Bastard!

4 reviews - 11.5 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (2.9)

4. Q

I am really disappointed after finishing this 6 episode OVA series. That said I still enjoyed parts of it. I had just finished with Berserk, before watching Bastard!, and was hoping for the same type of experience, so my hopes and expectations were high. And while there are a lot of elements in Bastard!, that don't disappoint, the overall series does. The first episode was English dubbed...(hated it). While I was enjoying the visuals, and the beginnings of what I thought was going to be a great story, I was being put through some of the cheesiest dialogue I ever been exposed to. (Thankfully the rest were subtitled!)

This anime had the potential to be something incredible, but falls short. I could go on and on about things that could've and should've been done differently...but I think to save time, I'll go with what isn't wrong...

The animation, and action sequences. The genuinely funny moments...and the gist of the story. Not the way it was laid out, but the way it could've played out.

Animation - 4 stars...nicely done.
Storyline - 2 stars...(oh what might have been!)
Characters - 2 stars...(see above)

Overall - I'd like to give Bastard! 3 and 1/2 stars...but I don't think it's fair to judge on what could've been, than what actually is. 2 stars... If you have nothing better to do, or feel like being disappointed, go for it. If you want to see a glimpse of what Bastard! had the potential to become? Watch Berserk...

3. Iodine

A straight medieval adventure with several self-mocking elements, this anime features every single genre stereotype in the book and then some. The hilariously overblown Dark Schneider is the one fun character in a cast of mainly cyphers, so it's nice that he's the main protagonist. The girls lend a little too well to fanservice to be of much interest, and the villains are better sources of levity than danger, which might well have been the point. The real fun is in the insistently evil Schneider doing battle on his own terms. Everything else, sadly, is pretty low-end overdramatized schtick.

Animation is the expected OAV quality, with some really neat action sequences. The plot is pretty fair, despite some of the eye-rolling dialogue, and dramatic bits that are just plain boring. The short length of the OAV doesn't really give the show a chance to do more than introduce the major conflicts and important characters, making it feel like the setup for something bigger. Leans more towards the tastes of the action crowd with it's grandiose battles and the requisite taunting. For added siliness, however, many of the names of spells, villains, and locales are named after American metal bands.

2. X-MAN

Written by Kazushi Hagiwara and directed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi. Bastard! is a series with a lot of potential that doesn't quite get as good as it should. The show has a real... Bastard! of a main character, a lecherous mage named Dark Schneider. A character who's very foul mouthed, perverted and just fun to watch. He gets torn into a relationship with a fourteen year old girl named Yoko. He's also in love with Arshes Nei a women from the past. Did I mention he's a ladies man? The art and animation are nicely done. The fight scenes are excellent. A good blend of Fantasy and comedy. 6 episodes was too short. I feel that the villains don't get enough character development. I would've really enjoyed seeing more of this show. Bastard! is good but it could of been great.

1. Yogi

Plot? Who needs a plot? We have bad ass mages fighting each other with cool animation? Plot? Plots are for whimps! Real men watch Bastard! and Fist of the North Star!!

As you can see, there is not plot. It doesn’t even end.