How was the 1992 Bastard!! OVA made?

The first Bastard!! anime was a six-episode original video animation from studio AIC, released on video between August 25, 1992 and June 25, 1993, directed by Katsuhito Akiyama with a score by Kohei Tanaka. It adapts the manga’s opening movement, the Dark Rebel Armies arc through the battle with Abigail, roughly the material of tankobon volumes 1 to 7. Character design for the OVA was contributed by Hiroyuki Kitazumi, one of the very animators Hagiwara has named as a design influence, which gives the adaptation its unusually faithful, lush look: the student’s heroes drawing the master’s characters.

The OVA was the series’ Western doorway for a decade. Pioneer Entertainment released it in North America on three VHS tapes in 1998 and on DVD on June 5, 2001, and for many English-speaking fans Dark Schneider existed only in this form until Viz’s manga caught up. It remains a period piece in the best sense: cel-painted, tone-heavy, and scored like a feature film.