Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin (ONA)

Personally, I love this!
It is definitely my cup of tea and a breath of fresh air when it comes to adapting a manga into an anime. The title says it all, "Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy". It's a sign that it's either gonna be something that won't be for everyone's taste, or it will be something that some people will more than likely enjoy.
In my opinion, this anime definitely lives up to the title and I enjoyed every single episode from beginning to end. Dark Schneider is an excellent character and the other characters are what you might expect in an anime taking place in a ... medieval dark fantasy world where magic exists.
The fanservice didn't bother me that much and most of the "ecchi" moments are mostly in the end credits and a few are played for laughs. I've been excited for this anime ever since it was announced, and... I got exactly what I came for.
I love the story, the art style, the action scenes, the characters, and that kickass OP. If you're expecting a dark fantasy compared to the likes of Berserk and Attack on Titan... you might not take anything about this anime seriously.
But if you want a highly enjoyable dark fantasy anime with an edgelord protagonist and a story with heavy metal vibes, this anime is for you!
I loved this!

If you are fan of the manga, or the OVA from the ‘90s, you might already know what this anime is all about. If you don’t, welcome to the world of “Bastard!!”! It is a dark fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic world chocked full of mythical creatures, psychedelic battles, power fantasy, and ECCHI; imagine Berserk meets InuYasha meets D&D, but horny.

WHAT I LIKE: I am a big fan of the Kaifuku Jutsushi no Yarinaoshi manga, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that I like the perverted nature of this anime. FAN SERVICE IS LIFE!
This, and Kaifuku, are borderline hentai; and I love that (please ... don’t cancel me).
The first season is a pretty faithful adaptation given that it was written by the famous Yōsuke Kuroda (who wrote/co-wrote for series like Goblin Slayer, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Hellsing Ultimate, Drifters, etc), but if you have read the manga by Kazushi Hagiwara in the ‘80s, you know that things are way more apeshit in there.
On a different note, the bad boy attitude of the MC does somehow appealed to me; I personally hate timid, indecisive MCs. They are kinda frustrating, and at times, annoying (here’s looking at you, Subaru of Re:Zero)

WHAT I DISLIKE: There are some goofy cinematography in there that might take you out of the immersion for a bit. For instance, there was a shot-reverse shot between the MC’s reaction and a villain lunging towards him while yelling his name. I don’t know if that was made for comedic purpose, or there was a budget cut in the middle of the production. 😂
Other than that, I was a tad bit disappointed because the anime tried to tone down on the horniness of the original material; you should just go all the way, brother!


MY REVIEW ON IG: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfds1FJlGYw/

Before watching Bastard!! you should probably understand what it is. It's not Berserk, it's not Goblin Slayer and it's not some deep dramatic Dark Fantasy. It's a Dark Fantasy that doesn't take itself too seriously and is self-aware its MC is a bit of an ass. Yet still, if you can accept that you may find it as enjoyable as I did.

I give credit to Lidenfilms who done a great job adapting it. The Animation was solid and at points fantastic throughout, they didn't censor it which I appreciate and were more than willing to include stuff that people may fear is too much. They ... get a lot of flack from the Anime community but this isn't an Anime they should get criticism for, they did a good job.

Lets talk about fanservice. For the most part I feel like people enjoy but it's the vocal minority that like to act as if a sideboob is the end of the world, well if you're one of these people this Anime isn't for you. It is jampacked from beginning to end with in your face fanservice and that's just how the fans of the manga (including me) want it to be. I know what the show is and I don't want it changed because a few weebs want to act like a snowflake, watch Ousama Ranking if that's the case.

With the story and the world, they're good. I felt invested in it and this is one of the few times I've watched more than 3 episodes of a show in one sitting. I had an actual urge to watch the next episode and had to stop myself from completing it because I want to finish it tomorrow. People are going to say it's weak but I assure you it isn't, those people are just treating the Anime too seriously.

Lastly I want to mention the OP. The song and the visuals make it my favourite OP of the year, DO NOT SKIP IT!!! Coldrain are Kings.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the show as much as I did.

