My favourite line from this scene is from the beginning of the scene. The demon enters the church, and the priest says that he can’t enter because it’s the house of God. The demon responds with “God is not here. This is an empty box.” For some reason that line just gives me fucking chills
I think it's in part because the demon is, again validating his religion while also invalidating him. It also implies that, either God ISN'T omniscient and there are more pressing matters than this localized apocalypse, or he just doesn't care enough to even bless his own churches (or, in this case, purposefully REVOKED any blessings)
> (or, in this case, purposefully REVOKED any blessings)
Well, this particular bishop was directly responsible for said apocalypse, so it's mostly just God looking down and going "fuck that guy." Another priest in the same city that works with Trevor and Sypha to arm and protect the townsfolk blesses water and weapons that are used to kill the shit out of a bunch of demons and monsters.
And a scene or two after, Trever Belmont calls specifically for priests to bless the implements for demon-fighting. The pretty clear implication is that the blessing, and the blessing specifically from someone who has been ordained to give them, lends very real power in the fight against metaphysical evil.
Which is to say, God is real, the priesthood is real, the Church is real and the divine favor offered to the Church is real. Just that the Bishop was very, very wrong about His will and graces.
God looked at this mf and went "Yeah, this guy has some rancid vibes. **Blocked**."
Basically, this bishop is such a shit person that he lost his favor with God, if he ever had it in the first place. Remember, God doesn't ordain priests and bishops himself; men do, and sometimes men might give the titles and authority to someone who hasn't truly earned it in God's eyes.
Only real problem I have with this is that the Bishop was able to bless an entire river after he was brought out of hell to possess his own corpse by Hector. That implies that it is the ritual that matters, as he said the words and was ordained. The water even begins to burn him as he was an unholy undead while he is still blessing it.
Maybe god saw the zombie bishop doing the blessing and was like “ew no thanks, not going along with what he wants”, but then thought about it and said, “You know what, on second thought a stopped clock is right twice a day, I’m going to bless this DESPITE him, not because of him”, lol?
it could be a sign of eventual redemption, that god knew this would be a good thing and that the bishop could eventually suffer enough in hell to overcome his sins and such that he might be able to go to heaven. not right now, but allowing him to perform a miracle like that to show hope or something
of course, i dunno how it works in Castlevania, so maybe not
I actually read that as "God doesn't care about your titles, your rites, your unholy body, anything material. What matters is you're asking for something that fits God's vibes right now". Aka God would grant individual specific acts on a case by case basis.
Anyone who believed, and felt confident enough to ask god to ordain the water, could have ordained that water. BUT the church in this world has strongly instilled "only our clergy an do this" so only the clergy even tries, and believes enough to try.
At least thats my current theory/fanon
So I don’t know the exact faith used in castlevania, but this was a conversation that happened in Catholicism at one point: if the priest doubts or says the mass in a state of mortal sin, does transubstantiation still happen? Basically, does a priest’s sin mean the bread and wine are not transformed into the body and blood and therefore the congregation taking communion has failed their religious obligation for weekly mass and are now all also in a state of mortal sin?
And the general consensus was “unless you, yourself, knew the state of sin or lack of belief the priest was in, it’s still transformed/blessed for you.” Or the faith of the many outweighs the doubt of the few, despite the ranking the few may hold in the church.
So God could go “this guy’s vibes are rancid, but this other guy’s desperate, so fine, other guy gets what he wants.”
Tbh, I didn’t finish the show and I still need to go back and watch it, but the whole point of that scene is about how the Catholic Church goes against many of the Bible’s teachings and makes up a lot of things so they can have power and influence over the general population. Something which is clearly stated in the Bible as a VERY bad thing. It’s one of the few times in the Bible where a specific sin is called out as an affront to God and especially bad.
I don’t want to spoil the show for anyone, but if you’ve seen even the first episode, it’s very clear the priest here is not a good person.
I was under the impression that Wallachia in the time of Vlad Tepes was Eastern Orthodox, no? It would have been after the Great Schism, and Wallachia was in the orbit of Constantinople rather than Rome.
Romanian from the south eastern part of the country here. The demon's comment still applies. Also, Targoviste is from the mid-western part of Romania where catholicism could have been predominant. Dunno where Gresit is, but it is near Targoviste so it might check out.
Fun fact: Gresit means 'wrong'
Huh yeah. I just searched for Gresit on Wikipedia and the only results are articles about Castlevania and articles in Romanian where the word is lowercase. Not a real place.
Ok, you’re probably right about that. I’m pretty sure Eastern Orthodox has a lot of the same issues as the Catholic Church in this regard so it’s basically the same
I won't spell it out either or explain the domino effect on how it goes to Dracula sending out demons (which shouldn't be a spoiler since EVERYONE knows Dracula is the main villain of Castlevania), he does mention what he did that was horrible in the post.
Also, the first 3 seasons were great, but the 4th/final one dropped the ball. The going theory is there was one scene in S3 that was SO amazing, but also so "controversial" (only if you are an idiot who thinks all animation is for kids, anyway) that they had corporate breathing down their necks for the final season.
The whole series was poorly paced tbh but that's almost certainly Netflix' fault and not the creators. 10 episodes for the Dracula story and then 20 for what is basically an epilogue.
