#richter vs trevor

[autumnmobile12]

Richter’s character…I feel like they tried to do another version of Trevor.  And that’s the problem.  If I wanted to see Trevor, I’d go back and I'd watch the original, so I wish Nocturne had given us more differentiation between the two characters.

However, the big reason why Trevor’s snarky personality doesn’t work on Richter is the circumstances of their upbringings: Richter lost his mother at nine but seems to have lived an otherwise peaceful life barring the frequent monster hunts.  He lived in a stable home and was looked after by Tera for years and seems to have a good relationship with Maria.  In contrast, Trevor lost his entire family at twelve and lived as a drifter for years afterward without that kind of security.

So Trevor earned his cynicism.  On Richter, that same cynicism just comes off as mean-spirited and unnecessary bravado.  He’s an annoying teenager. “And you just happened to stumble upon it one day while you were out picking flowers?” - That line isn’t funny.  Like, really dude?  You’re going to talk like that to the woman who raised you?  That was an asshole thing to say.

So it was a little vindicating when Olrox appeared at the end of Episode 4 and Richter freaked out and showed that he's a shit-talker. (Remember Trevor's 'killing you was the point, living was a luxury' line?)  I'm hoping this is the starting point of his character growth, but so far, Richter is the sort of protagonist I really dislike. I don't hate him, but I'm also not going to continue Nocturne for him. I'll be sticking around to see where Alucard, Annette, Olrox, and Mizrak go.

[chibishortdeath]

Ok, I’m sick of seeing only Netflix posts lately so I’m ranting about Simon lol

Unfortunately I had some nice paragraphs written for this but tumblr crashed while I was writing so this is my second time making this post (TwT)

TL;DR with the rant under a cut for easy scrolling, I am deranged and have studied all of Simon’s outfits, here’s some fun tidbits and I guess kinda a guide about his fashion sense :3

Oh boy, where to start XD. Castlevania has a lot of intricately detailed usually gothic and/or visual kei inspired fashion designs, usually with some amount of historical accuracy, thanks to Ayami Kojima, that the series is known for. But before this, the character design style was very different. From the very 90s shonen anime inspired Richter, to Christopher being deadass shirtless in a skirt at one point, to John Morris being in basically casual clothes, there’s a lot of variety in it.

Well, being the silly Simon super fan I am, I’ve studied all his outfits a ton over the years I’ve been a fan of the series and oh boy they are INTERESTING :3. I’ve noticed a lot of elements are consistently reoccurring, specific to him, and some are very much not specific to him lol. Anyway, just trust me on this one, overanalyzing the closet of an NES barbarian to be able to make new outfits for him is FUN >:3c.

So, I’ve seen him not wearing pants thrown around as a joke before, but it’s actually the truth! Besides the Haunted Castle wedding suit (an outlier that should not be counted lol), I actually have never run into a design where Simon is wearing full length, proper pants. The closest he ever gets is black tights in Simon’s Quest and occasionally shorts, but on that topic, shorts aren’t even his most common choice! Let’s look at some of his oldest designs:

This one is really hard to tell, but based on the angle of the lines, the shadows, and context clues from other art for CV1, I don’t know if that’s actually supposed to be shorts 💀💀💀!

In both his cute little manual doodles and his almost more adorable teeny 8-bit sprite, his outfit is a belted tunic of some sort! So like, the equivalent of a really tiny dress or a long shirt XD. And really, his cover art design is kinda just a more detailed version of these. They both have a distinction between a top and bottom part of the upper half, they both have big belts, they both have the tall boots and arm guards, they both have teeny skirt part, and Fun Fact! They both have red in the hair! I color picked a nice high res scan of the CV1 cover art, and yes, there’s red in his hair!!! It’s like a nice mix of dark reddish blond, it’s a very fun hair color :3.

However, that’s not where CV1 ends in tunic vs shorts debate:

THAT’S A SKORT— DO YOU SEE THAT DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE HALVES, ONE IS DEFINITELY A PANTLEG LMAO. So yeah, skort Simon is also a thing thanks to this particular magazine scan lol, thus leaving us with the possibility that it is both a skirt and shorts on the CV1 cover that he’s wearing X,,,,D. Never change, Simon, never change.

Besides the tunic, there’s some other interesting details to his CV1 era designs! :D In a lot of depictions he has this neat cape, something that returns in some Simon’s Quest art and Smash Bros lol, but he’s never shown wearing it in game. What’s interesting is that Trevor actually gets a cape in his game’s opening as well as Christopher in Belmont’s Revenge if I’m remembering correctly. It’s very neat seeing Simon character design details rubbing off into other characters :3. I like to think lore wise that it’s the same cape that’s been passed down to Simon from those two.

He also has the headband! Iconic! But have you noticed the little ball shapes at the ends of the tails? They’re either knots or, infinitely cooler option, beads :D!!!!!!! And I wouldn’t be surprised if they were because that leads me to another design: X68000–

Now this one is one of my favorites :3. It’s kinda like a forward facing version of his original design but with some new details! And his headband gets this cool lookin, intricate distinctly metallic design on it, something I’ve seen a lot of artists simplify to a general crescent moon shape. But it is kinda similar to the shape on his belt buckle, something that I still have no idea what it’s even supposed to be. Also, his arm guards and the thing at the end of his necklace (which may or may not have vampire teeth on it, they could just be metal spikes though) are similar; it makes me wonder if it was an attempt at a tortoiseshell pattern? Filigree? Whatever it is, they’re all matchy matchy about it.

This design also gives him the staple left shoulder pauldron, of which has these huge stitches holding it on and an added belt that connects to his other belt armor. Get used to belts, he has a lot of those X,,,D. What’s really neat about this one’s belt is that he has both a hilt for the family sword but also one for the whip on the other side, and they’re on the wrong sides for drawing the weapon properly 💀💀💀💀. Which is also funny considering his CV1 cover art has the sword on the other side, which is kinda wrong too? Who knows, maybe he’s ambidextrous and just doesn’t care what sides they’re on lol.

The biggest thing I can say about this design though is that a lot of these accessories and armor pieces look homemade, like as if he just took teeth as a trophy himself and strung them on a cord or made a shoulder piece and put it on an already existing belt he had. Adding onto this, there’s also the possible beads on his headband and the cords around his boots (which could be an attempt at a certain actual historical type of shoe that I cannot remember the name of for the life of me rn, in which case would make these not boots and actually corded shoes with very nice big fluffy socks hehe, I am forcing you to imagine him with big fluffy socks—) and yeah! I can see him making his stuff on his own :3. Which is so cool! I love this idea so much, it makes for a lot of things to imagine him doing hehe. Also gives him a hobby??? Yeah :)

No indication of if he’s got shorts or not in this one, maybe I’ll count how many have skirts or shorts and put that at the end of this lol.

