The Japanese: among which thrives a breed of exceedingly innovative individuals, whether in art or science. It was them who created Casshern: the most capturing and emotionally enchanting sci-fi fantasy ever put together on film. Never mind the unknown director and actors in the eyes of western entertainment, never mind the troublesome but necessary reading of English subtitles, Casshern is a refreshing breath of air for Anime-lovers and sci-fi fans alike.

Kazuaki Kiriya, director, had employed the use of striking filming techniques which are relatively new and slightly experimental. Layered in thick renderings of CGI and heavy filtering, the scenes were shot in styles and angles familiar to Manga of serious action adventure genres. The entire movie is photo-realistically picture perfect.

Armed with a flawless storyline, Casshern unfolds its plot scene by scene with minimal predictability. Elements include life and death, man and machine, hope and despair, peace and war, as well as love and hate. Set in a post-apocalyptic future (which is by now a bit common), mankind waged war between themselves, drying up the Earth to the last blade of grass. In the face of a growing health crisis due to excessive pollution, Dr. Azuma answers the call with a discovery of a miracle cure.

Upon nearing the completion of his research as funded by the military instead of the health board of the Great Eastern Union, disaster strikes. Rising from the depths came the mutants who became a bigger threat than everything else. It is now up to Tetsuya son of Dr. Azuma, who unintentionally became the only person strong enough to possibly end the war. No other live-action flick to date has a moving ending like Casshern's; when humanity itself is questioned.

The contents of the movie is obviously far more meaningful than what I have just described. Even though the story may not impress as many viewers, the captivating visuals and concepts will. Casshern will be released in the US sometime 2005; when it does, it will set a brand new benchmark for mainstream portrayal of fictional world-saving acts in moviedom. Buck up, western film-makers.

Rating: A+

Justin Wong

A communications student at HELP University College, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A Chinese urbanite making sense of the world and noting observations. Just a amateur blogger aiming for the sky.