Casshern Sins is probably one of the most philosophically heavy animes to date. It focuses primarily on why we live and for what purpose. This is done through a barrage of small stories throughout the series. The main story has a somewhat coherent plot on the same matter, but it often fails to explain what's going on and assumes you can make out details through inferred explanations (found myself rewinding here and there to catch various points).The worst thing I can say about the anime is it takes about 3 episodes to get going. Despite its flaws it has an amazing soundtrack, VERY memorable characters, and some truly spectacular stories to tell. If you aren't into heavily philosophical concepts this anime is not for you. For those who enjoy this kind of thing, you wont find anything quite like this out there.Please note that I haven't seen the originals, so my review is from a fresh perspective.

The series follows Casshern in his journey to find himself and combat the Ruin, a devastation that causes his fellow robots to rust and die. An immortal killing machine, Casshern must watch everyone around him fade away. The Ruin began with the death of Luna; and rumor has it she was murdered by Casshern himself.It's a very nice setup with strong philosophical questions. I feel, however, that the series doesn't dive deep enough into the issue of immortality vs. death. It doesn't matter though because the stylized visuals, excellent voice acting, and ferocious action keep the audience entertained. Think about the series' plot and philosophical conclusions too long, however, and you'll be disappointed.I can't reveal anything, but let me say that after watching the whole series....it makes no sense. The plot has several glaring holes in it. It wouldn't be so bad, except character's actions and motivations HING on these plot holes. So their actions end up not making any sense either. The series concludes with nonsensical violence and philosophical posturing. Do any of these characters understand what's going on, or why they have to accomplish their strange goals? Do they even know what those goals are?? There's a strong theme of madness and desperation in the face of eternal death, but it's nothing anime viewers haven't witnessed (and better done) before. The ending is such a let down, and the main characters' motivations so nonsensical that the slow build up to the final climax hardly seems worth it. Don't get me wrong, there are genuinely insightful moments here and there. Opening sequences before the song and titles are helpful to fill in the mysterious back story, creating tension.But the series ending? Sorry, such nonsensical rubbish is a Sin (ho-ho! zinger!) 4 out of 10 for wasting my time.

I didn't know anything about this series when I first saw that it could be viewed on Funimation's YouTube Channel and when I started watching it I thought it was going to be another 'fighting robot' anime which didn't appeal too much. I'm glad I didn't give up as it is far more than that. As the series begins we learn that Casshern is a robot who has lost his memory, other robots he meets tell him that he killed somebody called Luna and this caused something known as 'The Ruin'. This has caused everything in the world except for Casshern to decay. He also learns of a legend which states that whoever devours him will gain everlasting life, not surprisingly this leads to many confrontations. Most of these robots are quickly dispatched however there are several recurring characters; some friends, some foes and some who start out as foes but become friends. These characters include Lyuze whose sister was one of Luna's bodyguards, Ohji and Ringo, and elderly robot and a young girl and Dio, a robot much like Casshern but effected by the ruin.As the series progresses Casshern and the group travelling with him must overcome several dangers and eventually hear a rumour that Luna may still be alive! Of course this may just be a rumour but the must find out. One would expect a show full of robots fighting would be exciting and action packed; this however is very downbeat. This was largely down to the brilliant music which made the fighting seem futile rather than thrilling. It also made me think that main characters might not make it to the end of the series. The animation fitted the tone of the series, there wasn't as much character detail as there is with most series but they still conveyed real emotion and there was a constant sense of desolation provided by the backgrounds. There were some clichés; the main characters tend to look human and whenever one of them fought against the much larger, mechanical looking robots they win easily, they only really seem in danger when fighting each other.These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

As the name implies, this series is about a robot called Casshern. It is said he killed another robot called Luna and the world begun to faid into the ruin. 100 years after he is coming back with no memories what so ever. As he walks down to the path of finding himself he meets a lot of characters and learning a lot about his past...This is the fastest way to describe the plot of this awesomely done anime series. The series is crafted in a way to make your heart shutter. Visuals and animation is topnotch(well madhouse), Music is breathtaking and binds with the atmosphere very nice, Plot is very well done and will keep you guessing...but the strongest part of all is the character development. Its not easy to talk about character backgrounds because Casshern meets a lot of interesting characters on his journey but even if Casshern interacts with some characters briefly, it leaves you satisfied.This is not your average anime series. Casshern Sins is a drama unlike anything else you've ever seen. And its granted that when you finish the series you will remember it for a long time. If you are looking for a typical sci fi anime look elsewhere. Casshern Sins is all about finding one's self and the road to redemption....