Casshern Sins: The Complete Series (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

July 7, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Action-packed and visually creative! “Casshern Sins” is the same release as last year’s “Casshern Sins” two volume release but you are getting the complete series on Blu-ray and DVD in one set! Definitely one of the most visually appealing, action-packed series on Blu-ray worth checking out!

TITLE: Casshern Sins: The Complete Series

DURATION: 600 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0

COMPANY: Tatsunoku/Madhouse Studios/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: 17+

Release Date: August 2, 2011

Originally created by Tatsuo Yoshida

Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Series Composition by Yasuko Kobayashi

Screenplay by Akatsuki Yamatoya, Natsuko Takahashi, Reiko Yoshida, Takashi Yamada, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Yasuko Kobayashi

Music by Kaoru Wada

Character Design by Yoshihiko Umakoshi

Chief Animation Director: Yoshihiko Umakoshi

Art Design by Ryu Sakamoto, Shinzo Yuki

Produced by Tatsunoku

Anime Production: Madhouse Studios

Featuring the following voice talent:

Tohru Furuya as Eric Vale as Casshern

Akiko Yajima/Trina Nishimura as Luna

Cho/Jerry Russell as Ohji

Kenji Utsumi/J. Paul Slavens as Braikingboss

Mami Koyama/Shelley Calene-Black as Leda

Nami Miyahara/Brina Palencia as Lyuze

Tomoko Akiya/Carrie Savage as Sophita

Toshiyuki Morikawa/Jerry Jewell as Dio

Yuko Minaguchi/Monica Rial as Ringo

Yuto Nakano/Jason Douglas as Dune

Casshern, a cybernetic assassin with no memory of his past, awakens in a corrosive wasteland where nothing survives for long. A plague known as the Ruin sweeps across this once-vibrant world, reducing everything in its path to rubble and scattering any chance for salvation. Robots and humans alike – or what little remains of them – seek vengeance against Casshern for the life he took and the role he played in their Ruin. A machine built to kill, Casshern murdered the last hope for this world, but now, lost in a future he does not recognize, he will fight to save the dying.

In 1973, animation studio Tatsunoku Productions created the anime series “Shinzo Ningen Casshern” (Neo-Human Casshern) which was written and directed by Takao Koyama and was an adaptation of the manga serialized on Kodansha’s Terebi Magazine and Akita Shoten’s “Boken Oh”. The character has sinced appeared in a 1993 OVA and in 2004, a live action film was made.

In 2008, big news was announced that Casshern would be appearing in the video games “Tatsunoku Fight” and “Tatsunoku vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars” but the biggest announcement was that the series would receive a reboot and begin airing on television under the name “Casshern Sins”. A series that will be released on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment and both parts (featuring 12 episodes each) will be released simultaneously on August 17th.

The new series would be directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi (director for “Dragon Ball Z”, “Dragon Ball GT”, “Saint Seiya” and “Xenosaga: The Animation”), the series would feature a screenplay by Yasuko Kobayashi (“Galaxy Angel”, “Claymore”, “Witchblade” and “Yume Tsukai”). Character designs for the series is by Yoshihiko Umakoshi (“Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor”, “Zipang” and “Marmalade Boy”).

In the original series, the story revolved around a cybernetic neorider named Casshern who turned himself into a Cyborn in order to stop robots from ruling the world. His father Dr. Kotaru Azuma had created robots to serve mankind but the first android known as Braiking Boss escaped and ended up leading the robots and creating an army to destroy mankind.

In the new reboot titled “Casshern Sins”, the story is much different as the Braiking Boss has ruled the world and a mysterious girl named Luna was the hope of mankind to save the world from the robots. Because Luna has become a big threat, Braiking Boss sent three cyborg warriors to kill her: Casshern, Dio and Leda.

Casshern ends up killing Luna and ended up creating a catastrophic event which nearly ended the world as the atmosphere was filled with poison, humans were no longer able to reproduce and now humanity is near extinction. But the poison also caused harm to the robots as the poison had eroded their parts and now in order for the robots to survive, they are told that if they find Casshern, they must devour him for eternal life.

But Casshern has been missing since he killed Luna and now he is back, but with no memory of what he did to the world and now is on a journey to learn more about his past and what he was created for.

