Casshern
Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
Actors: Yusuke Iseya, Kumiko Aso, Akira Terao
Year Released: 2004
Genre: Sci-fi
See Also: There really is nothing else like it.
Casshern, the epic 2004 live-action anime, is—to belabor a metaphor—like a big warship. An aircraft carrier. It's slow-moving yet unbelievably magnificent. Although it doesn't appear to be doing a lot, it's so magnificent you can't take your eyes off it. The detail is fantastic—everywhere you look there's something to delight the eye. And then, just when you've grown tired of watching its lumbering hulk pass by, it explodes into action and it's like nothing you've ever seen before.
Casshern may be based on an early '70s anime (from Tatsuo Yoshida, who will be familiar to Western audiences as the man behind Mahha go go go A.K.A. Speed Racer) but it's all 2004. Like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, it was shot almost entirely in front of green screens, resulting in a film that's much more animation than live action. Yet unlike the recent Star Wars movies, Casshern still retains a sense of humanity. In fact, it's the nature of humanity, of what it means to be human, that drives the film and elevates it above the status of mere digital-age curiosity.
It's a parallel universe. The world has been devastated by endless war, with humanity teetering on the brink of extinction thanks to years of nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare. Dr. Azuma (Akira Terao) has developed a treatment called neo-celln that he hopes will revitalize humanity. His test subjects, who arise and name themselves Neo-Humans, instinctively head for a castle in the mountains that, coincidentally, has an entire army of robots hidden within it. Meanwhile, Azuma's son Tetsuya (Yusuke Iseya, After Life, Dead End Run) is killed in the never-ending, Orwellian war plaguing the planet. Azuma revives his son using the same neo-cell treatment that spawned the renegade Neo-Humans, fusing his son with experimental battle armor to form Casshern, hero for a new age.
Imagine the previous paragraph explaining the film's preamble taking one hour to read. That's how long Casshern takes to get going. The battleship has finally left dock and is heading out to sea. But it's still compelling. Slow though it may be to get out of the gate, Casshern is always a joy to behold, a real work of art. That's down to director Kazuaki Kiriya, who also wrote the screenplay, edited, and served as director of photography. Can you say labor of love?
Casshern is admittedly a little over the top. OK, it's a lot over the top. If Wagner was resurrected and taken to see Casshern, he'd say, "A little restraint is a good thing." But then again, if you wanted restraint you'd watch a Kore-eda film. For epic sci-fi anime opera, Casshern can't be beat. Can't wait to see what Kiriya does next.
Otaku Alert: Tatsuo Yoshida, who created the anime, Casshan: Robot Hunter (Shinzo Ningen Casshan), for television in the early '70s, produced Kinji Fukasaku's Graveyard of Honor.
Availability Note: Import only, though readily available region-free on the Internet and at specialty shops. Rumors abound of a domestic release. How long can you hold your breath?
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