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First trailer for Netflix's Castlevania animated series

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P

Prof. Bathtub

Member
Fred Seibert, head of Frederator, is a longtime producer, most notable for bringing in a lot of young grads into Hanna-Barbera, many of which went on to create Cartoon Network shows. The company produces and manages projects, and it's not some entity with a house style or consistent mood.

Anyway! Looks interesting. I can definitely see the Yoshiaki Kawajiri influence.
 
B

border

Member
Prof. Bathtub said:
Fred Seibert, head of Frederator, is a longtime producer, most notable for bringing in a lot of young grads into Hanna-Barbera, many of which went on to create Cartoon Network shows. The company produces and manages projects, and it's not some entity with a house style or consistent mood.
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I know them mostly from a bunch of Nickelodeon cartoons, Cartoon Network cartoons, and their web-based efforts like Bravest Warriors and Bee & Puppycat.....have they done anything like this before that is such a sharp swerve from their more lighthearted TV shwos?
 
P

Prof. Bathtub

Member
border said:
I know them mostly from a bunch of Nickelodeon cartoons, Cartoon Network cartoons, and their web-based efforts like Bravest Warriors and Bee & Puppycat.....have they done anything like this before that is such a sharp swerve from their more lighthearted TV shwos?
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Hm, well according to IMDB, they produced the webseries "SuperF*ckers", and generally shepherd shorts by up-and-coming creators. Also was part of the long development of the Samurai Jack movie/Season 5, but that's a continuation of kid's show. Keep in mind they have some connections with the indie comic world, so perhaps that helped in linking with Ellis on this gestating adaptation.
 
D

duckroll

Member
border said:
I know them mostly from a bunch of Nickelodeon cartoons, Cartoon Network cartoons, and their web-based efforts like Bravest Warriors and Bee & Puppycat.....have they done anything like this before that is such a sharp swerve from their more lighthearted TV shwos?
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No, you are correct that Fredataor has made a very specific brand for themselves. I'm pointing out though, that knowing the actual arrangement here, it's silly to keep arguing that this is a "waste of their talent" when they're not the ones actually making it. Like I said - Platinum Games producing Infinite Space! :p
 
V

Vulcano's assistant

Banned
Looks good. Generic ? sure, but it's not like that's the norm, about time we get some more of that since generic fantasy pretty much means "looks like it was made 20 years ago" and what's a better thing than that when it comes to anime?
 
A

Ahasverus

Member
Vulcano's assistant said:
Looks good. Generic ? sure, but it's not like that's the norm, about time we get some more of that since generic fantasy pretty much means "looks like it was made 20 years ago" and what's a better thing than that when it comes to anime?
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Well this is the most watched anime in the world right now
b5145b7e0b43384f3cd2c3bc97565792.jpg
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So yeah, Castlevania looks fantastic.
 
B

border

Member
MattKeil said:
What are you even talking about? Clearly their skillset extends beyond stylized comedy animation. Why pigeonhole like that? Studios routinely do varied work in multiple genres of comparable quality. What a strange take.
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It seems like what they largely tend to do is stylized comedy animation, with varying degrees of "adult" content. Apparently Castlevania is something they are working on in more of a managerial role though.

duckroll said:
I'm pointing out though, that knowing the actual arrangement here, it's silly to keep arguing that this is a "waste of their talent" when they're not the ones actually making it. Like I said - Platinum Games producing Infinite Space! :p
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I assumed they had creative control and somebody else was bankrolling, because I didn't think they actually had that much money to throw around. It was only a few years ago they were doing a Kickstarter for Bee & Puppycat. Maybe it's more a situation of "We're taking a production credit because we have the rights to Castlevania, but Netflix is giving funding, while other animation studios are doing the art design and animation".
 
F

Foffy

Banned
Ganondorfo said:
Stupid question about to be asked:

Do you think Konami is secretly making a Castlevania game with this style?

Castlevania is alive again, social media is talking a lot about the tv show.
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If there will be a new Castlevania game from Konami, it will be a mobile game made by a western developer or a pachinko game. Bank on it.

You're better off playing the fangame Lecarde Chronicles II for a Castlevania fix today. That got released about a month ago.
 
