The first show was pretty good. Warren Ellis, for all of his many faults and issues, is a good writer, and the voice acting was excellent. This one…is not as good, and feels much more loosely connected to the games. I didn’t recognize any of the voice actors right off the bat or after looking them up except for perhaps Franka Potente (who’s always good IMHO), but they all do a serviceable job. There’s a change in animation as well, and it does feel less vivid, but not distractingly so. The whole thing does seem less brutal and bloody, but again that may be Ellis’ influence.
I very much enjoyed the original series, so the new one was on my list of things to watch. I’ll keep my expectations appropriately calibrated.
I’ve never played a Castlevania game so any connections (or lack thereof) are not pertinent in my case.
I accidentally peeped ahead and had some idea of what was going to happen in the series, so if you’re going in blind it might hit you differently. I hope you enjoy it!