The Bastard!! manga series is a dark fantasy epic heavily influenced by heavy metal motifs. It also features several of the most memorable and over-the-top characters committed to a manga, which is no bad thing.
If you’re new to the Bastard!! manga, 19 volumes of the English version were published by Viz Media between July 2001 and September 2009. It’s worth tracking down if you enjoy action-packed shounen and seinen manga with plenty of unexpected plot twists. But a word of warning, it does contain a copious amount of gore and hyper-sexualized scenes.
With that out of the way, here are the criteria for my list regarding which characters make the cut and which don’t.
Firstly, characters must be based exclusively on Kazushi Hagiwara’s 27 volume manga series and not any spin-off media. Secondly, the characters must showcase their power in a meaningful way and not stand on the sidelines as some characters do in the latter part of the series. And thirdly, the characters must have a human-like form, so no monsters or entities such as Anthrasax, Dragon Knight, and Kerberos.
These criteria have helped me put together the definitive list of unequivocally powerful characters that do the Bastard!! manga series justice!
10. Abigail
One thing’s for sure, Abigail is hardly a likable character. He’s a cunning and scheming black sorcerer hell-bent on reviving the God of Destruction — Anthrasax. He also leads the Four Divine Kings and is one of the scientists involved with the Ten Wise Men of Europa. The latter group was responsible for creating the Dragon Knight armor and possibly, Dark Schneider himself.
But is Abigail truly an evil individual, or is there more to him than meets the eye? Well, as the Bastard!! manga series progresses, a pivotal plot twist reveals more about this shady character and his underlying motivations. He also knows how to hold his own in certain situations using the following black magic spells:
- Blue Nail Curse of the Accused: It’s a powerful curse that turns the victim’s fingernail blue. Then, the victim must follow all orders from the caster. The fingernail will change colors and turn to blood if the victim doesn’t follow these orders. After that happens, the victim turns into a toad.
- Heretica: Makes tentacles materialize from the earth, then they’ll grab onto enemies tightly.
9. Kall-Su
Kall-Su is a wizard of average stature and wears a long cape but doesn’t seem physically imposing or threatening. And he’s one of the Four Divine Kings, so that should tell you that he’s no mere mortal. Some of his goals coincide with Abigail’s, especially concerning Anthrasax.
However, his powerful ice magic set him apart, making him a formidable character in the Bastard!! manga. And his abilities make him an even match when dealing with some of Dark Schneider’s attacks. Though, he’s incapable of casting any fire magic, putting him at a disadvantage at times. With his trusty Ice Falchion at hand, Kall-Su displays enormous power with the following magic spells:
- Biskaya: A powerful ice blast that can freeze an entire building.
- Testament: Once cast, it bombards the enemy with an absolute zero blast, subsequently wiping them out.
- Thanatos: It engulfs an enemy target within an ice block that’s nearly impossible to melt.
8. Arshes Nei
Arshes Nei, who also goes by Empress Nei and Thunder Empress plays a crucial role in the Bastard!! manga series. She’s a dark elf and a human who’s 115 years old but resembles a young warrior with long pointed ears. Due to her mixed heritage, she was treated as an outcast when young. But on one fateful day, she met Dark Schneider, who adopted her and gave her name.
Arshes Nei is also a very agile swordswoman and often lends her companions a hand in the heat of battle. Therefore, she’s someone that Dark Schneider can always count on when dealing with challenging foes. And she’s a formidable magician capable of casting powerful spells such as the following:
- Def Leppard’s Black Liquid Lightning Sphere: Generates an electrified ball that opens a portal to another dimension, subsequently absorbing the surrounding magical energy.
- Evil Blaze of Burning Exodus: It surrounds the magic caster with fire, and then this fire is hurled towards an enemy. The highly concentrated blaze burns the enemy to a crisp.
- Megadeth: A powerful explosive attack capable of destroying castles and fortresses.
7. Master Ninja Gara
As the son of a legendary ninja, Gara’s primary goal is to become so powerful that he can defeat anyone. And while he hardly manages that, he’s very imposing and closely resembles Guts from Berserk. More importantly, he’s tough as nails and even fights with his limbs cut off and entrails spewing out of his stomach. Blergh!
And just like Arshes Nei, Gara will help Dark Schneider in battle when necessary. While he lacks magical power, he more than makes up for it with his melee and ninjutsu skills, which include the following:
- Keiun Ki Nin Ken: The Murasame sword will absorb a bit of Gara’s energy but grant him the ability to deliver a powerful thrust attack.
- Ninja Art of the Seven Body Split: Gara moves back and forth rapidly to create seven illusionary duplicates of himself.
- True Sword of Mystery: Unleashes a powerful attack combining wind and thunder while using the Murasame sword.
6. Michael
Seraphim Michael plays a minor role in the Bastard!! manga, but she’s still an important and powerful character. She also leads the Council of Heaven and has had contact with all the Angels and Seraphim, even the ones that have fallen and become Devil Kings.
Furthermore, she’s dead set on annihilating the demons and even Dark Schneider. And while she’s known to have a higher destructive capacity than the Great Archangel Uriel, she hasn’t battled as aggressively as he has. However, she does possess immense abilities that make her almost omnipotent:
- God Hard: As one of Michael’s most powerful attacks, it invokes a fire dragon that surrounds her and attacks the enemy.
