Presented as a spin-off by Power Animation Studios, Nocturne, a new animated series, is set to bring to life the events of the 1993 video game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Produced by the studio itself, the show is a continuation of the original Castlevania series.
The story is set against the backdrop of the 18th century French Revolution and follows the journey of Richter Belmont, a direct descendant of Simon Belmont, the protagonist of the original Castlevania. Richter sets out on a mission to rescue his girlfriend Annette from Dracula’s clutches and put an end to this terrifying threat once and for all.
In a significant departure from the original game, Nocturne introduces a new twist to Annette’s character. While the game portrays Annette as a young white woman, the series will feature her as a witch with a different background. Netflix’s latest trailer revealed that the adaptation will introduce the franchise’s first black vampires and race-swap Annette’s character.
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According to the streaming platform, the new Annette is a powerful sorceress who escaped vampire-enforced slavery in the Caribbean, using her wits and magic to deal with an impending apocalyptic threat.
Annette’s New Look is below:
The decision to reimagine Annette in this manner has sparked discussion and controversy. Stark, the supervising background designer, expressed pride in the show’s approach to diversifying classic characters. Taking to Twitter, he retweeted a fan’s excitement about the change, affirming the production’s commitment to embracing inclusivity and creativity in their storytelling.
Designer Said “Don’t Watch Castlevania Nocturne”
“Making Castlevania: Nocturne was worth it for a vast number of reasons, but seeing so many people react to stuff like this is one of the best.”
One the TwitterX user asked,
“Sir, have you not seen the amount of Castlevania fans furious with Annette being race-swapped?”
“Original characters are great, but the race-swapping [of] pre-established characters needs to stop,”
Stark replied,
“I’ve literally seen like a handful of people angry about it, go complain about something that matters.”
Twitter user replied to him,
“Why can’t you respect the source material?”
Stark Again Replied to the TwitterX user,
“Don’t watch the show then, I genuinely don’t care if a very small handful of people are angry we made a character black”
Castlevania Fan React
“Contempt for your audience always leads to success, just look at the Witcher or Secret Invasion.”
“two things
i’m not saying what i think about the race-swapped but, if Annette was black and made white it would matter to people (i’v seen it happen with a RWBY)
and i don’t like that Annette is not going to be a damsel in distress, don’t get me wrond i like strong females in game and shows but thay have Maria so….
i don’t really care tho i’m here for Richter anyway.”
“I mean if you’re gonna extensively redesign an established character regardless of how minor they may be, why not simply create a new character?”
“Annette was a nothing burger before, not much more fleshed out than your typical damsel from the NES era. I don’t mind this change at all. Now, Isaac/Hector… THAT was strange, I don’t understand why that characters even had those names because they are so goddamn different from the extremely well-established characters from CoD. At least Netflix Isaac is good, but wtf, why not just give them different names?”
“The shows and the games are different universes. I can love them both.”
Source: boundingintocomics, crazy