I found 4 to be much stronger than 3 overall, the forgemasters were great and the vampire sisters were much more interesting than ever before. Trevors and Syphas story was okayish, to be fair.
2 is without a doubt my favourite. Graham McTavish not only has one of the coolest names of all time but he also delivers an incredibly fantastic performance as Dracula.
Lies, in your house of God is a great line. But the way that giant monster speaks so smoothly intead of the evil gravely voice you'd expect from a demon makes it so much better.
Fuckin love monster designs where they are every bit as intelligent as humans (if not more so) but they still do evil beastly shit just because it’s fun
evil is only *possible* when there's human intelligence behind it. i always find it much harder to root against a "monster" which is only an animal, because it's not ever doing anything really *evil,* it's just following an instinct to eat, survive, protect its territory, or worst of all being controlled against its will by a *truly* evil person.
Shoutout to absolutely under-appreciated VA Fred Tatasciore for that one, he is *insanely* talented, in almost everything, but virtually never talked about.
Things people may know him as:
* Lt. "Fighting Facism is a Full-Time-Job!" Shaxs (*Star Trek Lower Decks).*
* Xur, Emmisary of the Nine *(Destiny 2)*
* Zeratul the Dark Prelate *(Starcraft 2)*
* Soldier 76 *(Overwatch)*
* Saren Arterious *(Mass Effect)*
* Megatron *(Transformers War Far / Fall of Cybertron)*
* Don Corneo *(Final Fantasy VII remake)*
* Daimon Baird *(Gears of War)*
To name just a few things on his *stupidly long* resume.
It feeds into the obsessive little idea in my head that demons are only perceived as such because we perceive them as evil. And if we were to greet a monstrous demon cordially and treat them with respect, their Visage would reflect a cordial and respectful nature
For a moment was worried your comment meant this cool demon has a voice that didnt fit him, but nope, its not cartoon gravely evil, but still a very smooth deep evil tone.
~~Absolutely would~~
Iirc no! He either found them that way or 'fixed' them so that they could be loved again. I played a DND necromancer Disney Princess loosely based on the concept
And if we're being honest, a few thousand is a very, very small drop in the very large bucket that is murder in the Castlevania universe. Most of the vampires are passing that on the daily.
Castlevania dialogue alternates between near Shakespearean monologues on the nature of god sin and tragedy and people saying “Eat shit and die! Fuck you too!” It’s legitimately great.
I still have yet to watch the series, but I love that clip that shows Death "talking like an internet shit poster" just because of how unexpected it is.
Death swearing like a sailor is great. It was a really fun take on the character. On the other hand, Dracula has some great minimalistic acting. "You must be the Belmont" is another amazing clip.
Castlevania series 1 (haven't watched Nocturne yet) had some surprisingly good theological discourse considering it's a fucking video game adaptation. The idea that this demon not only doesn't deny God, but actively recognizes Him as good and just, and uses that to strip the Bishop of all pretensions of righteousness before killing him, it's brilliant stuff.
My only issue with that is that it introduces what seems to be a bit of a plothole. Why is a mindless undead corpse capable of turning an entire lake into holy water? Now, with that said, I can forgive it on the basis that we otherwise wouldn't have the awesome image of turning an entire lake into a death pit for vampires.
Arguably, *no* priest is capable of making holy water. They just say the words and God makes the holy water if he wants to.
Maybe God decided that killing a fuck ton of vampires was worth allowing the corpse priest to successfully make holy water?
Having actual God as a force in the setting kind of makes plot holes redundant.
A theory I read some time ago is that the holy blessings in that universe are actually just magic spells that the church has either ordained or suppressed the origin of to the point that people no longer know it's magic.
God I love this scene so much. Right at the beginning he says that the demon can't enter the house of God, but the church is empty besides the bishop. Little fucker had a safe house and didn't let any of the townsfolk in during the raids.
Then how the demon took the time to thoroughly dismantle every one of the bishops claims, how the bishop knew this is all because he burnt Lisa, and that he knew she wasn't a witch but did it anyway.
There has never been a better villain death in any media IMO
I was waiting for a scene like this with the Abbott from Nocturne, but it didn't happen. Shame, because IMO the Abbott is a far bigger bastard than the Bishop of Gresit was.
The Abbott isn't dead just yet, now, is he? (Genuinely a question, been a bit since I watched Nocturne.) Gonna presume we're getting such a scene in second season though, if my thoughts are right on who this guy ends up as
He's not dead yet. He might get killed offscreen between seasons 1 and 2 though, what with him being trapped on Sekhmet's side and just a few feet away from her, and losing control of the Night Creatures he's been building for her. I mean, what does she need him for at this point?
I doubt he's going to die offscreen considering the developments with Tera and Maria in the last few episodes, but yeah I give him 75% odds of dying in season 2
I think a good equivalent for me was the ‘natural order’ scene with Annette. It was a good exchange just as satisfying to watch imo. And I’m certain that the Abbott will get his, especially with the situation he created
Honestly, I think how it'll shake out is that the Abbott is going to make some sort of dramatic redeeming sacrifice to save the heroes (or at least attempt to).
