Bastard‼ Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy (Episode 1) – The Arrival

The kingdom of Metallicana was under attack from the Dark Rebel Army and seemingly had no chance of surviving. That was until Yoko released the mighty wizard Dark Schneider from his imprisonment inside her friend Lucien!
Bastard‼ Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy (Episode 1) – The Arrival
What happened?
While the King of Metallicana was away with his personal knights, the kingdom was attacked by the Dark Rebel Army led by the powerful wizard, Osbourne. With his army of monsters, he quickly overpowered the gates and stormed the city, heading for the castle at its heart. Inside, Princess Sheila Tuel Metallicana waited anxiously. There appeared to be no hope of survival. Even the head mage, Soto Geo Noto was away with the king. However, he left behind his daughter Yoko Tia Noto and her friend Lucien. That’s not all, he taught Yoko a spell that would release a dangerous and powerful wizard in their time of need. The spirit of the evil wizard who once tried to conquer the world, Dark Schneider lived inside of Lucien.
However, the spell to awaken him required the kiss of a virgin to activate it, so Soto ordered his daughter to remain a virgin indefinitely, for the sake of the kingdom and the world. How is she supposed to argue with that? Anyhow, with the Dark Rebel Army breaking through the castle door, Yoko was forced to recite the incantation and kiss Lucien on the lips. In a swirl of darkness and chaos, Dark Schneider was reborn. However, he didn’t seem that interested in helping until a couple of giants tried to squash him. Then, when Osbourne tried to burn him alive, Dark Schneider got mad and unleashed his ultimate attack – Venom. So, with the enemy defeated, Dark Schneider took his leave. Yoko ran after him and discovered that he was going to take over the world. Then, he kissed her and transformed back into Lucien with no memory of what happened.



What did you think?
We recently bought a treadmill. It was cheaper than paying for a gym membership for two people and since that’s what I mainly use, it means I don’t have to fight to get on one. Why am I mentioning this? Well, it has a screen and some apps are available, and one of those is Netflix. That means I can’t watch the shows I’m already covering, so I decided to pick something that’ll be fun and easy to watch. Enter Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy. I wasn’t planning on reviewing it episodically, but after the second session, I realised that I had to. I’ll get to that in a moment. Well, in the review of the next episode…
This was undoubtedly a lot of fun. I loved the references to various heavy metal bands and how the bad guys are simply the Dark Rebel Army. They know they’re evil and they’re owning it. I love the art style of this series as it awakens a lot of nostalgia. It feels like a show from the eighties with massive hair, plunging necklines, and a wealth of awesome character designs. It’s going to be interesting to see if it ends up being a bit formulaic, but it’s perfect for running with. There are currently thirty-nine episodes so that should keep me running for a while. I think this series is going to be great…

Episode highlights









Other posts in the series
- Season One – Part One
- Episode 1 – The Arrival
- Episode 2 – Rampage
- Episode 3 – Abduction
- Episode 4 – Invasion
- Episode 5 – Showdown
- Episode 6 – Destiny
- Episode 7 – The Demon Beast
- Episode 8 – The Progenitor
- Episode 9 – Blue Nail
- Episode 10 – The Goddess of Thunder
- Episode 11 – Prophecy
- Episode 12 – Life or Death
- Episode 13 – Wavering
Series Information
English Title | Bastard‼ Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy |
Japanese Title | Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin |
Medium | Anime |
Released | Spring 2022 |
Episodes | 13 |
Animation Studios | LIDENFILMS |
Genres | Action, Adventure, Ecchi, Fantasy |
Demographic | Seinen |