“Casshern Sins” was released in August 2010 as two separate volumes on Blu-ray and DVD. “Casshern Sins: The Complete Series” is pretty much the same discs but now you get both the Blu-ray and DVD as part of the box set, as well as all 24-episodes as as opposed to 12 episodes each. So, there are a total of four Blu-ray discs and four DVD discs included in this set.

“Casshern Sins” features the following characters:

Casshern – Created by Braiking Boss in order to assassinate Luna. After the act triggered a worldwide cataclysmic event, Casshern has lost all memory of who he is. Casshern finds out what he truly is from Lyuze and choose to be a different being and vows to protect Lyuze and Ringo while they try to search out Luna.
Lyuze - A female robot who is bent on revenge in killing Casshern for the death of her sister Liza who died while trying to protect Luna and died a slow and painful death to corrosion due to the cataclysmic event. But she eventually starts to become close to Casshern and joins him on his journey to find Luna.
Ringo – A young girl who befriends Casshern and is raised by an older robot named Ohji. She accompanies Casshern because she has faith in him.
Ohji – A robot technician who maintains robots and is Ringo’s guardian.
Friender – Casshern’s robot dog who was not corrupted by the corrosion after the cataclysmic event.
Luna – A mysterious girl who is summoned by the human race for salvation. Because she was a threat to the Braiking Boss, he sent three robots to assassinate Luna. Despite her assassination, rumors are running that a new Luna is back.
Braiking Boss – The leader who commands the robots to destroy all humanity and is threatened by Luna, so he created Casshern, Dio and Leda to assassinate her.
Dio – A robot built identical to Luna but is jealous of Casshern because despite being equal, Casshern reached and assassinated Luna first. Now Dio is consumed by hate and wants to prove he is better than Casshern.
Leda – A female robot created alongside Casshern and Dio. She also cares for Dio.
Dune – A bodyguard of Luna and was known as the “God of Death” but was unable to stop Casshern from assassinating Luna and now roams the world in mourning.

“Casshern Sins” features the complete 24-episode series on four Blu-ray and DVD discs. Here is a spoiler-free synopsis of each episode:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 1 – At the End of the World – Casshern is not sure about what he is but he fights against robots in an desolate world. The world is nearly extinct of humanity and Casshern meets a robot girl named Ringo.
EPISODE 2 – A World Replete with Death Throes – Casshern meets a robotic couple who seem nice to him, until they realize who he is and now they turn against him.
EPISODE 3 – To the Ends of Agony - Casshern meets a human named Akos who teaches him about humanity.
EPISODE 4 – The Angel of Ruin - Casshern meets a female robot named Sophita, and together they must fight against a group of killer robots.
EPISODE 5 – The Man Who Killed the Sun Named Moon - Casshern asks Lyuze about his past and wants to learn about who is Luna.
EPISODE 6 – Reunited with Fate - The cyborg Dio takes on Casshern and for Casshern, he is unsure how there is another cyborg like him.
EPISODE 7 – The Woman of the TaH Tower - Casshern meets Lizabel, a worker robot building a tower of robot parts.
EPISODE 8 – A Hymn of Hope – Casshern escorts a singing robot named Janice who wants to sing a song of hope for robots in the city of Bazaar. But other robots want to destroy her before she inspires them.
EPISODE 9 – The Flower that Booms in the Valley of Ruin - Casshern plans to find Luna and meets Nico, a former servant of Luna.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 10 – The Man Entrapped by the Past – Dio works to build his robotic army and alongside with Leda, are encountered by Luna’s mourning bodyguard Dune.
EPISODE 11 – By One’s Calling – Gido, a hero amongst a group of robots/humans encounter Casshern’s dog, Friender.
EPISODE 12 – Turn the Time to Color – Casshern and Friender arrive in a city where they meet a robot painter named Margo. Meanwhile the leader of the robots of that city wants Margo destroyed.

