Review: Castlevania concludes, giving four full seasons of bloody and horrific fun Joseph Noblit August 31, 2021 Anime and Film, Articles, Reviews Netflix releases the fourth and final season of Castlevania; the webseries based on the legendary horror game series of the same name. True to the source material, the series is dark, graphic and packed with fantastic fights. After the wife of Count Vlad Dracula Țepeș was falsely accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, Dracula declares that all the humans of Wallachia will pay with their lives. The country is overrun with an army of demons and quickly descends into fear, distrust and chaos. Additionally, Dracula plans to expand his rampage against the human race across the world with his war council and army. The only thing stopping the world from plunging into darkness is Trevor Belmont, the last of the House of Belmont, magician Sypha Belnades, and Dracula’s own dhampir son Alucard. Based on the video games of the same name from Konami, Castlevania delivers the same horror the original games offered. The series does not pull any punches with how dark it can get, as the four episodes of the first season showcase the scenes and the aftermath of Dracula’s rage against the humans. Monsters eviscerating humans, corpses lining the streets, bodies on pikes, and that’s only a sample of the detailed horror Castlevania offers. A good amount of the story is based upon Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse while offering elements of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness throughout. Additionally, the series is visually stunning in large part with both Frederator Studios and Powerhouse Animation bringing the series to life with both still and phenomenal action scenes, all animated by hand. In fact, Castlevania fans may recognize that the show’s art style was heavily influenced by character designer Ayami Kojima, who is known for her work on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Finally, the writing of Castlevania is stellar and noteworthy, as the series was created by comic writer Warren Ellis and developed by Adi Shankar. Together,they both worked hard to allow the world of Castlevania to come forth. In particular, the characters are well-developed and layered, allowing even the simple villains who were mini-bosses in the games to become audience favorites, namely Carmilla and Isaac. All four seasons of Castlevania are currently available for viewing on Netflix. A new series is currently in works, though it is stated it will not be a direct spin-off. It is slated to focus on Richter Belmont and Maria Renard, set during the French Revolution. Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)