Casshan, also known in Japan as lead=yes, is an anime series created by Tatsunoko Production founder Tatsuo Yoshida in 1973.
The Casshern franchise also includes a 1993 original video animation titled , 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-Video 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 as a playable character.
Plot
Azuma Tetsuya, also known as "Casshern", is an android with a human consciousness, also known as a lit. "artificial human". 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.
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
- Kyashān
- The protagonist of the series, Casshern is an android—the union of Tetsuya Azumas 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.
- Kōzuki Runa
- 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.
- Azuma Midori
- Tetsuya's mother, who had been captured by the Android Army and had her data transferred into the body of Swanī, 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.
- Azuma Kōtarō
- The genius scientist who invented androids in hopes of helping mankind, and ironically became the architect of mankind's doom.
- Furendā
- Originally Tetsuya's pet dog, Rakkī, 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.
- Buraikingu Bosu
- 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.
- バラシン
- A muscular high-ranking member of the Android Army.
- アクボーン
- A lanky high-ranking member of the Android Army.
- サグレー
- A short high-ranking member of the Android Army.
Episodes
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Fujimi no Chōsensha:
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Gekkō ni Shōri wo Kakero: written by Jinzo Toriumi and Shigekazu Ochiai, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
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Haikyo no Naka ni Ashita wo Sakebe: written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Seitaro Hara
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Emu Efu Jyū ni Ikari wo Komero: written by Takao Koyama, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Tatakai no hi wo Kesuna: written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Shippū Furendā: written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Eiyū Kikero e no Chikai: written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Yajū Robo ga Hoeru: written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Senka ni Hibike Kyōsōkyoku: written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Seitaro Hara
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Shi no sabaku ni inochi wo kakero: written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Kazuyuki Okaseko
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Akuma no Kyozō: written by Hajime Wakamatsu, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Tetsu no Akutō Ressha: written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Uragiri Robotto Gogō: written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Kyashān Muyō no Machi: written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Seitaro Hara
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Fukushū ni Koinu wa Kakeru: written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Kazuyuki Okaseko
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Suwanī Ai no Tsubasa: written by Harumi Tamura, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Robotto Komoriuta: written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Kyozō Tai Andoro Gundan: written by Naoko Miyake, directed by Seitaro Hara
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Kyōfu no Piero Robotto: written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Shikeidai no Kyashān: written by Harumi Tamura, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Robotto Haijakku: written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Dassō Robotto Romeo: written by Masaru Takesue, directed by Seitaro Hara
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Robotto Kōjō Dai Dasshutsu: written by Harumi Tamura, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Baundā Robo no Chōsen: written by Kiichi Ishii, directed by Kazuyuki Okaseko
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Fujimi no Kyashān: written by Jinzō Toriumi and Takao Koyama, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
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Kyashān no Himitsu: written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Kieta Emu Efu Jyū: written by Naoko Miyake, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
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Ikari no Kibatai: written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Konetsu Robo Neotarosu: written by Toshio Nagata, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Robo Taiji Nanbā Wan: written by Takeo Matsura and Hisao Ishihara, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
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Shinzō ningen wo tsukuru machi: written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
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Namida no Denkō Panchi: written by Tadashi Fukui, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Suwanī Kiki Ippatsu: written by Akiyoshi Sakai, directed by Hiroshi Sasagawa
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Tai Robotto Ēsu: written by Takao Koyama, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
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Chikyū Saidai no Kessen: written by Jinzō Toriumi, directed by Yuji Nunokawa
Title romanization
Streamline Pictures was the first to adapt the character's name in the 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
The
Mega Man video game series may take inspiration from Casshan, both featuring "robot" protagonists who are assisted by a helpful robotic dog companion (Rush and Friender, respectively) who can transform into useful items.
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.
Manga adaptation
A manga adaptation of the original series, titled
Casshern R, written by Chabo Higurashi and illustrated by
Satoshi Shiki began serialization in
Akita Shoten's
Champion Red magazine on September 19, 2023.
It anoinced the move to the
Manga Cross website in November, with the publication resuming in April 2025.
See also
External links