DISC 3:

EPISODE 13 – The Past Rises Before My Eyes – Casshern, Friender and Lyuze continue their journey to find Luna.
EPISODE 14 – The Truth Illuminates the Darkness – Dio vs. Casshern.
EPISODE 15 – The God of Death, Dune - Casshern vs. Dune.
EPISODE 16 – For the Strength to Believe - The past of Ohji and Ringo revealed.
EPISODE 17 – The Glass Cradle - Casshern and the others meet three robotic kids who are later attacked by Leda. Casshern vs. Leda.
EPISODE 18 – The Time I’ve Lived and the Time I Have Left - Lyuze ponders about her original intention to kill Casshern but now has a change of heart.
EPISODE 19 – Believe in the Flower that Lives in Your Heart - Casshern and Lyuze fight against Castor and Helene and Lyuze starts to learn that she is starting to corrode.
EPISODE 20 – For Whom Do the Flowers Bloom? – Casshern and the others reach Luna’s castle and in the process, encounter Dune.
EPISODE 21 – The Paradise of Lost Hope - Casshern finds out the truth about Luna’s “healing”.

DISC 4:

EPISODE 22 – A Drop Called Eternity – Dio captures Casshern but has his own intentions of what he wants done with him.
EPISODE 23 – Those Who Return – Casshern vs. Dio, the final battle.
EPISODE 24 – To the Wandering, Blooming Flowers – Casshern vs. Braiking Boss, the final battle. Who will survive and who will die?

VIDEO:

“Casshern Sins” looks fantastic on Blu-ray. Presented in 1080p the animation style features solid colors but there is a dream-like state to the animation and during the fight sequences, you can pause and just frame-by-frame, look at how cool they made those certain scenes look and how much detail they put into Casshern as he goes for the kill or is just leaping all over the place to defeat the enemy.

It’s also important to note of how the animation really pays homage to the original Tatsunoku Productions animation with the look and feel of the characters but then adding the modern spin by the blacks and grungy sequences during the battles. Very good shadowing and definitely one of the better looking anime TV series to be released on Blu-ray thus far.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Casshern Sins” is presented in English DolbyTrue HD 5.1 and Japanese DolbyTrue HD 2.0 stereo. The good news is that the series does take advantage of the surround channels and you can hear the booms, thumps and the metal breaking through the surrounds and also the clear dialogue through the center and the music and other sound effects through the front channels. I do wish there was more use of the LFE throughout the first 12-episodes. Of course, the English lossless soundtrack has more utilization of the surrounds, while the Japanese lossless soundtrack effectively uses the front left and right speakers during the action sequences and utilizing the panning of sound between the two speakers.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Casshern Sins” comes with the following special features:

DISC 2:

Pre-Air Event - (11:57) Featuring the Japanese pre-air event of “Casshern Sins” and the seiyuu and director Yamauchi talking to the audience about the series.
Textless Opening Song: Aoi Hana
Textless Closing Song: Reason
Trailers – Trailers for FUNimation Entertainment titles.

DISC 4:

Mini Concert - (3:34) Featuring a live performance of Color Bottle singing the opening theme “Azure’s Flowers”.
Original Commercials - (1:06) Featuring two Japanese commercials promoting the Japanese release of the DVD & Blu-ray box sets.
Textless Opening Song: Aoi Hana
Textless Closing Song: Reason
Trailers – Trailers for FUNimation Entertainment titles.

“Casshern Sins” continues its action-packed storyline as it did with the first half of the series but instead of being an anime series of mindless and continuous battles between Casshern and robots, the second series becomes more of a story of morality and the appreciation of life but also death. The storyline is much more deeper, richer and if anything, a fitting conclusion to the end series.

With the first half of “Casshern Sins”, the anime sci-fi series definitely showcases quite a bit of action but its important to note that the series is a bit bleak. If anything, it’s less bleak compared to other series in which humanity is shown suffering, in this case, humanity is shown but with most of the human race extinct, it’s pretty much watching robots and humans both wanting to survive and looking towards Casshern as a way to prolong life after he literally destroyed civilization after killing the world’s savior Luna.

The second half of the series definitely improves in story as we get to see Casshern and his newfound friends as they journey to Luna but to discover something much more different than they have ever expected. That was one surprise but the anime series delivers in more surprises as we get to see how characters such as Dio, Leda and even the Braiking Boss start to have a change of heart and without spoiling the story, the writers did a really good job in developing the characters for the remainder of the final episodes. Well done!

As for which series was better, the 1973 “Neo-Human Casshern” or the 2008 reboot “Casshern Sins”, I haven’t watched the original anime series but by reading the synopsis of each, both are quite different with the former dealing with the protection of humanity against the robots, while “Casshern Sins”…humanity is pretty much nearly extinct and so the series is more about life and death and appreciating that life, robot or human.