But shorts get another point again cause we’re looking at Chronicles:

Oh Chronicles. Well, the first thing I wanna mention is that, this is Ayami Kojima’s design for him, so here we are seeing a very interesting mix of the visual kei style and 80s barbariancore in a way that honestly slays (figuratively and literally). And, surprisingly, there is something historically accurate about this design, and it’s not what you’d probably expect. Based on the width, material, cross rivets, and the buckle on the front, Simon is wearing an actual dog collar. Like, for dogs. Like it’s dog armor used primarily for hunting dogs I just— Again, never change Simon, never change 💀💀💀.

We also see Simon preferring to put his armor on his left side again with the torn in half coat. It’s also somewhat similar to 1600s coats, not really of any specific country in fashion that I can tell, however the sleeve being that short is not accurate, leading me to believe that he probably tore that off too lol. Very Chrom Fire Emblem of you, Simon, and another example of him D.I.Y.—ing things. The basic elements still stay similar to past designs. Shorts, distinct upper and lower half of shirt, belts, armor on said belt, sword and whip hilts, arm armor and tall boots (shout out to the heels on this one), and armor on the left, unfortunately no headband though. But that distinct bottom half to the shirt part of his outfit in this one is defined with… a corset? Yeah!!! That’s a corset!!! Though the proper name for the time period might be a stay or a girdle, but Simon is straight up wearing a belt over a corset. And said corset over a coat. Half of one. Don’t question him—

But the main entries to his 80s bara-barian half of the wardrobe, let’s get to some knightly aesthetic outfits, of which he does have a good amount, starting with SCV4:

Simon’s knightly outfits are usually a similar silhouette as his original tunic look, just in metal this time and in various colors. SCV4 has his armor as gold on the cover, blue on the Japanese cover and manual art, and green in game! And they’re all pretty much the same with mild variations. On the cover art, his shoes are corded sandals with nothing under them, but in game and in most other artwork they are these metallic boots with the classic X shape of the cords baked into them. Some art gives his middle belt armor section this cross with snakes on it, which is an odd thing to be referencing here. It’s either a staff of Mercury, usually associated now with medicine but was an alchemical symbol before that, or something else I can’t find any info on. There’s also a big ab window because these are all proper half shirts lol. Straight up a metal breastplate with nothing under it, a pretty bad idea tbh 💀.

All in all, these are generally really simple, but there’s one more thing before I stop talking about SCV4:

I LOVE this design. It’s this really nice blend of the older CV1 era style and the metal armor of the later ones, very cool. Shout out to the eye creases and the dead stare shadow over his eyes too, they really conveyed the effects of witnessing the horrors well lmaoooo.

Again, tunic, belt, arm guards, headband, the usual, but, speaking of symbols, there’s something about this one that’s been driving me nuts forever: I cannot find out what that symbol on his paldrons and belt buckle is!!! It’s this upside down triangle with a bent rectangle missing the bottom line over it and it LOOKS distinctly intentional, but I can’t find it or what it means anywhere!!! I tried searching through lists of alchemical symbols, religious symbols, nothing so far has been close (TwT ). Regardless, great design, definitely in my top 5.

And what else is in my top five? Oh yeah babey, it’s Simon’s Quest time:

Ah, Simon’s Quest with his fuck ass bob and the stolen Ravenloft image— but unironically, that armor fucks fr. Again, similar silhouette! If there’s any take aways from this post, it’s definitely that Simon is a little shirt, little pants kind of guy. A severe lack of long sleeves and long pants legs until now, and even then, these are skin tight. Heck even his boots(????) are vacuum sealed, just look at those fabric creases by his ankle!

Now, it’s honestly really hard to tell if his “gloves” and “boots” are supposed to be in some parts metal due to the shading on them and the base armor being very similar. I personally like to depict the forearm and calf parts as metal and the hand and ankle parts as not, but eh. Like most things regarding Simon, I suppose this too is up to interpretation XD. There’s some variation in color in some scans having the underclothes be white, dark blue, or black, and the armor be any range of red to purple to brown too. But towards red and black is probably the most accurate due to his sprite being those colors.

But this is a shockingly rare case of Simon being fully covered in one of his outfits, and I’m inclined to think that there’s probably a reason for that. Not only does he have a rotting curse right now and drawing straight up gore on the cover of an NES game was just not an option lol, but he’s not letting his guard down anymore after being hit. Which would also explain the sudden change to all metal armor as that can’t be cut through as easily as leather.

Speaking of all metal armor, oh I looooove the detailing on his. The gold accents to his byzantine (a nice in between color of red and purple, a color that is also reused in Smash Bros again in the middle corset section of his outfit) are what I would call stylized floral patterns, kinda in the way that fleur de les don’t really look exactly like flowers but still are supposed to represent one. Not sure what kind exactly, but possibly some sort type of angel’s trumpet? Very neat regardless. The gems inlaid in it are all green on top and around the belt, but the center belt buckle is bright red. It’s a very jewel tones color scheme!!!

Well anyway, if tumblr will let me have more images, I’d like to show off a few other random examples of outfit elements he’s had before I close this off with something :3

This was a pretty recently found scan of Simon wearing get this: a pleated miniskirt. Probably Roman armor inspired, as some of his other magazine scans have depicted him as such. One ad for SCV4 and another (live action even) for Simon’s Quest has him even wearing like a Roman helmet and everything, it’s odd. Add helmets to the list of things Simon might wear. Hmm maybe I should make a tier list of things based on how often he’s worn them…

Moving on!

This one goes for the bold choice of giving Simon not only an expected tiny belted tunic, but side slits on the legs! And uh um a little too much detail but uh— It’s also this kinda white, kinda bluish, kinda silverish color? Add this to Simon’s color palette I guess lol.

Which reminds me that I didn’t mention colors very much until now whoops. Throughout all of hie designs he primarily seems to wear neutrals like various browns, greys, and metal tones. But he also has a lot of color. Like as in there’s enough different colored designs to make a whole rainbow of Simon outfits. Common combinations like dark green, gold, and wine reds; blue and silver; brown, gold, orange, and kinda purplish greys; etc etc. And his HAIR. Oh boy, would this guy love modern hair dye X,,,,,D. He’s had it various blonds, reds, browns, even black at one point, blue, green, unnatural red, pink, and in one concept design white! Personally, I like depicting it as a nice in between of red, blond, and brown, it encompasses the most I think.

