The narrative was incredibly sappy. It dragged on more than it should. Yes it was comprehensible, but it had an obviously overly flowery approach to it which directly tells the writer is trying too hard to be deep making for a highly emotional experience that...get's really old really fast. It's slow, it's droll, and while it doesn't seem like that for the first few episodes, you'll soon see things ruin quickly (pun intended lol).
Art:
I favor a lot of the character work and somewhat dirty approach. It gives power to each scene (when present) and is a nice take away from the clean look I'm so used to; in characters, it's a highly stylized experience. Scenery is another story however... lots of droll droll scenery. Sure I get it, the world is in ruin so not much to look at. But I've seen a lot more apocalyptic style works with tons more visual "effort" than this piece. Considering also that this piece can be very conservative with it's dialogue, using the silence and scenery to move the story, that lack of interesting visuals only pretty much adds to the "doldrum like" experience.
Sound:
Sound effects and planning were done pretty ok however. You feel a lot of the grit on each clash with not too much getting in the way. The series however doesn't do much in its musical score however. Many ques will repeat, or you'll be treated to soundscape ambiances. This is fine as a support, but would have been nice if some more exploration in the sound department were made in specific areas.
Character:
Oi...I mentioned the sappy narrative, but that's only due to the sappy characters that fill it. It's like you'll hear Casshern's name like a 100 times in a "breathy" like way to make it sound "crying" or "emotional". Casshern spends...pretty much all of the time "looking for himself" with a resolve that isn't unique. Wait let me edit that, he's always looking for a resolve because it seems like something is always wrong with him or something wrong has happened to him! He feels like a mechanical version of Shinji >:(. Other characters have a little more complexity (Braiking Boss, Ringo, Ohji) but not by much.
Overall:
If you're looking for a "tear-trip" with an endless supply of melodrama, then this is for you. Honestly I can't recommend this to anyone. It may have a deeper message in humanism, conservatism, etc. but many have done each of these topics better, with tons better visuals, tons better style, tons better approach.
