Just finished up the second season of Castlevania: Nocturne.
An improvement over the first season in every way for sure.
It still isn't fantastic.
It just doesn't have the insufferable social justice messaging of the first season and is focused on vampire and monster killing.
There is still the irritating framework of the French Revolution that they use as a narrative device to set up the big army style battles, most of which aren't very impressive at all, but at least it assisted the more fun and interesting conflicts occurring.
Annette is actually pretty great in this second season.
Mizrak, the gay (not like 'Neo Geo.com' gay but an actual homosexual) Hospitalier or Templar (LOL), may be my favorite character in this entire series. Conflicted and yet still trying to act in accordance with his beliefs, the character has a depth that I did not expect. There's even this part where Olrox is talking about how his Aztec civilization laughed at the Spanish Christians that arrived on their shores, thinking their gods would protect them and then being left to fend for themselves. Mizrak says 'maybe it was your gods that was the problem.' Olrox doesn't respond, which is a nice way for the writers to not blame Christianity for every terrible thing that has ever happened. I am not relieved about this because I am a Christian. I am relieved about this because the cliche of 'evil Christian church' is tired as fuck and needs to die. It is the last refuge of creatively bankrupt people in this moment. It's okay to point out that other people havec done shitty things in the name of their faith, too.
Edouard still sings too much. Hate him.
Richter 'comes of age' in this second season but it doesn't feel earned. Very much a 'well, it's time for the climactic showdowns so Richter must get stronger' sort of thing, but that's because there are far too many plotlines happening all at once in this series. Richter is my favorite Belmont and the first season gave him too deep a hole to climb out of in terms of his evolution. There just wasn't enough focus on him in this season for me to buy into his upgrade. But his relationship with Annette is genuine and feels organic, so that's nice.
Alucard is Alucard. You like cool, mysterious and androgynous half-vampires with awesome powers and fighting skills, you won't be disappointed.
The whole Egyptian goddess in three spirits subplot is a bit much. Olrox should have been the villain. Sekhmet just complicates the story way too much.
I'd give this second season a 3.5 out of 5. There would be a lot to complain about if I were nitpicking but at least it isn't gay activism disguised as animation. It's a legitimate attempt to tell a supernatural action adventure. It leaves the social justice issues behind where they belong. Even the outcome of the French Revolution is treated, I think, as it should: a violent and bloody mess that spiraled out of control and led to a lot of shitty things happening.
Overall, Nocturne gets a 3 out of 5. The remarkable thing is that after the absolute turd of a first season, this follow up was infinitely more watchable. I'd welcome a third season on this trajectory.