Needless to say, I would assume the newer series is much more darker and deeper than the former but despite all the violence in this newer series, the fact that those who are being killed, impaled, corroding or destroyed are primarily robots. The series can be seen as violent and even though we can see a lot of blood coming out of Casshern at times, we know he’s not human and was developed by Braiking Boss, so I believe it gave writers some leeway to show this much violence because the majority of the characters are not humans.

The series has definitely been one of the more artistic and unique looking anime series to appear on Blu-ray thus far. Picture quality is very well done, lossless audio is also well done with its amount of action and fans should be happy to see the addition of a Japanese lossless audio track. Both volumes are not loaded with special features and at least you do get something instead of the typical trailers and textless opening and ending themes.

Once again, “Casshern Sins: The Complete Series” is the same content as last year’s two volume release but with all episodes on one release as opposed to two separate Blu-ray and DVD releases. Also, you get both Blu-ray and DVD discs on one set. So, if you own last year’s release, then there is no need to buy this set. But if you didn’t buy the Blu-ray and DVD’s last year, then you’re getting a great deal as you are getting the complete series with the 2011 release.

Overall, I was very content with how this series had ended and how it became a more deeper story towards the end of the series. if you are looking for a beautiful looking anime series on Blu-ray with a lot of action and a very good storyline, I definitely recommend both volums of “Casshern Sins”.

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray

Casshern Sins: Part Two (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

August 17, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The final second half of “Casshern Sins” features a more deeper storyline with continuous action and plenty of battles. Overall, a fitting conclusion to the series and definitely one of the more unique and artistic looking anime series to be released on Blu-ray thus far. Definitely recommended!

TITLE: Casshern Sins: Part Two

DURATION: Episodes 13-24 (288 minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0

COMPANY: Tatsunoku/Madhouse Studios/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: 17+

Release Date: August 17, 2010

Originally created by Tatsuo Yoshida

Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Series Composition by Yasuko Kobayashi

Screenplay by Akatsuki Yamatoya, Natsuko Takahashi, Reiko Yoshida, Takashi Yamada, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Yasuko Kobayashi

Music by Kaoru Wada

Character Design by Yoshihiko Umakoshi

Chief Animation Director: Yoshihiko Umakoshi

Art Design by Ryu Sakamoto, Shinzo Yuki

Produced by Tatsunoku

Anime Production: Madhouse Studios

Featuring the following voice talent:

Tohru Furuya as Eric Vale as Casshern

Akiko Yajima/Trina Nishimura as Luna

Cho/Jerry Russell as Ohji

Kenji Utsumi/J. Paul Slavens as Braikingboss

Mami Koyama/Shelley Calene-Black as Leda

Nami Miyahara/Brina Palencia as Lyuze

Tomoko Akiya/Carrie Savage as Sophita

Toshiyuki Morikawa/Jerry Jewell as Dio

Yuko Minaguchi/Monica Rial as Ringo

Yuto Nakano/Jason Douglas as Dune

In the wake of a devastating plague known as the Ruin, Casshern – a cybernetic assassin with no memory of his past – must fight to save a civilization he pushed to the brink of destruction. He hunts the one they call Braiking Boss, the robotic overlord who ordered Casshern to serve as the executioner of Luna: bringer of salvation.

Surrounded by dying eyes that look upon him with fear and disgust, Casshern walks the wasteland of his own creation, driven to destroy Braiking Boss and remind Luna of her duty. Should she fail to heed his warning, Casshern must assume the specter of death in order to salvage what little beauty remains in a ruined world.

But Casshern has been missing since he killed Luna and now he is back, but with no memory of what he did to the world and now is on a journey to learn more about his past and what he was created for.