I love this show

It's basically if you take 80's metal album covers and gave them a story full of lewdness, violence, and a main character that solos every verse with gigchad energy alone

As a metal head and anime fan this anime is 10 out of 10 Dark Schneider is what the red pill guy think they are but they will never be anywhere near the level of Chad energy that is Dark Schneider and the opening is the greatest anime opening of recent memory

The story is bat shit insane if you like the metal life style you'll enjoy this

The art and animation are great ... too

The show is call Bastard heavy metal Dark fantasy the Dark fantasy part feels like it could be replaced with just fantasy and make more sense the show can be Dark but the comedy and fan service keep me from saying it's a true Dark fantasy

This show is for you if you like: If you like metal, If you like lewdness, If you like violence, If you like old school DnD.

Usually I can't stomach stories of overpowered demon lord with a harem featuring a fanservice parade. I'm shocked by how much fun I had with this.
It dawned on me that this is what all those countless "resurrected demon lord" shows (along with most Isekais) try and fail to imitate.

TL DR: it's KonoSuba parodying Berserk instead of Isekais. To the point it almost feels like this is what inspired KonoSuba. Except this isn't as fanservice heavy and does have a linear shonen plot that drives the story instead of the slice of life narrative.

I went in blind. I knew nothing of the story and my ... only frame of reference were Kentaro Miura (Berserk) and Yoshihiro Togashi (HxH) praising it. And with the first half of the first episode I honestly expected a dark Berserk like story. Never expected it to be such a great comedy.

The humor is perfectly executed. Generic explanations about magic will take place, only for characters to turn around and say, "Ugh, that's such a cliché.". And despite building a harem, he never really gets his way, ends up being rescued by his damsels when he's distressing, as well as always being humorously blocked each time he's about to consummate.

And the spots where plot takes over and serious drama of the story takes center stage, it's actually compelling. It didn't feel like it was the B story, which is the case in most of the OP MC stories these days; they "have" plots but none of it matters since those shows are only about stringing together scenes of our invincible protagonist easily winning.

And, that brings me to my next point. As overpowered and legendarily strong our self described "Handsome protagonist hero" is, he doesn't simply win easily. He has glaring weaknesses he has to navigate. That all makes the difference since it always does cast an intrigue of how he'll manage to win. That all makes the fights be entertaining.

CONS:
The only criticisms to me would be how the satirical tone wasn't fully set until episode 3 or so, so I could easily see people being annoyed with it after a couple of episodes. That, and also, it clearly didn't have the biggest of budgets or the most dedicated of directors. Also, the main girl Yoko did have a schtick that got old really quick.

Won't ramble on beyond this. It's incredibly funny. One of the most fun series I've seen in a while. And one of the most catchy opening songs I've heard in a while as well.

I coomed in my tighty whities upon hearing the music for this show. Thorough entertainment and fun throughout this series. Very suprised how good the animation and sound was. Havn't binged watched a anime like this in a while. People constantly describing really obvious things that is going on /about to happen in the fight from the sideline like a sports commentator is the only small gripe i had. The fan service i found hilarious and the Dark Schneider / Lucien personalities mixed is quite funny relating to tia noto. This isn't going to open your third eye or make you think ... really hard about the plot but it definetly does not deserve a low 7. If your on the fence i would highly recommend it if you have netflix already.

Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy, based on the eighties manga of the same name Bastard!!, BASTARD!! 暗黒の破壊神 Original Run August 25, 1992 - June 25, 1993. Highly influenced by Dungeons and Dragons and a lot of Heavy Metal influence. This is an epic fantasy! Like one of the most successful manga series of all time.
So it isn’t surprising this anime has gotten its grubby mitts on the popular source material, but what is shocking though is how they haven’t updated the classic for a modern audience.
like a lot of 90s animes:Yu Yu Hakusho, Slayers, Berserk. This anime is a great show to me.

As someone who haven’t watched the original Bastard!!, this show is a breath of fresh air. For one, the art style is a throwback to old school anime that was suited for contemporary times, which means you get to experience HD old school anime. The story itself felt mature due to its theme but at the same time felt childish in a good way. Imagine yourself as a kid dreaming about having powers or what most anime depicts as the 8th grade syndrome, that’s Bastard!!. The anime shows off cool and flashy moves, which is typically found in shonen animes. So, why you ask did ... I only give it a 7? Because it’s simply not my type of anime but I can still see the appeal of the show. I recommend watching the show as it has some good points and it also has a lot of fan service if that’s what you’re finding.

