Bastard! (manga)

Bastard!!: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy (JapaneseBASTARD!! -暗黒の破壊神-HepburnBasutādo!! Ankoku no Hakaishinlit. “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, and has continued irregularly in Ultra Jump since 2000, with its latest chapter released in 2010. Twenty-seven collected tankōbon volumes have been released as of 2012. The manga was formerly licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media; only the first nineteen volumes were released.

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.

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 by Liden Films will be released worldwide on Netflix in 2022.

Bastard!! is one of Shueisha’s best-selling manga series of all time, with over 30 million copies sold by 2008.

 

Bastard!!
Bastard (manga) vol. 1.png

Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Dark Schneider (right) and Tia Noto Yoko (center)
BASTARD!! -暗黒の破壊神-
(Basutādo!! Ankoku no Hakaishin)
Genre
Manga
Written by Kazushi Hagiwara
Published by Shueisha
English publisher
Imprint Jump Comics
Magazine
Demographic Shōnenseinen
Original run March 14, 1988 – May 19, 2010 (on hiatus)
Volumes 27 (List of volumes)
Original video animation
Directed by Katsuhito Akiyama
Produced by
Written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Music by Kohei Tanaka
Studio AIC
Licensed by
Released August 25, 1992 – June 25, 1993
Runtime 30 minutes (each)
Episodes 6
Original net animation
Directed by Takaharu Ozaki
Written by Yōsuke Kuroda
Music by Yasuharu Takanashi
Studio Liden Films
Licensed by Netflix (streaming rights)
Released 2022 – scheduled
Episodes 24

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