Bastard!!

Alternate Titles

BASTARD!! 暗黒の破壊神
Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakai Shin
Bastard!!: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy

Synopsis

400 years have passed since the fall of modern civilization, and the world is now riddled with chaos and ruled by swords and magic. The Dark Rebel Armies and their Four Divine Kings have declared war on the Kingdom of Meta-llicana, and it’s up to Tia Noto Yoko, the daughter of the Grand Priest, to save the kingdom. To that end, she resurrects the legendary wizard Dark Schneider. At one point in time, he tried to take over the world, but now he’ll have to fight to save it!

Background

Bastard!! started as a manga series written and illustrated by Kazushi Hagiwara that began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump manga magazine in 1988 and ran until 2000, at which time it transferred to Ultra Jump where it was serialized until its hiatus in 2010. To date, 27 collected tankobon volumes have been published under the Jump Comics imprint. The manga is licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media.

Beginning in August 1992, the series was released as a six-episode OVA (original video animation) that was produced by AIC and ran until June 1993.

A new ONA (original net animation) was announced in February 2022. It is being produced by LIDEN FILMS and features Katsuhito Akiyama, with Yosuke Kuroda handling the story, Sayaka Ono handling character designs, Raita Sunaga handling creature designs, and Yasuharu Takanashi composing the music. The anime’s opening theme song is “Bloody Power Fame” by coldrain, and the ending theme song is "Blessless" by Tielle. The anime will premiere worldwide via Netflix on June 30, 2022.

Characters

Dark Schneider (Voiced by: Kisho Taniyama)
The series’ protagonist. He is extremely handsome and is a legendary wizard who has reincarnated himself for over 400 years to strengthen his power. An arrogant womanizer, his goal is to take over the world and create his own harem.

Tia Noto Yoko (Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki)
Tia is the daughter of Grand Priest Geo of the Meta-llicana Kingdom. She is Lucien’s childhood friend and cares for him greatly. In order to save the kingdom, she breaks Dark Schneider’s seal using her kiss and a magical spell. She has a righteous personality and is always chastising Dark Schneider.

Lucien Renlen (Voiced by: Kanae Ito)
Lucien is a war orphan who is adopted by Geo and grows up together with Tia. Though childish in speech and behavior, he has the legendary wizard Dark Schneider sealed within his body.

Gara (Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto)
Gara is one of the Four Divine Kings of the Dark Rebel Armies and is a master ninja who wields the Murasame Blade and leads an army of dark ninjas. Free-spirited and manly, he has a tough exterior but is good at taking care of others.

Arshes Nei (Voiced by: Yoko Hikasa)
Arshes is a half-human, half-elf magic swordswoman. Known as “Thunder Empress,” she is able to cast lightning spells. As a war orphan, she was picked up by Dark Schneider and became both his daughter and his lover. But since then, she has become one of the Four Divine Kings of the Dark Rebel Armies and is his adversary.

Abigail (Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita)
Known as the “Prophet of the Underworld,” Abigail is a dark cleric and one of the Four Divine Kings of the Dark Rebel Armies. He has an army of undead beings that he controls through the use of sorcery. He invades Meta-llicana together with Kall-Su in the hopes of resurrecting the God of Destruction, Anthrasax.

Kall-Su (Voiced by: Kensho Ono)
Kall-Su used to be Dark Schneider’s best friend and right-hand man before becoming one of the Four Divine Kings of the Dark Rebel Armies. He is a powerful sorcerer who wields ice magic. He invades the kingdom in order to resurrect Anthrasax and create a utopia for sorcerers ruled by magic.

Sheila Tuel Meta-llicana (Voiced by: Nao Toyama)
Sheila is the princess of the Meta-llicana Kingdom who is known for her beauty and her long black hair. Though quite naive, she has a strong sense of responsibility and a determined personality. She falls in love with Dark Schneider.

Lars (Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka)
Lars is a baby dragon who can speak and communicate with only Dark Schneider. Though originally Gara’s companion, he began to accompany Dark Schneider after his resurrection. The two seem to have a history together…

Sean Ari (Voiced by: Ari Ozawa)
Sean is one of the Three Sorcerer Generals who knows High Ancient Magic and uses talismans. She is tasked with assassinating Dark Schneider after his resurrection. She is loyal and pure-hearted.

Kai Harn (Voiced by: Shizuka Ito)
Kai is one of the Three Sorcerer Generals who can turn her enemies to stone using Ancient Language Spells. Like Arshes, she is a proud magic swordswoman and is a master of the ancient Hariken style of swordsmanship. She despises men and takes on Dark Schneider under orders from Arshes.

Di-amon (Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu)
Di-amon is an immortal vampire and one of the Three Sorcerer Generals. As a “True Forefather,” he is one of the most powerful immortals to ever live. He collects the blood of virgins in order to increase his power. His trademark is his ostentatious makeup.

Music

Opening Theme Song: “Bloody Power Fame” by coldrain
Ending Theme Song: "Blessless" by Tielle

• Anime Site (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Story: Kazushi Hagiwara
• Director: Katsuhito Akiyama
• Story Editor: Yosuke Kuroda
• Character Design: Sayaka Ono
• Creature Design: Raita Sunaga
• Effect Layout: Tatsuo Yamada
• Art Director: Kazuhiro Inoue (Kusanagi)
• Art Setting: BARNSTORM DESIGN LABO
• Color Design: Aiko Shinohara
• Special Effects Supervisor: Kumiko Taniguchi
• Special Effects: Ayumi Arahata (Team Taniguchi)
• 3DCGI: Felix Film
• Director of Photography: Junpei Takatsu
• Editing: Mai Hasegawa (editz)
• Sound Director: Yasunori Ebina
• Music: Yasuharu Takanashi (Team-MAX)
• Production: Warner Bros. Japan
• Animation Production: LIDEN FILMS