- For the animated series version of this character, see Lisa (animated series).
- "Alucard's mother. Count Dracula's wife who he loved dearly, a woman like the Virgin Mary. She created medicines for those people who suffered from the epidemic but she was executed due to the witch trials."
- — Akumajō Dracula X: Gekka no Yasōkyoku booklet description
Lisa (リサ Risa?) was Dracula's second wife and the mother of Alucard. Although never physically appearing in the Castlevania series before or since, her death served as Dracula's motivation to wage war on humanity, finalizing his transformation into the main antagonist of the games.
It should be noted that Lisa is only ever referred to by her first name in the games; neither her maiden name nor what name she took when married (Cronqvist, Țepeș or a pseudonym of some kind) have been established.
History[]
Background[]
Very few exact details about Lisa are revealed in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and subsequent material. She was alive sometime before the 1470s.[1]
At some point during her life, Lisa met Count Dracula and became involved in a relationship with him. The reason Dracula fell in love with her was because she was the spitting image of his previous wife, Elisabetha, who passed away during his fighting in God's name.[2] From their union, Alucard was conceived, inheriting the vampiric traits of his father and his mother's human heart. Dracula's marriage to Lisa seemingly also helped restore Dracula's humanity temporarily.
Lisa created medicine for those who suffered from the epidemic.[3] Due to the witch trials going on in Europe at the time, Lisa was apprehended and executed. Dracula later found her body, but arrived too late to save her.[4] Alucard was present shortly before Lisa's death, just like his father, being unable to stop the event, with Lisa requesting that Alucard allowed the mob to kill her, under the belief that it would ultimately save their souls from eternal damnation. Lisa delivered the following words for Alucard to deliver to Dracula:
- "Do not hate humans. If you cannot live with them, then at least do them no harm, for theirs is already a hard lot." ...She also said that she would love you. For eternity.
Upon learning about his wife's death, Dracula vowed revenge. In 1476, he began his war upon humanity.[5]
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night[]
Although Lisa does not make a physical appearance in this game, the Succubus impersonates her in order to deceive Alucard. Throughout the castle, Alucard is able to rest in coffins in order to restore his health and save the game. One of these save rooms, located in the Underground Caverns, is different from the rest, having a black and purple scheme instead of the usual red and gold. If Alucard rests in that particular coffin, he will enter a nightmare world where the Succubus recreates the moment of Lisa's execution, taking her appearance. The scene ends with Alucard seeing through the illusion by a speech that contradicts his mother's point of view and results in an encounter between him and the Succubus. Due to the death of the Succubus in the dream world, her soul is sent wandering for eternity. Alucard would later divulge Lisa's last words to Dracula upon beating the latter, causing Dracula to beg for Lisa's forgiveness before bidding his son farewell.
Appearance[]
Lisa is portrayed as a beautiful woman with delicate features, fair skin, light, pale blue eyes, and long blond hair tied in a ponytail that falls off her left shoulder.
Dialogue[]
| Dialogue Data: Lisa | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image / Participants | Game / Location / Title Details Transcript(s) (click Expand to view when necessary) | |
  Lisa |
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night / Nightmare / Nightmare [edit] When: After entering dream coffin in Underground Caverns Summary: As Alucard sleeps in an unusual coffin, he has a nightmare. In it, he sees the events of his mother's death as she is being burned alive as a witch. He recalls her last words to him - but they aren't quite as he remembers them. He realizes that he is not speaking to his actual mother, who is revealed to be a succubus demon and they fight.  version (original) - [transcript][video]:Alucard: !! Mother!! Lisa: That voice! Alucard, it's you!  version (new) - [transcript][video]:(Alucard shocks as he saw a crucified woman who seems to his mother) Alucard: Mother!!!  version (Japanese text) - [transcript][video]:Alucard: ！！ 母上！  (dialogue at 0:20) version (fan translated) - [transcript][video]:(Alucard shocks as he saw a crucified woman who seems to his mother) Alucard: !! Mother!  (dialogue at 6:44) | |
Gallery[]
- For additional artworks, please visit Lisa Artwork.
.png "Lisa (vampire survivors).png (4 KB)")
Other appearances[]
Castlevania: Dracula's Curse Animated Movie[]
Project 51 Productions obtained the rights from Konami to create movies based on Castlevania. Their planned project was a direct-to-DVD feature covering the story of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, with Lisa as one of the secondary characters. The project laid dormant for many years until it was picked up by Netflix and renamed simply as "Castlevania", released on July 7, 2017 (read below).
The script writer, Warren Ellis, posted a short outline on the production blog of the movie involving Lisa. The scene involves "Dr. Lisa Fahrenheit" treating a person's cough in her house located a short distance from the village.