- Royal Hunt: It’s an attack meant for stunning and incinerating low-level enemies such as demons and humans.
- Victory Rainbow Rising: It wipes out an enemy target from existence by destroying their Eternal Atoms.
5. Uriel
Uriel is a Great Archangel and Seraph that opposes the Devil Kings, even though he later becomes one after his descent. And the other Great Archangels, namely; Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael, will often appear or work together with Uriel.
But after his descent, Uriel displays tremendous hatred towards everyone, especially Dark Schneider. In Falldown Mode, Uriel transforms into a fierce Demon King, whose strength grows exponentially relative to his growing hatred. And this results in one of the most epic fights in the Bastard manga!! Moreover, Uriel has several awe-inspiring abilities such as:
- Black Hole Storm: It creates a storm of negative space, which siphons an enemy’s attack, including the enemy, air, heat, light, and space.
- Cosmic .44 Magnum: An attack that’s capable of destroying Eternal Atoms and eliminating the target enemy from existence.
- Hard Nova: Generates a massive sphere consisting of earth energy that destroys the target enemy on the spiritual realm.
4. Conlon
Conlon packs a punch, literally! He’s a highly ranked Demon God with no notable weaknesses and often wears boxing gloves to pummel his enemies. Moreover, he’s stronger than Anthrasax and even surprises the Seraphs by delivering lightning-fast blows to the mighty Uriel.
But how does he rank against someone like Dark Schneider? Well, during one of their battles, Conlon completely brutalized Dark Schneider. But Conlon didn’t kill him since the only way to do so is by destroying him in every realm he exists. Nevertheless, Conlon possesses a variety of deadly abilities such as:
- Cannibal Corpse Drill Crusher: This ability causes drills to spurt out of Conlon’s fists. Their high rotation speeds make them incredibly lethal to Seraphs.
- Maximum Stradivarius: Generates an immense beam from Conlon’s fist.
- Void Howling: It causes Amrael, who is fused to Conlon, to cry out and cancel any attacks from Angels and Seraphs.
3. Porno Dianno
As a Devil with a high rank, Porno Dianno serves Satan as his right hand. She’s also the Devil Commander of Hell’s Army and renowned for her ice-cold personality. And due to her higher level, she’s notably stronger than other Demon Lords, such as Conlon. During her first battle with Dark Schneider, she evenly matches him. But when they duel again, they engage in a brutal and heated battle that seemingly turns in Porno Dianno’s favor.
However, it’s the final showdown with its over-the-top and hyper-sexualized encounters that will bring about the jaw-dropping conclusion. Will Porno Dianno win, or will Dark Schneider defeat her with this one weird trick? Hey, we’re not going to reveal anything here, but we do know that Porno Dianno can deal with difficult situations using the following abilities:
- Dictator Sheet: Her wings turn into spikes, which lunge towards an opponent.
- Fabulous Disaster: It’s a combination of kicks and punches infused with magic, and impossible to counter after the first blow.
- Schizophrenia: It allows Porno Dianno to turn her entire body into a shield, which boosts her defenses further.
2. Satan
Loosely based on the biblical Satan, the Bastard!! manga version of Satan looks creepy and foreboding. And yes, he does resemble Pinhead from the Hellraiser films, up to a point. But regardless of his appearance, Satan displays oddball behavior when encountering Dark Schneider in hell. And things get so silly that it’s hard to take him seriously early on.
But how does Satan stack up in the power department? Does he warrant being so high up this top 10 most powerful characters from the Bastard!! manga series list? Yes, Satan is not only insanely powerful, he’s also stronger than the 7 Devil Emperors and Seraphs that appear in the manga. He has the following abilities that only a highly ranked Devil could possess:
- Augoeides Mode: It can instill confusion, fear, and paralysis in the enemy. Furthermore, it can transform Satan into a massive being that can travel at the speed of light and cast energy rivaling that of black holes.
- Dispel Bounds: A powerful protective barrier protecting the caster on the astral, physical, and spiritual planes. It also nullifies any abilities and skills that the enemy possesses.
- Eternal Atoms: A magical ability that effectively regenerates the caster at the atomic level.
1. Dark Schneider
Dark Schneider is the super cocky main protagonist of the Bastard!! manga. He’s also incredibly lecherous and never misses an opportunity to have his way with any attractive female character that crosses his path. That’s unbecoming for someone over 400 years old, right?! On top of that, he’s a powerful wizard that always seems to have one last trick up his sleeve.
Throughout the Bastard!! manga, he battles evil tyrants, grotesque monsters, and overpowered demons. And even when things seem hopeless, he always finds a way to turn the tables on his opponents. For this reason alone, he deserves to be in the number one spot. However, he also has an arsenal of abilities that give him an edge:
- Black Sabbath Dawning: Capable of destroying the world, Black Sabbath Dawning is an ancient spell that traps the enemy. Then, fragments of matter bombard the enemy while a nuclear fission reaction exponentially increases the temperature.
- Guns and Roses: Generates a wall of fire that incinerates anything that it comes into contact with.
- Judas Pain: Once Dark Schneider collects the seven shards of Judas Pain, he transforms into Majin Dark Schneider. Thus, becoming even more powerful than he was in his original form.