The final thing I wanna mention is the Smash Bros design, which I unfortunately can’t show because I’m on mobile and have met the 10 images limit whoopsie— (_ _ ;). This design is really a good culmination of a lot of elements. Not really definitive or anything, but very good :3. And it has something I didn’t mention earlier that I’ve noticed in some Simon designs: random belts or metal around his upper arms and thighs lol. The Smash Bros design in particular has the arm band things on both sides, Chronicles has it on the not half coat one, but this is another thing I’ve seen other characters (Christopher in particular, but his are just gold rings) have. The leg thing is less common, but yeah, that exists lol. Thank you Simon for uh bending two pieces of metal around your leg…? It’s cool XD. The corset also makes a return, as well as, once more, the same basic silhouette with the armor only on the left side, the belt armor pieces, etc etc. He’s very particular about that—

Well, anyway, Simon definitely has a vibe going on, but here’s a brief summary of things he seems to like:

Skirts, tunics, long shirts, and shorts (and skorts I guess), but nothing past about half his thigh, generally over the knees.

No long sleeves or pant legs (unless it’s tights when absolutely necessary).

Armor primarily to the left, unless it’s metal, in that case usually a full plate or paldron set.

Belts, hilts, belts on his arms, and neck, and hanging off of things, and legs, yeah belts—

Boots/tall socks, corded or not, and something on his forearms or wrists.

Headband! Seriously out of every Belmont he is the most dedicated to these lol.

Necklaces and beads and other little accessories and adornments are also cool.

Alrighty then, have fun Simon-ing and I encourage you to look through his or other characters’ designs and pick them apart a bit sometimes, even if it’s just through what’s on the wiki :3. If anything, I think it’s a good exercise in character design and consistency! But yeah, I wrote all this late at night and can’t think of anything else rn. If I do I’ll do a sequel I guess hehe. Either that or I might rant about another character hmmmmmmm—

[beevean]

""We’ll focus on Alucard and Juste." So, were we saying about Richter getting supplanted as the protagonist much like Trevor was...? :^)"

Imagine fans actually getting pissed off at Alucard stealing the spotlight from other characters. Oh, not because Richter get shoved to the side. Who cares about a Belmont? No, the fans get pissed because Alucard steal the spotlight from Annette.

hdjkfhjkdshfjksdhfjksdhjk

It's Alucard vs. Isaac again! Who is the biggest baby darling of the narrative? :D Annette has her own badass girl thing going on, but Alucard had the tiddies. (I am betting all the money that he'll get a shirtless scene, especially after fans were so vocal about their displeasure to see him in his OG SoTN garb rather than the original shitty wet V-neck)

I'm surprised they even want to "focus" on Juste. Oh, you mean old Trevor? You want to flesh out his character beyond "that fuck-up who can't even mentor his grandson right"? Sure, I'll believe it when I'll see it.

anyway I bet this is what's going to happen

[glorfys-glorioushair]

Story in the Castlevania Games

Buckle up this is a long one!

I understand that there is often a divide about which of the Castlevania game types are better (Classicvanias, Metroidvanias, and the 3Ds) but I think this is kind of shallow because they each offer a different perspective of style. 

Personally I love the Igarashi era because the first game I 100% completed was Symphony of the Night (I started with Super Castlevania on a SNES). I also connect with the style because I’m a terrible gamer and you can easily scrape through those (yes I went as mist throughout a lot of the inverted castle don’t @ me) as opposed to the classicvanias which make you pay for it (I like the tough concept and the reward, but I can’t tell you how many times I have screamed about falling off stairs). I haven't had a chance to play the 3Ds yet, but I have watched the Curse of Darkness cutscenes in 4K numerous times!

My own preferences aside, we all know that despite gameplay, every Castlevania game (the ones that follow the timeline, bc idk anything about the Lord of Shadows series) have the same simple plot with the sole purpose in defeating Dracula. And I sometimes see in the gaming community that their simplicity of plot is marked off as terrible and shallow. In a surface level view this can be true if you just play games to play games. But in regards to Ernest Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory that “emphasizes the idea that a writer should only reveal a small portion of the story, with the bulk of the meaning and emotion implied or hinted at”, the Castlevania games explore such deep concepts of love, human struggle, identity, gender roles, sexuality, good vs. evil, religion, and other philosophies. 

By having the same basic objective, the writers are able to explore the different avenues in going about the completion of the task of defeating Dracula and point to the ideas of what it means to be human. Some examples under the cut:

Symphony of the Night has the debate of how evil and even good can have radical ideology evident with Dracula obviously, but also in Richter who got so consumed with being the force of good he was manipulated by darkness. Thus Alucard, who is a product of both good and evil is the only one who can reinstate this balance and leave behind the quote from the Sega Saturn version, “However, you must never forget this: the one with the power to destroy this world is not him... Humans themselves possess this power.” The dialogue is actually good and complex in this game when you compare the different versions. 

CVIII: Dracula’s Curse is argued to have one of the hardest gameplays (outside of the original Japanese version) and couldn’t this have an impact on the fact Trevor Belmont and the gang are the first ones to take down Dracula? It had to have been hard for them to achieve such a feat! Also the different motives for all of the playable characters. Trevor and his family’s fealty to fighting the night and who was once Mathias Cronqvist. Grant Danasty who seeks revenge for getting temporarily turned into a monster and fights for his country’s safety. Alucard who wants to stop his father from tormenting humans. And Syfa Belnades who was a female magic user for the church in a time where that mysticism could be deadly, but was necessary to preserve humanity. I think Syfa is interesting in terms of hiding versus showing true identity (something Yoko Belnades eons later talks about). 

Curse of Darkness. Y’all this might be the most complete and obviously complex story (supplement material aside) that they have ever produced, yet it’s the one that’s the most sidelined. And for what?? Hector is an outstanding foil to Dracula even to the point of the goal is to use him as a vessel to resurrect Dracula. Like that is so interesting!! Even Isaac and Julia have great characterizations. If you want more stuff about this game, check out @beevean they have great content. 

My second favorite game, Aria of Sorrow explores how Soma is actually a reincarnation of Dracula and it’s a battle of the self, temptation, and his love for Mina that can defeat the evil within. Also Alucard’s change in terms of approaching the situation of defeating his father under the guise of Arikado Genya. Now that’s a can of worms right there.

Order of Ecclesia and the discourse of cults, Harmony of Dissonance regarding how the Belmonts are just as cursed as Dracula, friendship and more in CV: Bloodlines, Simon Belmont’s battle with outward and internal strength, Lament of Innocence and how the women are fridged for both good and evil, the list can go on.