I haven't been this satisfied with an anime in such a long while. Most of the things I saw I truly adore. Story was simple and engaging, characters were fun, music was on point and animation wasn't half bad either. I even got myself a new favourite for the MAL profile, that being the protagonist of "Bastard" Dark Schneider. This merciless, lecherous and goofy character is everything I wanted in a show bearing the words heavy metal and dark fantasy in its title. I can't praise this show enough. It was such a breath of fresh air in the sea of isekai and shallow romance ... shows that take themselves too seriously which this day and age is full of.

As hardcore as this show is with elements of overly explicit sexual and gorey scenes, it really doesn't take itself seriously and that's what I like the most about it. It's a fun dark fantasy setting with lots of cool characters besides the mc. He is, of course, a lady's man, but a real one, unlike other anime characters who just try to be him. Women are at his feet and even other men acknowledge him and his talents. Though he is also hated because of the huge amount of magic power he wields and how he uses it to spread havoc around the world.

Many anime fans who prefer complex and a bit confusing plotlines won't like this show that much. The introduction already explains most of the story and the world it is set in. You definitely don't have to think about things too hard. Just relax and don't let certain scenes put you off the show. It is a true classic gem.

If I had to nitpick about anything regarding this show I'd say that the lack of actual metal music is a bit lackluster. Sure, a hard rock opening and cool intense soundtracks do make up for it so I won't bash it too hard for just that.

To end this, the first part of the show ended in a huge cliffhanger and I can't wait for the rest to come out. I hope it just gets better from here. If you liked anything I mentioned above, you will definitely enjoy this show.

Story: Simple but good. It's more a parody like Konasuba per se.

Art: With great style and good animation, it'll never let you down!

Sound: It's superb!

Characters: They might rub you the wrong way at first, but they grow on you and develop quickly!

Enjoyment: The entertainment levels are through the roof, it's like Hype Train the more you watch the better it gets.

... Overall: I'd say it's 8 out of 10 so far, about halfway through it. But it's so enjoyable I just had to write something on it.

This so far is "Giga-Chad the Anime - Villain turns to Hero edition"

It's very entertaining but this is 100% a NSFW Anime. So keep that in mind. That's it for now! I'll come back later and edit this once I've seen it all.

Edit: This must watch till at least Season 2 (I say go "Plus Ultra" on that), I mean its good, like there's nothing left to say, what are you waiting, for 9 out 10, go watch it now!

I'm not gonna make this review too complicated, but I will say that I have not read the manga, nor did I watch the previous adaptation(OVA), so please bare in mind these aspects.

Now the main reason why I have scored an 8 is mostly because of the music, art and overall enjoyment. I knew 100% what to expect from this because I have a general good idea what to expect from these types of shows, and it did not disappoint. I really enjoy the animation and also one does not simply ignore Coldrain as an opening song, I did not skip the opening once, I ... feel they were the perfect fit for a rock/metal theme show of this kind. I also re-watched the anime in English DUB, which did not strike me impressed, I'd recommend the Japanese version, but also have to admit that the laughs are better in English even so the weird cackling in Japanese does it justice in a comedy/satire perspective, I just felt like pointing that out.

There is no need to include spoilers, because there is nothing to emphasis about the story, at least for this season. Story is plain at the moment, I don't know if it will get complicated, but I feel like people should watch the show for the action and good animation, also for the music. It hints a bad ass theme done right in my opinion.

So overall, I really think people should give this a shot. I for one will definitely look forward to the next episodes. Enjoy!

The first 3 chapters we see a very repetitive dynamic, what do you think if this continues the whole series will be a real shit. But luckily that doesn't happen, from chapter 4 things get very interesting, it expands the universe. The animation is good for netflix, the plot is interesting, it's full of echi, bordering on hentai, that's good. The development and character design is very interesting I want to see more of how it becomes in the future. The soundtrack is quite good, I really liked how the anime is very entertaining and the end of the season seems magnificent to me, that ... is, it leaves you wanting to see much more and I hope they release more chapters.
En español:
Los priemros 3 capitulos vemos una dinamica muy repitiva, que pensas si esto sigue toda la serie va ser una verdadera mierda. Pero por suerte no sucede eso, a partir del capitulo 4 las cosas se ponen muy intersantes, expande el universo. La animacion esta buena para ser de netflix, la trama es interesante, esta lleno de echi, rozando lo hentai eso esta bueno. El desarrollo y diseño de personajes es muy interesante quiero ver mas de como llega a ser en un futuro. La banda sonora esta bastante bien, me gusto mucho como esta hecho el anime muy entretenido y el final de temporada me parece magnifico o sea te deja con ganas de ver mucho mas y espero que saquen mas capitulos.

