The History of Casshern

Few people I know have seen the 2004 epic Casshern, but what has recently come to my attention is that even fewer people are aware of its origins that go back 31 years before its live-action counterpart finally came into existence.

Neo-Human Casshern (新造人間キャシャーン, Shinzō Ningen Kyashān), also known as Casshan, is an anime series created by animation studio Tatsunoko Productions in 1973, which was based on a serialization in Kodansha’s Terebi Magazine and Akita Shoten’s “Boken Oh” (Adventure King).

After a 20 year sabbatical Casshern was resurrected once again. Even though the series was now in a more contemporary style it still managed to hold on to some of the charm of the original series, whilst also interweaving more philosophocal dialogue between the frantic and colourful action sequences.

Casshan: Robot Hunter, known in Japan as Robot Hunter Casshern (ロボット・ハンター・キャシャーン, Robotto Hantā Kyashān) or simply Casshern (キャシャーン, Kyashān, romanized asCasshan in the official logo), is a 1993 OVA produced and animated by Tatsunoko Productions and Artmic. This series is based on Tatsunoko Productions’ 1973 anime series Neo-Human Casshern. Casshan: Robot Hunter was originally released as a four-volume series in Japan. However, the American publishers edited the four episodes into a single feature film for its English-language debut in 1995. In 2003, ADV Films re-released the four-episode series on DVD.

11 years after Casshan: Robot Hunter graced the world with its presence, Kazuaki Kiriya wrote and directed a film adaptation of the Casshern series. To this day the movie is considered one of the best attempts at achieving a live-action portrayal of Japanese anime. Apart from the style, the film is quite flimsy and often the narrative bends under the unrelenting pressure of the intense anime-like visual. In terms of cyberpunk cinema it is a must see.

In the wake of the positive response to the Casshern live-action movie and due to a sustained fanbase, in 2008 Casshern Sins was released.

Casshern Sins (キャシャーン SINS, Kyashān Shinsu) is a reboot of the classic anime series Neo-Human Casshern, produced by Tatsunoko and animated by Madhouse. It premiered in Japan on October 1, 2008, following a sneak preview of the first episode at Otakon 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The series completely discards the continuity presented in the original Neo-Human Casshernanime series, in which Casshern was a cybernetic superhero battling the evil robotic forces of Braiking Boss in a post-apocalyptic Earth. In Casshern Sins, Casshern is presented as a cyborg subordinate of Braiking Boss who was ordered to assassinate the savior of mankind, and has thus doomed the Earth to ruin.

A manga adaptation had been announced recently and it was published in Jive’s Monthly Comic Rush Magazine.