Now I won’t say that every single Castlevania game achieves this well, most things are left to speculation and interpretation like deeper information of what happens between games and what the Belmont lineage canonically looks like. But the fact you can draw these intense and deep messages from pixels and gameplay is incredible!  

What may be my biggest frustration with Konami sidelining the Castlevania series is the potential of a complex story within a well-thought out gameplay and style. Grimoire of Souls may have failed with repetition and it being a gacha game, but the story was interesting because they explored what it looks like with the characters from different games comparing and contrasting themes. It shows that there are people in the writing room who still care about the games because of the story. But money seems to be the problem for Konami which is stupid because they would make bank with this game franchise imo

Anyways my real point here is that taking a minimalistic approach to the story-telling within a game isn’t a bad thing because there’s always going to be deeper meanings. Perhaps this is why I myself gravitate so much towards this series. For me it’s not always about how good I can get through a level or boss fight, but the subject of what speaks to the human soul.

TL;DR: don’t get hung up on what gameplay is better, pay attention to the fact that all the games share a simple plot in order to explore complex themes of humanity, saying that less is more.

[renatogpadilla]

Things I hope to see in future Seasons of "Castlevania Nocturne" in no particular order:

(SPOILERS AHEAD!)

- Richter learning more spells.

- Juste flashback or any excuse for him to wear his old outfit.

- Juste throwing a SHITLOAD OF KNIVES!

- Acknowledgment of Juste stealing Dracula's furniture.

- Maria crushing HARD on Alucard.

- Alucard learning to smile again thanks to Maria and Richter.

- The Phantoms of Trevor, Sypha and Grant Greta showing up as a boss fight for Alucard like in SotN and all the old cast reprising their roles.

- Dracula. OBVIOUSLY. Hopefully Graham McTavish comes back!

- "Die Monster!" The whole thing. Please. I'm BEGGING!

- Maria's green ninja outfit (probably made using Eduard's old clothes?) and "Rock Daddy" Richter.

- Quincy Morris and how he and Richter become friends.

- Juste and Richter tag-teaming somebody.

- Alucard maybe learning about Summons from Maria, and thus getting his Fairy companion from SotN.

- More game music! That "Divine Bloodlines" Remix was EVERYTHING!!!

- Somebody singing "I Am The Wind" from SotN, wether it's Edouard or Maria or Anette or whoever. I NEED IT.

- Alucard quoting the Bible before a kill.

- Alucard vs Olrox.

- EXPONENTIALLY MORE Himbo Richter.

- Alucard's Vision where he kills another succubus. (Tera??)

- Richter getting the Vampire Killer, hopefully. If not, the Morningstar is fine too.

- Post Timeskip Maria and Alucard.

- "Al Lecarde" and the Lecarde family. Eric MIGHT be too much to hope for...

And finally,

- ANY Mention of the other protagonists. Maybe something about Simon, or maybe something about Shanoa or the boys from Circle of the Moon or the Morris Clan from the time Richter dissapeared.

- Richter giving up the whip to the Morris Clan and leaving to live his life happily ever after.

Needless to say, this Show has me HOOKED!

[sweetlyfez]

Definitely one of the things that strikes me about the protags of nocturne vs the first castlevania series is that Richter and Co. are *kids* in a way Trevor and Sypha really weren't

I don't have any further analysis but I have feelings abt their youth

[macgyvertape]

Castlevania Nocturn s1 thoughts/liveblog

This season more like Castlevania: colonialism, and power structures that support it

For a Symphony of the Night adaptation the inclusion of symphonic and operatic music was fantastic, especially the attention to the times the music was diegetic vs nondiegetic

Really enjoyed how many outfit changes characters got, I really want some meta about the Emissary's costume changes because she has a wide range of outfits from modern to 2 different historical ones.

Favorite plotline: the whole Orlox/Mizrak relationship and both characters (it probably seems obvious based on what I focused on), least favorite plotline Richter gets his mojo/magic back based on processing grief aka vibes

Felt much more like a coming of age story line for the protagonists, and (without checking a timeline) them a few years younger than the series 1 Trevor/Sypha /Alucard

This show really balanced well the introduction of the cosmic threat (cat goddess filling Dracula’s place) vs local threat (Emissary here vs leader night creature s1 of main show) in a way I haven't seen since s1 of the original show

more liveblog notes below cut

I knew going in Olrox was gay, a fan favorite favorite of blogs I check, and had gifs portraying him sympathetically. Funny how that probably influenced my initial impression of the opening

Lmao of course the abbey is on the evil vampire side considering I saw gifs beforehand of one of the guys with Olrox. (edit: funny that Olrox isn’t with the main vampire group at that time in the season, so I was right about the alliance for the wrong reason) 

I like how the Emissary's clothing is so modern I can't tell if she's wearing hoof heels or has cloven feet

Edouard’s singing sounded super awkward without musical backing, sure the fact its Dido's lament is foreshadowing. 

Edouard has a tailcoat, I didn’t expect to see it during this time period considering this is before the Regency. Olrox is wearing a frock coat, that’s older style?

Oooh wish they had done the fight to Vivaldi’s summer presto instead and made it nondiegetic music vs generic action music

Devil forgemaster automation!? Note to self check when first steam engine is and the Victorian times which is when I usually thing steam/magic punk

Also lmao Olrox gets the last word again

Ok so they have the French aristocrat vampires doubling as confederate vampires with the explicit colonialism slavery

Do we get more evil lesbian vampries with a take over the world plan?

I’m glad night creatures are a thing here too, its such fun monster designs

Real inversion of Castlevania’s Isaac having forge mastering be freedom from slavery and here it be a process used by the institution of the church as a method of slavery

How does “we need a plan” mean “children with no experience of the world and no experience of the hard choices adults make” in Annette’s response and not have a response because the subject changes??? Like Richter has a point about snapshot moral decisions, 2 or 4 doesn’t have experience so they should really work out any difference of opinion

Oh no the last alive mother figure keeps being helpful that’s a death flag 

Damn lol Olrox and abbey sword guy were dtf Grindr quick. Ass shot!! lmao having that final conversation about demons and Olrox is doing it leaning back, legs spread, dick out 

Can’t wait to see how it goes paying that price, what demon and Olrox’s seemingly invested question “will you [pay the price]” edit: season 1 seems to have ended demon consequence free

The world building this season seems so much richer and broader than the previous Castlevania series, all these different types of demons, magic users, gods, and spirits

Nick pick note: ok the waterproofing can’t be good enough for water to not flow down the staircase into the cellars and give away the secret passage. ask me how I know water loves to travel into basements

