Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy - Season 1

Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin is pretty silly, but at least it's silly in a fun and awesome kind of way that made me enjoy most of the series. The first thirteen episodes were fun because the show was full of references to all sorts of rock and metal bands and singers. The main character is morally corrupt but he’s so confident about it that it made me root for him. Plus, the animation is nice, the music is great too, the fights have a great atmosphere, The girls in Dark Schneider’s harem are really likable and sexy, with Nei taking the lead. Some of the dialogue was quite ridiculous, but still kind of cool, and at least it put a smile on my face. I didn't mind the fanservice either, because it was mostly in connection with pretty hilarious situations. I didn't mind Youko constantly nagging the main character, and I liked how the evil magician contrasted with the little boy in the same body, which gave most of the silliest situations some sort of logical explanation. After the first half, I'd give it 7/10 and sum it up as an incredibly silly combination of dark fantasy, comedy, and parody that worked quite well for me and kept me entertained. I was really looking forward to the next 11 episodes and started watching as soon as they aired. The second half still has everything that was great about the first half, but what doesn’t work so well here is the story and the tedious repetition of certain situations. Plus, the final fight drags and the way the characters keep getting up again at the last minute, shonen-style, was driving me crazy. If I had a shot for every time the protagonist or the villain gets back on their feet again to reverse the course of the battle, I'd be completely wasted by the twenty-second episode and my blood alcohol level would be through the roof by the end of the series. Speaking of drinking games - try having a shot every time Yoko dramatically yells "Lucien!", or every time Nei says "Darsch", or every time Geo starts describing the awesome thing that is happening, or every time he's surprised about the spell that is used, or best of all, every time the king's advisors dramatically comment on what’s happening on the battlefield. This constant repetition was like cancer, and I knew what was coming every time the camera was on one of these characters during the final five episodes. The King's advisors were especially annoying, making me think "Someone please throw them off the tower already!". The whole second half was basically the same situation repeated three times. The writers tried to escalate the attack on the castle to make the danger seem scarier each time, but it was still the same thing over and over again. The final fight was incredibly long and included all of the things above that made me want to start drinking shots. I really didn't enjoy the last couple of episodes, which were supposed to be the highlight of the whole series. Sometimes it made me smile, sometimes the dialogue was good, and there were a couple of interesting ideas, or spells that referred to bands that hadn’t been mentioned yet. It had its cool moments, but they were interspersed with dramatic exclamations of "Lucien!" and "Darsch!", the lame advisers on the tower, getting up off the ground and Geo Noto Soto’s explanations... And I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, bang my head on the table, or all those things at once. So Bastard!! is an incredibly silly combination of dark fantasy, comedy, and parody that worked quite well for me, but it does get draggy and repetitive, which is a damn shame for a show brimming with interesting ideas. 6/10 (31/05/2023) (less) (more)