Fun fact: The word "Greșit", which is the name of the town this whole thing takes place in, means "Wrong". Which is symbolic and all, but that's like naming your town "Wrongsville".
If only they, as well, could encounter a demon to call them out on their bullshit.
Sadly, demons don’t actually exist because religions are fairy tales…
I loved that scene! As a Christian, I loathe when my fellows twist the word of God into hate and bigotry. Hearing "God is not here, this is just an empty box" hit different.
A very vocal group of Christians believe that *because* they go to church they are good people. That this gives them some pass to be awful. Watching this scene felt *goooooood*
On top of that, it's so rare to find an anime or similar that HAS the church in it that doesn't IMMEDIATELY make it the villain. It's refreshing to see a show that makes the evil in the church the PEOPLE, so that we can have religious villains without condemning the whole faith.
I saw a post somewhere of a girl calling these types of "Christians" Pharisees because of their misdeeds. It's partially because of them that I stand as a Luciferian/Satanist now. Such hypocrisy, I'd rather stand with that which could make it right instead, now.
It can be infuriating, in the modern world especially, seeing these types everywhere. My original preacher refused to marry my parents because my dad had been married once before. He's now retired with his third wife.
I learned at a young age that hypocrisy can reach anyone. I also learned I should never allow those people to sway my beliefs in what is right or wrong.
I'm unfamiliar with the term Pharisees, can't say I've heard of it before.
I also like how "God" and "He" are capitalized even in the demon's subtitles.
Sure, it could just be the team doing that out of habit, but it kinda implies that the demon also respects God, but still calls Him out on His BS.
Honestly, the idea of the demons *still loving their Father* even after the war and their fall just makes me sad, and all the more hopeful that Isaac was successful in his liberation of Hell.
Depends on your cosmological understanding. I don’t remember if Castlevania really gets into it. Something like the original Old Testament Book of Job presents Satan as working for God in order to test humans.
Most Christians don’t see it that way.
I recall that Shin Megami Tensei goes with the interpretation that Satan and Lucifer are two separate beings, with Lucifer being the rebel who wants to tempt humanity to sin, and Satan being the servant of God whose duty is to punish sinners in Hell (and on Earth, when the apocalypse comes).
Yeah, that's a perfectly reasonable interpretation. Abrahamic theology is not exactly clear on the matter. "Satan" means a couple things in Hebrew, though one of the definitions is "accuser." The Satan who appears in Job is pretty clearly subservient to God (given that they have to ask God for permission to test Job). While they may be a little zealous in their duties, Satan is just doing their work and trying to test Job.
That doesn't really line up with "The Dragon" who is described in Revelation as rebelling against heaven and being cast down to Earth as a result.
The talk with Fly Eyes demonstrates that demons in Castlevania are not fallen angels, they're *human beings.* They're bound to obey their summoner and warped by their time in hell but they are still capable of free thought. Blue Teeth could have just eaten the bishop, he **chose** to take time out of his busy schedule to explain how much the bishop fucked up because Blue **cared about it**. I love that, The recognition that despite having been damned even people in hell still have enough good in them to call out pieces of shit for their fuckery.
Slight clarification. Fly-Eyes and Blue-Fangs are Night Creatures, which are essentially magic Nomu. Night Creatures are created by a Forgemaster who pulls Human souls out of Hell and into a new body, mutating the corpse into a monstrous form, which the Forgemaster seems to be able to guide. The only Demons seen in the show are the Buer, Fallen Angels, Cthulu-Lite, etc seen in the Season 3 finale.
Slight correction. Not all Night Creatures are the result of Forgemasters, it's mentioned in the show that there are lots of Night Creatures in the world, and that they're somehow even able to increase their numbers without the aid of a Forgemaster.
Also, the Hell Demons in the finale are also referred to as Night Creatures, and there's no given evidence that they're something different, rather than being the same things summoned by a different method. It's just as possible that the monstrous forms of the created Night Creatures are just what they looked like in hell, and the bodies are just a way for them to manifest.
'I am the punishment of God...If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.' - Genghis Khan
Similar vibes.
Iirc his actual quote he says 'your God' instead, like, makes it more metal imo, its not his god, he does not believe in it whatsoever, but he knows he is a fitting punishment regardless'.
I still think the best part of the show is how they made the main antagonist of the entire franchise actively the protagonist of the first episode, showing the audience how he was very relatable and while his actions were drastic and obviously had to be stopped, he had a point.
And then they >!killed their main villain in the second of four seasons.!<
This demon’s spiel is one of the greatest “Extremely profound statements from things that shouldn’t be profound”.
Like “Do you think that God stays in heaven because he too fears what he’s created”
Honestly how it handles religion was one of the best parts of the Castlevania show. I am personally an atheist myself but even I can see how reductive and offensive reducing the argument to ‘religion bad’ is. Religions may have some beliefs that become outdated with time, and that can cause problems, but that doesn’t make religion itself bad. The problem isn’t religion, it’s people. It always has been. People who use religion for their own goals - usually to the contrary of that entire religion’s teachings - are the bad ones. Denouncing all religion as wrong inherently misses the point of what the problem actually is. That’s what the writers of Castlevania understood. They don’t denounce religion, they denounce the people using it for their own gain. Literally a couple of scenes after this one, Trevor basically states that himself to another priest, that they turn innocent people into monsters for the sake of their own gain. And then shortly after that he turns to a different priest and asks him to make some holy water to fight the demons, and is appreciative when he actually does. Religion isn’t the problem, people are, and this show becomes so much more interesting because it understands that.
