These are the things I think about

Casshern Sins is a retooling of the original 1973-74 ‘Neo-Human Casshern‘, and somewhat unlike it’s predecessor tells a somber story of the fragility of life, the importance of one’s environment, finding purpose in a damned world, and generally the human condition as told by man, cyborg, and robot alike.  It’s an apocalyptic future where poisons have destroyed society and rattled the planet into its death throws, leaving man and machine alike to drift through a tormenting world trying to find a sanctuary and to live out their remaining time while bandits and rogues roam the land to prey on the weak for survival and distract themselves by their violent acts.

The source of this catastrophe can be traced back to one man/machine – Casshern.

Untold years prior, conflict and strife had begun to rise between the glorious machines and meatbag humans, allowing for one machine (Braiking Boss) to rise as ruler of the world.  The robots ruled with fists of metal, persecuting the now dethroned humans and reveling in their self-awareness and immortality.

However a mysterious challenger named Luna appears, promoting peace, unity, and similar things.  Alarmed by this new threat, Braiking Boss sent his three most powerful warriors to assassinate Luna before she could gain enough power to oppose him.  Perhaps the strongest and fastest of these three was Casshern, who then killed Luna and subsequently triggered the slow destruction of their world.

Many years pass, and we arrive at the end of the world to find Casshern with nothing but empty memories and an inability to die, in a dying world where mankind is nearly extinct and robots are slowly but surely ending, realizing for the first time their own mortality.  And in this world Casshern stands as a mockingly shining beacon of life and vigor to all of these damned to face death.

For some this alone is enough to fight him, for other’s it’s vengeance for what he has done, but for most, it’s the rumor that if they can defeat him and consume his flesh, that then they too will possess immortality.

Characters:

Casshern – The protagonist.  He appears suddenly after vanishing many years prior, upon having killed the would be Messiah Luna; with no memory of this.  Upon seeing what has come of the world, and realizing his own immortality, he is perturbed, often seeking a way to sacrifice himself to make up for his wrongs.  His mental state worsens upon his confrontation with Lyuze who discloses to him the fact that he is responsible.

Lyuze –   The female robot love interest.  Her sister once served Luna, and during Casshern’s assassination of Luna, was considerably wounded physically and mentally.  This caused her to be among the first to slowly decompose from the release of poisons.   Now she seeks revenge for this, and for the hell that Casshern has released upon the world.

Ohji & Ringo – The somewhat unimportant side characters: The old man & the magical girl.  Ohji travels as a mechanic/robot scientist and watches over Ringo, an innocent and innocuous little girl.  However, both have a mysterious element to them.  Ohji has a haunting past, and Ringo has an uncertain future.

Friender – Robot dog companion who is a disappointment.  He/it meets Casshern and cautiously decides to follow him.  A remake of the original 1973 ‘Neo-Human Casshern’ Friender who could transform into a jet and tank for Casshern to use.  This does not happen in Casshern Sins which I find to be a considerable letdown.  It would have been good if so because besides his first episode, and maybe one or two times later, he doesn’t do very much.

Dio & Leda – The antagonist duo; they’re pretty much an item.  They work together to build an army to take down Casshern and lay claim to the dying world.  Dio has a bit of an inferiority complex against Casshern who he has been comparing himself to always, while Leda deals with her maternal instincts stemming from a ‘failed’ experiment in the past.

Braiking Boss – Fallen Mastermind.  The robot that originally set into motion both the robot uprising, and the assassination of Earth’s last hope.  He used to be the ultimate dictator, but now he sticks to the background contemplating the world’s end and those he has buried.

Luna – Corrupted Salvation.  SPOILER: She’s not quite dead.  Apparently she used to be pretty cool, but Casshern’s attack/murder of her has left her psyche scarred since her reappearance.

 

 

Overall it was ‘B+’ to ‘A-’ material.  Interesting characters, an intriguing setting, a mostly-coherent plot, emotional and intellectual substance, top notch animation, fantastic music, and it played the various messages of acceptance, the environment, and finding meaning in life around the right level to where it didn’t get overly preachy or morally empty.

You can watch Casshern Sins now on Funimation’s website!