“Casshern Sins” features the following characters:

Casshern – Created by Braiking Boss in order to assassinate Luna. After the act triggered a worldwide cataclysmic event, Casshern has lost all memory of who he is. Casshern finds out what he truly is from Lyuze and choose to be a different being and vows to protect Lyuze and Ringo while they try to search out Luna.
Lyuze - A female robot who is bent on revenge in killing Casshern for the death of her sister Liza who died while trying to protect Luna and died a slow and painful death to corrosion due to the cataclysmic event. But she eventually starts to become close to Casshern and joins him on his journey to find Luna.
Ringo – A young girl who befriends Casshern and is raised by an older robot named Ohji. She accompanies Casshern because she has faith in him.
Ohji – A robot technician who maintains robots and is Ringo’s guardian.
Friender – Casshern’s robot dog who was not corrupted by the corrosion after the cataclysmic event.
Luna – A mysterious girl who is summoned by the human race for salvation. Because she was a threat to the Braiking Boss, he sent three robots to assassinate Luna. Despite her assassination, rumors are running that a new Luna is back.
Braiking Boss – The leader who commands the robots to destroy all humanity and is threatened by Luna, so he created Casshern, Dio and Leda to assassinate her.
Dio – A robot built identical to Luna but is jealous of Casshern because despite being equal, Casshern reached and assassinated Luna first. Now Dio is consumed by hate and wants to prove he is better than Casshern.
Leda – A female robot created alongside Casshern and Dio. She also cares for Dio.
Dune – A bodyguard of Luna and was known as the “God of Death” but was unable to stop Casshern from assassinating Luna and now roams the world in mourning.

“Casshern Sins: Part Two” features the last 12 episodes of the series on two Blu-ray discs. Here is a spoiler-free synopsis of each episode:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 13 – The Past Rises Before My Eyes – Casshern, Friender and Lyuze continue their journey to find Luna.
EPISODE 14 – The Truth Illuminates the Darkness – Dio vs. Casshern.
EPISODE 15 – The God of Death, Dune - Casshern vs. Dune.
EPISODE 16 – For the Strength to Believe - The past of Ohji and Ringo revealed.
EPISODE 17 – The Glass Cradle - Casshern and the others meet three robotic kids who are later attacked by Leda. Casshern vs. Leda.
EPISODE 18 – The Time I’ve Lived and the Time I Have Left - Lyuze ponders about her original intention to kill Casshern but now has a change of heart.
EPISODE 19 – Believe in the Flower that Lives in Your Heart - Casshern and Lyuze fight against Castor and Helene and Lyuze starts to learn that she is starting to corrode.
EPISODE 20 – For Whom Do the Flowers Bloom? – Casshern and the others reach Luna’s castle and in the process, encounter Dune.
EPISODE 21 – The Paradise of Lost Hope - Casshern finds out the truth about Luna’s “healing”.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 22 – A Drop Called Eternity – Dio captures Casshern but has his own intentions of what he wants done with him.
EPISODE 23 – Those Who Return – Casshern vs. Dio, the final battle.
EPISODE 24 – To the Wandering, Blooming Flowers – Casshern vs. Braiking Boss, the final battle. Who will survive and who will die?

VIDEO:

“Casshern Sins: Part Two” looks fantastic on Blu-ray. Presented in 1080p the animation style features solid colors but there is a dream-like state to the animation and during the fight sequences, you can pause and just frame-by-frame, look at how cool they made those certain scenes look and how much detail they put into Casshern as he goes for the kill or is just leaping all over the place to defeat the enemy.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Casshern Sins: Part Two” is presented in English DolbyTrue HD 5.1 and Japanese DolbyTrue HD 2.0 stereo. The good news is that the series does take advantage of the surround channels and you can hear the booms, thumps and the metal breaking through the surrounds and also the clear dialogue through the center and the music and other sound effects through the front channels. I do wish there was more use of the LFE throughout the first 12-episodes. Of course, the English lossless soundtrack has more utilization of the surrounds, while the Japanese lossless soundtrack effectively uses the front left and right speakers during the action sequences and utilizing the panning of sound between the two speakers.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Casshern Sins: Part Two” comes with the following special features:

Mini Concert - (3:34) Featuring a live performance of Color Bottle singing the opening theme “Azure’s Flowers”.
Original Commercials - (1:06) Featuring two Japanese commercials promoting the Japanese release of the DVD & Blu-ray box sets.
Textless Opening Song: Aoi Hana
Textless Closing Song: Reason
Trailers – Trailers for FUNimation Entertainment titles.

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews, TV BOXSETS: DVD/Blu-ray

Casshern Sins: Part One (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

August 11, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Action-packed and one of the best looking anime series on Blu-ray today! If you are looking for a sci-fi, all-out fighting-driven anime series on Blu-ray…definitely give “Casshern Sins” a try!

