The largest battle in Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 lasts a whole episode. It is nearly exhausting to observe, so filled with over-the-top animation that you possibly can put it on repeat for hours and nonetheless catch new particulars every time. That motion blowout is probably the most thrilling a part of an uneven season, however the second I maintain serious about really got here a number of episodes earlier. It is lighter on motion, however nonetheless probably the most violent second of a present that options frequent beheadings and fountains of blood. You will comprehend it once you get there—which Castlevania animation administrators Sam & Adam Deats credit score to animator Tam Lu.
“Our prime tier, finest animators right here within the US tackle a very powerful stuff, and a few animators will come to us with ideas on easy methods to spice the shot or sequence up,” Adam Deats mentioned in an interview with PC Gamer. “Typically they’re simply nuts and do their very own factor with it.”
With Season 2 of Nocturne nonetheless contemporary, I will not spoil what I would name the season’s first “holy shit” second intimately—I will simply say that it is about younger vampire hunter Maria Renard working by way of some emotions. As Maria’s anger bubbles over in episode 4, a rougher, sharper model creeps into the animation, with extra dramatic digicam angles additional exaggerating the depth of the scene.
“In that half, Tam Lu, who’s been on the sequence since Season 3 of the unique, got here to me and mentioned ‘Hey, I wish to do this factor with it,” Sam Deats added. “And I used to be like, ‘that is gonna be superior.’ He went nuts and did one thing actually cool and attention-grabbing, and that is one of many beauties of getting this staff of animators now we have a close-knit relationship with you’ll be able to belief. You’ll be able to hand one thing to them and they are going to perceive easy methods to deliver it to life in a method that’s particular and goes past your authentic imaginative and prescient in some circumstances. That is a fantastic lightning in a bottle second.”
In case you like 2D animation however do not know Tam Lu’s identify, it is best to—here is a montage of his work in earlier seasons of Castlevania, together with another tasks, like Hyper Gentle Breaker’s announcement trailer.
Lu additionally collaborated with former Castlevania animator Spencer Wan on the Hades 2 reveal trailer, which is one other incredible-looking couple minutes of motion animation. I will depart you with an unfinished shot that allow you to see the uncooked element in considered one of his finest Castlevania scenes:
Castlevania Season 3 Animation by Tam Lu (@tml096) 🦇 pic.twitter.com/hkoCeWVnANJuly 12, 2024
