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In the near future the inhabitants of Earth have become enslaved
by the Neoroids, an army of rebellious super-robots originally
designed to help human civilisation avert a complete ecological
cataclysm. Now, Mankind's only hope lies with Casshan, a legendary
hero dedicated to waging a solitary war against the Neoroids
in the hope of restoring the Earth to its rightful order...
This
Casshan series was originally released in 1993 as
a four-part story. Manga have released this in a two-disc
set, so you can either watch the original tale in four parts,
or the full-length feature that is was eventually edited into.
The
irony of the tale is a little like that embedded in Appleseed.
Here, Casshan's scientist father was responsible for engineering
the Neoroids that are now threatening to destroy the human
race. To clear the name of his father, Casshan must sacrifice
his own humanity in order to attain the powers he needs to
defeat the powerful Neoroids. But Casshan's power does not
come without a price. Haunted by the memories of his murdered
mother and forced to deal with a super robot that has absorbed,
and now manipulates, the consciousness of his father, Casshan
must put aside his own emotions and fight to preserve the
survival of the human race.
There's
a very good chance that the first time you watch this DVD
the whole way through you'll have questions, like who is the
spirit trapped inside the robot swan? (I originally thought
it was an old love interest of Casshan's but that's not the
case). Some of these will be answered by the fantastic audio
commentary included on this release (more of that later).
The
story itself has a number of western influences. There is
some subtle use of Christian imagery (one scenes sees one
of our heroes fixed to a cross) and there are more than a
few homages to various Hollywood movies - principally The
Terminator.
The
audio options are also interesting. You can either listen
to the original Japanese soundtrack (in stereo, 5.1 or DTS)
for the four part version, or the English track (in stereo,
5.1 or DTS) for the feature length version.
As
with the audio commentary on Appleseed, there is another
quality offering by Jonathan Clements. Not only does he inform,
he also entertains - a very rare quality in the majority of
audio commentaries.
Thank
goodness Manga have spent the time and effort to produce a
collection that Japanese animation fanatics will want to add
to their library.
Nick
Smithson
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