Like the games of the same name, Netflix’s dark-fantasy, anime-inspired Castlevania is a period piece that draws heavily on religious imagery and gothic architecture. Set in Europe, you may be left wondering when exactly the show takes place. Luckily, we can get pretty close to an exact date, depending where you look.
Netflix’s Castelvania is not set within the timeline of the games themselves. Rather, the events and characters of the animated series are inspired by 1989’s Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, with notable influences from Curse of Darkness and Symphony of the Night. The lore of each game, delivered via instruction manual in true retro-gaming fashion, are full of their own inconsistencies, but Frederator Studios is clearly uninterested in staying true to any one of them.
When does Netflix’s Castlevania take place?
While the Castlevania show doesn’t give us an explicit date, we can guess that like Dracula’s Curse, the show is set in 1476.
In real-world Europe, 1476 falls under the Late Middle Ages. Europe was still reeling from the previous century’s Black Death, but the continent had stabilized significantly by the time Castlevania begins. For several centuries, the Renaissance and Enlightenment introduced scientific advancement and the printing press to the land, each of which are evident in the show.
The most notable event on the continent at the time was probably the continuation of the Burgundian Wars in Switzerland, while the official start of the Spanish Inquisition was still two years away. The latter’s mythical witch burnings figure heavily into season one. This all suggests that it is likely that Netflix’s Castlevania show is also set in or near 1476.
As for Castlevania’s upcoming spin-off series, fans have a far more concrete date to place the show in European history. Earlier this year, Netflix revealed Richter Belmont’s saga takes place in 1792, coinciding with the first French Revolution. The date matches Belmont’s original appearance in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.