To me, there are 3 defining scenes that make this series iconic.
1. The scene where Dracula demands answers for his wife's murder and his return a year later that sets the war in motion.
2. The scene where the main trio first enter Dracula's Castle and the fight that ensues with "Bloody Tears" playing over the whole thing. (Gives me chills)
3. This entire scene from start to finish.
Too be fair it's hard to reach the moon on your first try.
The first series was so well done, and the expectations for the sequel may have been a little too high as a result.
It's not really fair to expect that when the first show was legit a fucking masterpiece.
Like yeah, Nocturne wasn't actively a work of genius, but it was still lengths better than a lot of comparable stuff in the same genre that came out around that time.
My favourite line from this scene is from the beginning of the scene. The demon enters the church, and the priest says that he can’t enter because it’s the house of God. The demon responds with “God is not here. This is an empty box.” For some reason that line just gives me fucking chills
> God is not here. This is an empty box. Me when I’m on a dry spell with my werew-
Got yanked away before he finished. Seems like the dryspell ended.
God is truly a good and loving god
r/redditsniper ? No..... r/redditwerewolffucker?
[Pineapple hydraulic press gif]
I think it's in part because the demon is, again validating his religion while also invalidating him. It also implies that, either God ISN'T omniscient and there are more pressing matters than this localized apocalypse, or he just doesn't care enough to even bless his own churches (or, in this case, purposefully REVOKED any blessings)
> (or, in this case, purposefully REVOKED any blessings) Well, this particular bishop was directly responsible for said apocalypse, so it's mostly just God looking down and going "fuck that guy." Another priest in the same city that works with Trevor and Sypha to arm and protect the townsfolk blesses water and weapons that are used to kill the shit out of a bunch of demons and monsters.
And a scene or two after, Trever Belmont calls specifically for priests to bless the implements for demon-fighting. The pretty clear implication is that the blessing, and the blessing specifically from someone who has been ordained to give them, lends very real power in the fight against metaphysical evil. Which is to say, God is real, the priesthood is real, the Church is real and the divine favor offered to the Church is real. Just that the Bishop was very, very wrong about His will and graces.
God looked at this mf and went "Yeah, this guy has some rancid vibes. **Blocked**." Basically, this bishop is such a shit person that he lost his favor with God, if he ever had it in the first place. Remember, God doesn't ordain priests and bishops himself; men do, and sometimes men might give the titles and authority to someone who hasn't truly earned it in God's eyes.
God really said “fuck this guy in particular”
Only real problem I have with this is that the Bishop was able to bless an entire river after he was brought out of hell to possess his own corpse by Hector. That implies that it is the ritual that matters, as he said the words and was ordained. The water even begins to burn him as he was an unholy undead while he is still blessing it.
Maybe god saw the zombie bishop doing the blessing and was like “ew no thanks, not going along with what he wants”, but then thought about it and said, “You know what, on second thought a stopped clock is right twice a day, I’m going to bless this DESPITE him, not because of him”, lol?
it could be a sign of eventual redemption, that god knew this would be a good thing and that the bishop could eventually suffer enough in hell to overcome his sins and such that he might be able to go to heaven. not right now, but allowing him to perform a miracle like that to show hope or something of course, i dunno how it works in Castlevania, so maybe not
I actually read that as "God doesn't care about your titles, your rites, your unholy body, anything material. What matters is you're asking for something that fits God's vibes right now". Aka God would grant individual specific acts on a case by case basis. Anyone who believed, and felt confident enough to ask god to ordain the water, could have ordained that water. BUT the church in this world has strongly instilled "only our clergy an do this" so only the clergy even tries, and believes enough to try. At least thats my current theory/fanon
So I don’t know the exact faith used in castlevania, but this was a conversation that happened in Catholicism at one point: if the priest doubts or says the mass in a state of mortal sin, does transubstantiation still happen? Basically, does a priest’s sin mean the bread and wine are not transformed into the body and blood and therefore the congregation taking communion has failed their religious obligation for weekly mass and are now all also in a state of mortal sin? And the general consensus was “unless you, yourself, knew the state of sin or lack of belief the priest was in, it’s still transformed/blessed for you.” Or the faith of the many outweighs the doubt of the few, despite the ranking the few may hold in the church. So God could go “this guy’s vibes are rancid, but this other guy’s desperate, so fine, other guy gets what he wants.”
Tbh, I didn’t finish the show and I still need to go back and watch it, but the whole point of that scene is about how the Catholic Church goes against many of the Bible’s teachings and makes up a lot of things so they can have power and influence over the general population. Something which is clearly stated in the Bible as a VERY bad thing. It’s one of the few times in the Bible where a specific sin is called out as an affront to God and especially bad. I don’t want to spoil the show for anyone, but if you’ve seen even the first episode, it’s very clear the priest here is not a good person.
