Topic: "New" Animated Dracula's Curse Series In the Works

[Reinhart77]

I wonder if this is the tip of the iceberg of Konami licensing out their franchises all over the place in lieu of actually making new games that aren't gambling or cell phone.  I'm starting to have an expectation we might see them license a new CV game to who knows who.  Will we forgive Konami?

[Dremn]

"Secondly, it’s great to hear that they’ve acquired the adaptation rights to the Konami game since that will presumably allow them to put their own spin on the series without too much interference from outside."

I hope Frederator doesn't revamp it too much, Dracula's Curse has a pretty simple story and the series has an easy to follow premise already. I just hope the art direction is appropriate...

[JR]

Heh, all this talk of Castlevania, metal, and ultra violence reminded me of this:

The Black Dahlia Murder "What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

...I don't think BDM would fit too well as a soundtrack or anything (as much as I worship them), but the lyrics definitely evoke violent imagery. Kind of a cool take on Castlevania monsters and environments.

[TatteredSeraph]

I hope Frederator doesn't revamp it too much, Dracula's Curse has a pretty simple story and the series has an easy to follow premise already. I just hope the art direction is appropriate...

You're not the only one hoping for this.  There's a balance between making it fairly grim and dark, and not being afraid of a bit of gore and violene, but without making it x-rated (see 'Erotic Violence'), yet not dumbing it down and making it to kiddie cartoon style.  If it can strike that balance, and manage to keep the fun references to stuff and be gorgeously gothic and oppulent in look, I will be happy in that respect.  LoI, SotN, and the Bernhard castle in LoS (the trilogy) got that bang-on.  But the writing needs to be done well.

  I'm loving that two series I adore (Castlevania and VHD) are suddenly getting the animated tv series in the works treatment.  But they need to be handled right.

[Belmont legacy]

Yes you read right. Castlevania 3: THE ANIMATED SERIES. We are getting what is said to be an extremely violent and gory animated series made spefically for adults. I'm thinking the reason why they want to center it around CV 3 is because this game doesn't get enough credit or attention like CV 1 or 2. I'm not a super huge fan of 3 but I still like it pretty well and I'm extremely happy we're getting an animated series seeing as the curse of darkness manga was never finished. Did I mention this was an anime?! Hell yes.

[Neobelmont]

http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php/topic,8131.0.html

There's already a thread for this one.

[Nagumo]

Merged. 

[Nagumo]

Seems like this uses the same script written by Warren Ellis for the movie(s).

http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/content/adi-shankar-producing-super-violent-castlevania-animated-series-written-warren-ellis

It sounded pretty terrible to me but apparently IGA gave feedback on it and so on, and it was supposed to tie into the canon. He even had permission to overwrite some of the back stories.

[theplottwist]

I bet the jewels of the family that Ellis has not removed the terrible goat-fucking reference.

[Abnormal Freak]

Including goat-fucking is about the only way I'd watch this. This would be like Kevin Eastman's Raphael and Casey Jones Bodycount comic: purposefully over-the-top and insanely violent for a series that is normally more subdued and relatively kid-friendly. I'd watch it if it didn't take itself too seriously.

But if it's trying to be all grimdark and wants to ignore that HBO's Spawn doesn't exist, it's probably going to suck, because taking the franchise there without a 1990s "holy fuck bro, this is wicked awesome" tongue-in-cheek approach simply wouldn't work. Considering they want a heavy metal soundtrack, I suspect they're aiming for cheese.

[Ratty]

Saying it's inspired by violent adult anime and listing "Akira, Ghost In The Shell, and Ninja Scroll" Makes Hellsing (Ultimate) very conspicuous by its absence. Though I haven't read the original statement so maybe that was just the article writer's chosen name drops. Still, I'll be surprised if any any super violent anime involving Dracula can NOT count Hellsing as a significant influence now. There's also Vampire Hunter D, depending on how you define "super violent".

[Dremn]

Seems like this uses the same script written by Warren Ellis for the movie(s).

http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/content/adi-shankar-producing-super-violent-castlevania-animated-series-written-warren-ellis

It sounded pretty terrible to me but apparently IGA gave feedback on it and so on, and it was supposed to tie into the canon. He even had permission to overwrite some of the back stories.

Oh no, now I'm feeling kinda worried about this if they're still using Ellis' script.

[darkmanx_429]

I am truly stoked about this because Adi Shankar's videos are all top notch in the quality department. For sure he takes liberties with IP's but damn I watch them all. The Punisher Dirty Laundry and Powers Rangers are my fav's but he has some good stuff his Bond adaption and what he did with Eddie Brock was awesome in my book.

At least I know the quality of the series will be good, I am just wondering (and somewhat curious) to how he is going to incorporate his personal spin on the franchise. I doubt he is going to go straight with the source material.

I don't know about Frederator, but they mentioned Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Ninja Scroll, which are all great examples of superb animation.

Let's hope this doesn't get screwed up in the plot or animation departments.

I still have a sour taste from Devil May Cry, which the animation was decent put the story was crap in my opinion as well as the portraying of Dante. I could watch the cinema's in Devil May Cry 1, 3, and 4 all day long from a pacing and action standpoint. Don't even get me started with DMC...

[Reinhart77]

so glad they're using Ellis's script.  would have been a shame to start over.  glad to see it going somewhere.  wonder if the original concept art is still relevant?

[RichterB]

I find it ironic that Castlevania is suddenly "relevant" for an animated series but not video games. Maybe Konami is hoping to build new interest in the franchise? Otherwise, while it could be interesting in theory, this seems like a nostalgia pet project. Then again, there's supposedly a new Mega Man animated series in the works (and I'm not talking about Mighty No.9), so maybe this is part of a larger trend. Still, I find it all very curious. I just hope it's respectful to the games.

Saying it's inspired by violent adult anime and listing "Akira, Ghost In The Shell, and Ninja Scroll" Makes Hellsing (Ultimate) very conspicuous by its absence. Though I haven't read the original statement so maybe that was just the article writer's chosen name drops. Still, I'll be surprised if any any super violent anime involving Dracula can NOT count Hellsing as a significant influence now. There's also Vampire Hunter D, depending on how you define "super violent".

As for not mentioning Hellsing/Hellsing Ultimate, I think it shows where their era of influence/reference comes from, rather than the content itself. They want this to have that late 80s to mid 90s vibe, I'm guessing.