Casshern Sins: Anime Review

Episodes: 24

Producers: Madhouse Studios, FUNimation Entertainment

Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-fi

In the distant future, where cyborgs and humans struggle to survive after the war which destroyed the world, a being in a white suit awakens. His name is Casshern and he remembers nothing of his own past. In a barren and dark dystopian world, where every being alive seems to hate his existence and the evil from his past wants him dead, Casshern, haunted by the flashes of his past memories, has to survive and figure out who or what exactly he is and how he got to where he is now. But he does not know that he might not like the horrible truth of the past, hidden deep inside his mind . . . – via MAL.

Almost a masterpiece . . . almost. Casshern Sins is a work of art with a vibrant and powerful story. To me, it is simply beautiful. Imagine living in a world full of life and power. A place where all you know in life is luxury and immortality. No one likes the idea of death. That is why cyborgs and robots, created by the humans, surpassed the humans and discovered a way to live forever. It wasn’t long after the God-like robot named Luna was killed when the world started to decay. The world they knew became nothing but a waste land for robots called “The Ruin.” Eventually, they lost their sanity and meaning of life all together.

 

Could you blame them? Once someone has had a taste of the good life, it is hard to accustom to anything less. Out of fear, they all turned to the rumor implying that if they eat Casshern, they would be saved from the Ruin.

 

Look at this face.  Does he look like a happy meal to you?

Having forgotten about his past, not only is he being hunted by many, but blamed for the Ruin as well. He has no choice but to react by instinct and kill those who attempt to kill him. But because his instinct is hard to control, he causes more pain and destruction than he reckons with.

He also happens to be immortal. And since he has forgotten about his past, he sets off on a journey of self-discovery in hopes of finding his purpose in life. Along the way, he meets various robots and people struggling to survive.

Ringo, a young robot girl who befriends Casshern, is a miracle, according to her robot friend named Ouji, because she manages to maintain her innocence despite being born in a destroyed world. Casshern begins to care for this girl as he learns about compassion and love. And through each encounter he comes across, he learns a little more about life.

 

Even though it is a very depressing anime, the story is very intriguing. I found myself sympathizing with these robots a lot. Especially Casshern. I even held a little grudge toward the humans for creating them. I was wondering how cruel it was that they gave robots feelings and emotions. I couldn’t help but think of the pain and suffering they were going through. That’s why these characters were very well developed. The way they portrayed their sadness was intense . . . very human. They didn’t take anything for granted, not even the smallest things. To them, a simple song was deeply treasured.

These beings were once immortal, so telling time was a mystery. I couldn’t tell if it were days, months, or years that passed by. To them, ten years was probably nothing more than a day to us.

The sounds, from the music to the voice acting, reflected the character’s personality and the essence of the anime itself. The voice acting brought out a lot of the character’s pain and suffering. And the music was very mysterious yet charming.

This anime is very violent and emotional, but brilliant nonetheless. About half way through, it seemed a bit slow for me, but the ending was good. I highly recommend this anime. If you’re looking for a deeper, more meaningful story, look no more.

Rating: [9.08/10] – A- (I really liked the premise of the story. The journey can get a little draggy but thought it concluded nicely).

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