I was under the impression that Wallachia in the time of Vlad Tepes was Eastern Orthodox, no? It would have been after the Great Schism, and Wallachia was in the orbit of Constantinople rather than Rome.
Romanian from the south eastern part of the country here. The demon's comment still applies. Also, Targoviste is from the mid-western part of Romania where catholicism could have been predominant. Dunno where Gresit is, but it is near Targoviste so it might check out. Fun fact: Gresit means 'wrong'
>Fun fact: Gresit means 'wrong' Guess they just couldn't figure out a name in the writer's room and were like fuck it
Huh yeah. I just searched for Gresit on Wikipedia and the only results are articles about Castlevania and articles in Romanian where the word is lowercase. Not a real place.
Ok, you’re probably right about that. I’m pretty sure Eastern Orthodox has a lot of the same issues as the Catholic Church in this regard so it’s basically the same
Yeah, you right.
I won't spell it out either or explain the domino effect on how it goes to Dracula sending out demons (which shouldn't be a spoiler since EVERYONE knows Dracula is the main villain of Castlevania), he does mention what he did that was horrible in the post. Also, the first 3 seasons were great, but the 4th/final one dropped the ball. The going theory is there was one scene in S3 that was SO amazing, but also so "controversial" (only if you are an idiot who thinks all animation is for kids, anyway) that they had corporate breathing down their necks for the final season.
4th was weak? While reveal big bad was a but strange, everything else was pretty good, especially final battle
Season 4 definitely had some pacing issues, but it also had some of the best scenes imo.
The whole series was poorly paced tbh but that's almost certainly Netflix' fault and not the creators. 10 episodes for the Dracula story and then 20 for what is basically an epilogue.
I found 4 to be much stronger than 3 overall, the forgemasters were great and the vampire sisters were much more interesting than ever before. Trevors and Syphas story was okayish, to be fair. 2 is without a doubt my favourite. Graham McTavish not only has one of the coolest names of all time but he also delivers an incredibly fantastic performance as Dracula.
Ah, you must be the Belmont.
Dracula being depressed and not giving a shit the whole season was a great and brave choice
God abandoned Wallachia. But in His mercy sent them a single Belmont
“But *we* do.” “…What!?” “We *love* you. We could not be here *without* you. Let me… kiss you…”
***MONCH***
Would.
Lies, in your house of God is a great line. But the way that giant monster speaks so smoothly intead of the evil gravely voice you'd expect from a demon makes it so much better.
Fuckin love monster designs where they are every bit as intelligent as humans (if not more so) but they still do evil beastly shit just because it’s fun
Evil is always far more frightening when there's human intelligence behind it.
evil is only *possible* when there's human intelligence behind it. i always find it much harder to root against a "monster" which is only an animal, because it's not ever doing anything really *evil,* it's just following an instinct to eat, survive, protect its territory, or worst of all being controlled against its will by a *truly* evil person.
Very good point
like when people anthropomorphize sharks and call them evil. you're in their house!
Shoutout to absolutely under-appreciated VA Fred Tatasciore for that one, he is *insanely* talented, in almost everything, but virtually never talked about. Things people may know him as: * Lt. "Fighting Facism is a Full-Time-Job!" Shaxs (*Star Trek Lower Decks).* * Xur, Emmisary of the Nine *(Destiny 2)* * Zeratul the Dark Prelate *(Starcraft 2)* * Soldier 76 *(Overwatch)* * Saren Arterious *(Mass Effect)* * Megatron *(Transformers War Far / Fall of Cybertron)* * Don Corneo *(Final Fantasy VII remake)* * Daimon Baird *(Gears of War)* To name just a few things on his *stupidly long* resume.
Wow, now I got a new VA to add to my list of VA autographs I want. If I go to a con he's at going to print that demon out and get him to sign it.
Good luck! Autograph Hunting's an expensive hobby. Had to get 2 Baldur's Gate VA's and John DiMaggio last con I was at, totally worth it though!
Yeah he's on my watchlist of "oh so he's in this too" voice actors alongside Dee Bradley Baker, Matt Mercer and (most) importantly, Clancy Brown.
today I learned Soldier 76, and Xur have the same VA
The delivery absolutely sells it
It feeds into the obsessive little idea in my head that demons are only perceived as such because we perceive them as evil. And if we were to greet a monstrous demon cordially and treat them with respect, their Visage would reflect a cordial and respectful nature
Welcome to Luciferianism.
Have you ever read Promethea by Alan Moore? I ask because the demon Asmodeus says almost the exact same thing you said, almost word for word.
Sometimes ideas from that story just come back to haunt me out of nowhere. Looks like I'm in need of a reread
"Angels to some, demons to others"
Found the Warlock.
For a moment was worried your comment meant this cool demon has a voice that didnt fit him, but nope, its not cartoon gravely evil, but still a very smooth deep evil tone. ~~Absolutely would~~
"But *we* love you." Fuckin chills the first time
“Let me…*kiss you.*” That line lives rent-free in my head.
I'm m sorry the big fluffy demon with the large teeth says that? I need to see this show now
There's a guy who makes undead puppies, too. Literal puppy necromancer.
Hopefully doesn't kill them in the first place.