TITLE: Casshern Sins: Part One

DURATION: 288 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0

COMPANY: Tatsunoku/Madhouse Studios/FUNimation Entertainment

RATED: 17+

Release Date: August 17, 2010

Originally created by Tatsuo Yoshida

Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Series Composition by Yasuko Kobayashi

Screenplay by Akatsuki Yamatoya, Natsuko Takahashi, Reiko Yoshida, Takashi Yamada, Tsutomu Kamishiro, Yasuko Kobayashi

Music by Kaoru Wada

Character Design by Yoshihiko Umakoshi

Chief Animation Director: Yoshihiko Umakoshi

Art Design by Ryu Sakamoto, Shinzo Yuki

Produced by Tatsunoku

Anime Production: Madhouse Studios

Featuring the following voice talent:

Tohru Furuya as Eric Vale as Casshern

Akiko Yajima/Trina Nishimura as Luna

Cho/Jerry Russell as Ohji

Kenji Utsumi/J. Paul Slavens as Braikingboss

Mami Koyama/Shelley Calene-Black as Leda

Nami Miyahara/Brina Palencia as Lyuze

Tomoko Akiya/Carrie Savage as Sophita

Toshiyuki Morikawa/Jerry Jewell as Dio

Yuko Minaguchi/Monica Rial as Ringo

Yuto Nakano/Jason Douglas as Dune

But Casshern has been missing since he killed Luna and now he is back, but with no memory of what he did to the world and now is on a journey to learn more about his past and what he was created for.

“Casshern Sins: Part One” features the first 12 episodes of the series on two Blu-ray discs. Here is a spoiler-free synopsis of each episode:

DISC 1:

EPISODE 1 – At the End of the World – Casshern is not sure about what he is but he fights against robots in an desolate world. The world is nearly extinct of humanity and Casshern meets a robot girl named Ringo.
EPISODE 2 – A World Replete with Death Throes – Casshern meets a robotic couple who seem nice to him, until they realize who he is and now they turn against him.
EPISODE 3 – To the Ends of Agony - Casshern meets a human named Akos who teaches him about humanity.
EPISODE 4 – The Angel of Ruin - Casshern meets a female robot named Sophita, and together they must fight against a group of killer robots.
EPISODE 5 – The Man Who Killed the Sun Named Moon - Casshern asks Lyuze about his past and wants to learn about who is Luna.
EPISODE 6 – Reunited with Fate - The cyborg Dio takes on Casshern and for Casshern, he is unsure how there is another cyborg like him.
EPISODE 7 – The Woman of the TaH Tower - Casshern meets Lizabel, a worker robot building a tower of robot parts.
EPISODE 8 – A Hymn of Hope – Casshern escorts a singing robot named Janice who wants to sing a song of hope for robots in the city of Bazaar. But other robots want to destroy her before she inspires them.
EPISODE 9 – The Flower that Booms in the Valley of Ruin - Casshern plans to find Luna and meets Nico, a former servant of Luna.

DISC 2:

EPISODE 10 – The Man Entrapped by the Past – Dio works to build his robotic army and alongside with Leda, are encountered by Luna’s mourning bodyguard Dune.
EPISODE 11 – By One’s Calling – Gido, a hero amongst a group of robots/humans encounter Casshern’s dog, Friender.
EPISODE 12 – Turn the Time to Color – Casshern and Friender arrive in a city where they meet a robot painter named Margo. Meanwhile the leader of the robots of that city wants Margo destroyed.

VIDEO:

“Casshern Sins: Part One” looks fantastic on Blu-ray. Presented in 1080p the animation style features solid colors but there is a dream-like state to the animation and during the fight sequences, you can pause and just frame-by-frame, look at how cool they made those certain scenes look and how much detail they put into Casshern as he goes for the kill or is just leaping all over the place to defeat the enemy.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Casshern Sins: Part One” is presented in English DolbyTrue HD 5.1 and Japanese DolbyTrue HD 2.0 stereo. The good news is that the series does take advantage of the surround channels and you can hear the booms, thumps and the metal breaking through the surrounds and also the clear dialogue through the center and the music and other sound effects through the front channels. I do wish there was more use of the LFE throughout the first 12-episodes. Of course, the English lossless soundtrack has more utilization of the surrounds, while the Japanese lossless soundtrack effectively uses the front left and right speakers during the action sequences and utilizing the panning of sound between the two speakers.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Casshern Sins: Part One” comes with the following special features presented in 1080p High Definition:

Pre-Air Event - (11:57) Featuring the Japanese pre-air event of “Casshern Sins” and the seiyuu and director Yamauchi talking to the audience about the series.
Textless Opening Song: Aoi Hana
Textless Closing Song: Reason
Trailers – Trailers for FUNimation Entertainment titles.

