Bastard!!

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This article is about the manga. For other uses, see Bastard.
Bastard!! Destructive God of Darkness
バスタード!! 暗黒の破壊神
(Bastard!! Destructive God of Darkness)
Genre Fantasy
Manga
Author Kazushi Hagiwara
Publisher Flag of Japan Shueisha
Demographic Shōnen, Seinen
Serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump, later Ultra Jump
Original run 1988 – ongoing
Volumes 25 (currently)
OVA: Bastard
Director Katsuhito Akiyama
Studio AIC
Episodes 6
Released 1992

Bastard!! Destructive God of Darkness (バスタード!! 暗黒の破壊神 Basutādo!! Ankoku no Hakai Shin?) is a manga by Kazushi Hagiwara. It first appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump, in 1988, and continues to be published irregularly today in Ultra Jump. Currently, it spans 25 volumes.

Kazushi Hagiwara is an enthusiastic fan of heavy metal music and Dungeons & Dragons, 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. Hagiwara also attributes the manga Devilman by Go Nagai as a primary influence on his artwork.

The manga is published in English by VIZ Media.

Additionally, a 6-part anime OVA was released in 1992. The OVA was released in the USA/North America by Pioneer in 1995.

Contents

[edit] Manga

In Bastard!!, the Kingdom of Meta-Rikana is attacked by four armies. This prompts Dark Schneider, a wizard, to awaken within the body of 14-year old Lucian Lenren.

Bastard!!'s history is about sorcery, revenge, and other power struggles in a Dungeons & Dragons-like world. It is a dystopian world, where people need magic to survive against wild beasts, and evil monsters. There are endless rulers, each one with his own army of knights and mages, who fight for survival against those beasts and the armies of multiple evil sorcerers. This world can be perfectly described by the words from the opening:

"Several hundred years, after the fall of human civilization...

It was a lawless period, a time without order.

Only blood, flesh, bone, and iron...

It was also a time of Sorcery...

Having been terrorized by demonic creatures their entire lives, humans beings were miserably inadequate, and forced to subsist in a barren, bastille environment."

While the first half of the manga follows most a theme similar to Dungeons & Dragons scenarios, it later also focuses on aspects such as beliefs, morals and religions.

[edit] OVA

[edit] Synopsis

In the anime, the six episodes tell of the awakening of Dark Schneider (also called Darsh or Darshu by those who know him well) and his subsequent attempts to destroy his old allies (The Four Lords of Havoc) and take over the world, whilst winning over multiple love interests. Dark Schneider had been imprisoned fifteen years earlier, trapped inside the body of Yoko's friend Lucien following a failed attempt to take over the world. In the meantime, his four generals attempted to resurrect the god Anthrasax, who would bring about an apocalypse and create the Sorcerer's Kingdom from the ashes of the old world. The story takes place in the future, a post-apocalyptic time following the release of Anthrasax at the height of Modern Civilization. Technology is gone and magic has asserted itself as a force in the world. Shortly after the fall of the modern world, demonic creatures began to appear en masse and forced humans to revert to a feudalistic, city-state based society. The episodes are rather disjointed, with scenes missing in between episodes making it hard to follow, but taken at face value it makes enough sense. There is a decent amount of female nudity with a large amount of sexual innuendo, along with many scenes of scantily clad women.

[edit] Production

Much like in Basara, another anime, this series was never finished. The two final episodes (which would bring the total to eight) are expected to never be created and/or released. As a result, the story ends on a cliffhanger, unlike in the manga.

[edit] Translation

The version of Bastard!! released in North America differs in a few ways from that released in Japan. The major differences are the changing of place names. The manga and anime both name places, spells (and some people) after various Heavy Metal bands, such as Metallica, Judas Priest (even in the name itself, in this case; sometimes in the manga, a blank page with "BASTARD!!" written after the style of the Judas Priest logo can be seen), Whitesnake, and Anthrax, and the spells Megadeth, Venom, Guns N' Roses, and Helloween. Fearing lawsuits, Pioneer took the Japanese forms of the band names and changed them somewhat when they were put back in English: Megadeth become Megadeath, Helloween became Haro-Wing, Whitesnake became Whiteos-Neiki, Guns N' Roses was shortened to Guns-N-Ro, and Anthrax became Anslasax. The main city in which the adventure takes place, Meta-Ricana, is actually Metallicana. In addition, there is little swearing in the dub translation.