I'm enjoying the Emissary's ahistorical fashion in modern club/bdsm gear. Holy shit the “all about sex with you priests, every orifice I have has teeth” holy shit vagina dentata. I literally had to rewind to make sure I heard that correctly 

When Maria’s mother was pushing the stone and talking about being there for people she loves I was thinking “wow considering the hair colors for Maria it  would be funny if the Abbot was her father because it would explain why Maria’s mother, a speaker, would be so defensive of him. But surely they won’t be that tropey predictable” then as soon as the eyes met I was like LMAO

Interesting that Olrox chose then to step in vs letting Mizrak fight Belmont, since maybe he’d be better off letting the Emissary get killed

Love vampires talking with vampires about being an immortal being trapped in the shadows as they power play each other 

“You’re the one with the brand on your forehead” this was such a metal af scene burning the slaver vampire in a cage of crosses. Especially the extremely distorted fisheye focus on the symbol that distort’s the vampries face even creepier 

Oh that’s a good shot of Maria being visually isolated in the black of the Abotts’s cloak when she learns he’s her father, with a bit of visual exaggeration.  The selected impressionism animation in this series is great

The Emissary is now in her second period style outfit (red militaryish tailcoat) the first being the black outfit worn for the funeral/graveyard that looked a lot more rococo aristocratic 

Wait wat, so the vampire messiah look like a white woman with red hair wearing double side petticoats in the European aristocrat style, who has a Russian name and was living in snowy Russia, but she’s talking like she is Sekhmet despite having no Egyptian characteristics at all. Like she looks nothing like the Emissary who is Egyptian. What’s up with that?

Grandpa Belmont is somehow beating “I attacked my son and devastated a country Dracula” in worst hurting a family member reaction to grief IMO

Lacrimosa is GOATed really just best choice to include for this moment especially how they did it with nondiegetic string accompaniment in Edouard’s PoV but that cuts out with the shift to Mizrak/Olrox PoV

“I love everything about adding tension to the relationship and denial of feelings with: "is [turning me into a vampire without permission] what you had planned for me" “Of course not… I’m not in love with you”

Fucking gun axe, and did the vampires just sit around listening to the family drama to know so much 

Nooo don’t hang a lampshade on an ending line be “witty, cunning, and brutal” then say “fuck it” which fits the standard 

Power play the Messiah calling Olrox a dragon when he turned into a Quetzalcoatl in ep1, and then doing a show of force to force him from an insincere bow into a deep on. You can tell he’s fucking pissed off

“Just read the fucking book” and Orlox gets the last word again lmao

Lmao the very on the nose bible verse lines “lift up thy feat” when the birds lift Maria up, the line about slipping after she nearly slips. Wonder what was done first; picking the psalm (Psalms 73:2-5) or the animation direction?

So I thought the vampire messiah was supposed to be an a fraud in identity, but damn she can control the moon. Or was Selhmet not a delusion but a actual magic being waiting to possess her and take over, as seen by the physical transformation to part cat?

I guess Orlox does care enough for Mizrak to get involved awww

Ah the establishing shot visible proof of the limit to the eclipse which doesn’t even cover all of France 

Love the angst breakup, Orlox/Mizrak favorite ship in the whole show

It felt obvious the mother figure character wouldn’t last the whole season but I wasn’t expecting her to be turned

Word Effect where The Emissary is built up as a power threat the whole season then she’s 1 hit KO to show Alucard’s power 

[bnomiko]

Spoiler-free Nocturne ramblings

(Guess everyone's all worked up about Castlevania again because "Under the Milky Way" gained like 28 kudos and 1000 hits in 5 days, yay : D )

Just finished watching Nocturne. I have thoughts, but in the interest of keeping things SPOILER-FREE (because yes I got spoiled on things because people can't bother using a spoiler tag, thanks a lot you wankers), I'll keep this as vague as possible.

Olrox: far and away the best character thus far. I can see why everyone's hot and heavy for the guy already, and the smut fics are apparently already rolling in. I would not be mad if they simply shifted this to Castlevania: Olrox and sent everyone else home. More, please! How about some merch too? I'd buy the shit out of it, dude is straight up hot.

This is not my Richter. I expected this:

... and got this:

(Yes that's Joseph Joestar, not Richter. The point is, sexy brunet hot-headed asshole vs. plain white bread. Richter needs more asshole points, less nutritional void.)

Since Richter is 19, that'd make Maria 12, going by the Rondo of Blood timeline (apparently she's 16 in Nocturne but she doesn't look it). For those who get why I brought that up, marinate on that, y'all. A very long marinade, maybe another 5, 6 years...

I... actually don't mind Annette. I didn't know how I'd react to her, but I have no complaints.

I rather like Edouard.

I noticed Mizrak right off the bat. Thought to myself, now there's a cutie. I'm not the only one who noticed ^_~

Um, trying to figure out how to word this without doing a reveal ^^;... Thanks for throwing us a bone, sorta, on what's probably the most well-known Castlevania threeway relationship prior to the animations? Is that vague enough?

Uh.... honestly don't have much opinion on anyone else. I predicted a much higher body count by this point and people I thought would be dead aren't, and vice versa, but I'm sure the numbers will start climbing next season.

Things I wish would've happened:

A little closer compliance to game lore, as Richter has a good amount of game lore to reference. If they skip the entirety of the SotN storyline I think that'd be a mistake since it's obviously the best-known game of the franchise.

I'm not necessarily mad at the throwing away of the Vampire Killer's special clause (that only direct line male descendants can use it) as it's patriarchal and outdated but I would've liked to seen mention of that not being the case, first, before it got flung out the window.

A LOT less crying. I know Alucard was a faucet in the original animation, but the crying jags in this are ridiculous. I'm pretty sure even the horses were crying. Tera running off sobbing like an anime girl, complete with hands over her face? Ugh. Everyone just standing around and watching Annette cry her heart out, without even a hand on the shoulder in sympathy? Uggggh. No those aren't spoilers, as everyone cries at least twice, if not more.

Original animation vs Nocturne, and the lack of camaraderie and banter:

I guess what I miss most in this series so far vs the original animation series, is the lack of teamwork and camaraderie. Trevor, Sypha and Alucard were yes, forced by circumstance, to stick together, rely on one another, and build up a rapport (they spent the majority of S2 locked in the Hold together), to the point that they could work as a team without having to verbally communicate. There was something really refreshing about that, ya know?

The protagonists of Nocturne thus far... mostly do whatever they want? There's so little interpersonal dialogue. The only character relationship thus far that feels organic at all is the one that started as straight up sex - there's an honesty to that, at least.

