Casshern Sins, a philosophical anime about Casshern has caused The Ruin to occur. Before such event, the world was full of sentient robots who were immortal. Ruin causes rust until they wither away leaving them to only contemplate death. But rumors have been spreading of someone named Casshern to be the answer to immortality when killed. As the opening states: “Hey why are we born? Hey why did we meet?” Casshern struggles to comprehend why he exists and remembers nothing of his feared past. As robots hunt him down, Casshern travels to learn the truth.
One day as I was going through an anime slouch, I decided to browse around to see if I was missing any interesting shows. That’s when I stumbled upon Casshern Sins. At first, looking at reviews I was skeptical at first that it would be basically wordless, have odd fighting, and have a slow pace. But personally I can debunk all of these claims and state that Casshern Sins demolished any of my expectations.
Let’s start with the first claim that Casshern Sins has little dialogue. From the very start it begins with dialogue, and even in fights there is usually plenty of inner thoughts and conversations occurring. The only time where I see this criticism “correct” is when it is silent still shots or when Casshern is traveling alone in deep thought. Which develops the mood and presents how desolate and lifeless everything around Casshern is. But this tone shifts throughout the anime as Casshern finds friends creating more dialogue and character interactions. It is a mystery of why anyone would think that Casshern Sins is too silent.
Moving onward to the final one I want to tackle is odd fighting and I’ll keep it brief. The choreography of the fighting feels very floaty, like the characters glide to enemy to enemy. This makes Casshern Sins fighting something to get adjusted to. I personally didn’t have a problem with it, if anything it was a surge of something new for me.
Final thoughts on common complaints/ why people don’t give Casshern Sins a chance, is that I understand that this kind of show is not for everyone. Whether that comes with pace, realistic fighting, or any other reason. But Casshern Sins is definitely the kind of show to watch till the end regardless to get the full experience.
The “Real” Start Of My Review~
When it is time to pull up the first episode of an anime what do you want to see? Most likely one would want to see good character introductions, art, animation, sound, and most importantly a good hook.
Casshern Sins intro scene is personally my favorite anime hook of all time. If you do not want any episode 1 spoilers, skip the next paragraph. Ok, so in 8 seconds Casshern Sins instantly confused, intrigued, hyped, and surprised me all at once.
It starts off with Casshern dropping his hand on the ground as it then cuts to a girl. She states, “You are?” Flashing back to Casshern he introduces himself. Then zooming into his soulless face he saids with determination, “Luna, I will kill you.” With this information alone many questions arise. With a bombshell of a scene like this as the first scene in the show, it becomes enourmous later on in the show. But also works perfect as a hook. In the beginning of each episode, 8 more second add onto the original until it all starts to fall into place. With this, Casshern’s backstory unfolds.
If I discuss anymore of the show it will ruin your experience. As each character has their own fantastic arc and others have mind boggling plot twists. What I love about this show is how every character feels unique, even the side characters all bring something special. Depending on the character, they all have different connections to Casshern.
The art and animation is top notch even if it was made in 2008. It is produced by Madhouse, which is always a nice plus most the time. I love the style of the art too, it fits well with the setting of a barren wasteland being devoured by The Ruin with soulless robots desperately searching for any salvation. Same can be said for the animation. Each fight is really smooth and full of style. Especially since the fighting by itself is like extreme acrobats. Madhouse made acrobatics look epic.
My final thoughts are about enjoyment. As one can tell by my score, I loved learning about the mysteries of Casshern and the dramatic tension of whether or not he will learn from his sins. All major complaints I ever had about the anime were cleared up as the anime progressed, meaning I just did not have the available details.
Casshern Sins made me inspired and existential all in one. Having realistic developing character arcs, an interesting environment/ premise, phenomenal hook, killer opening, smooth animation, stylistic art, a thought provoking message, and much more. I truly cannot praise it anymore! If you are looking for a different experience with philosophical messages, Casshern Sins is a must watch.
Story: 10
Art: 8
Sound: 10
Character: 10
Enjoyment: 8
Overal: 9
I would easily recommend this to anybody.
