The first trailer for Netflix and Warner Bros.' anime adaptation of the dark fantasy Bastard!! teases a story full of exciting action and impressive supernatural elements.
Based on a 1988 Manga of the same title by Kazushi Hagiwara, Bastard!! is a story inspired by the author’s passion for heavy metal and the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. We can certainly see both of these elements in the new trailer. The trailer is accompanied by epic heavy metal rock music which hypes up the action and some of the magical powers and monsters are reminiscent of some found within the lore of D&D. For instance, a little over halfway through the trailer a spherical monster with one giant red eyeball appears, and this creature is quite similar to the vicious D&D aberration, the Beholder.
Bastard!! is set in a world that has been ravaged by Anthrasax, the God of Destruction. Hundreds of years after Anthrasax has been sealed, the anti-hero Dark Schneider, a powerful wizard who once had aspired to take over the world, is awakened from within the body of a 14-year old named Luche. With a group of four lords planning to free the old God of Destruction from his imprisonment, Dark Schneider and his group will attempt to stop the threat from destroying the world once again. This epic story also follows the typical D&D trope of a group of skilled fighters coming together to undergo multiple challenges and fight against monsters, demons and even fearsome ancient Gods.
The anime series is directed by Takaharu Ozaki (Girls’ Last Tour), with series composition by Yosuke Kuroda (My Hero Academia), character design by Sayaka Ono (CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon), sound by Yasunori Ebina (Naruto Shippuden), music by Yasuharu Takanashi (Fairy Tail), and animation by LIDEN Films.
The protagonist Dark Schneider is voiced by Kisho Taniyama, which some may recognize in popular roles like Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan and Chuuya Nakahara in Bungo Stray Dogs. Other members of the voice cast include Tomori Kusunoki (Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai) as Tia Noto Yoko, Hiroki Yasumoto (Yuukoku no Moriarty) as Gara, and Yoko Hikasa (Hataraku Maou-sama!) as Arshes Nei.
There is no precise release date as of yet, but Bastard!! will be coming to Netflix to join the streaming platform’s growing collection of anime sometime this year.