Also I miss the banter, a lot more than I thought I would. Even with a serious storyline I like a bit of humor in my shows / stories. How else would we have learned that Sypha has icy cold feet, Trevor can't fucking read, or Alucard is triggered by the word "the"? I came away with zero new trivia factoids about Richter, Maria, and Annette.

[legendarybelmont]

i think a big factor in trevor and richters very similar character traits ending up presenting so differently is just like, an environmental thing

trevor is in a time and place where he kind of needs to be as vicious and such as he is, it benefits him more often than it doesnt and hes already a societal outcast no matter what he does so theres little reason for it to trouble him regardless. theres no opportunity for whatevers up with him to actually become a problem for him, not to the extent of richter

meanwhile richter is stuck with having the respect for his family that trevor wants, but also being trapped by it, because in that context you cant really. be a bloodthirsty mess who likes to fight things, or be outwardly disturbed over your percieved obsolescence (an obsolescence that obviously hadn't developed yet by trevors time). since richter is a beloved figure in respected society, the same traits that are 'harmless' for trevor become an open detriment

basically its like. being a pariah already vs having to keep up a pretense and etcetera i guess? stuff like that

[blissandvoid]

Castlevania is back. But in Paris during the French Revolution

Castlevania: Nocturne Review

When Warren Ellis’s Castlevania ended back in 2021, I was sad it ended but if felt like we have a good story and ending for our protagonists and it doesn’t need a sequel. Who wants to see Trevor and Sypha raising a baby anyway?

Then Castlevania Nocturne happened 2 years later. Now created by Clive Bradley instead. It had a lot of similar vibes as its predecessor. But somehow, I still kinda miss Trevor’s banters.

Our new heroes are Richter Belmont and Maria Renard from the Rondo of Blood game but their designs are from the PSP remake Dracula X Chronicles especially Maria’s pink ensemble, while Richter kept his shorter hairstyle from the original.

I like the backstories for a new character, Anette, who was a minor character from the original, into a former slave girl turned revolutionary with the power of earth and steel. Olrox, another character from Symphony of the Night, was changed from a typical vampire to a vampire with Aztec origins from the New World (the first series was set in Europe so mostly vampires then were pale and white with some Asian looking vampires mixed in so the change to Olrox is welcome). We also have a speaker (mage) and a demon forger character and a paladin type character. They add flavor to the story, I’ll just say that heheh.

For the villains, Dracula is no more, stuck in the corridors of hell from last we saw in the origseries. We have vampire/succubus type character. Morrigan and Demitri from Darkstalkers can never char. Then the new big bad is Erzsebet Bathory, a fusion of the historical countess/serial killer and Sekhmet, Egyptian goddess of war. Idk how that works, does vampirism make your bronze skin pale? Idk.

The combat scenes are ok, they’re good. I like how Richter can fuse magic with his whip, that kinda feels like something Nathan Graves from Circle of the Moon does but who cares. Maria retained her powers summoning cute versions of the shijin (Suzaku, Seiryu, Byakko, Genbu) and idk how she learned that, was she secretly Asian? Well the original game is made in Japan, so that’s the reason probably. There isn’t a fight scene that’s epic like from the original series, like that fight of Isaac vs the Magician and Legion, and the fight with Trevor vs Death. Maybe, they’re reserving the epic ones next season? If we have another one heheh.

Also, I audibly gasped after the final scene. That scene alone warrants a next season.

Overall, i liked it. Has a lot of potential.

3.5/5 ⭐️

[panicv0mit]

seeing the netflixvania posting im so fucking sorry. ive yet to watch it (will suffer through it with my friend who, like myself, is also a long time castlevania fan) and this is like. seeing a forest go up in flames and deciding to walk in anyway.

my expectations were low but it seems i'll have to set them even lower. what have they done to my favorite belmont

My netflixvania posting is but a crumb compared to all the shit I got stored in my brain but if I started rambling it would never end (except I am gonna ramble a lil bit now) spoilers (?) incoming.

Let me just say that the first 2 seasons of netflixvania were actually pretty good, I loved the final fight in season 2. It was FINE, it ended on a decent note, opened the door for the other Belmonts to step in etc etc........and that's not what they did at all. They just HAD to make 2 more fucking seasons and those had MAJOR issues between the severe mischaracterization of Hector and Alucard (I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT HECTOR ALONE) and disgusting unnecessary SA scenes...it was fucking abysmal. And you know what? It hurt to watch like genuinely. Everything that could have gone wrong in a show did go wrong. I liked Isaac's story, Sypha and Trevor were fine. But the horrible writing could not hold the show together at all. I was RELIEVED when it ended but OOPS SORRY!!!! AT THE VERY END THEY LET DRACULA PASS ON WITH HIS WIFE!!!!!!!! HEEHEE!!!!! HOOOHOO!!! Let me ask you a question. Walk with me here, friend. What is the story of castlevania? Who are they fighting? If you answered Dracula, then you're correct.

I'm not saying you have to keep resurrecting the same villain over and over again, HOWEVER. Dracula is a ginormous part of Richter's story. THAT'S THE WHOLE THING!!! BELMONTS VS DRACULA!!!! AND THEN ALUCARD WAKES THE FUCK UP AND IS LIKE AW SHIT THE CASTLE IS BACK!!!! They literally locked themselves out of TWO storylines!!!!! There will be no rondo, no symphony. They are using the characters in name ONLY. and it fucking BLOWS. I was actually somewhat excited to see the new series, I wanted to see Richter really bad he's my GUY....and then the reality set in and I'm wait a minute....NO...NOOO NOOOOOO!!!!!! bc I knew in my heart they were gonna fumble and fuck up severely. And they ARE! I am THREE episodes in and I have felt NOTHING, the show just isn't doing it for me. The pacing is fucking weird, dialogue feels unnatural sometimes, and the overall story is just.. meh. Especially with Richter. If Annette was the only main character, I wouldn't be so disappointed bc her part is really the only one that matters, it's clear she has more of a focus put on her instead and THATS OKAY! but for us Richter fans it feels so empty, he as a character in this show feels like fucking wet cardboard. They're giving him NOTHIN. That's not him at all. It feels off everything feels wrong. The first episode was the worst so far. There was no set up, no slow pacing, just them going from plot point to plot point like they were checking off a list. It all plays out, in my opinion, like if someone was fucking around in AI dungeon and trying to make their own castlevania. That's how unnatural things feel at times. As I'm writing this I'm like losing train of thought like what am I even saying I HAVE NO IDEA. At the end of the day, it's just a huge let down. My expectations were low and initially watching it isn't THAT bad, but when I sit down and let my mind simmer on it...I just get kinda sad. Why do they keep letting ppl who clearly don't know anything about castlevania in general write these shows. I don't feel passion from it. It shows horribly. I don't wanna see another one after this but no they've already confirmed season 2 and Alucard is gonna roll up and they're gonna do whatever the fuck idk. I'm gonna go play curse of darkness and symphony of the night and make out with my wife Hector or somethin

[autumnmobile12]

Predictions for Nocturne: III

I've made a few posts speculating on Nocturne; some silly, some serious.