[edit] Magic

Magic in the series is used by various people, seemingly anyone can invoke it. Magic appears to have been more common formerly, as spells of the "High Ancient[s]" are often spoken of. Magic is invariably called forth by speaking a spell, which may or may not be actual words of an ancient language. Magic may also be embedded in objects, such as the Sword of Efreet, or by calling upon what appear to be deities. Most characters have spells unique to themselves.

Dark Schneider's signature spell is Venom (爆霊地獄 ベノン benon), which only he knows. It causes the person it is cast upon to liquefy. It goes thus, in the English version:

"Burning in the depths of the pits of darkness,
"let the fires of hell take you!
"Let the fires become my sword
"and strike you down! Venom!"

The most powerful spell in the Bastard!! universe is Helloween (七鍵守護神 ハーロ・イーン hāro īn, or, in the English translation, Harowing), which is the "forbidden spell of utter and unknown destruction from the ancient days". Helloween may only be cast when the moon is right.

[edit] Characters

  • Tia Noto Yoko (ティア・ノート・ヨーコ tia nōto yōko) - Yoko is the main female role: A mildly lecherous, strong-willed and somewhat temperamental redhead, daughter of the Great Priest (and an 80% chaste virgin), self-appointed guardian and friend of Luche. She is the primary love interest of Dark Schneider. Her name is a probable reference to the extreme metal band Tiamat, though Tiamat is also the name of a powerful demonic dragon goddess in D&D, as well as a Babylonian chaos goddess.

Voiced by Koyama Yuka in the anime and Wendee Lee in the dub.

  • Dark Schneider (ダーク・シュナイダー dāku shunaidā aka Darshu, D・S) / Rushe (ルーシェ・レンレン rūshe renren aka Lucien, Lushe) - Dark Schneider is the main protagonist of the series (as the story is told mainly from his perspective), and is the most powerful wizard in the series. 15 years prior to the story's beginning, he had army of thousands of wizards and warriors, led by his adjudants "The Riders of Havoc" (consisting of Arshes Nei, Abigail, Gara, and Kall-Su.) He was defeated by Lars Ul Meta-Licana, the prince of the kingdom Meta-Licana. He escaped death however by using his dark arts to incarnate himself into the form of a young child, Geo Soto Noto, the head priest of Meta-Licana sealed him in the body of another infant Rushe (who happened to be "Lucifer" in the form of a child). After all-out war erupted to break the seals of Antrax, the priests unleashed Dark Schneider into the world once again to defeat it. Dark Schneider's main goal is to take over the world and be worshipped as a god by all people. The early part of the story is mainly based on him getting his crew back, known as the "Riders of Havoc" or the "Four Heavenly Kings", as well as achieving the power he once had so he can begin his goal on world conquest yet again.

After losing his battle against Antrax, who reveals himself to be an angel, Dark Schneider is cast into the depths of the upper levels of Hell and encounters Satan. Satan tells him that he is a major part of the end times prophecy, and will lead demons and mankind to war against God and his army. He also reveals that he is, in fact, Dark Schneider's "father", and thus deems Dark Schneider the "Antichrist" mentioned in the throughout The Bible.

Side Note: Schneider is German for "Tailor". So his name can be translated as "Dark Tailor", which is appropriate considering how he can seemingly conjure clothing out of nowhere (plus his outfit is different each time). Dark Schneider's name is a reference to the vocalist of German metal band U.D.O., Udo Dirkschneider. The spell that releases D.S., "Accept", is a reference to Accept, Udo's former band.

Dark Schneider is voiced by Yao Kazuki and Lushe by Fuchizaki Yuriko in the anime and Daran Norris in the dub.

  • Ninja Master Gara (ガラ gara) - Gara is a master of Ninjutsu, and at least the third (possibly the fourth) General that Dark Schneider took on. He attempted to slay Dark Schneider, who easily defeated him. Dark Schneider was moved by the boy's impetuous and strong-willed attacks, and so offered to take him on as a servant and fighter. Gara agreed. He commands a sword which can draw its life force directly from the swordsman, allowing almost unbeatable magic attacks. Unfortunately, the strongest attack is usually fatal to use.

