BASTARD!! (1992 OVA)

BASTARD!! (1992 OVA)

BASTARD!! -暗黒の破壊神-
1992 -1993 Anime International Company OVA 6 episodes Completed
Dark Fantasy Action Sword and Sorcery Comedy
Details & Synopsis
The kingdom of Meta-llicana is under attack by the Four Lords of Havoc, former followers of the legendary wizard Dark Schneider. Their campaign is tied to the seals restraining Anthrasax, an ancient god of destruction, and the kingdom's defenders are running out of options. High Priest Geo finally turns to the weapon he fears almost as much as the invaders: Dark Schneider himself, whose soul has been sealed inside the gentle boy Lucien Renlen.

Awakening Dark Schneider requires a kiss from Geo's daughter Yoko, and bringing him back does not produce an obedient hero. He is arrogant, vindictive, absurdly powerful and perfectly willing to settle old grudges while the kingdom burns around him. Yet his attachment to Yoko repeatedly pulls him toward protecting the people he claims not to care about, while encounters with Gara and Arshes Nei force him to confront the former comrades who once helped him try to conquer the world.

AIC's six-episode OVA, released from 1992 to 1993, compresses the early BASTARD!! manga into a fast run of sorcery, monsters, heavy-metal naming jokes and escalating magical battles. It ends after the conflict with Abigail rather than adapting the full manga, making this a distinct 1990s version of the story rather than a substitute for later adaptations.
Alt Title BASTARD!! -暗黒の破壊神-
Studio Anime International Company
Network OVA
Aired 1992 - 1993
Episodes 6
Genre Dark Fantasy, Action, Sword and Sorcery, Comedy
Status Completed
← All lore

Dark Schneider & the Lords of Havoc

Dark Schneider

Dark Schneider Says He Is Selfish More Often Than He Acts Selfish

Dark Schneider never stops advertising himself as vain, cruel and interested mainly in his own appetites.

The OVA keeps testing that claim against his actions. He destroys Kevidubu after Yoko is endangered, pushes through Gara's fortress to recover her, saves Gara after their duel and ultimately chooses Arshes Nei's life over his own safety.
How you can tell
His dialogue tells you what kind of man he wants everyone to think he is. His choices around Yoko and his former companions tell you where the limits of that performance actually are.
Why it matters
The contradiction is the character. Making him secretly nice would flatten him. Letting him remain awful while still having attachments is what gives the OVA something to work with between explosions.
Dark Schneider Tia Noto Yoko Gara Arshes Nei

Power Never Makes Dark Schneider Obedient

Meta-llicana gets exactly what it asks for when Dark Schneider returns: overwhelming magical force.

What it does not get is command authority. Geo can release him, Sheila can travel beside him and the kingdom can benefit from him, but none of those relationships make him a conventional servant.
Why it matters
The OVA avoids the easy version of the sealed-superweapon story. Releasing Dark Schneider solves the power shortage while creating a control problem that never really goes away.
Dark Schneider Geo Noto Soto Sheila Tuel Meta-llicana

Former Allies Become the Story

Gara Is Angry About Being Left Behind, Not Just About Losing

SPOILER!
Gara's duel with Dark Schneider works because the sword fight is carrying an older grievance.

He was once one of Dark Schneider's followers. By the time they finally face each other, the argument is about loyalty, abandonment and whether the old relationship meant anything after Dark Schneider disappeared.
What changed
Dark Schneider saving Gara at the end matters more than simply beating him.
Why it matters
The rescue gives Gara an answer he can believe. His return to Dark Schneider's side grows out of the duel instead of happening because the plot suddenly needs another ally.
Gara Dark Schneider Tia Noto Yoko

Di-Amon Learns That Immortality Can Become a Weakness

SPOILER!
Di-Amon enters the story believing regeneration has removed the ordinary consequences of losing a fight.

Dark Schneider does not need to prove that immortality is fake. He needs to show that an immortal enemy can still be trapped, cursed and forced to live with the result.
What changed
The advantage Di-Amon is proudest of becomes the reason defeat cannot give him an escape.
Why it matters
BASTARD!! often wins fights by changing the rule that matters rather than simply making the next blast larger.
Di-Amon Dark Schneider Tia Noto Yoko

Arshes Nei's Fight Is a Loyalty Test Disguised as a Boss Battle

SPOILER!
Arshes Nei is dangerous enough to carry an episode as Dark Schneider's equal, but power is not the real trap.

Abigail's curse makes loyalty itself lethal. If Arshes refuses to kill Dark Schneider, she dies. If Dark Schneider treats the duel like an ordinary contest and kills her first, Abigail still gets what he wants.
The Breakdown
The fight can only be won by finding a third outcome that breaks the curse without choosing either death it was designed to force.
Why it matters
That is why Dark Schneider tearing out his own heart is not just shock value. It is the only move that rejects the terms of the fight.
Arshes Nei Dark Schneider Abigail

The Lords of Havoc Are Dark Schneider's Past Coming Back in Different Forms

SPOILER!
Gara, Arshes Nei, Kall-Su and Abigail are more useful to the OVA than four unrelated villains would have been.

They all come from the same history, but they respond to Dark Schneider's absence differently. Gara carries wounded loyalty. Arshes is emotionally bound to him while being coerced against him. Abigail treats the old connection as something to manipulate. Kall-Su remains beyond the six-episode ending.
Why it matters
The campaign against Meta-llicana is also a delayed argument over what Dark Schneider's old empire meant to the people who helped build it.
Dark Schneider Gara Arshes Nei Abigail Kall-Su