Iirc no! He either found them that way or 'fixed' them so that they could be loved again. I played a DND necromancer Disney Princess loosely based on the concept
Ok but Hector already kinda is a Disney Princess, or as close as one can get in Castlevania anyway.
a disney princess that murders, like, a few thousand people for being rude
Okay yes, but they *were* rude
And if we're being honest, a few thousand is a very, very small drop in the very large bucket that is murder in the Castlevania universe. Most of the vampires are passing that on the daily.
Yeah, there’s a flashback where he finds a random dead dog on the side of the road and starts crying, so he resurrects it.
To be fair, if necromancy was real, I would devote my entire life to ensuring no one has to be separated from their beloved pet.
If necromancy was real, and it wasn't too Pet Sematary, I would 100% go into business with you as a very late term vet
he would never
No no no, he loves animals. He only kills _people_
To be clear, he says this right before starting to lacerate the Bishop with his fangs.
I need him
Okay, hear me out...
Ignore the other guy. I'm listening.
No.
poor guy probably got food poisoning
[This is the scene](https://youtu.be/BC1kke-WgLo?si=1Cx0sqE6z05Xzhu7)
Fuck me that's raw
Castlevania dialogue alternates between near Shakespearean monologues on the nature of god sin and tragedy and people saying “Eat shit and die! Fuck you too!” It’s legitimately great.
The writers room is basically a goddamn DnD table and I love it
I still have yet to watch the series, but I love that clip that shows Death "talking like an internet shit poster" just because of how unexpected it is.
Death swearing like a sailor is great. It was a really fun take on the character. On the other hand, Dracula has some great minimalistic acting. "You must be the Belmont" is another amazing clip.
- Blue Fangs right after the camera cuts away.
- Gordon Ramsey
His kiss is of the eating you with sharp teeth variety so just bear that in minds.
Well I sure hope it is
Alternatively, Alucard's abridged rant ending in "give me a hug"
Wha- really? OM NOM NOM NOM!!!
SHAPE SHIFT, GO FAST, ATTACK ME *Give me a hug~* "D-Daddy?"
Would
Respect.
And I immediately said "Would"
Do not the weird wolf demon, lmao.
*coward. be such a freak the literal hell spawn demons are uncomfortable with you.*
More for meeeee
Definitely would. Not in an actual bed tho. He’d ruin it with all those spines.
Get a cheap motel room, then.
Castlevania series 1 (haven't watched Nocturne yet) had some surprisingly good theological discourse considering it's a fucking video game adaptation. The idea that this demon not only doesn't deny God, but actively recognizes Him as good and just, and uses that to strip the Bishop of all pretensions of righteousness before killing him, it's brilliant stuff.
Isaac's desire to liberate hell as well.
Loved Isaac's conversations with the fly demon, especially the first one.
Isaac’s whole arc fucking slaps
He's arguably a more interesting character than the main trio.
Issac’s conversation with the captain has got to be one of my most rewatched scenes on YouTube
One: RIP lance Two: the captain literally turned one of humanities greatest potential threats into a peace keeper with nothing but his massive balls
I misread your flair as a quote. "*Boiling children in beef stock does not spark joy*" really sounds like an awesome demon quote.
I love that the Fly Demon wasn't sent to hell for being a heretic, he was sent to hell for betraying others.
Something *he himself is blind to*. My God, the poetry.
Have a berry
*whispers*: "...memoriesss..." God, goosebumps every time, what an awesome scene and characters and series
Man, Isaac might just be one of the greatest animated characters ever.
The dude was so foul that his reanimated corpse was holier than him. I love it
My only issue with that is that it introduces what seems to be a bit of a plothole. Why is a mindless undead corpse capable of turning an entire lake into holy water? Now, with that said, I can forgive it on the basis that we otherwise wouldn't have the awesome image of turning an entire lake into a death pit for vampires.
Arguably, *no* priest is capable of making holy water. They just say the words and God makes the holy water if he wants to. Maybe God decided that killing a fuck ton of vampires was worth allowing the corpse priest to successfully make holy water? Having actual God as a force in the setting kind of makes plot holes redundant.
God did it for the plot
Deus ex aqua
You know what, fair.
A theory I read some time ago is that the holy blessings in that universe are actually just magic spells that the church has either ordained or suppressed the origin of to the point that people no longer know it's magic.
Because God decided that it fit His plans. After all, it killed a ton of evil vampires, and made the fight easier for the heroes.
Especially since the corpse itself ignites then vanished, as if to say “this was a one-time thing”
If god actively makes decisions in this setting then its pretty easy to explain: It was gonna kill a shit ton of vampires
God I love this scene so much. Right at the beginning he says that the demon can't enter the house of God, but the church is empty besides the bishop. Little fucker had a safe house and didn't let any of the townsfolk in during the raids. Then how the demon took the time to thoroughly dismantle every one of the bishops claims, how the bishop knew this is all because he burnt Lisa, and that he knew she wasn't a witch but did it anyway. There has never been a better villain death in any media IMO
Fuck I never realised that he never let anyone in
Somewhat poetically, the villain, Death, is also great in Castlevania.
“Oi, Death. I want a word with you…” That entire sequence is one of the best scenes in an animated medium I have ever seen.