When he learned Dark Schneider had been re-awoken, he kidnapped Yoko; Dark Schneider was talked into tracking down the Ninja Master, at which point they battled; at the end of the battle Dark Schneider and Gara both lost an arm, prompting Gara to up the stakes by claiming he had intercourse with Yoko; he was hoping it would make Dark lose his fighting spirit, only to make the wizard horribly angry. It was at this point that Dark Schneider destroyed Gara's base, but kept everyone alive, and restored Gara's arm. Gara realized the error of his ways and rejoined Dark Schneider (the first Lord to do so). It is later learned that a favored quote of his is "I have the ire of a man on fire", which he constantly repeats in the later English-released volumes. Voiced by Genda Tesshou in the anime and Steven Blum in the dub.

  • Thunder Empress Arshes Nei (アーシェス・ネイ āshesu nei) - A half human, half Dark Elf who was kept as a slave by the Wood Elves, Dark Schneider found her after she was abandoned by her tribe and took rare pity. She became both his daughter and his lover, being apparently similarly immortal (or at least long lived). She was his major confidant, and as such is aware of most of the same spells he is. To prove her loyalty to the Four Divine Kings in the manga, she let herself be cursed with the spell Accused by Abigail; in the anime, this compelled her to fight against Dark Schneider whilst her army marched on Meta-Rikana. In the middle of a magical showdown using Helloween, Lucien's spirit made Dark Schneider aware of what was driving his daughter to attack. DS was outraged and tore out his own heart to drive off the power of the Accused spell (later resurrecting himself). Arshes rejoins him at this point, and they destroy the advancing armies. She was the first Lord of Havoc to join Dark Schneider originally, and the second to rejoin. Her name is based either on the hard rock band Y&T 1983 album Earthshaker or the Japanese heavy metal band Earthshaker combined with the UK hard rock band Whitesnake.
Hagiwara made notes that the child of a human and a Dark Elf was the most powerful of any human and elf mating, capable of intense magic.

Voiced by Sakuma Rei in the anime and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in the dub.

  • Kall-Su (カル=ス karu su) - Kall-Su was the second general of Dark Schneider; he commands the Ice-Falchion, a great sword, and is innately magically powerful. His past is revealed in the manga, but not in the anime- this was presumably scheduled for episodes five and six. Kall-Su was born in a distant village, his father being an Ice-Dragon in human form. He was feared by the villagers for this, as well as bullied and beaten. He disposed of the bullies through instinctive use of magic, and was condemned to a cave to die. At one point, in shame and fear, his mother attempted to slay him with the Ice-Falchion. Though the blow nearly cleaved Kall-Su's head in half, he slew her, and upon leaving the village, was stopped by a torch-bearing mob. He destroyed the mob with a glance, as well as the entire village, and was left to wander the ruins. Dark Schneider found him and took him aboard, declaring him a son, but mostly a slave and servant (in the manga, he evidently says You are mine.) He boasts extreme power, and is capable of transforming into an Ice-Dragon at will. He destroys the entire city of Whiteos-Neiki with his spell, Vizkaya, which freezes everyone in the Kingdom into solid ice. He is the last general left standing when the series unexpectedly terminates, and wishes for the apocalypse. It is explained in the manga that he was told by Anthrax to despise Dark Schneider, thus erupting into a battle between the two.

Around volume 18 of the manga, Kall, Nei, and Gara figure out why "glowing beings of light" have started war against them via ancient computers in an underground base. They discover that the Apocalpyse is fast approaching and the beings of light are in fact angels sent from God to kill a third of mankind (those deemed sinful for worshiping false gods). One of the twelve elves of Europa (riding an abomination looking similar to behemoth with human feet, and dozens of eyes) sees the three and is angered that they have discovered the reason behind the current events of earth through his computer system. After calling forth many monsters, they do battle. Before the battle evens starts however, they discover that there swords are going erupting with energy and seems to have lost their power.

