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Tell me about Bastard
Who are the guys and gals in this anime?
Take me to the pictures, you pathetic toad! (sorry still no thumbnails)
The Bastard!!! Animes
Bastard's first episode came out in 1992. It soon became quite successful and has one of the few good dark fantasy themes in anime. The male characters are all tall and very muscular (and good looking like my girlfriends allways remarked) while the females stick more into the 'normal' anime environment (which is by no means meant negative, actually it is meant very positive!). Note that Kazushi Hagiwara who first wrote the mangas) put many 'heavy metal' references in the names of the characters and places in his manga.
To the story:
Hundreds of years after the fall of human civilization the world is a dangerous place. Bands of thieves roam the streets and monsters of legend threathen the helpless villagers. It is a time of blood and magic where cold steel can be the only way to save your life. It is in this beastial environment that the story takes place
As castle Metallicana is being attacked by a horde of deamons. It seems that nothing can stop them but the king and highpriest remember the evil magician which once nearly conquered the world and think he could be their only hope of survival. But the only way to ressurect him is the kiss of a virgin. So the highpriest orders his daughter Yoko to kiss the boy Lushe in whom the soul of the evil sorcerer is banned. After some protests she kisses the boy...
This is the start to, in my oppinion, the best fantasy anime ever made.
The Heroes (?) and Villains
Lushe
The small boy is a lttle... lets say dumb. But he has a very good and pure heart. (The best candidate to be the vessel of Dark Schneiders Soul!)
Dark Schneider
12 Years ago Dark Schneider was the most powerful being in the world and nearly conquered it. But before he could succeed his soul was banned into the boy Lushe. Dark Schneider has a very unique but charming sense of humour and a very interesting sight ofthe world.
Yoko
The daughter of the highpriest Geo. She has a very fiery temperament and Lushe often finds himself beaten by her (what a nice girl). She loves Lushe as a brother (that explains the beating) and she finds it hard to believe that the soul of the evil Dark Schneider is in Lushe's body.
Princess Sheila
The 'lovely' princess is a 'little' naive and more of an encumbrance then of any help. To make things more complicated she seems to be quite attracted to Dark Schneider.
Ninja Master Gara
Master of a ninja clan and former ally of Dark Schneider. Now he has joined forces with Karu-su, Arshes and Abigail to finish what Dark Schneider began (to conquer the world). He carries the mighty Murame sword.
Karu-Su
He is Abigails second in command and a very powerful magician. He can summon forth the power of the element of ice to assist him in the fight with his enemys. He seems to be the only one who can rival Abigail in power.
Arsches-Nei
The Thunder-Empress was raised by Dark Schneider who found her when she was a small child. After some time they began to love each other and stayed together for a very long time. She seems to be still on love with Dark Schneider.
Abigail
The leader of the four. He is a mighty necromancer and truly evil. He would do anything to kill Dark Schneider and reach his goal.
The Pictures
The Beginning: Ressurection of Dark Schneider
The lovely Princess
Ninja Master Gara awaits
The mighty Efreet
Thats the way to climb ladders!
Poor princess ;-)
The Princess needs some rest
Arshes nei looking at Dark Schneider
Dark Schneider and Yoko
A great pictutre of a fight
A great picture!
C 1992 KAZUSHI HAGIWARA/SHUEISHA