Castlevania (animated series)[]
- Main article: Lisa (animated series)
In the series, Lisa is fully depicted as being Vlad's wife and mother to his child, Adrian. Seeking to learn more about science and ways to employ it to help those in need, she is enthralled with the vampire's castle, which can displace itself and seemingly travel through time, allowing its owner access to technology not available during that period. Lisa sends off Vlad to travel the world by convincing him that he should learn to "walk like a man" in order to become more empathetic with mankind. While he is away, she is apprehended and burned at the stake under accusations of practicing witchcraft by the town's religious leaders. After Vlad returns and discovers the murder of his wife, he condemns the human race and vows to kill the citizens of Wallachia.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Although Lisa does not make an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, she is mentioned by her son Alucard in the Palutena's Guidance for Richter Belmont; in particular, her deathbed request to Alucard and how it affected him. He also implies that this promise also had him not drinking any blood despite his vampiric nature (that, and disliking the taste of it anyway).
Vampire Survivors[]
Lisa appears as a hidden character in the Ode To Castlevania DLC. Although her last name was never confirmed in a Castlevania game, Vampire Survivors attributes her name as "Lisa Tepes", just like in the Netflix animated series.
She is unlocked by obtaining the Black Disk Relic and evolving the Wine Glass, which is the starting weapon of Dracula, alluding to their relationship.
Her starting weapon is Luminatio.
Notes[]
- Contrary to popular belief, and how the animated series portrays the event, Lisa was not burned alive. In the promo mini manga from the Konami Magazine that acts as a small prologue to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Dracula is seen holding Lisa's corpse with some bloodstains and she neither has any noticeable burn damage on her clothes nor face. In the game, she's only seen crucified. It can be speculated she died of blood loss from injuries inflicted on her body by the two men wielding spears next to her.
- The Alucard Sword is an heirloom passed down through Lisa's family.[6]
- It should be noted that the instruction booklet for Symphony of the Night describes Lisa as "the only woman Dracula ever loved". However, Lament of Innocence introduces Dracula's previous wife, Elisabetha. Whether this statement from the manual is an oversight is unknown.
- In the instruction manual of Akumajō Dracula X: Tsuioku no Yasōkyoku, the sentence is written as follows: "ドラキュラ伯爵が唯一愛した妻[...]". The kanji for uniqueness, "唯一", is used. "唯一愛した" means "only love", the implication in the sentence being that Lisa was Dracula's wife for who he had a love which was like no other.[7] When this sentence was translated to English, it was incorrectly assumed the sentence meant Lisa was Dracula's only wife. If this would have been the intended meaning, "ドラキュラ伯爵が愛した唯一の妻" would have sounded more appropriate (although the sentence would still have been weirdly expository in nature). Therefore, the above mentioned contradiction does not exist in the Japanese manual.
- The Encyclopedia of Castlevania describes Lisa as the "spitting image" of Dracula's former wife. Speculation that Lisa is the reincarnation of Elisabetha is common in fan circles.[2]
- If this is taken into consideration, then Lisa's role would be similar to that of Mina Harker from the 1992 film adaptation of the original novel, Bram Stoker's Dracula, where Mina was the reincarnation of Dracula's first wife, Elisabeta. However, this does introduce a distinct difference, as there is no evidence to suggest that Lisa is Elisabetha's reincarnation.
- Coincidentally, the two share a considerable resemblance, and the name "Lisa" is contained within the name "Elisabetha". However, given that Symphony of the Night was created prior to Lament of Innocence, this likely was merely a coincedence.
- If this is taken into consideration, then Lisa's role would be similar to that of Mina Harker from the 1992 film adaptation of the original novel, Bram Stoker's Dracula, where Mina was the reincarnation of Dracula's first wife, Elisabeta. However, this does introduce a distinct difference, as there is no evidence to suggest that Lisa is Elisabetha's reincarnation.
- According to producer Koji Igarashi, Lisa is a descendant from a holy bloodline, which is the reason why her son, Alucard, is able to use holy weapons.[8]
- Interestingly, in Alucard's nightmare, where he recollects the night that Lisa was murdered, she addresses him as "Alucard". As Alucard would not take that alias until after her death, Lisa would have no reason to call him that. It is much more likely that she would refer to him by his birth-given name: "Adrian". However, a likely explanation for this is that the Succubus creating the nightmare was unaware of his real name.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Official Castlevania Timeline (Dorimaga, 2005)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Encyclopedia of Castlevania (2001)
- ↑ Akumajō Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku instruction booklet, page 10. (Konami, 1997)
- ↑ Konami Magazine - Nocturne in the Moonlight (manga)
- ↑ Castlevania 20th Anniversary Pre-order Bundle (Konami, 2006). Timeline. 1476: Castlevania Dracula's Curse.
- ↑ Alucard Sword's description: "Mother's family heirloom".
- ↑ Weblio definition
- ↑ Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – 1997 Developer Interview at shmuplations, originally published on the NTT Pub Official Guide.
External links[]
- Lisa at the Castlevania Fan Wiki
- Lisa Tepes at the Vampire Survivors Wiki