In volume 24, four years after the battle on earth, Kall-Su is found to be blinded (apparently from the scars over his eyes and face). He says that his power has increased exponentially over the past four years, though he doesn't know why. It is eventually made clear to him through "The Mysterious Boy" that he is filled with the same power as Elijah, and deemed worthy to be his successor. It is also said that he is the "true" king of Meta-Licana, and will eventually have to do battle with Dark Schneider alongside the "Mysterious Boy". Many people don't believe that he is Elijah's successor, namely the dwarf king Jeloy, who was armed with a mighty axe to repel this fact. He and his men, however, were stopped by Lars, thinking that he was truly Elijah's successor (as he is a well-known hero in the dwarven kingdom). He corrects their statement, saying indeed that Kall is Elijah's successor and was told to do the work of God.

After leaving the dwarf kingdom, Kall-Su decides to go to the world of spirits to seek help, and awakes a mighty giant from his frozen slumber. The giant curses him for violating "holy" land, and says that he will have to die for his "sins". Kall claims that "death will not be enough to atone for my crimes in this world" and throws a ball of super-condensed water at the giant, throwing his ice falchion at the ball to release a surge of water upon the giant, returning it back to captivity in a pillar of frozen ice. Nei approaches him and tells him that it's not like him to be so rash. The ground begins to rumble and a gigantic gate way appears before the two, Kall claims that he will journey to the realm of spirits to try and ask for help against the upcoming war on Earth. Kall-Su name is a reference to Kal Swan of Lion (band) fame. Voiced by Seki Toshihiko in the anime, Horikawa Ryou in the drama CD, and Richard Cansino in the dub.

  • Dark Priest Abigail (アビゲイル abigeiru) - Abigail is a bit of an enigma: He is the Fourth Lord of Havoc, and quite powerful. He claims to be the Priest and the Hand of Anslasax, and explains that he has existed since the days of the Old World, and exists to facilitate the resurrection of Anthrax. He curses Arshes with the Accused spell, which forces her to obey him, as if she does not, her body will be destroyed, and she will return as an immortal toad. Alone of all of the group he is able to take the "three keys" which seal the God of Destruction in sleep, and begin the spell to resurrect her. Abigail is destroyed by Dark Schneider in the end, though he almost succeeds in killing Dark Schneider, Yoko, Arshes and Gara. In the "Requiem of Hell" (a second part of BASTARD!!), he is seen communing with Dark Schneider and his friends, the Samurai.

After the angel attack on earth, Abigail converts his spirit into the mainframe grid system of the flying arc King Crimson Glory. Though it hasn't been mentioned in the manga directly, there are clues that Abigail may be the "false prophet", the servant of the Antichrist mentioned in The Holy Bible. Abigail is a reference to King Diamond's best selling solo-album, Abigail (album). Voiced by Otomo Ryuzaburou in the anime and Richard Epcar in the dub.

  • Lars/Rarz (ラーズ rāzu) - =Lars is the prince of the kingdom Meta-Licana, with his sister Sheila, being the princess. He is said to be Meta-Licana's greatest warrior, due to him having the ability to slay armies of thousands single-handedly. A portion of his power comes from the "blood of dragons" flowing through his veins, giving him the increased vigor, power, and speed, as well as the ability to use the "Ki", or spiritual power of the dragon for his attacks. He wields the dragon sword "Heavy Metal", a translucient blade with monstrous attack power, made even more lethal as it absorbs the "ki" of dragons to increase its destructive force.

Fifteen years before the story starts, he fought Dark Schneider in a battle that would last for several days. Dark Schneider has already succeeded in conquering most of earth at this time and would only need to get a few more kingdoms to rule to world. Lars found himself losing the battle and hadn't the chance of victory. Finding no other choice, he summons the "Dragon Knight", a mechanical robot that towers over 500 meters and was original made by the Twelve Wise Men of Europa. The dragon itself, absorbing and multiplying the spiritual energy of anyone who used it, proved useful and helped Lars kill Dark Schneider. The Dragon Knight itself however was cursed, as it was meant for someone else to use, not Lars, and transformed him into a baby dragon. After the death of Dark Schneider, Lars is said to have gone missing, or even died, as no one knew what truly occurred on that day.

