- Awesome Art: It can not be overstated that Kazushi Hagiwara is quite an artist. It's interesting to see him evolving his craft while working on Bastard!!, leading to Scenery Porn, Scenery Gorn and Costume Porn by the time his manga got serialized in Ultra Jump magazine.
- Awesome Ego: Dark Schneider is beyond full of himself, it's impossible to not get a laugh out of his antics.
- Awesome Music:
- The '90s OVA gave us Monochrome Trouble
, the end credits theme. A jazzy song with a very... suggestive lyrics fitting for Dark Schneider's womanizer status. The English version, titled I'm in Trouble, dials back on the suggestiveness, but doesn't make it any less naugthy. - The 2022 ONA meanwhile has Bloody Power Fame by Coldrain as the series opening theme. An appropriately metal theme for a heavy metal, dark fantasy story.
- As for the ending theme we have BLESSLESS by Tielle. A melancholic rock piece complimented by Tielle's powerful vocals.
- As for the ending theme we have BLESSLESS
- Also from the 2022 series is Dark Schneider's leitmotif, fittingly named just "Dark Schneider", and is as rockingly over the top as one would expect out of the series.
- For season 2, Coldrain and Tielle were brought back to performed the OP and ED, respectively once again. First is the OP New Dawn, a more deathmetal-esque song to fit the war between Dark Schneider and Kall-Su's factions. Then there's La Muse perdue for the ED, a soothing ballad set to visuals of Bastard!! cast in modern setting and fashion.
- The '90s OVA gave us Monochrome Trouble
- Complete Monster: Anthrasax, God of Destruction, is the soul of a rogue angel drawn into a demon body. Upon awakening, Anthrasax wreaked horrific destruction on the land, destroying kingdoms and murdering countless people. Manipulating its own freedom centuries later, Anthrasax takes over Dark Schneider's old general Kal-su and unleashes horrible destruction to annihilate all mankind before releasing more demons to consume the entire world.
- Estrogen Brigade: Unsurprisingly, a chunk of the audience comprises of women who are as drawn to Dark Schneider as women are in-story. It helps that he and many other men are charismatic, confident and very easy on the eyes. Add in his interactions with Shiela and Kall-Su and you have both Schneider-centric and Yaoi Fangirls hooked. The 2022 anime brought this audience back in full force.
- Fan Nickname: Several characters have been compared with another character who were created after Bastard!! began its publication. Many of these stems from visual similarities:
- "Ninja Guts" for Gara, due to his visual similarities to a certain Black Swordsman. Ironically, Gara can regrow his arm (with help from Dark Schneider's magic) while Guts can't.
- "Inuyasha" for Dark Schneider, as both characters have long white hair, canine teeth and dog motifs (though Schneider only sprouts dog ears during comedic moments, while Inuyasha is a half-dog youkai whose dog ears are real). Although this comparison only comes from the Inuyasha fandom, thanks to the 2022 anime's teaser catching their interests.
- "Kagome" for Princess Sheila, which popped up not long after the above comparison.
- Friendly Fandoms: As mentioned below, the resurgence of Bastard!! catch the eyes of Inuyasha fans (at least the Western side of it), making those who otherwise don't care about the series to get into it. Helps that some Inuyasha fans are also Bastard!! fans themselves, strengthening the bond.
- Memetic Mutation: Believe it or not, when the teaser trailer for 2022 anime dropped it caught the attention of the Inuyasha fandom, who all noted the similarities between the titular character and Dark Schneider (due to both having flowing, long white hair and canine teeth). Some have even made an edit where they changed Darsch's blue eyes to Inuyasha's gold just to drive the point home. The discussions surrounding their similarities resulted in Inuyasha's name trending on Twitter for some time.
- Narm:
- Many moments. One that comes to mind is when Gara is thought to be killed after nearly killing an Ede Ee (in practice, stalling him until Darsh could break out of the hell dimension he and Arshes were thrown into), and Darsh gives a passionate speech in honor of his fallen friend. Cue Gara getting up and bitching at Darsh not only for thinking he was dead, but also for the sappy eulogy.
- The series as a whole is the definition of Narm Charm; a Dungeons & Dragons like medieval fantasy setting where every character, locales, and spells were named after heavy metal musicians or bands? Check. Comedic moments serving as levity to the bleak scenarios and setting the characters found themselves in? Check. It's easy to tell that Hagiwara was having a lot of fun making this manga series, and he wants to invite his readers to come a long and feel that sense of fun like he did.
- Older Than They Think: The cast and crew of the Liden Films produced series knew this would happen once the anime came out, so during the announcement livestream they made sure to remind newcomers watching that whatever other fantasy anime did, Bastard!! did it first.
- Signature Scene: The slime scene. Practically the most memorable scene coming out of this manga. It would also influenced future Ecchi artists.
- What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: Yes, a manga chock full of ultraviolence and sexual imagery was somehow in a preteen-aimed magazine like Weekly Shonen Jump. And this was before it transitions to the adult oriented Ultra Jump. Lars said it best when Dark Schneider is about to make his move on Sean Ari in bed:
Lars: This is a kid's comic!!
- Win Back the Crowd: When the new anime was first announced, many fans were doubtful of the final product due to Liden Films track record with the adaptation of another pioneering Dark Fantasy manga back in 2016. When the trailer dropped and shows what the animation will looked like, those same fans breathe a sigh of relief, making them hopeful for the finished anime. The release of the new trailer and the opening theme provided by Coldrain won them over even more, and when the show finally available to stream, many praise the show for being true to the manga and then some.
