The final season of the Castlevania anime as we know it arrives on Netflix. A mere six weeks have passed since the events of season three. Trevor, Sypha, and Allucard grow tired of their current routine, but when vampires threaten to revive Dracula the trio band together one more time to put their old enemy to rest for good.

Castlevania is a 2017 video game anime adaptation of the franchise of the same name. It is produced by Frederator Studios and distributed by Netflix. It releases on Netflix globally on May 13, 2021.

Editor’s Note: An advanced screener for Castlevania’s final season was provided by Netflix in support of this review. Minor spoilers may be present in this review with general spoilers for the Castlevania franchise. 

As Netflix prepares for the next chapter into their Castlevania adaptation, the current book closes. Trevor & Sypha have been cleaning up the mess left behind from Dracula’s demise. While Allucard is struggling with loneliness and his desire to be more human. Meanwhile, Carmilla is going mad with an endless hunger for power, Isaac has reached an epiphany, Hector wishes for atonement, and big players are attempting to revive Dracula behind the shadows. 

THE GOOD: Season four begins six weeks after the events of the previous season. Trevor and Sypha have been traveling the country cleaning up what’s left of Dracula’s loyalist. They’re grown tired and wary of the endless fighting barely getting any sleep. Allucard has become a shell of himself following the twins’ betrayal. At the same time he wants to maintain his humanity without feeding into his vampiric urges. Saint Germain has become obsessed with reuniting with his former love, so much so that he’s willingly turning his back on all that he believes in.

Carmilla is spreading her forces across Europa in an attempt to gain total control, but her sisters have begun searching for an escape. Isaac has abandoning his quest for revenge in favor of being free. And Hector still shackled by his betrayal wants to atone believing Isaac is coming for him. There’s plenty of threads from the last four seasons that are finally coming to a close in this season and it does so beautifully. As if you hadn’t noticed already I’m being light with major spoilers for this one. It deserves your uninterrupted or slighted attention. 

So where exactly do I even begin? If you’ve been following the series from the beginning then you’ll know what to expect. However, season four does so much to surpass it’s previous installments that I think people will be stunned by the quality. It’s a genuinely superb divide from seasons 1-3 and I don’t say that lightly. The animation and action are some of the best I’ve ever seen in American animation. The storytelling is as alluring as ever, but my favorite part of season four is the character development.

Holy shit, not even kidding when I say that season four had so much development for nearly a dozen plus characters. It’s almost a miracle they were able to pull off what they were within ten episodes. Literally everyone matters in some regard. From Trevor, Sypha, and Allucard to Carmilla, Germain, Hector, and Isaac. Everyone has their own goals and individual desires. For every how there’s a why and every rhyme there’s a reason. It really showcases the amount of love, passion, and respect that the producers and showrunners have for the IP. And it’s a damn shame that there are so many others who get a hold of these video game IP that they’d rather say “let’s do this but 100% different!” so much so to the point where it completely bastardizes the work in question. 

Castlevania doesn’t do that at all. It’s not afraid to be original to itself, but it also never forgets where it came from. I may be getting a tad emotional, but this is a rather important IP to me personally. And I’m sick to death of some people in Hollywood not giving video game adaptations and their fans proper respect. So forgive me for finding Castlevania as a breath of fresh air in that space. I’ve been involved with gaming since I was about six years old and I feel I can realistically say that this series will probably be the hardest video game adaptation to surpass in overall quality ever. 

THE BAD: If I had to say anything bad about Castlevania it’s that this version of the series is saying goodbye. As most of us know a spinoff is on the way with new characters likely adapting different storylines and titles. So bidding Trevor, Sypha, and Allucard farewell is gonna be a bit of a tough one the promo material for that rolls out. 

OVERALL THOUGHTS: The final season of Castlevania is perhaps the most complete video game adaptation out today. Packed with action, gore, and character development that would make it’s source material scream with glee. The finale never misses a beat, but the worst part is it leaves you wanting more for the current incarnation. Otaku Dome gives Castlevania season four a 100 out of 100.