Netflix has had a run of at least a few somewhat decent shows as of late, with mid-range ratings for American Primeval and the new season of XO Kitty. Squid Game was higher than both, but came in lower than season 1 of that series. But there is a new 100% scored show from critics that is being overlooked by the general audience base.
That would be Castlevania Nocturne season 2, the sequel series to the original Castlevania anime, one of the first pieces of media to break the famed “all video game adaptations are bad” curse, even before Sonic the Hedgehog movies came on the scene (now more recently, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Arcane, The Last of Us and Fallout).
Castlevania Nocturne is a show critics really like. Season 1 had a stellar 96% score, while season 2 now has a perfect 100% score.
Season 1 ran into more controversy with fans with a dismal 47% audience score, with complaints about it not being faithful to the series with at least some amount of “it went woke” comments. But season 2 does not seem to have upset anyone nearly as much, as either those negative viewers tuned out, or it really did make things a lot better to achieve a now-fantastic 93% for season 2.
But unlike Arcane or Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Castlevania Nocturne has not been near the top of Netflix’s top 10 list. It debuted below #5 and has already sunk to tenth place. By tomorrow it will likely be off the list entirely.
Is Castlevania Nocturne really that good? I did like season 1, but not as much as the original, certainly, despite similar scores. Season 1 of the original Castlevania series got an 83% from critics, which seems too low, but seasons 2, 3 and 4 got a 100%, 95% and 100% respectively. Fewer critics watch these shows than other, non-animated Netflix series, but the ones that do really enjoy it. And for the most part, outside of Nocturne season 1, fans do as well.
We don’t know yet of Castlevania Nocturne will get a season 3 or not, though the end of season 2 certainly demands one. I’d say Netflix usually is a bit more lenient when it comes to animated projects going the distance, as they renew most. High profile ones like Edgerunners and Arcane, but also ones that garner less attention, like the recently-released Tomb Raider which garnered a deserved season 2, despite not landing terribly high on the charts. In short, Nocturne seems like a series worth continuing to invest in.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