Out of all of them, I legitimately hope to see Alucard, if he shows up at all, have to fight the 'dark magic' version this trio. No idea how this would be set up with the plot or who would even have the power to summon specters this specific, but given these three are a boss in Symphony and tormenting Alucard is a norm for the writers, it seems almost within the realm of possibility.

Or just Richter's group vs the original cast would be interesting in itself and Alucard is mercifully left out of the fight.

Probably hoping for too much, but fingers crossed all the same.

...

Bonus Speculation that I think would be hilarious:

There is a bizarre sequence in Lords of Shadow where Gabriel Belmont is shrunk down to the size of a mouse in order to chase a tiny creature through the gears of a music box.

Seems a little closer to Disney humor (thinking Onward,) but I'll still laugh.

We gotta have some humor amid the soul-crushing moments, right?

Right?

...

Ultimately, though...

...really...

...really...

...really hoping Nocturne is good. Everybody hates it when a good thing is ruined by a bad sequel/spinoff.

[rethcore]

I can't believe I spent all day in bed having Castlevania feelings

Season 2 with bae tonight and I'm hype and have been thinking of maybe dusting off my old fanfic again and giving it a complete overhaul hdhdjjdfjekjd

[beevean]

https://youtu.be/PO9rvjRn5AU?si=OoWjkPrnNoTtdJQS

Richter vs Drolta

https://youtu.be/Drnea1mHS3k?si=VaMkPiUxbzltvI4k

Alucard vs Drolta

Oh but the Belmonts are not disrespected at all

You know, I know that the Alucard Sword is a very badass weapon, but when this ancient, powerful vampire can be literally one-shot by one stibby stabby to the chest after she was able to deflect blow after blow of what is supposed to be a fearsome consecrated whip that makes creatures of the night explode (and powered up by Richter's magic to boot), I can't help but wonder why Richter doesn't just ditch the useless thing. No wonder Trevor took Leon's longsword. This is why Juste's comment about how he hardly needed the whip irritates me! It's not a cute reference to how OP he is in HoD; in context it really comes off as VK bashing.

By the way, vampires are weirdly fragile in Nocturne. Alucard didn't even remotely stab her heart. And in a previous episode, Tera killed a vampire by stabbing him through the neck. Why? Vampires aren't alive. They don't need to breathe, they don't have a beating heart, and they can survive wounds that would kill a human. IIRC, vampires in NFCV died either from whip exploding, being decapitated, being straight up shattered (Cho), exposure to the sun... or, weirdly enough, being simply staked, which is the lamest form of death. And it's the way Dracula died :) but at least being staked is a warping of classic vampire lore. What is this? Why is Nocturne so awful at consistent worldbuilding???

[just-castlevania-imagines]

My Thoughts on Castlevania S3

So I cant sleep, I've binged this series twice now & I really need to get this out. For context on me as a person, I am an LGBT+ WOC (specifically Asian & bisexual). Castlevania is my favourite game series + the reason why I pursued Game Design as my career. The show means the world to me & I thoroughly enjoyed s3 for the most part. I acknowledge the flaws & these r just MY opinions, they do not reflect the other mods intentionally in anyway.

The art + animation was so CLEAN. There was not one scene that did not take my breath away. The attention to detail was phenomenal I have no words to describe it.

Some of the best fight scenes ever just ridiculous, it's like john wick. The action is upped every installment + its just so CLEAN

The entire team puts so much time + effort Into making Sypha such an enjoyable badass it's so amazing. I am never disappointed with her, never ever.

The lesbians. Striga & Morana, god I wish that were me.

Isaacs character arc was so good. Like the budget really went to Sypha + Issac this season LOL

Sumi + Takka, they meant so much to me. I love them, I really do. I cant say I'm not hurt seeing them at the end. I'm actually very hurt, my heart aches. I never thought I'd get to see representation like that in a series that I loved but felt idk invisible to. LGBT Asians in a historical setting outside of Asia, it was just...a dream for me. I fell in love w/ them instantly & I think that's why I tend to over look their faults a lot.

But when you see yourself on screen in something you've dedicated years to & you're just finally seen its...its so hard. The last time I felt this full was Shiro from V*ltr*n and we know how that shit went down. Idk I'm happy for what I recieved, grateful even, for however short it was. I loved their characters, i love sumi + takka i just wish they got a better ending. They all deserved better

More info on Cho I really oof I could not have asked for more. This bitch was so extra & I love her

That music score, the sound design. Bruh I can't even with all this TALENT

I call episode 9 the Fuckening

The Portals to different worlds really confuses me but I am here for it, I hope it's just like an Easter egg to their future projects or that the writers were all high around then

I see u w/ that jojo reference, I bet you think ur all so slick

Hector's entire story arc, wtf was that? My guy you can't be like "Oh humanity is evil and stupid and eats shit" and then be that gullible I-ooof u frustrate me u beautiful boy. Like s2 implies he burns his family alive & I'm sitting here deadass like how the fuck did u even pull that off

The forgemasters being called pretty + their reactions were priceless

I want Richter Armitage to read me a bed time story

Trevor, Isaac & Sypha r just so well done this season

THE. HORSES. ARE. HEALTHIER.

Isaac rode a demonic purple unicorn around the world, he's my fucking hero

Alucard a confirmed bottom + bisexual thank u

The sex scenes were juxtaposed to the intense fighting but it felt awkward to watch but it was also very fitting in an odd way????

The dolls were hilarious

I learned a lot about toilet paper

The Judge being like "no kids run around in my village" is the equivalent to Mr. Mosby from Suit Life of Zack & Cpdy being like "dont u run in my lobby" AND I CALLED IT OUT AND AND WAS RIGHT

This show has taught me to never trust bald, old white men w/ interesting voices

Carmilla was just a hot ball of anger for the most Part & got annoying real fast, but that night robe tho. That was everything

I liked Lenore's character trope. Being that sweet innocent looking one, but shes really just this cruel evil bitch. Like everyone complains about Carmilla but at least shes evil to ur face until this fake bitch over here

Takka doesn't do mornings? Niether do I

Alucards wardrobe upgraded from deep Vs to fluffy Victorian Lestat cosplay

I really really want an empire run by 4 vampire sisters. Like I know they're all evil, cruel bitches but the sisterhood they showed for each other is such a goal. Women supporting women is amazing I just wish they weren't the fucking villains

A lot of my gripe is that all the rep I want & thirst for all falls into a negative category in some way/shape/form

This whole season feels more like a bridge to season 4. Kinda like a season full of fillers.