In the form of a baby dragon, Lars has no recollection of his past life. He was eventually found by Gara, the ninja master and one of the "Riders of Havoc" and made to be his pet. He even follows Dark Schneider around, oblivious to the fact that he once killed him. Right before the angel attack on earth, the Dragon Knight was destroyed by Anthrax, thus freeing Lars from its spell. He tells Geo and the rest that the Dragon Knight isn't holy as they once thought and it was the reason behind his cursed form.

During the angel attack, Lars fights on against the angels using the power of the dragon. He is the last to stand his ground (as the Sorcerer Shoguns and Samurai were slayed), though he eventually is killed by the higher ranked angels.

Lars' name (Lars Ulu) is a reference to Lars Ulrich, drummer for Metallica. Voiced by Kikuchi Masami in the anime.

  • Bon Jovina/Von Jobina - The unfortunate Captain of the Guard of Meta-Ricana. He is constantly being crushed by enemies, but appears to be quite durable, because he survives being smashed by a Hydra, pummeled by a Minotaur with a giant war hammer, flattened by two walls, and blasted through two walls by the Hurricane Sword. He dislikes Dark Schneider greatly, but is very loyal to the princess. He is named after Bon Jovi.

Currently, Bon Jovina is in the Halls of Gathering with the other races of half-humans around the world to decide what to do about the upcoming battle.

  • The Princess Sheila (シーラ 姫 shīra hime) - Princess of Meta-Rikana, she is strong and determined, but only somewhat magically powerful. Sister of Rarz. Sheila has also been taken in by Dark Schneider's charms, even going as far as admitting that she "loves" him.

Voiced by Yoshida Konami in the anime and Debra Rogers in the dub.

  • Geo Noto Sort/Soto - The powerful cleric father of Yoko, he transformed and imprisoned Dark Schneider in the form of Rushe at the end of the Great War which occurred 15 years before the main storyline. His name is a reference to Jeff Scott Soto from Rising Force. One of his spells is named after Christian Metal band Stryper.

Voiced by Tanaka Nobuo in the anime.

  • Sean Ari - In the manga, Sean Ari was described by Hagiwara as a war orphan who was probably raised and taught High Ancient Magic by Arshes Nei, employing talismans to aid her and becoming one of the three Sorcerer Generals under Arshes' command. When DS' first resurrection was discovered, Sean Ari was ordered to assassinate him: Disguising herself as a lord's daughter, using her feminine wiles and virgin body, she very nearly succeeded; DS only realized how much trouble he was in when he noticed marks made by armor on Sean Ari's upper body. The lecherous wizard proceeded to seduce Sean Ari, and her loyalties shifted from Arshes to him. (It is interesting to note that whether or not Dark actually took Sean's virginity is up in the air.) Sean had a minor role in the OVA. Her name is a reference to Sean Harris (musician), from the UK heavy metal band Diamond Head.

Voiced by Yamazaki Wakana in the anime.

  • Kai Harn - Featured in the manga and a small role in the anime, Kai Harn is a wizard-warrior, the second Sorcerer General. She is a master of the ancient Hariken style of swordsmanship and forgotten magic, and her magical skill is greater than that of Sean's. Dark Schneider encountered her in a town where the citizens had been turned to stone, at first mistaking her for a boy with a crush on Sean Ari, and proceeded to taunt Kai with misinformation about Sean's virginity. Using a spell that turned humans into statues, the enraged Kai gained the upper hand in their fight and would have killed DS, had Sean Ari not interfered and stalled her long enough for DS to find out the source god of Kai's magic (Yng Wie, obviously a reference to the musician) and overpower it with the power of his patron god, Black More. On the verge of defeat, Kai summoned a cockatrice to petrify both DS and Sean Ari, only to have victory snatched away as she was injured by the cockatrice. Dark Schneider helped "care for" her wound against her protests, seducing and winning her in the process. Her name is a reference to Kai Hansen, from the German metal band Helloween (but is now with Gamma Ray).

Voiced by Kobayashi Yuko in the anime.

