Shinzou Ningen Casshern

The brilliant Dr. Azuma created many robots to aid humankind. However, during a thunderstorm his lab was struck by lightning, corrupting the programming of one of his robots, BK-1, who renames himself Braiking Boss and declares that instead of serving mankind, mankind will now serve him! He brings other robots together into an overwhelming army bent on enslaving the human race.

Tetsuya, Dr. Azuma's son, asks his father to turn him into an indestructible android so that he will have the power to destroy the threat his father inadvertently created. Shortly thereafter, Braiking Boss captures Dr. Azuma and his wife. Tetsuya, now renamed Casshern, sets out to turn the tide of the war and rescue his parents, with the help of his girlfriend, Luna, and robot dog, Friender.

Casshern Main

Nishikawa, Ikuo Japanese

Friender Main

Braiking Boss Main

Utsumi, Kenji Japanese

Kozuki, Luna Supporting

Tsukada, Emiko Japanese

Swanne Supporting

00H Supporting

Tatekabe, Kazuya Japanese

Sagure Supporting

Katou, Osamu Japanese

Barashin Supporting

Azuma, Koutaro Supporting

Yamanouchi, Masato Japanese

Narrator Supporting

Naya, Gorou Japanese

Kuri, Ippei Producer

Yoshida, Kenji Producer

Sasagawa, Hiroshi Director, Episode Director

Tomino, Yoshiyuki Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Sep 15, 2011

SakuraForever

Recommended

Ideally, I would say that this is the place you would want to start if you are just getting into the Casshern series. Keeping this in mind, I would inform the readers of this review that I have seen the OVA and the more recent Casshern Sins anime. Unless you care nothing for the actual "story" then I would say proceed straight to Casshern Sins. Do not fool yourself into thinking that you can start with Csins and have a grasp in what Casshern is all about. Though its story is interesting to say at least, it is told from a completely different perspective. This ... alone will, in fact, confuse the viewer when watching the original airs (even possibly the OVA).

NHC is one of the older animes dating back to the 1970s. It was where the popular character "Casshern" made his debut, a young man who would give his own life to realize his fathers dream. His father, a brilliant scientist, envisioned a world where machines would assist humanity in a variety of ways. Out of this, a powerful machine called Android BK-1 was created. It's purpose, was to be the ultimate benefactor for generations to come upon serving humanity. But the machine eventually became self aware, turned on its creators and assumed power and dominion. For a sign of any hope in stopping the android, Tetsuya Azuma (the young man I mentioned before) is willingly turned into "Casshern" by his own father. He is no longer a mere human, but part android with superior strength and fighting capabilities.

I'm not exaggerating when I say for a 70s show, the art isn't as complicated as one would figure. This show retained acceptable animation for its time, though it has its share of limits with it being so old to begin with. The animation is indeed colored, and machines are drawn to fit their descriptions of breaking apart and attacking. Most importantly, Casshern is design with some likable features of unique jumping and combat motions to "awe" the viewers attention.

The sound work here isn't the shows strong point. It was the creators intention in my opinion to give the viewers unparalleled action scenes for its time. I found many themes corny to be honest, I say this outta having watching the anime as recently. If I were to go back in the 70s and had watched this, I probably would of enjoyed some of the work here better.

As I mentioned, Casshern's purpose of design was to preform things and measures seen as unique to his audience. For his time and adaption, he has become the centerfold of discussion on how far you can push man and machine intertwined. His impressive skills and abilities should capture any loyalist to the genre. Outside of him, you have a sidekick that being a robotic dog better known as Friender. The dog is a welcomed addition to the pairing and is seen as a staple in Casshern's continuing development. Other characters like Luna, BK-1, etc. play their roles when it is apparent, but the show is clearly dominated by Casshern's performances and actions.

In short, NHC clearly was on the road to better adaptions and quality. The show clearly needed vast improvements in storytelling, but if you can look behind its 70s feel and not-so catchy themes then try it out. I figure it to be a very important watch for true Casshern fans alike.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by SakuraForever (6)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Oct 12, 2018

JuneNephthys

Mixed Feelings

The original Casshern is much different than the “cool, moody” version of the series that was stylistically conceptualized in Casshern Sins. While darker than the typical Tatsunoko series, Casshern is pretty much like a cyborg version of Adam West’s Batman or more accuratelyーa copypasta Megaman, because that game series obviously borrowed many of its designs and aesthetics from Casshern! There are way too many similarities to say otherwise!

• In a world ruled by the evil Braiking Boss and his evil, robotic minionsーbattling these heinous foes is a tremendous burden; with the risk of Casshern foregoing his humanity at the helm, a more accurate description of the ... cataclysmic fight against the powers that be is more explicitly described in Casshern’s near-episodic catchphrase of, “Who will do it, if not Casshern?” This series doesn’t dive as deeply as a series like Galaxy Express 999 into what makes a person a person, but Casshern is surprisingly complex and melancholic for a jaunty, superhero, action cartoon that is similar, in tone, to Devilman (1972).