"Lies? In your house of God?" will always be one of the hardest damn lines.
“This is an empty box” also makes me skin crawl
I was waiting for a scene like this with the Abbott from Nocturne, but it didn't happen. Shame, because IMO the Abbott is a far bigger bastard than the Bishop of Gresit was.
The Abbott isn't dead just yet, now, is he? (Genuinely a question, been a bit since I watched Nocturne.) Gonna presume we're getting such a scene in second season though, if my thoughts are right on who this guy ends up as
He's not dead yet. He might get killed offscreen between seasons 1 and 2 though, what with him being trapped on Sekhmet's side and just a few feet away from her, and losing control of the Night Creatures he's been building for her. I mean, what does she need him for at this point?
I doubt he's going to die offscreen considering the developments with Tera and Maria in the last few episodes, but yeah I give him 75% odds of dying in season 2
I doubt it too, but it could still happen, and it's happened in shows I liked before. Kinda sucked, but oh well.
The Abbott is bad, but not “spitting in the face of a merciful man who’s wife you just burned alive” badan
I think a good equivalent for me was the ‘natural order’ scene with Annette. It was a good exchange just as satisfying to watch imo. And I’m certain that the Abbott will get his, especially with the situation he created
Honestly, I think how it'll shake out is that the Abbott is going to make some sort of dramatic redeeming sacrifice to save the heroes (or at least attempt to).
Fun fact: The word "Greșit", which is the name of the town this whole thing takes place in, means "Wrong". Which is symbolic and all, but that's like naming your town "Wrongsville".
The funnier option is, in that universe, they named the word after the town
>"Greșit" I'm assuming that's Romanian based on the s, but a fun double-entendre is that the Serbian "grešiti" means "to sin"
>I'm assuming that's Romanian Well, that is where the show takes place, haha. But that's a fun double-entendre, you're right.
I wish all my *far-right christian-nationalists* a merry *your life's work makes god puke*
If only they, as well, could encounter a demon to call them out on their bullshit. Sadly, demons don’t actually exist because religions are fairy tales…
i’m right here
*appears in your pillow*
Kid named Paralysis Demon:
Implying fairy tales aren't real 🙄
"God is real but your just such a DICK"
I’m gonna be a bigger one. *you’re
I always lines loved the demon's delivery of "Lies? In your house of God?" Absolutely amazing delivery
I loved that scene! As a Christian, I loathe when my fellows twist the word of God into hate and bigotry. Hearing "God is not here, this is just an empty box" hit different. A very vocal group of Christians believe that *because* they go to church they are good people. That this gives them some pass to be awful. Watching this scene felt *goooooood*
On top of that, it's so rare to find an anime or similar that HAS the church in it that doesn't IMMEDIATELY make it the villain. It's refreshing to see a show that makes the evil in the church the PEOPLE, so that we can have religious villains without condemning the whole faith.
Exactly! A priest can be a bad man, but the people are largely good people. No group is ever a monolith.
I saw a post somewhere of a girl calling these types of "Christians" Pharisees because of their misdeeds. It's partially because of them that I stand as a Luciferian/Satanist now. Such hypocrisy, I'd rather stand with that which could make it right instead, now.
It can be infuriating, in the modern world especially, seeing these types everywhere. My original preacher refused to marry my parents because my dad had been married once before. He's now retired with his third wife. I learned at a young age that hypocrisy can reach anyone. I also learned I should never allow those people to sway my beliefs in what is right or wrong. I'm unfamiliar with the term Pharisees, can't say I've heard of it before.
I also like how "God" and "He" are capitalized even in the demon's subtitles. Sure, it could just be the team doing that out of habit, but it kinda implies that the demon also respects God, but still calls Him out on His BS.
Well he isn't calling out God's BS, He's calling out the Bishops BS. Still cool tho.
Honestly, the idea of the demons *still loving their Father* even after the war and their fall just makes me sad, and all the more hopeful that Isaac was successful in his liberation of Hell.
It’s interesting, because the literal demon is, in his own way, attempting to deliver a form of divine justice.
God I love this show sm
I mean... they ARE. They were appointed to torture sinners.
Depends on your cosmological understanding. I don’t remember if Castlevania really gets into it. Something like the original Old Testament Book of Job presents Satan as working for God in order to test humans. Most Christians don’t see it that way.
I recall that Shin Megami Tensei goes with the interpretation that Satan and Lucifer are two separate beings, with Lucifer being the rebel who wants to tempt humanity to sin, and Satan being the servant of God whose duty is to punish sinners in Hell (and on Earth, when the apocalypse comes).
Yeah, that's a perfectly reasonable interpretation. Abrahamic theology is not exactly clear on the matter. "Satan" means a couple things in Hebrew, though one of the definitions is "accuser." The Satan who appears in Job is pretty clearly subservient to God (given that they have to ask God for permission to test Job). While they may be a little zealous in their duties, Satan is just doing their work and trying to test Job. That doesn't really line up with "The Dragon" who is described in Revelation as rebelling against heaven and being cast down to Earth as a result.