The ending hurts me I'm several ways, but objectively it is a haunting image and it really invokes so much on it's own w/o context backing it. W/ it tho, even more mindblowing and heartbreaking

Thank you so much for pronouncing Kolkata properly

I'm always blown away by character designs ur doing great sweety

The angel has the juiciest ass

Where the fuck is Cezar?

Aight I think that's all for now. If you got issues then come to me about it, not the other mods. But I'll let u know I will not tolerate racist shit (which I've gotten on IG already). I really needed to dump these feelings out. I stan Sumi & Takka, I love them and I'll carry all that on my own if I have to.

- Sincerely Mod Wall Chicken

[mrauthor3ds]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Which fighters are more anime?

You know, people often accuse certain fighters of being “too anime“. But does being Japanese-styled simply make a character “anime“, even if they’re not in any anime material? “Anime“ itself refers to the grand majority of Japanese cartoons, after all - it’s primarily in the animation. You wouldn’t call manga alone “anime“ because it’s not animated - it’s printed stills. In fact, why the H don’t people use the term “manga“ for these Japanese-styles?

Well, I say that’s not good enough. Plenty of “anime“-looking characters don’t even get their own anime stuff. So here’s what I’m gonna do. I’ll sort the fighters based on what anime material they’ve appeared in.

Higher-up tiers will take priority over lower tiers, so some fighters in the Anime (Series) tier may also be in anime movies, or anime-style commercials. I’ll give some mention to those if I can.

-= ANIME (SERIES) =- - This tier is for series of anime episodes (at least 3) - each episode would of course need to be fairly long, like 15+ minutes. - Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros.: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Koopalings - Kirby: Right Back At Ya!: Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede - Pokémon (anime): Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Lucario, Greninja, Incineroar - Pokémon Origins: Pokémon Trainer (plus Charizard, Mewtwo, and others) - F-Zero: GP Legend: Captain Falcon - Sonic X: Sonic

-= ANIME (MOVIES) =- - Next tier down is for fighters that appeared in anime-style movies or OVAs. I’ll mention some movies that above characters appeared in, of course. - Super Mario Bros. The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach: Piranha Plant (also Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser) - Fire Emblem (OVA): Marth - Animal Crossing: The Movie: Villager (Girl) - Mega Man: Upon A Star: Mega Man - Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie: Ryu, Ken - Last Order: Final Fantasy VII: Cloud - Bayonetta: Bloody Fate: Bayonetta - Dragon Quest Biography: Emblem of Roto: Hero (Arusu) - Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture: Terry - (also) many Pokémon movies: Pikachu, Pichu, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Charizard, Lucario, Greninja, Incineroar - (also) Sonic The Hedgehog (OVA): Sonic

-= ANIME (PROMOTIONAL) =- - This is for fighters in promotional material that was too short to fit the requirements for Series and Movie. Some series mentioned didn’t have long enough episodes, for example. - Super Smash Bros. For: Goddess of Light: Link, Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena - Star Fox Zero: The Battle Begins: Fox, Falco - Palutena’s Revolting Dinner: Pit, Palutena - Medusa’s Revenge: Pit, Palutena - (also) Super Mario Traffic Safety: Mario, Luigi - (also) Super Mario’s Fire Brigade: Mario, Luigi - ...There’s also a LOT of Japanese commercials for Mario games - and other Mario products - but I’m not sure I have the fortitude to hunt them all down...Still, I think in light of those, I should’ve moved Donkey Kong and Yoshi (who were in the Mario Kart 64 commercial), as well as Wario and Zelda (Famicom commercial feat. Wario’s Woods and Legend of Zelda) up to this tier. - I was REALLY hesitant in putting Link here, since the justification I had at the time was for a Smash Bros. newcomer trailer. However, since he appeared in the aforementioned Famicom commercial, he’s probably safe. But then Dark Pit wouldn’t have any anime appearances if I went by that technicality...Though since I used it, maybe Byleth should be here, too?

-= ANIME (GAME CUTSCENES) =- - This is for fighters who were in games with anime-style cutscenes and whatnot. - Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi’s Adventure Land: Yoshi - Fire Emblem: Three Houses: Byleth - Wario Land: Shake It: Wario - (also) Pokémon Channel: Pichu, Squirtle (in Pichu Brothers) - (also) Sonic Riders: Sonic - (also) Street Fighter 4 (all versions): Ryu, Ken - (also) Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes: Ryu - (also) Persona 5: Joker - ...Actually, Chrom was technically in anime-style game cutscenes in Tokyo Mirage Sessions # FE. Not the same as the general Chrom, but...

-= NOT ANIME =- - ...And now all the fighters that WEREN’T in any kind of anime. If I counted manga, then this would be pretty empty, but we’re focusing on anime here. So! Let’s see which fighters are NOT anime! - Daisy, Dr. Mario, Rosalina & Luma (forgot their avatar), Bowser Jr., Diddy Kong, King K. Rool, Sheik, Ganondorf, Young Link, Toon Link, Samus, Dark Samus, Zero Suit Samus, Ridley, Wolf, Ness, Lucas, Ice Climbers, Lucina, Roy, Robin, Corrin, Mr. Game & Watch, Snake, Olimar, Alph, R.O.B., Isabelle, Wii Fit Trainer, Little Mac, Mii Fighters, PAC-MAN, Shulk, Duck Hunt, Inkling, Simon, Richter, Hero (Eleven, Solo, Eight), Banjo & Kazooie - Ones that really are anime in hindsight: Donkey Kong, Zelda, Chrom - Castlevania does have an animated series, but it’s being done by Americans. While the style is anime-inspired, it’s not officially Japanese-drawn or -animated (much like Avatar: The Last Airbender) ...so it’s not anime. Besides, I don’t think Simon or Richter have appeared in it. It’s mainly focused on Trevor’s time. - The pseudo-3D anime style didn’t appear in Fire Emblem cutscenes until Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, which was after the release of Fates. This trend would, however, continue in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Ahem...so there you have it! Iggy is more anime than Shulk. Wario is more anime than Lucina. And Piranha Plant is more anime than three of the playable Heroes!

...But if you REALLY don’t want any more “anime” in Smash, then you better kiss Dante, Viewtiful Joe, KOS-MOS, Lloyd Irving, and Heihachi (and probably others) goodbye.