Reviews

Apr 21, 2016
Casshern Sins is at times a masterpiece, and at times barely tolerable. Maybe that's a weird way to start a review for an anime I'm ultimately going to give a pretty good score to, but you need to know right now.

The story begins on what I could consider a very interesting (if painstakingly slow) note. Casshern wakes up in a world that has barely survived some kind of apocalypse. He's set upon by robots trying to kill him and even eat him, blaming him for the world's end and in some cases believing that consuming him will grant them immortality. He, in fairly common anime fashion, remembers nothing and finds all of this incredibly shocking. Nonetheless, he is an efficient and remarkable killing machine and is frequently able to easily defend himself from these attacks as he wanders the wasteland. But why is there a wasteland? Why are so many robots after him? What happened to humanity? What is The Ruin, and why is Casshern immortal and immune to it?

These (and more) are all questions that are slowly, SLOWLY answered over the course of the 24 episodes. And in case I wasn't clear enough, I mean SLOWLY. Casshern Sins moves at a snail's pace, if that snail had to constantly stop and ask for directions. But surprisingly, this works to the series' strength at times. The visuals are stunning and the anime does a terrific job of totally immersing you in the world you're given. Speaking of, that world is bleak an unrelenting. Happy endings are scarce in Casshern Sins, and the ones that do come are still often more bitter than sweet. But in my opinion, this works. And while Casshern's character does frequently devolve into "staring at hands and wracked with guilt," seeing the world through his eyes makes for an interesting reveal of the apocalypse and a decent narrative. The supporting cast is also surprisingly well-developed - Lyuze, Oji and the villains Dio and Leda all make for compelling stories of their own. In time, of course. The except to this is Ringo, a pretty annoying cutesy girl character who seemingly serves no purpose. Still, none of this really changes the fact that for a significant portion of the anime, nothing happens. The first season really moves at a crawl that cannot be avoided, no matter how invested you are.

But in the second season, things REALLY pick up. Not only do Casshern and the gang finally start to make progress towards a real goal on their quest, but a true looming threat begins to approach in the form of Dio and his army. The storytelling also improves significantly, culminating in many memorable episodes. In particular, "The Glass Cradle" and "The Time I've Lived and the Time I Have Left" are some of my favorite anime episodes of all time. Many things are implied without being outright stated, which I value tremendously. The show uses clever and patient pacing combined with powerful visuals to really bring things to a head, leaving you clamoring for more while also being quite satisfied at the end of episode 23.

But then the final episode happens. The final episode of Casshern Sins feels like a spit in the face for all the hard work you've done to make it through the anime. It's a bigger betrayal than Brutus stabbing Caesar. I seriously can't believe that somebody, let alone an entire anime production team, decided that episode 24 was a good follow-up to episode 23. It's not just a bad ending. It's a truly horrendous ending that also mars any moral or philosophical conclusions the show might have been able to come to.

Casshern Sins is not for everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't even for most people. But it does so many things so well that I can't NOT tell people to at least try it. It asks many poignant questions, but ultimately fails to answer them in a satisfying or even interesting way. There are plot points that are also just seemingly forgotten or that truly go nowhere, and again the ending really renders so much invalid. The ending of the story also really drags this anime down. What makes a lot of the emotional moments in the later arc so good is that you really feel you're going to get a conclusion, a light at the end of the tunnel. When that didn't come, I was pissed. I've never finished an anime I enjoyed so much and actually just sat, flabbergasted, throughout an entire final episode while actually saying aloud "Is this really what's happening? Why?" And perhaps it seems like I'm harping on the disappointing finale a bit too much. But it truly undermines so much of what makes the show great than I would argue I actually can't stress it enough!

But whatever. At this point, I can hear you groaning. "Uggg, NeoSeth, just tell me, is Casshern Sins worth watching?" Yes. Is it enjoyable? Very, very much so, if you like a slow burning show and can subsist on great visuals and animation for a few episodes. But it's not for everyone, and ends disappointingly. I highly recommend you check it out, but don't be surprised if it breaks your heart (in more ways than one).
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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