If I were to describe BASTARD!! in six words, they would be "THAT'S F**KIN' METAL AS F**K, DUDE!!"

While not perfect, LIDENFILMS have begun to redeem themselves from the trainwreck that was the 2016 Berserk anime. I liked BASTARD!! for similar reasons that I liked High School DxD as well as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It's dumb. But it's dumb fun and catches you off guard with the sheer amount of 80's metal references it gets away with, even more and less butchered by the localization than JoJo, mostly being lawyered up by spelling changes and adding hyphens in the subtitles.

BASTARD!! runs itself on three rules: ... Rule of Cool, Rule of Funny, and Rule of Sexy. This is a double-edged sword for BASTARD!!. On one hand, it's hard to take the plot seriously when, most of the time, it revolves around Mr. Schneider thinking with the brain between his pants, most fights just revolve around who can out-asspull the other, and the Fourth Wall is about as existent as it is in Deadpool. However, the sheer amount of these asspulls keep the audience on their toes, as surface level of a technique as it is, and its often juvenile sense of humor got a chuckle out of me more than a few times.

It has a solid cast of characters, even if it is mostly composed of Dark Schneider, the women fawning over Dark Schneider, and the EEVILLL villains. Their motivations are kinda vague and most of the women (and my boi Ninja Master Gara) are won over simply by Mr. Schneider's gigachad energy, but they carry the plot nicely and are entertaining to watch. It is also very interesting to see the dynamic between ultimate sigma male Dark Schneider who gets mad bitches and his total simp side who is forced to respect wamen, mostly by Yoko, who is alright as a female lead and we get to see her fend for herself a fair amount of times for a muggle character, even if she is kind of a generic character that the female fanbase can relate to and mostly overshadowed by more interesting waifus like MY BOI NINJA MASTER GARA who steals the show with his charisma and has his fair amount of time in the spotlight even if he is sidelined late in the series as a live commentator for Dark Schneider, the other (actual) waifu that steals the show, Arshes Nei, has an interesting story arc late in the series and (while her backstory is a bit sus by today's sensibilities) the character is quite relatable for an anti-villain.

Overall, BASTARD!! is great dumb fun and has a solid ensemble of characters, entertaining well-animated fights, and I almost forgot to mention the ABSOLUTE BANGER of an OP by coldrain. This first season ends on a pretty abrupt cliffhanger but is mitigated by the fact that 1. you actually want to watch more, and 2. Netflix only is making us wait two months for season 2 instead of NINE DAMN MONTHS FOR JOJO I AM STILL MIFFED ABOUT THAT!

Overall, BASTARD!! is the guilty pleasure anime of the year. If you are a fan of silly dark fantasy stories I would suggest giving it a watch.

I'll be fast, the brazilian dub is perfect, full of jokes, slangs and matches perfectly the humor of the series, very like the Yu Yu Hakusho dub, the breaking of the 4th wall in some parts mekes you fill integrated with story.
The way that Dark Schneider is written makes the story flows in a twisted "journey of the hero", instead of he larning his powers and how to use them, instead he already knows how to use them and apparently becaming more "human", and sometimes i think like the creator of the character and the creator of Dead Pool had a common inspiration for their ... personalities.

I am just on episode 13 right now and I will say this.... It is not for those looking for a serious, lighthearted anime.

It definitely does not take itself seriously, and there are so many nude/sex moments that it makes your cheek blush. But overall if you're looking for a good time, this one is it. I actually like it! As a woman, I am not into seeing other women's bodies all the time-- Bastard!! shows TOO much of it, but the overall fun and laughter makes up for it. There are times when you want to rip off the main character's head and ... the overall feeling that the women have for him makes sense, because he is handsome and strong, but as I mention before, there are nude/sex scenes, therefore only those of a mature age should watch. Please do not let the kiddos see this!

I think those looking for dark fantasy with a splash of humor will truly enjoy.