I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with the second season of Castlevania: Nocturne. The first season of Castlevania—by which I mean the first four episodes and the following eight, which are split into two seasons for some reason—wrapped everything up pretty neatly while the finale of Castlevania: Nocturne Season 1 left me wanting with more questions than answers.
However, almost every problem I had with the first season was pretty effectively rectified and the second season of Castlevania: Nocturne features a monumental thanks to the foundation built from its exposition and character introduction. The second season of Castlevania: Nocturne is even more action-packed and more character-driven, culminating in an absolute showstopping two-episode finale that pushes everything to the extreme. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
Season Two of Castlevania: Nocturne picks up right where the first left off—with Elizabeth Báthory having suffered a major loss in the battle to bring about an endless night after Alucard joined the fight at the last minute. However, the fight has only just begun as Richter, Maria, and Annette have learned that the powerful vampire Drolta—who was killed by Alucard at the final battle of the first season—was an acolyte of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet and was using Elizabeth as a vessel for her return to the mortal world.
“The second season of Castlevania: Nocturne is even more action-packed and more character-driven, culminating in an absolute showstopping two-episode finale…”
It quickly becomes a race against the forces of evil as the heroes fight to try and prevent a newly resurrected Drolta from acquiring the final piece that will allow Elizabeth to manifest into the full form of Sekhmet. And while the basis for the plot is formed by high-stakes tension, there’s a lot more character exploration that runs under the entire thing, making it feel a lot more personal and reflective.
In the midst of fighting vampires and Night Creatures, almost every character is enveloped in a battle with their own personal demons—learning to cope with loss and trying to make sense of right and wrong. This is most apparent in the character of Maria who, after witnessing her mother being turned into a vampire in an attempt to save Maria’s life; is engulfed by anger and questions of her sense of liberty.
Furthermore, Castlevania: Nocturne finds Annette grappling with the source of her powers, as she is constantly seeing spirits and is unable to decipher what they want from her. And while this serves the plot in a number of ways, it was a really solid way to establish a really natural and believable connection between her and Richter. You start to see their connection grow, and you get a better understanding of why these two are drawn to each other—which was something that felt a bit out of place in the first season.
Even a character like Drolta, who is positioned as a ruthless monster throughout most of the show is given brief glimpses of backstory that highlight her personal turmoil. It’s revealed that while she was still human, her temple to Sekhmet was raided by vampires, and she turned herself in order to exact revenge in the name of her goddess—Sekhmet being not only a goddess of healing but one of war.
But possibly the highlight of Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 is the return of Alucard. Unlike the first series where Alucard was kind of a moody loner, grappling under the weight of needing to kill his father, now the Son of Dracula is sunnier and much more amiable. While he can still be a bit dour, he’s been around, travelled and worked alongside the Belmonts for hundreds of years. Despite still grappling with the duality of his half-vampire/half-human self, he’s a bit more at peace with it, and it was nice to see this side of him.
Much like with Dracula in the first series, Castlevania: Nocturne’s Season 2 is also highlighted by the idea of love and how it can be a powerful driving force for both good and evil. In so many ways, several characters are driven to the lengths they go to by a sense of love or duty—which sets off a drastic chain of events that defines almost every character, both personally and in the grand scheme. And while I don’t think it tops the first series in terms of exploration and execution, it certainly stands alongside it as incredibly thoughtful and well-delivered.
“But possibly the highlight of Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 is the return of Alucard.”
Much like the first season, Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2’s visuals are absolutely stunning. It stands in stark contrast to the first series—which was defined by its gloomy setting and darker tones—utilizing bright colours and almost painted backgrounds that really highlight what our heroes are fighting for. Almost every scene makes the world look so beautiful and full of life that it punctuates the idea that this is a world worth fighting for.
On top of that, the animation is so unbelievably smooth with practically every episode featuring larger-than-life fight scenes that find incredibly interesting ways to pair each character and their unique abilities. Fights are fast, stylish and so smoothly animated—rectifying another issue I had with the first season—and like I said, the last two episodes which are basically just 30-minute fight scenes are some of the best I’ve seen in any anime, period.
As with the first season, Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 is brought together by its incredible cast of voice actors who add a lot of earnest believability to the show. Naturally, the score is doing a lot of the heavy lifting as well, leaning a lot more towards high-octane intense action tracks to back a lot of the fighting, but also adding a lot of emotionality to some of the more tragic scenes in ways that actually choked me up a few times.
Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 goes above and beyond the first and while I still think it has a bit of a ways to go before it catches up to the first series, it’s certainly climbing the ladder. It leaves the door open in a number of ways to suggest there may be a third season and if these last two seasons are any indication, it’s going to be an absolute banger.
