The second half of the Bastard!! reboot is set to premiere on Netflix this fall.
According to the anime’s official Twitter account, episodes 14-24 will make their debut on 15 September. The hyper-violent story follows protagonist Dark Schneider, an egotistical wizard who once tried to conquer the world, as he is revived in order to protect the Kingdom of Metallicana from an even larger threat, the Four Lords of Havoc. Episodes one-13 premiered on Netflix on 30 June.
Mangaka Kazushi Hagiwara drew inspiration from Dungeons & Dragons and heavy metal music when he created Bastard!!, and he first published the series in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1988. The ongoing manga moved to Ultra Jump in 2000, where new chapters have since been infrequently published; the last chapter was released in 2010. Despite the hiatus, it remains one of Shueisha’s best-selling series of all time with more than 30 million copies sold worldwide.
Bastard!! was originally adapted into a six-episode original video animation (OVA) in 1992 by AIC. Liden Films and Tokyo Revengers is producing Netflix’s reboot with Takaharu Ozaki (Ace Attorney) serving as director and Yousuke Kuroda (Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online) supervising the series composition. Yasuharu Takanashi (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal) is composing the music, and the anime’s epic opening theme song, Bloody Power Fame, is performed by Coldrain; the award-winning rock band’s music has also featured in popular anime like Fire Force, Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger and King’s Game The Animation.
Kisho Taniyama (Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle) and Tomori Kusunoki (The Misfit of Demon King Academy) respectively star as Dark Schnieder and Tia Noto Yoko, the daughter of a priest who is responsible for the wizard’s revival at the beginning of the plot. Other members of Bastard!!’s Japanese cast include Kensho Ono (Spy x Family), Tomokazu Sugita (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) and Nao Toyama (The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt), while the English dub features the voice talents of Aaron LaPlante (Baki), Erin Yvette (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!) and Wendee Lee (The Princes of Tennis).
Episodes one-13 of Bastard!! are available to stream on Netflix, and the first 19 volumes of Hagiwara’s manga series are distributed in English by VIZ Media.