S

Slater

Banned
I'm excited for powerhouse. They have been around for so long and finally a big chance for them. More western animation action studios please
 
A

Ahasverus

Member
Ganondorfo said:
Stupid question about to be asked:

Do you think Konami is secretly making a Castlevania game with this style?

Castlevania is alive again, social media is talking a lot about the tv show.
Click to expand...
I actually have a good feeling about this. The brands seems to be still strong.

The trailer has 1.5M views after 24 hours, that's like the most views a CV.. anything has gotten in a day. This is weirdly going viral?
 
R

Raitaro

Member
Ahasverus said:
I actually have a good feeling about this. The brands seems to be still strong.

The trailer has 1.5M views after 24 hours, that's like the most views a CV.. anything has gotten in a day. This is weirdly going viral?
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I was thinking along similar lines. 1.5 million is quite a lot of people interested enough in the brand to watch the teaser, which might in some ways translate into 1.5 million potential Castlevania game buyers. Hopefully Konami will use this new momentum and do a new game (preferably a BOTW style open world game but darker / more gothic and using the Fox Engine).

petran79 said:
Movie was bad though, despite the stellar animation. OVA was much better. Hope this isnt the case here!
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I respectfully disagree. The movie is a yearly rewatch around Halloween for me and I'm wearing a vintage Bloodust t-shirt right this moment. I loved the plot about the vampire + human woman that had to deal with prejudice and sacrifice. Not saying the OAV is bad, mind you.
 
Z

Zero-ELEC

Banned
Ahasverus said:
Well this is the most watched anime in the world right now

So yeah, Castlevania looks fantastic.
Click to expand...

Yeah, well it also looks like this.

Or this.

Posting stills of an unfinished version of a the most timecrunched episode in a series and pretending it's the standard quality is a bit disingenuous.

Not to say Castlevania doesn't look fantastic, tho.
 
W

WordAssassin

Member
Nicko said:
Thanks. I can tolerate violence and blood, but nudity is a no go. Here's hoping it stays to the theme of the trailer.
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It's for violence, I asked. No sex. Violence and, knowing Ellis, off color language.

border said:
Because why use Frederator unless you are going to lean into their specific talents? It's like hiring J.K. Rowling to write an Expendables movie.

My main interest in the whole project was how Frederator would leave their own style and fingerprints on a long-stagnant IP. Instead they've just gone with a pretty bog-standard adaptation that follows down the same path the games have been on for like 2 decades now.
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That isn't how Frederator works. They act as producers for other people's projects. So the shows they make, be it through their shorts program or with other networks like Nick and CN, are entirely dependent on what the creator wants their show to look like. There is no "their [Frederator's] own style".

border said:
I never said it was bad, just that it doesn't look like it takes much advantage of Frederator's skillset, and that is a little disappointing. I was expecting something that didn't take itself quite so deadly seriously. Maybe something more akin to Army of Darkness or The Mummy (1999). I'm certainly much more a fan of Frederator than I am the Castlevania lore.

Entirely to early to judge, though. Maybe it will end up like Get Out, where it turns out someone with mostly comedic sensibilities can provide a fresh take on an entirely different genre.
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Frederator's skill set is that they are almost entirely hands-off with their creator's shows and shorts. Visually, they will make almost anything, there is no "Frederator Visual Style". They have a short coming up called Rachel and her Grandfather Control the Island that looks like hand-drawn scribbles and has tons of stretch & skew animation. They have Bee & Puppycat which has anime influences. They have Bravest Warriors which looks like Pendleton Ward's art. They have SuperFuckers which looks like James Kochalka's art. They have an upcoming shorts project (the one Rachel and her Grandfather is from) and every single short has a different visual style. When they take on a short or show they don't hand it off to a group of designers and tell them to do the characters. If you walk in there and you pitch something then the final product is going to look like whatever you drew in your pitch book unless you specifically ask for someone else to design it. They wanted Castlevania to look like Castlevania, so it looks like Castlevania. If they had wanted to do Pen Ward's Castlevania, then they would have probably tried to get Pen to do it. But it's an important project for the people involved so they want it to be true to the source, they're not gonna whimsy it up, they're gonna do it right and make it look like Castlevania.

Prof. Bathtub said:
Fred Seibert, head of Frederator, is a longtime producer, most notable for bringing in a lot of young grads into Hanna-Barbera, many of which went on to create Cartoon Network shows. The company produces and manages projects, and it's not some entity with a house style or consistent mood.

