Netflix’s Castlevania: Nocturne is successfully carrying the legacy of the original show. Although set some 300 years later, the story revolves around a descendant of Trevor Belmont, the protagonist of Castlevania.
While the descendant, Richter Belmont has his own demons to conquer, much like the games, he also has a terrific cast of characters to aid him at every step. This is one aspect where the anime surpasses anything the franchise has yet come up with.
The involvement of said characters, especially one in particular, changed the course of Castlevania: Nocturne greatly. In fact, some would argue that the character in question might just be one of the best characters in the franchise ever.
Castlevania: Nocturne left the games in the dust to come up one of the greatest characters ever
Castlevania has long established itself as one of the most popular franchises out there. With multiple games, a four season anime adaptation of the same name, and now the sequel Castlevania: Nocturne has only added to its popularity.
Now, the sequel has made an interesting creative choice by fleshing out a character that played a less-than-infinitesimal role in the games. That is, of course, one of the main characters from Nocturne, Annette. In the games, she is doomed to only appear in the Rondo of Blood.
Although she still exists as Richter’s lover, she has no role or involvement in the game except for being a damsel, even saving whom is optional. It is ironic, since she is the driving force behind Richter’s raid to Dracula’s castle, who kidnapped her. Nevertheless, she is just that irrelevant to the overall gameplay.
The only other time she appears is as a bad ending villain as vampire Annette in the PSP remake of Rondo of Blood. On the other hand, the Castlevania: Nocturne anime rounds up the character so well, that she is considered to be one of the best written characters in the franchise.
Be it the entire lore behind her being born in a slave plantation near Saint-Dominigue, or her escape from the place following a confrontation with her former master and vampire Vaublanc when he tried branding her, it was created specifically for the anime.
Moreover, the deep exploration into her roots as a descendant of the divine African spirits or orishas, the soul searching journey she embarks on, joining in with the revolutionaries who are trying to end slavery, and her meeting her mentor among them, were all part of only the anime.
Whereas in the game Annette is a shell of a character with just a name, and the position of Richter’s lover at her bequest, in the anime she is flesh and blood with a dynamic group of like-minded people at her side.
In fact, her bond with the revolutionaries, who become her found family, is so strong that she ends up returning to them at the end of Season 2. Of course, with the now vampire Edouard, and Richter Belmont in tow.
Fans commend Castlevania: Nocturne for fleshing out Annette to her full potential
As stated above, Annette has been nothing but a name and a picture in the original games. Although that worked for the gameplay, as it let people focus on the mission rather than being sidetracked by her lore, that would have never worked for Castlevania: Nocturne.
Now developing such a character comes with its own challenges, as balancing the story while giving it a new angle from a character can be tricky. However, the writers seem to have done a phenomenal job by etching out Annette to her fullest.
Not only as an empathetic and caring person, but also a bada*s fighter who wouldn’t think twice to help the ones in need. Inevitably, fans have been loving every second of the screen time she has had in the series.
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The show recently aired its Season 2 on January 16th, 2025. A Season 3 hasn’t officially been announced yet. However, the ending makes it look more and more likely.
The rave reviews the recently concluded season has been getting have only added to fans’ hopes for it to be even stronger.
Castlevania: Nocturne is streaming on Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
