Generally, anime series are adapted from mangas or comics that have a broad storyline, a bunch of characters, and a central theme. However, there are some anime series that have been adapted from popular video games. The best example of this is Castlevania on Netflix. The series not only got four seasons but also had a spin-off sequel.
Castlevania was created and written by Warren Ellis and is based on the Japanese action-adventure video game series. The story follows the adventures of Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard, who try to save their country from the attacks of Dracula, the King of the Vampires, and his vampire army.
The anime series is the perfect adaptation of the game; however, Ellis once revealed that he has never played the game in his life, and the original source of his information about the storyline of the series came from Wikipedia and other fan pages.
Warren Ellis Has Never Played the Castlevania Game
When the third season of Castlevania came out, The Verge interviewed Ellis and the executive producer of the series, Kevin Kolde. During the interview, Ellis was asked about including aspects of the game in the series, like the Infinite Corridor and Alchemist Saint Germain. While talking about the game’s references, the Castlevania creator revealed that he has never played the game.
Ellis stated:
Famously, I never played the games, so I have no real knowledge of the series except what’s on Wikipedia or a fan page. But as I had the opportunity to broaden the cast and introduce new characters, Saint Germain leapt out to me because I’ve always been fascinated by that period of itinerant magicians and astrologists touring the great courts of Europe and doing people’s charts for coins.
According to the creator, although he has never played the game and collected all the information about the story from fan pages, he wanted to introduce new elements in the story that would make it more exciting for the fans. And being a fan of European stories, he decided to go with Saint Germain and the Infinite Corridor.
Castlevania’s Director is Responsible for Including Gaming References in the Anime Series
While explaining the references to the game in the series, the executive producer of the series, Kevin Kolde, revealed that although Willis is not well-versed in the game, the director and the assistant director, Sam and Adam Deets, are huge Castlevania fans, and they are the ones who work on including the gaming references in the anime series.
Kolde revealed:
There’s also a bunch of people on the team that have played the games and played them sort of voraciously. Our director Sam Deats and assistant director and brother Adam Deats are huge Castlevania game nerds, and you’ll find a lot of elements from the game that they bring in.
Ellis pointed out that he has never been a gamer in his life because he doesn’t have any gaming consoles apart from an Atari that his grandfather gave him.
But he liked the random elements of the games, which is why he decided to include them in the narrative of Castlevania.
You can watch Castlevania on Netflix.
