Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin Part 2 (ONA)

TLDR: Guilty Pleasure for Men of Culture with fun 80s Metal references makes for prime Drinking Game experience. If you're not into this type of anime, you might not enjoy it.

This is another Netflix reboot of an older, popular anime with new graphics that manages to buck the trend by being (OMG Gasp) GOOD instead of disappointing like some others I won't mention. A large part of this is because it is 100% completely on brand with the original and in the spirit of the manga from way back in the late 1980s when things weren't as politically correct as they are today. The anime ... is tagged Ecchi for good reason, and it's not even tasteful Ecchi, but rather, no apologies no f---s given Ecchi. Expect every episode to feature titillating glimpses of one or more scantily clad or unclad females in compromising positions, you have been warned!

Protagonist Dark Schneider is an anti-hero Bastard!! He's handsome, spends a lot of time semi nude showing off his 12 pack abs and toned physique. Believing he is God's gift to women he shamelessly chases, gropes and attempts to charm into bed any attractive female within reach while loudly proclaiming how great he is. He also happens to be overpowered and dressed in plot armor like you wouldn't believe, so things go his way a lot of the time. In today's updated parlance he would have graduated from Bastard!! to F--- that F---ing MF'er, if the censors only allowed it.

The plot is largely predictable, the characters well drawn stereotypes, nice animation and a decent OST that fits the vibe of the anime. Female characters are barely dressed with gravity defying boobs while the males are GAR type muscleheads that seem brainless. The dialogue is cheesy and cringe in parts.The fights are over the top with more explosions than a Michael Bay movie. It's not going to win any Oscars, but if you like this sort of anime you're going to enjoy the hell out of watching this enjoyable guilty pleasure series.

To make it more fun, here's a drinking game for the Bastard!! series. For the braver ones, substitute sips with shots.

Take one sip (or shot if you're brave) every time:-
* Dark Schneider boasts about how powerful, handsome or awesome he is
* a female character loses portions of her armor or pieces of clothing
* Dark Schneider says or does anything lecherous (groping, fondling, suggestive tongue stuff)
* there's a heavy metal reference in city name, character name, spell name whether it is by a band, or song. More well known ones include Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer, Deep Purple, Bon Jovi etc.
* Netflix close captions say "Rock Music playing"
* Seemingly defeated characters get up and return to the fight!

Bonus extra fast drunk - take a sip or shot every time:-
* A female character says "Darsh ~~ "
* Any character starts chanting a spell
* there's an explosion that breaks a part of any built stone structure like a castle or bridge
* Dark Schneider is bleeding

Drink a bottle or multiple shots) to celebrate every time:-
* Dark Schneider does the deed with a female character

Bastard is a dark fantasy, action comedy manga from the eighties. Places, characters and attacks are named after various metal bands and songs. It's a story about four kingdoms, each holding a seal that keep the god of destruction in slumber. Of course some people with evil intention are trying to steal the seals and thus Dark Schneider, a loud, highly perverted, childish, dark wizard is summoned.

The anime follows the manga faithfully and the animation, voice acting and music are all great. Since it's an old story the pacing might feel off to some. There is a lot of fourth wall breaking and the ... series does not take itself seriously. Also be prepared for a lot of ecchi scenes. Manga readers will probably enjoy the anime because they know what they can expect. I'm not so sure about new viewers.

The pacing of the story was already getting bad towards the end of part 1, but in part 2 it simply drops off a cliff. There's literally a 5-episode battle with a single villain. Just try to imagine that: A full 100 minutes of over-explained attacks that happen *extremely* slowly.
In fact, the entirety of part 2 is back-to-back fights, and not even good ones with funny moments or emotional depth. The sheer number of death fakeouts is simply insulting, and they make everything happening onscreen feel utterly inconsequential because a character being "killed" by an attack doesn't matter as long as they have plot armour.

All ... this time wasted on bad fight scenes means that all the comedy, emotion, and lewdness that gave part 1 its charm is mostly absent.