Quote:
Originally Posted by LoathsomePete
I wonder if the lads working on the animated Witcher TV series for Netflix watched this over the weekend and thought "oh for f uck sakes..." because change a few names around and redesign a few characters and you've basically got The Witcher 3 when you get to Novigrad. Not that there isn't room for two shows about monster slayers in a dark fantasy world, but it was definitely a little distracting.
Other than that I loved this series, well all four episodes of it at least. It was definitely one of the easier things to binge off of Netflix, but I'm OK with that. Watching entertainment doesn't need to feel like a second job. As far as the show is concerned the animation is beautiful and deliciously violent. It reminds me a bit of Beserk in a way, but I think any anime that is rooted in a western fantasy design will always get that comparison. I enjoyed the main character, Trevor Belmont, as a cynical monster slayer whose arc will be enjoyable to watch playout as he learns to try and rekindle his own humanity. The only thing I didn't care much for was the music. The Castlevania series has some of the most iconic music in the 8-to-16 bit era and I figured it would at least be an inspiration for the show, but instead it's very typical music for the genre, with this really out of place electronic beats that sound like they were accidentally recorded from a neighboring apartment.
Anyways, long story short, it's like 100 minutes of fun, gory, dark fantasy action that has definitely left me hungry for the other 8 episodes. |
Watched it and really dug it too. The first episode went pretty ****ing hard and was some quality demonic massacre porn. Trevor Belmont was indeed a fun main character as well. A cynical drunk hits home for me for reasons I can't quite figure out... >_>. The action was intense and beautifully animated as well, and I was highly surprised when I found out this was a Western production and not Japanese. It could easily have been made in Japan if not for the American... boisterousness. Not much real anime with that level of swearing.
I love that Western animation seems to be on the rise with stuff like
Adventure Time and
Rick and Morty, but other than that kind of comedic show there really isn't much in the way of Western animation. If this is a sign of a new vanguard then I'm all for it. I likes me some anime, but the Japanese tropes and sensibilities (f.ex. the rampant and gross sexism) in anime can be pretty off putting and annoying, even for someone who's been watching it for most of his life.
Oh, and if you like the animation and action style of
Castlevania, then might I suggest the newer
Fate/Stay Night and
Fate/Zero animes. They're pretty ****ing anime, but the animation is gorgeous, the fights well choreographed, and the story and characters surprisingly solid for shounen shows.