Fantasy anime was once fairly widespread, and the genre was also home to some of the darker anime of decades past. That's not quite as much the case nowadays, with fantasy mostly being represented through isekai. Nevertheless, one upcoming show may just change that, and it actually has ties to some of the best recent fantasy works.
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Based on the light novel and manga of the same name, Blade & Bastard is a dark fantasy story that's anything but escapism. Based on a classic role-playing game, it was also created by a writer and artist who are connected to two major anime properties. Given the generally "colorful" nature of many of today's popular anime, Blade & Bastard may be the kick in shining armor that the medium needs to give older fans something to enjoy.
What Is Blade & Bastard About?
The Dark Fantasy Light Novel Is Getting an Anime
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Beginning in December 2022 as a light novel series, Blade & Bastard has only been around for less than two years before its anime adaptation was announced. The protagonist of the story is Iarumas, whose job reflects his somewhat dour nature. Iarumas in Blade & Bastard is tasked with scouring caves and dungeons to find the bodies of dead explorers, with the aim of having them possibly revived. This is actually what happened to Iarumas beforehand, though he has no memory of his life from before he was resurrected. Conversely, he's seen as a less than friendly individual, namely due to his taciturn and pragmatic nature. This isn't helped by his usually dealing with the dead, as his tracking down corpses for a fee is ironically how he makes his living. Things change for him when he befriends "Garbage," a young swordswoman who's the only survivor of a group of adventurers. With her by his side, he's able to traverse even deeper into dungeons and keep from dying a permanent death of his own.
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So far, the Blade & Bastard light novels have four completed volumes, with the manga adaptation (which began one month after the novel) having three volumes. The anime adaptation was just announced, but the visuals were merely images from the source material. There wasn't any info given on which studio was handling or when it would be released, so more than likely, it will only come out in about a year or so at the soonest. This should give the series enough time to have more material to adapt, which is always an issue when it comes to anime adaptations and filler. By the time it finally releases, it will likely still be the perfect time for such a series.
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Why Anime Needs More Dark Fantasy
Anime Used to Be Much Darker
As noted, dark and gruesome fantasy anime were once all the rage, especially during the economic boom of 1980s Japan. This was a time period of expensive and experimental anime OVAs, with many of these being particularly violent and adult oriented. Some of the best and grittiest classic OVAs were cyberpunk gems, with these projects reflecting the success of Hollywood movies such as The Terminator. Of course, this grim tone wasn't just seen in dark post-apocalyptic wastelands in shows such as Fist of the North Star, with the fantasy genre also having its own number of these brutal stories. Given that many of these were inspired by the non-Eastern tabletop role-playing Wizardry, this grim and serious tone made sense.
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Kentaro Miura's Berserk manga and its later anime adaptations are some of the most well-known dark fantasy works in these mediums. This series featured medieval warriors in a grisly world filled with magic and demons that took no prisoners. Bastard!! was another great example, with its entire aesthetic oozing in "edginess" by way of sexualized art and narrative elements inspired by heavy metal music. Even the comparatively tame Record of Lodoss War was still fairly serious, which is why the comedic Lodoss Island gag sections were so effective due to the contrast. Overall, these works added to the general aura surrounding the most popular anime of the era, which stood out sharply compared to the far more kid-friendly animated productions of the West. This darker tone is what helped make anime initially popular in the West during the 1980s and 1990s, but compared to then, it's a lot more mainstream nowadays. Likewise, the most popular anime and manga of today are far more colorful and "optimistic," with One Piece and the recently concluded My Hero Academia being far more lighthearted when placed next to the brutal anime of the past.
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The rise of the "dark trio of shonen" suggested a move away from this trend toward something that appealed more to older fans. However, given the success of the zany new series Dandadan, more over the top and less serious works will likely remain the norm. This is also the case in the fantasy genre, which is largely dominated by isekai and reincarnation stories. Those are mostly seen as power fantasies with overpowered protagonists, and even when things sometimes get serious, it's nothing like Bastard!! or Berserk. Isekai has so taken over the fantasy anime genre that even shows which aren't isekai many times fall in line with them in some ways. Conversely, recent hits Delicious In Dungeon and Frieren aren't dark at all, with the former sometimes feeling like a parody of tropes that haven't been played straight in years. Thus, something like Blade & Bastard will be a return to form for the genre, mainly due to how it relates to past successes in the dark fantasy subgenre.
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The Next Dark Fantasy Anime Has Ties to These Hits
Blade & Bastard Has an Epic Pedigree
Beyond its preceding success in the light novel and manga mediums, Blade & Bastard will likely continue to hit new heights due to its connection to two major fantasy and isekai hits. The author of the Blade & Bastard light novels is Kumo Kagyu, who also worked on the brutal fantasy series Goblin Slayer. Known for its harsh tone and violent nature, Goblin Slayer is one of the few modern examples of a newer "grimdark" fantasy series, with some even comparing it to Berserk. Likewise, the artist for Blade & Bastard's light novels is so-bin, who also did the art for the Overlord light novels. While it's an example of the overdone isekai genre, Overlord is one of the best isekai of the modern era, which says a lot given how ubiquitous it is.
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This precedent of talent shows that both creators behind Blade & Bastard are well acquainted with the tropes of dark fantasy anime. If anything, the lack of dark fantasy anime being as prevalent as it once was actually helps the new series. Given the dearth of competition, Blade & Bastard will be able to stand out from the crowd of increasingly lighthearted or cliché anime. Even if it also pulls from older works, Blade & Bastard will be able to appeal to older audiences that have grown tired of overdone isekai or the latest overhyped shonen series. It can also help to acclimate younger viewers with fantasy tropes that are now more known for being parodied than played straight. This might even see it achieve more consistent success than the anime adaptation of Goblin Slayer, which had a five-year gap between its first and second seasons. The light novels and manga are both being localized in the West, so by the time that the Blade & Bastard anime is released, its international fanbase will have hopefully grown much larger. This could see it become one of the most hyped and anticipated fantasy anime in years, which would be a breath of fresh air for the medium as a whole.
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Goblin Slayer and Overlord can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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Goblin Slayer
TV-MA
In a fantasy world, a lone hero makes his living by exterminating all goblins he encounters. But one day he meets a friend, and his life begins to become more intense.
- Release Date
- October 6, 2018
- Seasons
- 2
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Overlord
TV-MA
An office worker in a dystopian world logs onto a video game for the last time only to find out that he, along with his entire guild, has been transported to another reality.
- Release Date
- July 7, 2015
- Seasons
- 4