• There’s an android dog that is loyal and can transform into practically any vehicle imaginable, so to those of you who have an inner-child side―Friender will be that pet that your internal eight-year-old has always wished for! There’s a love interest, Luna, who actually isn’t useless (like most heroines of the time) and has powers of her own.

• Casshern’s duality and indifference towards Luna while having his manly, single-tear moments might be an annoyance to some viewers, but I found the melodrama quite amusing. The visuals aren’t bad, compared to other series that I’ve seen come out of the early 70’s, and the OP is something that’s a “yes, please” download to your cellphone or something that you save to a secret file―so your friends don’t think that you’re a miscreant geek.

• I won’t write a review for Casshern: Robot Hunter, that unmentionable reimagining of Casshern from the 90’s, that’s pretty much a culmination of every awful OVA that was ever conceived at the time. EDGE, GORE, NUDITY! All the components in the edgelord fantasy, Parasite Doll, without an interesting cyberpunk atmosphere… so: it’s completely skippable! It reminded me of every bad Fist of the North Star OVA that I’ve seen, coupled with X/1999… I definitely do not miss that aspect of Japanese animation in the 1990’s!

• Overall, I would suggest this series to someone who wants something fun and noncommittal, in the vein of Gatchaman and the classic Devilman TV series. Especially if you’re a fan of either Casshern Sins or a video game otaku who’s still obsessed with the Megaman franchise. I give this semiotic action series a 6/10 and Casshern: Robot Hunter a 3/10.

• Blurb & SN: At the time of this review, I hadn’t finished Casshern Sins, so I will be writing a separate review for that TV show―shock! I practically only do franchise reviews! I also bought the BD of this series and while there are little to no special features, I’m glad that I purchased the collection because this series is highly enjoyable!

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by JuneNephthys (188)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Jan 21, 2015

ZephSilver

Not Recommended

**THIS REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN A FEW SPOILERS**

IF YOU DON'T LIKE:

-Cheesy 70s action
-Episodic series
-Saturday morning cartoon level of plausibility.

then this is not for you.

... -If you're looking for a coherent prequel that connects the stories of "Casshern Sins" & "Casshan Robot Hunter"

Look somewhere else.
But if you'll like to see the 1st time these characters were all brought together then keep on reading.

To say that Shinzou Ningen Casshern ( or Neo Human Casshan) is an overlooked title is a understatement. The very fact that there's only 1 review for this show on MAL and sometimes no episode discussions should already say enough. But even more surprising is that this title, which has been covered up by the passage of time, has a relatively successful reboot called Casshern Sins. And for those reading this review, Casshern Sins is more than likely the only reason you're here to begin with. However is it a bad thing that SNC is a title that not even retro anime fans discuss? Well..... not really, as SNC falls victim to one of the main reasons these relics of anime's past are lost and forgotten, and that's because it's outdated.
From the time SNC was conceived to now, many other anime titles came along and took it's concepts and greatly improved on it. From the questions brought up regarding android and human integration, to the post apocalyptic setting, everything SNC tried to tackle has been better explored and refined to better effect. So when it boils down to it, the real reason for watching this isn't for any pioneering idea or to see a show that "revolutionize" the industry but rather to see the humble beginnings of Casshern Sins.



Story: 2/10

The story is straight forward and one you've undoubtedly seen countless of times: Save the world from the great evil that wants to take it over.

We follow Tetsuya who is the son of a great scientist named Dr. Azuma. Dr. Azuma is well known for his robot creations, which he makes to better human lives. However after a freak accident, one of his robots named BK-1 became self-aware after being struck by lightening. This robot renamed himself Braiking Boss and waged a full on assault against mankind.
Backed against a wall the only option left to combat Braiking Boss was to turn Dr. Azuma's son Tetsuya into a powerful android. And so Casshern was born.
NOW In order to enjoy this show you need to suspend your disbelief, since the episodic stories can range from somewhat plausible to plain ludicrous. You can go from a straight forward fight against robots to something obscure like puppies seeking revenge. Because of this the tone of SNC is all over the place. Despite the inconsistency, the show still tries to be serious, which in turn makes it rather comical or painful to watch depending on your mindset. With no consistency between the episodic structure, it feels like there's a lack of progression. Being episodic isn't necessarily a bad thing, but with little to no variation to the plot it feels like you're watching the same setup over and over again. The episodes seem to always run along the lines of: A city becomes under-attack by the Android army, Casshan steps in to fight them, android army retreats, rinse and repeat. It takes 26 episodes for an actual plot to take place and even then it's still in an episodic format. You can literally watch the 1st 5 episodes, watch episode 26, then last 4 episodes and you won't miss anything. And the final nail in the proverbial coffin is that SNC have an anticlimactic conclusion, which is unsatisfying to say the least.


