I do not say this lightly. The first 5 volumes are very good for the time they were published, but then it just keeps getting better and better drawn. The part from volume 19 onward is just GODLY. I read a ton of manga but I never seen anything like it. And I know about Nihei, Miura(RIP), Hirano and many others but THIS tops them all for me. A badass male protagonist, metal references everywhere, a continuous escalation of action and violence and some silliness from time to time. On one side I wish this manga would end after 30 years of keeping the faith, but on the other I wish it would just keep on going forever... Anyways, I can't recommend this enough! Especially to Guilty Gear fans!

it shares a similar issue with Negima (and probably many other series) where it doesn't take itself serious enough in moments where it should except it is worse in Bastard!! than in the aforementioned manga

Don't get me wrong while I do find the silliness quite funny, sometimes it is just way too over the top

... Last updated on January 24th, 2022, 2:37pm

it might be silly, it might be inappropriate for a lot of people, but its addicting.

the silliness, the action, the magic, the insane main character, the romance and the gruesome ends of the enemies are all what make bastard!! the gem it is! dont tell me that fight scene between two gigantic armored creature that even broke the dimension of hell and crashed unto earth doesn't impressed you with the feels of a brother turned insane by the loss of his sister and the awesome art depicting the entire fight. '

tl/dr : someone please pick it up.

I remember reading the first 20 or so translated volumes quite a while back, so my memory might be a bit fuzzy...

I loved the artwork, the action, the sexy girls, the background story and I thought the evil uber-powerful *sshole magician turned good *sshole uber-powerful protagonist magician was pretty cool.

However, I still remember there being a few scenes, that to me personally almost ruined this manga: Whenever a villain did something exceptionally cruel/gruesome on-screen, it was followed by that villain laughing and rejoicing in a comically drawn way.
For example, I remember a scene where

I think this juxtaposition of explicit gruesome cruelty and then silly drawing style is intended by the author to make children who read the manga feel less scared, but I think it's just plain terrible.
It's not about the way the villain acted, but about the way he was depicted. I just thought that totally ruins the tone of those scenes.

Anyway, that might just be me.

... Last updated on March 1st, 2013, 7:54pm

Of course the portrayal of women in this manga is downright awful, but who really cares? At least the hero is coherent in his behaviour.
It's refreshing to see such a cocky bastard as the hero, and the manga doesn't take itself too seriously. SO, great read imo.

So I've read all of the chapters that's out and I've been patiently waiting for the newer chapters...so what's going on is Bastard on haitis or what?

The drawings are some what really old looking but the story makes up for what it lacks. Although sometimes I find myself in the what just happened mood and go back to read--sometimes that's helpful, not really since it usually gets explained later.

Like usn014 there were parts where it went down for a bit, but I stuck with it! That I did! And here I am still waiting for the chapters!!

Oh yes, there are many echii parts because of DS's nature although it gets weird when get to the chapter that shows that past? which volume was it?? as you can see it's been a while...and here I'm waiting to see what's going to happen!!! ARG~~ the suspense SUSPENSE!!! Oh the weird part is that the past doesn't look like their present...if you read it you'll understand what i mean.

I'll be so sadden if it gets dropped without finding out what happens!! So sad

... Last updated on June 9th, 2010, 2:39pm

this manga began ok. than it died. miserably. very often i was wondering why im wasting life and god breath on it. until recently. around v15. this manga rises again. the art is now outstanding. the story actually has a great background and the references that it derives the plot from are very shrewd. i have to say its one of my favorites now. it took WWWAAAAAYYYYYY too long for it to get good though. not everyone is willing to go through about 11 Sh*tty volumes. but now its a definite go. a definate read. im glad i stuck to it now. must read. if you have patience and are willing to go through some rough to find a diamond, than read this manga.
PS. the rough, is ROUGH lol

I stopped this manga after chapter 14 (near end of v02). The story is just unbearably trashy. It's like something a grade schooler could come up with. Main guy has to beat the 4 bad generals who are trying to revive the demon god thing etc. and the fights themselves are equally mindless. I did not find the characters likable or the humor funny either.

normally I wouldn't give a rating this low but I feel like my intelligence was insulted just by reading it. the author just doesn't seem to give a crap about the story he's telling

... Last updated on March 5th, 2010, 11:40pm

The story gets better, how unlikely that seems, although the ecchi can get a bit over the top sometimes. I'm wondering sometimes if he has to grope every girl in the manga. -.-

Started off watching the short anime cartoon series of it, but that didn't have a ending, so i looked for the manga story and found lots. Totally loved it! I think it has a great balance of humor, romance, and kick ass-ness! I only wish i knew how to read Japanese, cuz only 9 volumes of it has been translated to English that i've found. so jealous of all you lucky folks that have read up to volume 23!

... Last updated on November 30th, 2007, 12:13am