7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
Trevor Belmont, embittered and excommunicated, finds himself drawn into a battle for survival of Europe - a region that has brought doom upon itself by taking away the one thing its greatest monster loved.
Starring: Richard Armitage, James Callis, Graham McTavish, Alejandra Reynoso, Tony AmendolaFantasy | 100% |
Action | 65% |
Animation | 46% |
Supernatural | 39% |
Adventure | 28% |
Horror | 24% |
Period | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Film has not exactly been kind to the video game adaptation world. There's The Super Mario Bros. Movie as one of the more standout films, and there's...Resident Evil?...as a decent example, hardly a great film by any stretch of the imagination yet somehow still one of the better presentations of a game-turned film. Audiences thirsting for something more inherently faithful to the source are turning to the TV landscape where shows like Halo and The Last of Us and even the various Pokemon shows of yesteryear are doing (more) right for games than are the film adaptations. And here is Castlevania, an adult animated series from Netflix that explores the famous Konami franchise from the story of the 1990 NES side scrolling Action-Horror game Castlevania III that does not feature familiar protagonist Simon Belmont but rather an ancestor, Trevor Belmont, in the timeless battle against the villainous, bloodthirsty, and evil Dracula.
Viz Media releases Castlevania's first season to Blu-ray with a capable 1080p transfer, albeit one that exhibits some problems. First, the
negatives: the image displays some light, fleeting flickering but much more troublesome is some mild, at times; and moderate, at other times; and
heavy,
here and there; banding and compression issues appearing in the background. These can be bothersome and best and debilitating at worst, but for the
most part it's only the heaviest banding, which is far less frequent than the mild and moderate banding, that causes the most significant eyesore
problems.
The rest of the image
looks quite food. The animation is crisp and efficient, presenting clean lines and stable detail and clarity throughout. The Blu-ray captures just about the
highest level of detailing the source can offer at this resolution, and probably at any resolution. The show is not a tactile and textural powerhouse in its
natural state, but complex stone walls, wooden appointments, and other static background content impresses for stability and clarity, but moving pieces
-- characters and clothes, fire, and the like -- come to life with very impressive clarity and accuracy, showing the animation's simple, yet effective and
collectively satisfying, core visual characteristics.
As far as colors are concerned, Castlevania is a dark show, visually brooding and oftentimes bathed in low light blues, blacks, browns, and
grays, but offering some fine punch and vividness to bright fiery colors, for example, and red blood to be sure, and other odd splashes of more vivid
color output. Colors are fine
where they are at, as the production intended; just don't expect a barrage of rich and regularly occurring colors. Black levels are decent but do tend to
push a little paler than is ideal. This is a solid animated transfer, but because of, primarily, the banding, it is also far from perfect.
The primary audio track here is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack (English lossless 2.0 and Spanish 5.1 and 2.0 lossless are also included). The presentation is solid, impressing from the outset with a flurry of well detailed surround activity that immediately draws the listener into the gothic world. Throughout the four episodes there are ample opportunities for engaging and full surround elements, including wonderful support bass presented in fine balance. One of the highlight action scenes comes in the opening minutes of episode three when Simon battles the cyclops. The surround usage is never over cranked; instead it is nicely complementary to the action. Lighter world din is also in evidence and again in fine balance. Music is nicely detailed and presents with wide front and modest surround wrap. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and centered for the duration.
This Blu-ray release of Castlevania: Season One contains a few fleeting extras which largely have to do with the show's design and technical
progression rather than anything about the story, voice work, or the franchise's gaming legacy. The main menu screen contains repeating animated
clips from
the show with overlaid music. Menu options include "Play," "Episodes," "Setup," and "Extras." No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This
release does ship with a non-embossed slipcover.
Castlevania: Season One delivers a suitably compelling watch and, even in four short episodes totaling no longer than around the average length of a feature film, crams in plenty of legend, legacy, action, and terror that sets the stage for what promises to be a potent TV show based off one of gaming's most storied franchises. It's dark, disturbing, bloody, and horrific, but fans of the games and adult animation, not to mention vampires, should find this to be a satisfying experience. Viz Media's Blu-ray features a lot of banding. It's not a constant eyesore, but it is frequent. Otherwise, the show looks good. The show sounds good on Blu-ray, too, and a few extras are included, even if they are very brief and focus squarely on the animation. Recommended.
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