Anyway! Looks interesting. I can definitely see the Yoshiaki Kawajiri influence.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
A

Alucard

Banned
Looking forward to it. Can't believe I live in a world where there are TV series for Green Arrow, Daredevil, and Castlevania.
 
A

Ahasverus

Member
BrokenFiction said:
Warren Ellis casually announced they're working on Season 2 voice work in his weekly newsletter. Cool.
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Yeah they already said the first 2 seasons were confirmed. It's beyond that we should hope for.
Nicko said:
Thanks. I can tolerate violence and blood, but nudity is a no go. Here's hoping it stays to the theme of the trailer.
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By your avatar I think you're a CV fan? Cv has always had lots of tasteful nudity.
 
Allonym

Allonym

There should be more tampons in gaming
Damn, Netflix should've picked up Berserk and had it made in this artstyle. I would've been a happy camper. Back on topic, this looks awesome.
 
J

Jhn

Member
Well that looks better than I thought it would.
Music sounds on point too, felt good when the organ kicked in.
 
B

Boke1879

Member
Kuro said:
Looks like sloppy Flash animation to me lol.
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I mean this statement is straight up hyperbole.

While I would say the early episodes of Super were lacking ever since Future Trunks arc until now the animation has been very good. People using that as a talking point clearly don't watch the show.


This show looks good too.
 
P

PMS341

Member
We have a Voice Cast reveal!

https://www.polygon.com/tv/2017/6/28/15888948/netflix-castlevania-voice-cast

The cast of Netflix’s animated Castlevania series has been officially revealed by producer Adi Shankar and actor Graham McTavish, who will play Dracula in the upcoming show.

The cast of Netflix’s Castlevania appears to draw heavily from characters introduced in Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse. Richard Armitage, who played Thorin in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit film trilogy, will voice vampire hunter Trevor Belmont. Joining him in the fight against Dracula will be James Callis, best known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in Battlestar Galactica, as Alucard.

Alejandra Reynoso will voice Sypha Belnades and Emily Swallow will voice Lisa Tepes, the wife of Dracula and mother to Alucard.

Matt Frewer, perhaps best known for his roles as Max Headroom and Dr. Aldous Leekie on Orphan Black, will play a character known as The Bishop. Veteran character actor Tony Amendola will voice a character called The Elder.

Castlevania will begin streaming on Netflix on July 7.
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BALTAR AS ALUCARD
 
Cardon

Cardon

Member
That's one fine cast. Graham is always awesome, I consider his work in Dantes Inferno to be underrated, so here's hoping the rest of the series doesn't fall apart.
 
Stiler

Stiler

Member
That's a great cast.

Graham was great in Outlander and also as the Saint of Killer in Preacher right now.

They got some great actors, hope this turns out well.
 
Trickster

Trickster

Member
Zero-ELEC said:
Yeah, well it also looks like this.

Or this.

Posting stills of an unfinished version of a the most timecrunched episode in a series and pretending it's the standard quality is a bit disingenuous.

Not to say Castlevania doesn't look fantastic, tho.
Click to expand...

Trying to seriously make an argument for the animation quality of any Toei show is madness. They are legendary for being cheap ass motherfuckers. The animation in DBS looks like that for maybe 1-2 minutes once every 10-15 episodes.
 
A

Ahasverus

Member
ACESmkII said:
Just saw some preview footage of this from Anime Expo of the
Cyclops fight before Trevor/Ralph meets up with Sypha
and the animation looked fantastic although the footage I saw was near potato quality.

Can not wait till Friday.
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Only 4 days left!
 
R

reelbigtink

Member
I usually can't make it through potato videos but I was captivated here. I think this is going to be a great little mini-season.
 
A

atbigelow

Member
Hey wow. Didn't make it all the way through the potato vid, but really liked what I saw. And the intro is cool.

Could... could this be worth it?
 
T

twothunder

Member
atbigelow said:
Hey wow. Didn't make it all the way through the potato vid, but really liked what I saw. And the intro is cool.

Could... could this be worth it?
Click to expand...

maybe. just maybe.
The thought of a game turned into a good T.V show is always somewhat hard to believe
let us hope it's good
 
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