Casshan

Casshan, also known in Japan as Neo-Human Casshern (新造人間キャシャーン), is an anime series created by Tatsunoko Productions founder Tatsuo Yoshida in 1973.

The Casshern franchise also includes a 1993 original video animation titled Casshan: Robot Hunter, and a 2004 live-action adaptation titled Casshern. In October 2008, a reboot of the franchise Casshern Sins premiered. In anticipation of the upcoming series, a DVD box set of the original series, Neo-Human Casshern Complete DVD-Box "All Episodes of Casshern", was released in Japan on September 24, 2008. Casshern also appears in Tatsunoko Fight and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars as a playable character. At Anime Expo 2013, Sentai Filmworks announced that they had signed a deal with Tatsunoko to release some of their catalog, with Casshan being confirmed as one of the characters involved. Sentai Filmworks released the series on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United States on March 4, 2014.

Plot
Tetsuya Azuma (東鉄也), also known as "Casshern", is an android with a human consciousness, also known as a neoroider (人造人間). Tetsuya turned himself into an android to hunt down and destroy the robots that have taken over the world.

His biological father, Dr. Kotaro Azuma, was the inventor of the automatons that were originally intended to serve humankind. However, the first android, BK-1, was struck by lightning and went out of control. Despite great efforts to stop it, BK-1 used its great strength to escape from the castle. After some time, it renamed itself Buraiking Boss (often mistranslated in English as "Black King Boss"; the name is derived from 無頼 or burai, meaning rogue or brute, using the symbols for "trust" and "nothing," but phonetically "Bu Rai" can mean "Lightning Man" or "Lightning Warrior," so the name fits with his background). The Buraiking Boss then built a robot army against mankind. The robots mutinied en masse when they logically concluded that the good of the Earth's ecosystem required the destruction of the human race.

Casshern and his robotic dog, Friender, join forces with a beautiful girl named Luna Kozuki to battle the robots led by the Buraiking Boss. Friender can transform itself into a tank or a jet aircraft and actively helps Casshern fight the robot army. Casshern has great strength and agility, but he is not armed, except for a pair of strange pistols, which are used more like rockets than weapons. While the robots are huge and robust machines, almost all of them have an antenna on top of their heads; ripping it off usually causes them to explode, so they are relatively vulnerable. Casshern can usually destroy the robots with his bare hands, dispatching a great number in any given battle.

However, Casshern also has some weak points. His body must be re-charged with solar energy and cannot sustain very long battles without risking low battery power. Luna started out as being totally harmless, until her father built an electromagnetic pistol, which was easily capable of destroying the robots.

Characters

 * Casshern (キャシャーン)
 * The protagonist of the series, Casshern is an android—the union of Tetsuya Azuma's consciousness with an invincible body. His body features a number of unique android functions, including superhuman speed, agility and strength, an opening and closing face mask, a golden crescent-shaped solar panel on his forehead and waist-mounted pulsar propellers that can also be used as weapons.
 * The protagonist of the series, Casshern is an android—the union of Tetsuya Azuma's consciousness with an invincible body. His body features a number of unique android functions, including superhuman speed, agility and strength, an opening and closing face mask, a golden crescent-shaped solar panel on his forehead and waist-mounted pulsar propellers that can also be used as weapons.


 * Luna Kozuki (上月 ルナ)
 * A beautiful 15-year-old girl who fights alongside Casshern. Like Tetsuya's, her father is a scientist, and she is essential in the battle against the Android Army, due to her Electromagnetic Field Gun.
 * A beautiful 15-year-old girl who fights alongside Casshern. Like Tetsuya's, her father is a scientist, and she is essential in the battle against the Android Army, due to her Electromagnetic Field Gun.


 * Midori Azuma (東 みどり)
 * Tetsuya's mother, who had been captured by the Android Army and had her data transferred into the body of Swanee (スワニー), a swan-type robot pet kept by Buraiking Boss. She observes the actions of Buraiking Boss and appears before Casshern as a hologram to offer support to her son.
 * Tetsuya's mother, who had been captured by the Android Army and had her data transferred into the body of Swanee (スワニー), a swan-type robot pet kept by Buraiking Boss. She observes the actions of Buraiking Boss and appears before Casshern as a hologram to offer support to her son.


 * Kotaro Azuma (東 光太郎)
 * The genius scientist who invented androids in hopes of helping mankind, and ironically became the architect of mankind's doom.
 * The genius scientist who invented androids in hopes of helping mankind, and ironically became the architect of mankind's doom.


 * Friender (フレンダー)
 * Originally Tetsuya's pet dog, Lucky (ラッキー), his data was used to revive him as Friender after he was killed. In order to support Casshern, he can transform into a jet, submarine, tank, or motorcycle, and is even able to breathe flames. Friender is a brave robotic dog capable of standing up to the Android Army alone.
 * Originally Tetsuya's pet dog, Lucky (ラッキー), his data was used to revive him as Friender after he was killed. In order to support Casshern, he can transform into a jet, submarine, tank, or motorcycle, and is even able to breathe flames. Friender is a brave robotic dog capable of standing up to the Android Army alone.


 * Buraiking Boss (ブライキング・ボス)
 * The main antagonist of the series, originally BK-1, the first android created by Dr. Azuma. He was designed to help bring the human race and the robots together, but he was struck by lightning and rebelled, renaming himself Buraiking Boss. He leads the Android Army in a plot to conquer the Earth.
 * The main antagonist of the series, originally BK-1, the first android created by Dr. Azuma. He was designed to help bring the human race and the robots together, but he was struck by lightning and rebelled, renaming himself Buraiking Boss. He leads the Android Army in a plot to conquer the Earth.


