Casshan: Robot Hunter

It has been three years since the intelligent robot “Black King Boss” and his Andro Army came to power, taking over a significant portion of the world and enslaving much of humanity. Things look bleak as far as the future of the human race is concerned, but among the downtrodden slaves and vastly outnumbered human armies one ray of hope remains- the legend of a powerful robot destroyer known as Casshan.

Given the title of the OVA, it will come as no surprise to learn that Casshan is more than just a legend. Encased in metal armour that renders him near invulnerable and accompanied by a fire-breathing robotic dog, Casshan finally returns to the forefront of battle. In short order, Casshan is joined by Luna, the scantily-clad wielder of the revolutionary, robot-destroying MF gun, and the pair begin working together to turn the tide of war and save mankind from destruction.

As a remake of the 70’s TV series, Casshan is less about updating the concept for a more modern era than showcasing everything you’d expect to see from an older sci-fi flick. Following the traditional formula of the practically invincible hero systematically working his way through a stream of robot minions in order to confront their villainous commander, Casshan is nothing if not predictable. In fact, by the end of the opening scene you’ll probably have a pretty accurate idea of exactly how the story will proceed, right down to the convenient plot elements included to ensure everything is wrapped up by the end.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that the characters also fall into the standard mould- encompassing such personalities as an impractically dressed female sidekick and a main villain with a penchant for laughing maniacally and executing incompetent underlings. Casshan himself receives a measure of depth as we come to learn a little about his past life and his prior connections to both Luna and Black King, but once again there is nothing particularly deep or unexpected to be found here.

For all that it is cheesy and predictable, however, there is something curiously enjoyable about Casshan. Although it seems laughably clichéd at the outset, its sheer simplicity actually makes it quite entertaining- just as long as you switch off your brain and don’t ask too many questions. And although the two hour runtime means that the pace has to be necessarily speedy, it also ensures that the OVA doesn’t drag on so long as to wear out its welcome.

Visually, Casshan sticks close to the original in terms of character designs, leading some rather campy and even embarrassingly bad costumes that would perhaps have been better left in the seventies. Fortunately, the animation is more polished, leading to a respectable crop of action scenes, with the final confrontation standing out as particularly well done. When coupled with a consistent soundtrack, which contains the usual range of everything from slow piano music for poignant moments to resounding fanfares marking Casshan’s impending victories, this makes for a solid if not outstanding presentation overall.

In Summary

A predictable and entirely on-the-rails adventure, Casshan doesn’t really offer up anything we haven’t seen before, but despite this, it isn’t as bad as it initially sounds. As long as you switch your brain to “idle’ mode and don’t set your expectations too high, this OVA will make for a reasonably entertaining couple of hours.