Art/Animation: 7/10

If there's one area that SNC can be respected in is its animation. As some of the action sequences are on par with the 1st Mobile Suit Gundam, despite it being made years ahead of it in 79. But it still falls behind similar super hero shows like Hurrican Polmar which was made in 74 and showed greater fluidity and aesthetics. This places SNC above expected standards, making it above average for it's time. With that said the show has aged well given that it's 40+ years old. You can tell they placed alot of effort into Casshern's acrobatics and combat sequences as it can be impressive when the time calls for it. The color pallet presented were a trademark of the 70s with brightly colored robot designs and nicely textured backgrounds.
The character designs had very nice features, note worthy designs being the variation of robot baddies, from the endless drones to the occasional special bots.
Where the animation falls short is it's excessive use of still shots and reused footage which becomes apparent very fast. Also when there isn't any action going on, the animation becomes extremely stiff. However this inconsistency is to be expected given the time period it was made.
Also expect explosions, lots and lots of explosions. As it seems like every fodder robot is made of TNT and flimsy parts that blow up just for the sake of blowing up.

Sound: 2/10

There's very little to say regarding the soundtrack and sound effects of SNC. There's only a instrumental of the opening played during fights and less than a handful tracks played throughout the series with very little variation. The opening however is unbelievably cheesy and will surely bring a chuckle, just try not to laugh when the singer yells "FRIENDER JETTTTT!"
The voice actors all fit their roles well, most notably Braiking Boss for sounding menacing and childish.

Characters: 6/10

Casshan, our protagonist is your "fight for whats right" MC. He's very one note and fits the respective archetype fairly well. There isn't much layer characterization but that is sufficed with moments where he has internal strife regarding his position as an android/human hybrid. Unfortunately this topic is never fully explored but rather skimmed over.
Luna, his childhood friend, is simply treated like a sidekick. Very little screentine is given to develop her. However she is never relegated to being a damsel in distress and holds her own in a fight which makes her a welcomed addition. She also provides moral support for Casshan when needed.
Braiking Boss, our main antagonist, is your typical Saturday morning cartoon brand of villain. He's evil solely for the sake of being evil. This caricature depiction is further escalated when he's portrayed as a tyrannical ruler.
It can also be speculated that they took the inspiration from the Stalin era and Khrushchev era of the Soviet Union as well as Adolf Hitler's radical idealism as inspiration for Braiking Boss's characteristics. May this be a direct social commentary or just the creators trying to make a really 1 sided villain, its up for you to decide.
All the other supporting characters are not worth the mention due to the episodic structure. But they're given enough time to have a sense purpose. The robots all seem incompetent however, as they fall for petty tricks
and are easily outwitted. This in turn makes it hard to take their presence seriously.
The biggest problem with these characters is that they remain stagnant.They never show any sign of development nor do they receive extra characterization during the 35 episode runtime.

Enjoyment: 6/10

Despite this show's numerable problems I found moments of enjoyment while watching. It's easy to see the love and effort the creators placed in it and because of it's ridiculous stories it made for good B-Movie entertainment.

Overall: 4.5/10

Even disregarding superficial things like animation and sound, SNC is a fundamentally flawed show in many ways. It tries to be taken seriously but is too nonsensical and juvenile to allow the viewer proper immersion. It was onto something but didn't quite live up to it's own ambitious goal.
Unless you're a hardcore Casshern Sins fan or like retro B-Movie entertainment this title isn't a necessary watch. If you're not interested after 5 episodes in then the rest of it will do nothing to impress you.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by ZephSilver (99)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Best of Tatsunoko

by IdeDial

14 Entries · 1 Restacks

Anime that influenced videogames

by jyagan0

31 Entries · 7 Restacks

Four anime per year, part 1

by Aegidrom

48 Entries · 5 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for March

North American Anime & Manga releases for March 2014. February 25th - March 3rd Included in February's release thread. Week 1: March 4th - 10th Anime Releas...read more

Mar 1, 2014 6:19 AM by Snow | Discuss (19 comments)

	Poll: Shinzou Ningen Casshern Episode 21 Discussion -Arcee- - Dec 19, 2022	2 replies	by PrawnGuard »» Mar 4, 12:00 AM
	Poll: Shinzou Ningen Casshern Episode 13 Discussion PrawnGuard - Mar 1	0 replies	by PrawnGuard »» Mar 1, 12:53 AM
	Poll: Neo Human Casshern Episode 1 Discussion Dodecahedron-O24 - Jan 20, 2011	5 replies	by Catalano »» Dec 17, 2023 8:50 PM
	Poll: Shinzou Ningen Casshern Episode 35 Discussion Shocked - Jun 29, 2015	1 replies	by SlammyHammy »» Apr 4, 2023 10:27 PM
	Poll: Shinzou Ningen Casshern Episode 33 Discussion Shocked - Jun 29, 2015	1 replies	by SlammyHammy »» Apr 4, 2023 9:55 PM

The 10 Best Anime Fighting Games

From spectacular anime fights, to anime video games, to fighting video games, to fighting video games based on anime, these concepts blend together quite well. But in what games did they come together the best?

by CriticalAndroid

45,339 views

GamesGame AdaptationOne PieceDragon Ball

The Top 10 Best Video Games Based On Anime

There have been a lot of video games based on anime, but in a vast sea of titles, which ones rise to the top?

by CriticalAndroid

38,784 views

CollectionGames