Bastard!!

Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Dark Schneider (right) and Tia Noto Yoko (center)
BASTARD!! -暗黒の破壊神-
(Basutādo!! Ankoku no Hakaishin)
Genre
Manga
Written byKazushi Hagiwara
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics
Magazine
  • Weekly Shōnen Jump (1988–1989, 1997–2000)
  • Weekly Shōnen Jump Specials (1990–1996)
  • Ultra Jump (2000–2010)
DemographicShōnen, seinen
Original runMarch 14, 1988 – present[a]
Volumes27
Original video animation
Directed byKatsuhito Akiyama
Produced by
  • Tetsuo Daitoku
  • Toru Miura
Written byHiroshi Yamaguchi
Music byKohei Tanaka
StudioAIC
Licensed by
Released August 25, 1992 – June 25, 1993
Runtime30 minutes (each)
Episodes6
Original net animation
Directed byTakaharu Ozaki
Produced by
  • Toshiyasu Hayashi
  • Shinya Tsuruoka
  • Souji Miyagi (S1)
  • Fumihiro Ozawa (S2)
Written byYōsuke Kuroda
Music byYasuharu Takanashi
StudioLiden Films
Licensed byNetflix
Released June 30, 2022 – July 31, 2023
Episodes39 (List of episodes)
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Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy (Japanese: BASTARD!! -暗黒の破壊神-, Hepburn: Basutādo!! Ankoku no Hakaishin, lit. "Bastard!! The Dark God of Destruction") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazushi Hagiwara. It began its serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1988, after debuting with a pilot one-shot in that magazine in 1987, and has continued irregularly in Ultra Jump since 2000, with its latest chapter released in 2010. As of 2012, 27 collected tankōbon volumes have been released. The pilot one-shot was remade by Tatsuya Shihara and published in Ultra Jump in July 2023. The manga was formerly licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media; only the first 19 volumes were released.

Hagiwara is an enthusiastic fan of heavy metal music and Dungeons & Dragons,[5] using ideas from both of these in the Bastard!! story. Many characters and places in the story, for instance, are named after members of Hagiwara's favorite bands.

The manga was adapted into a six-episode original video animation (OVA) series by AIC, released from 1992 to 1993. The OVA was released in North America by Pioneer in 1998. An original net animation (ONA) adaptation of the same name, by Liden Films, premiered on Netflix worldwide in June 2022. The second season premiered in July 2023.

Bastard!! is one of Shueisha's best-selling manga series of all time, with over 30 million copies in circulation.

  1. ^ 「BASTARD!!」2年半ぶり新刊とガラ外伝小説が同時発売. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. February 19, 2012. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "Animerica: Animerica Feature: Bastard!!". Animerica. Archived from the original on April 4, 2004. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  3. ^ Oppliger, John (July 18, 2008). "Ask John: What Are the Best Sword & Sorcery Anime?". AnimeNation. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  4. ^ McCarter, Charles. "BASTARD!!". EX.org. Archived from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Welton, Benjamin (August 14, 2015). "8 Most Metal Characters in the History of Manga". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.


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