biggest complaint is how short this season is, it manages to tell it’s tale in it’s entirety, but I selfishly want more, I was intensely satisfied by the second episode, and the finale had left me fulfilled in the sense of the story arc. But I wanted more, I have British Television for my three episode seasons, I both loathe and respect them for that and I don’t want that from my binges. So now I have a legitimate complaint for what was perfect television, and the fact that they were renewed for Season 3 just goes to show that they have a lot more stories to tell and they’re simply holding out for us.

Hats off to Graham McTavish for making me love Dracula again, his tortured genius plagued by petty tragedy is brought to actual life, good work sir.

9/10

Working on our rating system, details will ensue!