  • Diamond/Di-Amon - The third Sorcerer General, a wizard who turned himself into a vampire before he joined the dark army. He sought the power to overthrow Arshes Nei and Kall-Su by drinking the blood of many virgins. In the anime, Yoko, who was sent to find the absent wizard, was captured by a werewolf working for Di-Amon; in the manga, the werewolf was killed by Dark Schneider as Lucien, prompting Di-Amon to step in and imprison Yoko, Larz, and Lucien. Sean Ari and Kai Harn were also captured, but this was a ruse that lead to a magical battle with Di-Amon. Unfortunately, Di-Amon was very nearly invincible, which lead to Kai being bitten, and Sean would have shared that ordeal, had Yoko not defended her. After a struggle against the seal and Lucien's will, Dark Schneider broke free on his own when Yoko was injured by Di-Amon, and proceeded to defeat the vampire with superior cunning (and egoism). Di-Amon was turned into dust by the light of dawn, then rose as a giant bat, which DS promptly placed under the Accused spell. His name is a reference to King Diamond. Amusingly enough, he is illustrated with King Diamond's typical face painting, and in the original Japanese OVA, Di-Amon speaks imitating King Diamond's unique voice. In later issues of the manga, Di-Amon has reappeared, working his hardest to fight for Dark Schneider, whom he now calls his "beloved master". His nail remains bright blue.

Voiced by Chiba Shigeru in the anime to Hagiwara's great pleasure.

  • Ung Vwei - there is reference to a god named Ung Vwei, which when spoken in Japanese, sounds like Yngwie. A reference to Yngwie Malmsteen.

Mysterious Boy, or the "Hooded Boy"- A young boy who is draped in a long blue cowl with a hood. He appeared just after the angel attack on earth and raised Lars, the knights and samurai who were killed in the battle back to life. He tells every one what is going on and recruits them to fight for God's army in the great battle of Armageddon. They follow him without question, as in volume 23 the generals Ingweil of the knights and Joshua of the samurai are beside him as he looks at the demonic spiritual being in the sky. He states that when Dark Schneider descends int even further darkness, he and the other witness will make their move to attack.

The Mysterious Boy is "one" of the witnesses chosen by God to guided humanity in the right direction. He is one of the first men and bares the power of humanity before their corruption, which is an amazing spiritual strength giving him the ability to perform miracles from God's Holy Power. He is far stronger that Satan and the Demon Kings, and is said to be only rivaled when Dark Schneider and Satan's power combine.

Their are clues in the story that the other witness may be Kall.

Rumors state that the mysterious boy may be Enoch.

  • Two Years Later:

After the fall of Meta-Rikana, Kall-Su's forces swept in to capture all the major towns of the kingdoms, becoming the High King of Ice; under his reign, supernatural creatures such as orcs and hobgoblins could roam freely in the day, and his new generals, the Sorcerer Shoguns, enforced heavy taxes that no one could pay. Under the oppression, many lost hope, and the legend of the "Lord of the Fiery Explosion" was nearly forgotten. However, Hagiwara revealed that many people thought to be killed in the explosion of Abigail's defeat were still alive and well: Yoko had become an extremely proficient cleric, and she and Lucien had thrown their lot in with the remaining samurai forces of Aien-Meide/Iron Maiden, who had sworn vengeance for their late sovereign, King Harris, and raised a rebellion to help the people survive. Also among them was Kai Harn, who retains her attraction to Dark Schneider and does not know what to make of the now mature Yoko.

(Note: More characters will be available as soon as more volumes are translated.)

[edit] Games

Boxart for Super Famicom game
Boxart for Super Famicom game

Bastard!! was made into a fighting game for Super Famicom as well as a role-playing game with turn-based fighting elements for PlayStation. The PlayStation game was only released in Japanese, but is available as an import to western countries, where its style proved deeply unpopular with most. As a result, only dedicated fans fluent in Japanese will be found to own the game.

A MMOG platformer called BASTARD!! ONLINE is also in development by the Japanese publisher Tecmo and software developer Shaft. A beta test was released in 2006.[1][2]

[edit] Publication

[edit] English publication

Left to Right

[edit] Sagas

  • Dark Rebel Army
  • Hell Requiem
  • Crime and Punishment
  • Commandments of Immorality