While longtime fans of the franchise are hoping Konami brings the games out of dormancy, the Netflix Castlevania series has helped keep excitement for this world alive and thriving thanks to its intriguing continuity. Animated by the talented Austin, Texas-based outfit Powerhouse Animation Studios, this TV series combined elements from the video game canon and original storytelling to feel like the best of both worlds.
That has paved the way for a reinvigorating take on this dark, gothic fantasy world filled with lore elements to give it a distinctive flavor. From the history of the Belmont clan to the different forces of magic at play, Castlevania has enough lore worth getting invested in.
10 Trevor Belmont Was The Last Of His Kind
The headliners for many of the best Castlevania games, the Belmont family is pivotal to this franchise's mythos regardless of the continuity in question. The first Netflix series sees Trevor Belmont—part of the main cast in Dracula's Curse and Curse of Darkness—as its main protagonist.
Trevor is initially depicted as a cynical and jaded monster hunter since, at this point in history, he's the last surviving member in a long line of monster hunters. After the fallout of Lord Dracula declaring war on humanity, the Church spread the rumors that the family was linked to dark magic responsible for drawing the vampire's ire, effectively excommunication them from society.
9 Sypha Belnades Comes From A Long Line Of Nomadic Mages
As in the '80s Nintendo classic that inspired the earlier portions of the show, Sypha Belnades becomes a key member of the main cast early on in Castlevania. A powerful mage, Sypha quickly became one of the animated show's most beloved characters and belonged to an ancient order of magicians.
Known as Speakers, this nomadic organization made it their mission to spread historical and magical knowledge throughout the world through spoken word. They have also been known to be allies of the Belmonts, given their shared altruistic goals. Benevolent as they were, though, they were also heavily persecuted by the Church and blamed for Lord Dracula's wrath.
8 Forgemasters Are Key Links Between Humans And Dark Magic
The Church has, cruelly and ironically, a major role to play in the downfall of civilization in its attempts to quell the dark arts. These efforts have failed in more ways than one, as some of Dracula's strongest assets in his bloody crusade were two human Forgemasters.
Devil Forgemastery is a piece of lore adapted from the games, with Hector and Isaac being the vampiric lord's strategists and necromancers responsible for amassing his demon army. Just as ironic is the fact the Forgemasters must be human, as the link to this type of necromancy requires a human connection between the user, the enchanted tools, and the souls being reincarnated.
7 Dracula's Grim Past Is More Ambiguous In The Show
It's impossible to adapt to Castlevania without involving Dracula in a major capacity. In the Netflix canon, his backstory is murkier, but he unquestionably had the cunning to become the leader and the strongest of his species. An expert martial artist, scientist, and dark magician, much of Dracula's life was spent in solitude and garnered a bleak reputation for laying waste to entire towns and villages if he ever felt slighted.
Most relevant to the show, though, is when Dracula launched a genocide of humanity in 1476 when the Church murdered his human wife Lisa Tepes. Dracula's impactful presence in the video games effortlessly carries over in Graham McTavish's rendition in Netflix's series.
6 Alucard Is A Rare Example Of A Dhampir
Alucard completes the main trinity of Netflix's first Castlevania series. Like in other mythologies involving vampires and Dracula, Alucard is the biological son of his vampire father and his human mother. In-universe, this rare occurrence is known as a dhampir—a hybrid subspecies of humans and vampires.
Because of this, Alucard is immensely powerful since he retains all the strengths of his father's kind with next to no weakness due to his human qualities. The noblest vampire in the series, the prologue showing the origins of Dracula's crusade sees Alucard plead with his father to stop his genocide, but he's soundly defeated. Vague elements of his backstory were indirectly absorbed into the Speaker knowledge.
5 Leon Belmont Was The Clan's Founder
While much of the Belmont's lore in the Netflix Castlevania continuity remains unexplored, the series stays true to the games with Leon being the clan's progenitor. In both the original video game timeline and the animated version, Leon Belmont is also regarded as the first of the family to do battle with Lord Dracula.
Originally a French knight, Leon was the first Belmont to travel to Wallachia and settle there. After taking up monster hunting as the budding family's practice, he was also the first to use the clan's iconic Morning Star Whip. Trevor's name was also inspired by a Celt whom Leon traveled with to Wallachia named Trefor.
4 The Belmont Hold Keeps The Clan's Knowledge And History
When Leon traveled from France to Wallachia, he settled and established the Belmont estate for himself and those who would succeed him. Known as the Belmont Hold, among other names, this base of operations houses all the knowledge that the family acquired in their generations' worth of monster hunting.
But by the time Castlevania begins, the once illustrious estate lies in ruins now that the family is ostracized by the Church and the general public. The true breadth of the Belmont Hold, however, is found underneath the manor. Sealed by an enchanted door, a library and museum can be found containing the family's supernatural repository.
3 Dracula's Castle Is Highly Advanced Beyond Its Years
Though Dracula himself is responsible for much of Casltevania's mythos, his infamous castle is almost as fascinating. It's an important setting in the series and several of its machinations are explored in the first two seasons. The origins of the castle are about as mysterious as Netflix's version of Dracula himself, depicted using technology advanced far ahead of its era.
In addition to electric- and steam-powered technology, Dracula's Castle was also teeming with complex magic. The vampire lord was a brilliant scientist, and he was also capable of making his castle teleport through space and time. Castlevania manages to capture much of the intrigue that made it so eerily iconic in the games.
2 Castlevania Is Set 300 Years Before The Upcoming Nocturne Sequel
The question of the upcoming sequel series' continuity—Castlevania: Nocturne—will likely come up for newcomers to the franchise. This successor doesn't take place immediately after the events of the original show, rather, it jumps ahead by 300 years. Following the vampire-hunting exploits of Richter Belmont, Nocturne's protagonist is the distant grandson of Trevor and Sypha.
Set in the late 1700s revolutionary era of France, Nocturne will look to combine the country's corrupt aristocracy with the foreboding rise of an alleged vampiric messiah. It's unclear how much of the known timeline will be referenced, but this premise means it will likely be accessible to returning fans and newcomers alike.
1 Julia Belmont Is An Original Character For The Netflix Canon
As made abundantly clear in Nocturne's trailers, the fate of Richter's mother will play a key role in his character arc. However, Julia Belmont is an original creation by showrunner Clive Bradley and the designers at Powerhouse Animation Studios. In the games featuring Richter as a key character (Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night), his mother was never a major topic.
Since the creative teams behind the Netflix universe so far have embraced making ambitious creative changes, a new Belmont seemed inevitable. While her untimely demise means her physical presence in Nocturne's plot will be small, it will be interesting to see how she connects to the wider Belmont family tree.