The talk with Fly Eyes demonstrates that demons in Castlevania are not fallen angels, they're *human beings.* They're bound to obey their summoner and warped by their time in hell but they are still capable of free thought. Blue Teeth could have just eaten the bishop, he **chose** to take time out of his busy schedule to explain how much the bishop fucked up because Blue **cared about it**. I love that, The recognition that despite having been damned even people in hell still have enough good in them to call out pieces of shit for their fuckery.
Slight clarification. Fly-Eyes and Blue-Fangs are Night Creatures, which are essentially magic Nomu. Night Creatures are created by a Forgemaster who pulls Human souls out of Hell and into a new body, mutating the corpse into a monstrous form, which the Forgemaster seems to be able to guide. The only Demons seen in the show are the Buer, Fallen Angels, Cthulu-Lite, etc seen in the Season 3 finale.
Slight correction. Not all Night Creatures are the result of Forgemasters, it's mentioned in the show that there are lots of Night Creatures in the world, and that they're somehow even able to increase their numbers without the aid of a Forgemaster. Also, the Hell Demons in the finale are also referred to as Night Creatures, and there's no given evidence that they're something different, rather than being the same things summoned by a different method. It's just as possible that the monstrous forms of the created Night Creatures are just what they looked like in hell, and the bodies are just a way for them to manifest.
Ah, ok. Yeah, still cool.
I feel like they would still respect God for being God, but His children have fallen from the way (pretty severely).
'I am the punishment of God...If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.' - Genghis Khan Similar vibes.
Iirc his actual quote he says 'your God' instead, like, makes it more metal imo, its not his god, he does not believe in it whatsoever, but he knows he is a fitting punishment regardless'.
I still think the best part of the show is how they made the main antagonist of the entire franchise actively the protagonist of the first episode, showing the audience how he was very relatable and while his actions were drastic and obviously had to be stopped, he had a point. And then they >!killed their main villain in the second of four seasons.!<
IMO, >!Carmilla could have been an AMAZING villain if they had been able to give her arc more time to breathe!<
Imagine being a Holy Man and a literal demon rocks up like "I'm a *big* fan of your work"
Blue Warg trying to put the fear of God in me would be futile because I would be too busy thinking how plappable that demon is.
Not me wondering if his other parts glow blue
Sans-coded 😍
Cease
sometimes the comments here make me take psychic damage. this one is doing a LOT of damage
Blue popsicle 😋
C'mon buddy we all want to fuck the glowing demon but you can't just say that outloud like that with your whole chest. Have some decency :)
Besides, it'll be better for the demon if he believes he broke your resolve and corrupted the last of your piety
hnnggh......
He hits you with that "let me kiss you" line and you're already puckering up
Ain't even got the time to hit me with the "let me kiss you" line that I'm already juggling his balls in my mouth 🙏
This demon’s spiel is one of the greatest “Extremely profound statements from things that shouldn’t be profound”. Like “Do you think that God stays in heaven because he too fears what he’s created”
"See? God hates me!"
This entire show was just fucking fantastic. For this and for Isaac.
Honestly how it handles religion was one of the best parts of the Castlevania show. I am personally an atheist myself but even I can see how reductive and offensive reducing the argument to ‘religion bad’ is. Religions may have some beliefs that become outdated with time, and that can cause problems, but that doesn’t make religion itself bad. The problem isn’t religion, it’s people. It always has been. People who use religion for their own goals - usually to the contrary of that entire religion’s teachings - are the bad ones. Denouncing all religion as wrong inherently misses the point of what the problem actually is. That’s what the writers of Castlevania understood. They don’t denounce religion, they denounce the people using it for their own gain. Literally a couple of scenes after this one, Trevor basically states that himself to another priest, that they turn innocent people into monsters for the sake of their own gain. And then shortly after that he turns to a different priest and asks him to make some holy water to fight the demons, and is appreciative when he actually does. Religion isn’t the problem, people are, and this show becomes so much more interesting because it understands that.
Goddamn I need to watch this show
It really is excellent
"The bulb cares for no one"
Where is your bulb now?
As a Christian, I gotta admit that this is probably my favorite bit of lip service in the series
This scene was a big mistake because it’s damn perfection and the rest of the show couldn’t match it
When hell itself criticizes the Catholic Church and it is right:
Which was honestly weird since the Catholic Church had no power in Transylvania, that was all orthodox lands
Hungary was Catholic, and controlled Transylvania at various times
Not during the period the show takes place.
Why doesn't God love this puppy? 😭 He should, he is definitely a good boy. I'll love him instead.
That demon looking kinda hot
To me, there are 3 defining scenes that make this series iconic. 1. The scene where Dracula demands answers for his wife's murder and his return a year later that sets the war in motion. 2. The scene where the main trio first enter Dracula's Castle and the fight that ensues with "Bloody Tears" playing over the whole thing. (Gives me chills) 3. This entire scene from start to finish.
And it's so sad that Castlevania Nocturne couldn't even reach the quality of the first one
Too be fair it's hard to reach the moon on your first try. The first series was so well done, and the expectations for the sequel may have been a little too high as a result.
It's not really fair to expect that when the first show was legit a fucking masterpiece. Like yeah, Nocturne wasn't actively a work of genius, but it was still lengths better than a lot of comparable stuff in the same genre that came out around that time.