So, far with the first 12-episodes of “Casshern Sins”, the anime sci-fi series definitely showcases quite a bit of action but its important to note that the series is a bit bleak. If anything, it’s less bleak compared to other series in which humanity is shown suffering, in this case, humanity is shown but with most of the human race extinct, it’s pretty much watching robots and humans both wanting to survive and looking towards Casshern as a way to prolong life after he literally destroyed civilization after killing the world’s savior Luna.

If anything, the first series is more about the writers showing us how Casshern is an amnesiac and trying to learn more about his past, while learning more about his other fellow cyborgs who want to rule the world and know they must defeat Casshern in order to gain power.

Where the original series was for the fight to defend humanity, it’s too early to know where “Casshern Sins” is heading as this reboot so far gives us an idea that all robots are seeking to devour Casshern for eternal life. And somehow, despite wanting to be destroyed, there is something within Casshern that clicks on and turns him to the ultimate killing machine.

It’s far too early to know where this series is going to be headed but with the second part of “Casshern Sins” released simultaneously on Blu-ray and DVD with the part one, I definitely look forward to seeing where this series wil be headed.

Overall, if you are looking for a beautiful looking anime series on Blu-ray and one that features plenty of action, definitely give “Casshern Sins: Part One” a try!

Filed Under: Anime on Blu-ray, Blu-ray Reviews, TV BOXSETS: DVD/Blu-ray

FUNimation Announces Cast of Casshern Sins and Corpse Princess

May 15, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

FUNimation® Entertainment today announced the cast and crew for the post-apocalyptic sci-fi anime series “Casshern Sins”.

Main Cast:

Braiking Boss – Paul Slavens
Casshern – Eric Vale
Luna – Trina Nishimura
Lyuze – Brina Palencia
Leda – Shelly Calene-Black
Ohji – Jerry Russell
Ringo – Monica Rial
Dio – Jerry Jewell
Dune – Jason Douglas

ADR Director: Jason Grundy

ABOUT CASSHERN SINS
Casshern – a cybernetic assassin with no memory of his past – awakens in a corrosive wasteland where nothing survives for long. A plague known as the Ruin sweeps across this once-vibrant world, reducing everything in its path to rubble and scattering any chance for salvation. Robots and humans alike – or what little remains of them – seek vengeance against Casshern for the life he took and the role he played in their Ruin. A machine built to kill, Casshern murdered the last hope for this world, but now, lost in a future he does not recognize, he will fight to save the dying.

FUNimation Entertainment will release the first season of the series in two 12 episode sets in August 2010.

FUNimation® Entertainment today announced the English dub cast for the 13-episode supernatural anime series “Shikabane Hime” (Corpse Princess).

The main cast:
Keisei Tagami – J. Michael Tatum
Makina Hoshimura – Luci Christian
Ouri Kagami – Aaron Dismuke
Rika Aragami – Cynthia Cranz
Saki Amase – Monica Rial
Takamasa Sōgi – Joel McDonald
Itsuki Yamagami – Cherami Leigh

The line producer is Christopher Bevins and the series is directed by R. Bruce Elliot, Terri Doty and J. Michael Tatum.

Shikabane Hime (Corpse Princess) is a horror-action anime which tells the tale of a girl named Makina Hoshimura who is one of the living dead. If the girl is to ever find peace, she must hunt down and destroy her own kind. Aided by a secret society of monks, Makina’s quest to rid the world of the undead begins.
FUNimation Entertainment will release Corpse Princess Part One: AKA and Corpse Princess Part Two: KURO on DVD September 14, 2010.

Filed Under: Anime Related News

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Casshern Sins: Part One (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

FUNimation Announces Cast of Casshern Sins and Corpse Princess

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