Customer Reviews

Casshan: Robot Hunter (Special Edition)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I felt a little ripped off, when I got volume 1 and 2 together as an offer from Amazon.Com. Movie wise, volume 2 is actually exactly the same as volume 1, with volume 2 having the option for japanese dialog and Eng subtitle. Amazon could have at least indicated that in the "description".

This is another classic animation from my childhood. I've read some review complaining the weak figure of Casshan. A true and good martial artist has nothing to do with being Hugh and muscular. Casshan depicted the true beauty of martial arts and humility to sacrifice his human life to become the man and android hybrid to defeat BK1! Graphic may not be perfect but this is one of the classic that fans of animation shouldn't be missing.

I first saw this movie in the sci-fi channel a few years back, and recently borrowed it from a friend, after watching it again I love it even more than before, good animation, although a step below princess mononoke or VHD, still it holds it's own, great story line, Casshan fights to stop an evil android who wants to destroy mankind in order to preserve nature and save the world(basically the bad guy is trying to do good but feels like he's misunderstood), overall, if you like action movies with robots and explosions then this anime is for you.

a timeless anime classic i'm sure anyone would like, GET IT NOW!!!

Its got to be one of the best anime's I've ever seen. I saw Cashaun: Robot Hunter on Sci-Fi channel's "Saturday Anime" block. Basically its a movie about a scientist who made a robot who's prime directive was to clean up earth is to get rid of all humans, thus getting rid of pollution and war. The scientist also made two other cyborgs. One being Cashaun and the other being a dog. Together Cashaun and his dog (whom makes Rush look mega-weak) must stop the eco-crazed robot and his henchbots from driving the human race into extinction.

ADV mislabeled the DVD as vol. 2 on its packaging. Amazon just went by what it sees on the label. Its a pretty good DVD, it's technically the special edition of Casshan with a japanese dub included as one of the special features. I like the show myself but people who don't like older anime probably wont like it.

Like Gatchaman and the upcoming Karas (which is an anime meant to reignite the anime superhero), Casshan is a superhero anime, which is a rare thing in the anime and manga world. It follows a man with supernatural abilities, and in this case it happens to be a half-man/half-robot who has acrobatic abilities and the capability of plowing through metal with little effort. And, as an added note, Casshan was created by the very same studio that created Gatchaman and Karas, so at least this was done by the ones who know how to do it best.

The story follows Casshan as he journeys across a post-apocalyptic Earth populated by robots called Neoroids. These robots are slowly destroying the human race and, except for a few pockets of resistance, they are succeeding. But the human race have found a light in the darkness in Casshan, and he battles for the human race against the Neoroids tyrant leader, BK1, also known as the Black King. He's not alone in his efforts, for following him is a childhood friend who happens to have the blueprints for a weapon that could change the war, as well as Casshan's cybernetic dog.

Casshan is no masterpiece, but it has a special place for me since it was one of the first anime I was able to see, back when the Sci-Fi Channel had an anime block. It has some solid action, great animation considering the time, and a decent dubbed track, even if it is a bit melodramatic at times. In a lot of ways, Casshan is reminiscent to Vampire Hunter D, so if you enjoyed that classical work of anime, then you'll probably enjoy Casshan as well.

(NOTE: This is not volume 2. Casshan is only a four episode OVA, which is contained in its entirety on this DVD. Amazon.com has made a mistake in titling this DVD version.)

I grew up in Japan and I was a huge fan of its orginal TV series in 70s. I am plesantly surprised how anime has been changed from the ones I used to watch when I was a kid. Story is very sophicitecated in this short series. Music is good as well. I like the designs of machines better than its originals, but not of the people...(Casshan looks too young, Casshan's mother almost looks like his girlfriend, and Luna is showing too much of her body.) Still, Casshan has been my hero for over 30 years! I bet he will be your hero once you watch this DVD.

Okay, my best friend and I are fans of Casshern Sins, so we thought that something of the older series might be good to see. It sure as heck wasn't what we expected. Judging by the lines of Casshan/Casshern's suit (as well as various other tweaks of line-art), whoever the heck was drawing him had a serious hard-on for him. I'm not even kidding. There is _way_ too much attention being drawn to his crotch and his butt with that suit. Nevermind the gratuitous amounts of unnecessary art depicting the fact that yes, he _does indeed_ have 'tackle' shall we say...

Add on top of that, Luna looks like a scantily clad skank (and that's putting lightly)- let's just say that I don't want to think of what her laundry would be like- and furthermore, the plot is just kind of 'enh'. Yes, I'm aware, that's not a real word, but that's the best term for it. The story is mediocre with eye-bleedingly obvious references that Casshern and Luna had something going on before he got turned into a robot (or android, or cyborg, or whatever you want to call it).

As if that weren't enough, the entire plot basically boils down to: Casshern's father made the bad guy, the bad guy went crazy and took over the world, Casshern fights to save the world but has a brief moral dilemma over whether or not what the bad guy is doing would be what his father wanted, Luna makes goo-goo eyes at him while insisting he's still human as he insists he's not because he's amnesiac (yeah, that tired story concept), and then he goes to take down the big bad and wins- _and then spontaneously DIES for no reason_. Yeah. They tried to explain that off with some dumb excuse of 'his battery ran down' or something of the like, but in the movie it pretty much states that he's _sun powered_. And his 'battery ran out'. Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Oh yeah, and before I forget, turns out that he isn't the only one that got 'turned into a robot'; so did his dad and mom. Now here's the real kicker- his dad (or his dad's spirit/soul/whatever) is apparently sealed within the big bad/is essentially a catatonic robot (that briefly talks)- and yes, both of those at the same time, and his mom _is a freaking robot swan_. A robotic swan. A robotic swan that _randomly_ pops up around Casshern, shows him a hologram of herself, and talks to him- all while apparently getting information on his physical structure to give to the bad guy. Talk about your mothering issues, Casshern's mom is trying to 'comfort' him (when he pretty much barely remembers her anyway), while giving info on him to his _enemy_. What... the... hell?

That said, the art is amazing for the most part, and there are _some_ good parts. If for nothing else, this movie is good for a laugh, as well as rampant mockery. Worth the twenty or so bucks I got it for (including shipping and handling), but any more than that and you're getting ripped off.

I was not familiar with this character when I found and bought the DVD. It was apparent that either the story or the scenes had been culled from a longer series, as have the scenes from the "Galaxy 999" films. This film does a much better job of keeping loose ends or unexplained tie-ins from happening. The story, as present, is complete unto itself.

This is fun to have. Load it, grab the popcorn and enjoy! ; )

what's fascinating is that this movie is a revamp of the ealier casshan series back in japan 75. but the premise is very familiar to scifi movie buffs. imaging john o' connor from the terminator machine wars, but with superpowers. casshan is a great series with a bittersweet finale. the designs, fight scenes, intro themes and story pacing are compared to other tatsunoko shows/ovas like gatchaman and hurricane polymar. which means it's an instant hit. the main villian black king boss controls a robo naziesque goverment which enslaves and exterminates humans who are surviving in a post apocolyptic enviorment. and it's up to casshan and his pet cyber pooch to save humanity by destroying the IRON EVIL but at the price of his humanity. good storyline with of course pathos. If your a fan of the Magnus robot fighter comics or even a scifi enthusiast,
then casshan is well worth the purchase if not rental.