Where to watch: Netflix
Reactions: Vampires and demons, OH MY!

If you’re not a Castlevania fan, let me briefly bring you up to speed. Castlevania is an animated tv show on Netflix that centers around Alucard who is Dracula’s son (Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards). Across the show’s four seasons Alucard teams ups with Trevor Belmont (from the long line of Vampire-hunting Belmonts) and Sophia Belnades who wields magic. Together the three of them fight Dracula and other baddies. The show concludes after four seasons and happily ever after and whatnot.

Skip forward to a spin-off called Castlevania Nocturne, set several hundreds years later in the context of the French Revolution. Richter Belmont (Trevor and Sypha’s descendent) is still fighting vampires and demons, but he’s supercharged with powers from his mother’s magic and his father’s somewhat seemingly enhanced human skills.

My favorite part of the final episode of Nocturne Season 1 is the return of Alucard who was not present for most of the season. Season 2 very much features him as a main player in the fight against the new baddie. Alucard, Richter, and two super powerful magic-wielding women characters, Anette and Maria, must defeat a vampire who is seeking to embody the powers of an ancient goddess.

Overall, YES. Just yes yes yes. I loved this season so much. I loved the original series. I liked season 1 of Nocturne. And I loved season 2. Two badass powerful women on the good side, two badass powerful demon women. And more Alucard. And Richter is hot and now Belmonts have magic! This has everything I ever needed in an animated tv show.

I especially loved how when Richter powers up in a few of his fight sequences, the animation style felt very reminiscent of powered-up Goku. A nod to Japanese animation without going full anime. I also was obsessed with Annette’s journey to the spirit world to connect with her deepest powers.

Maybe the thing that I’ve always loved about six seasons of Castlevania storylines, is that it’s always about teamwork and leans heavily on powerful women to save the day. Even more so, it doesn’t make these strong women face some crisis of confidence in their powers as so many fantasy or sci-fi stories often do. They’re just powerful, magic, badass women kicking butt and saving the world. And the sexy ones, in fact, end up being Alucard with his chiseled jaw and flowing mane of hair, and Richter always showing skin.

And finally, if you’re hoping for some LGBTQ+ story action, Alucard is bisexual and has a love affair with a set of vampire-hunting Japanese twins (boy and girl) in the first series. And in the Nocturne series there’s a religious knight who won’t or can’t admit his love and affection for one of the (dubiously good) Native American vampires Olrox.

If you’ve never seen any Castlevania at all, go start with the original series. You won’t be disappointed. Then jump into Castlevania Nocturne – it builds on and adds to the original series perfectly!