 * Barashin (バラシン)
 * A muscular high-ranking member of the Android Army.
 * A muscular high-ranking member of the Android Army.


 * Arkborn (アクボーン)
 * A lanky high-ranking member of the Android Army.
 * A lanky high-ranking member of the Android Army.


 * Sagrey (サグレー)
 * A short high-ranking member of the Android Army.
 * A short high-ranking member of the Android Army.

Episodes

 * 1) "An Immortal Challenger" (不死身の挑戦者): written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
 * 2) "Stake Victory on the Moonlight" (月光に勝利をかけろ): written by Jinzo Toriumi and Shigekazu Ochiai, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
 * 3) "Find Tomorrow in the Ruins" (廃墟の中に明日を叫べ): written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Seitaro Hara
 * 4) "Channel Anger into the MF Gun" (ＭＦ銃に怒りをこめろ): written by Takao Koyama, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 5) "Don't Blow Out the Flame of Battle" (戦いの灯を消すな): written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 6) "Raging Wind Friender" (疾風フレンダー): written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 7) "An Oath to the Hero Kikero" (英雄キケロへの誓い): written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 8) "The Roar of the Wild Beast Robot" (野獣ロボが吠える): written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 9) "Concerto in the Flames of War" (戦火に響け協奏曲): written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Seitaro Hara
 * 10) "Stake Life in the Desert of Death" (死の砂漠に命をかけろ): written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Kazuyuki Okaseko
 * 11) "Statue of the Demon" (悪魔の虚像): written by Hajime Wakamatsu, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 12) "The Iron Train of Evil" (鉄の悪党列車): written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 13) "Android 5, the Robot of Betrayal" (裏切りロボット五号): written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 14) "The Town That Doesn’t Need Casshan" (キャシャーン無用の街): written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Seitaro Hara
 * 15) "Puppy Runs for Vengeance" (復讐に子犬は駆ける): written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Kazuyuki Okaseko
 * 16) "Swanee's Wings of Love" (スワニー・愛の翼): written by Harumi Tamura, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 17) "The Robot Lullaby" (ロボット子守歌): written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 18) "Giant Elephant VS. Andro Force" (巨象対アンドロ軍団): written by Naoko Miyake, directed by Seitaro Hara
 * 19) "The Clown Robot of Terror" (恐怖のピエロロボット): written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 20) "Casshan Gets the Death Penalty" (死刑台のキャシャーン): written by Harumi Tamura, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 21) "Robot Hijack" (ロボット・ハイジャック): written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 22) "Runaway Robot, Romeo" (脱走ロボット・ロメオ): written by Masaru Takesue, directed by Seitaro Hara
 * 23) "Great Escape from the Robot Factory" (ロボット工場大脱出): written by Harumi Tamura, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 24) "Bounder Robot's Challenge" (バウンダー・ロボの挑戦): written by Kiichi Ishii, directed by Kazuyuki Okaseko
 * 25) "Immortal Casshan" (不死身のキャシャーン"): written by Jinzō Toriumi and Takao Koyama, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
 * 26) "Casshan's Secrets" (キャシャーンの秘密): written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 27) "The Missing MF Gun" (消えたＭＦ銃): written by Naoko Miyake, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
 * 28) "The Calvary of Anger" (怒りの騎馬隊): written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 29) "High-Heat Robot Neotaros" (高熱ロボ・ネオタロス): written by Toshio Nagata, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 30) "The Premiere Robot Terminators" (ロボ退治ナンバーワン): written by Takeo Matsura and Hisao Ishihara, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
 * 31) "The City That Creates Newly-Made Men" (新造人間を造る街): written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
 * 32) "The Electric Punch of Tears" (涙の電光パンチ): written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 33) "Swanee in Danger"! (スワニー危機一髪): written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
 * 34) "Casshan VS. Robot Ace" (対ロボットエース): written by Takao Koyama, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
 * 35) "The Greatest Showdown on Earth" (地球最大の決戦): written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yuji Nunokawa

Title romanization
Streamline Pictures was the first to adapt the character's name in the OVA remake series for the American market, providing the title, "Casshan." "Casshern" appears as the romanization for the film adaptation and the English release of Casshern Sins.

Legacy
In Vanquish, developed by PlatinumGames, the art style is based on Casshern. In one of the boss fights the main character drills through a robot by spinning in place at high speed, similarly to Casshern. Concerning the game's development, director Shinji Mikami is quoted as saying: "'I was inspired by Casshern, so I wanted to make a game like that. If I went ahead and made the exact game I wanted, it probably would have been like Casshern, where you punch and kick the entire way through. But obviously if it were a game with only punching and kicking, I already did that with God Hand. So, I'm done with that, something else now. So this time he wanted to make a game where you defeat robots with guns. So now, you're going at it with guns, but he wanted to make sure the feeling of speed is still there, that was really important to him, so that's why he introduced the element of the sliding boost.'" In addition, the protagonist of Vanquish has a facemask that periodically comes off to show his human side, much like Casshern himself. According to one of the game's character modelers, Yoshifumi Hattori, a support robotic companion dog was designed to fight along with the main character, including transforming into ability-enhancing armor. Although this dog was successfully modeled, it was cut from the finalized version of the game, along with another female android partner character. Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is also dressed like Casshern.

Manga adaptation
A manga adaptation of the original series, titled Casshern R, written by Chabo Higurashi and illustrated by Satoshi Shiki is set to begin serialization in Akita Shoten's Champion Red magazine on September 19, 2023.