Netflix’s popular animated adaptation of Castlevania continued this month with Nocturne’s second season. All eight episodes of Season 2 are streaming now, and eventually fans will probably be able to add them to their Blu-ray collection. All five previous seasons of Castlevania–Nocturne Season 1 and the four seasons comprising the original animated saga–are available on Blu-ray already. Plus, they are pretty cheap. You can get the original Castlevania animated series for $60 total, and Nocturne Season 1, which released in October, is available for $28.
You have multiple options for Seasons 1 and 2. The most economical choice is the box set featuring both seasons for $20.79 (was $30), but you can buy Season 1 and Season 2 individually for $12 and $14, respectively. Alternatively, you can get Season 1 bundled with a Castlevania T-shirt for $17.
Check out all of the Castlevania animated series Blu-rays below:
Netflix’s Castlevania Animated Series on Blu-ray
Fans of the show will also want to check out Castlevania: The Art of the Animated Series, a nearly 200-page book detailing the development of the show’s original four-season run.
In case you missed it when it first aired, the original Castlevania series follows vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, powerful witch Sypha, and Alucard as they take on Dracula and his demonic armies. The second half of the show focuses on a coven of vampires looking to create their own undead kingdom, as well as the foul-mouthed Grim Reaper himself (this might just be Malcolm McDowell’s best role ever).
As you’d expect, the show is violent and has beautifully animated action scenes, as well as banter sharper than a razor blade during some of the more quiet scenes. The Blu-ray editions come with behind-the-scenes videos, voice actor interviews, storyboards, art galleries, and other special features.
Set hundreds of years after the original Castlevania animated series, Nocturne Season 1 followed Richter Belmont and took inspiration from the 1993 PC Engine game Rondo of Blood, which some fans may know better by a different name. Rondo of Blood was exclusive to Japan at launch; Konami brought the story to North America on Super Nintendo as Castlevania: Dracula X. Nocturne Season 2 answered many of the remaining questions from Season 1 while leaving the door open for a third season.
Netflix hasn’t renewed Castlevania: Nocturne for Season 3. There’s also a chance that instead of continuing Nocturne’s story, a new Castlevania arc begins. The Castlevania animated series has been a bright spot for the franchise in recent years, so hopefully it continues in some fashion.
Speaking of Netflix animated adaptations of video games, Arcane Season 1 released on 4K and standard Blu-ray alongside Nocturne last October. Arcane launched with two Limited Edition Steelbooks, a 4K Blu-ray featuring Jinx cover art and a 1080p Blu-ray featuring Vi cover art. Unfortunately, the standard Blu-ray steelbook is sold out, but Amazon recently restocked Arcane’s 4K Blu-ray Limited Edition Steelbook for $37.35 (was $60). The non-steelbook Blu-ray edition is available for $31.49 (was $45). Arcane concluded its run on Netflix with its second and final season in November.
