Dark Schneider is a wizard so aggressively charming that he makes every scene about him, and the show knows this is the entire point. The metal aesthetic commits harder than any fantasy anime has the right to, turning what could've been generic demon-slaying into a headbang through hell with a protagonist who treats apocalypse like a joke he's been waiting to tell. It swings between genuinely funny and genuinely deranged without apologizing for either one, which means you're either all in or completely out by episode two.

A postapocalyptic world overrun by orcs, lizard men and other monsters teeters on the edge of oblivion. Humanity's only hope arrives in the worst possible package: a 14-year-old boy harboring the sealed Dark Schneider, a chaotic wizard of immense power who once tried to conquer the world. When four mighty generals begin their plan to resurrect the evil god Anslasax, the boy's body becomes the vessel through which this force must be released. Dark Schneider emerges with his twisted personality fully intact, and his old generals are the very enemies he is now expected to fight. Yoko, the girl who performs the ritual to free him, seems to be the only one with any hold over him, and the fate of the world rests on whose side he chooses. Heavy metal fantasy, comedy, ecchi and violent action combine into an irreverent adventure that lets its most evil character be the one saving everyone.