Short Synopsis: The finale of Casshern Sins.
Episode Rating: 7,5/10 (Good)
Yeah, like expected: the creators tried to stuff too much into this episode and therefore it lacked the impact it could have had, but let me tell you this: if the right time was reserved to make everything in this episode give enough time to naturally unfold, this ending would have rocked beyond belief, and it would have been a great candidate for the best ending of the year. There were so many nice ideas in this episode, so it’s a bloody shame that the creators couldn’t have gotten their hands on one extra episode.
the big problem here that Casshern Sins has always been at its best in slow pacings: letting the dialogue slowly and fluently carry what’s happening. In this episode Lyuze and Ouji die within five minutes. That’s way too little. I could fully imagine that the material in this episode would have been more than enough to make four episodes of awesomeness: one about Lyuze and Ouji’s death, one about Casshern vs. Braiking Boss, one about Casshern vs. Luna and one aftermath in which we see Ringo grow up. The creators would have been easily able to fill that time within the episode.
But still I loved this episode, even though it could have been so much better. The thing I loved most about this episode was the final scene, in which we see Ringo grow up alone along with Friender. We never get confirmed whether she really is Leda’s child, but things are pretty certain here. Normally robots don’t grow, but she did, and she’s a teen-aged girl at the end of the episode. The only reason she could have grown into that was because she’s like Casshern, Dio and Leda. I appreciate it though, that the creators didn’t hang a sign over her with “look at me, I’m Leda’s daughter!!!”.
But yeah, what ever happened to that coloured rock?
In any case, it’s definitely been interesting to blog this series. In the end, it’s never really been my favourite series, but it sure as hell came close. My top 3 of the shows that started airing in the past fall season at the moment is the following:
#3: Clannad
#1/2: Mouryou no Hako, Michiko e Hatchin
I’m still not sure about the exact order between number 1 and 2, but I don’t think that I can include Casshern in it. It just… missed that extra something that would make it truly outstanding, and that I did experience in Clannad, Michiko e Hatchin and Mouryou no Hako. Nevertheless, it’s been an excellent series, with some of the most beautiful visuals out there.
Well she does resemble Leda in that screen shot, thanks to the long hair, but yeah I do agree with the pacing issues. Which really could have been solved by a few more episodes, say 2, since the show did take its time with certain aspects so its kind of a let down that it didn’t get to delve into the finale as well, especially disappointed that Leda who seemed to be built as the final boss ended up like THAT. Ah well still it wasn’t a bad show to watch, I’m still more satisfied watching this than Xam’d which did leave a bitter after taste. But at least there is still Michiko and Hatchin which seems to be going along nicely, and the ending doesn’t seem like it will be a cram fest.
Yeah, I’m currently very torn about my final rating for this series. While the final quarter wasn’t as disappointing as with Xam’d, it did leave some things to be desired and in the end I liked the series best in its first half when it was just episodic and you didn’t know what you could expect. At this point I’m still not sure whether I’m going to rate it 90/100 or 87,5/100….
Bluray for this series looks pretty good :O Should I watch now or wait?
So seriously….what happened to the colored rock?
I think the coloured rock was immortality that Ringo recieved. Since the coloured rock, if i’m remembering correctly, was the secret of Luna’s immortality, if i’m remembering what those children said right, so Ringo basically became immortal like Casshern and Luna. I think this because if you think back to previous episodes you see Ringo rust from time to time, even pieces fall off of her, but in the end she looks PERFECT. I think it was really Ouji’s final gift to the most important thing in his life…just a thought though
Could say she became the ‘true Luna’.
Now that you’ve mentioned it, it kind of reminds me of the pregnant Leda scene in Ep. 17.
Here’s my take on the matter. I think what the rock did was “complete” Ringo in such a way that she’s fully become what Ohji intended when he created Casshern, Dio, and Leda – a robot that can do everything a human being can.
If I’m not mistaken, when Ohji found Ringo in the flashback, there was a question of whether Ringo’s nature (robot, human, or “cyborg”). My guess is that, Leda’s child didn’t die. What might have happened was that, while her child was in Luna’s care, everything was thrown into chaos because of Braiking Boss’ conflict with Luna. That’s when Ohji found her child somewhat hidden in a “safebox” of sorts (Ringo).
But at that time, Ringo probably just wasn’t complete – kind of a “failure”, just like Leda, Dio, and Casshern. Whatever research and development being conducted may have been halted because of the chaos. But unlike her three predecessors, she may have been merely missing a component; and that would be the multicolored rock which she eventually receives. Remember that Leda’s child was entrusted TO Luna; and the multicolored rock was entrusted BY Luna to the three child robots. But I don’t think that exempted Ringo from the effects of the Ruin. It might have made her “more humanlike”, but not “immortal”.
As for what saved her from the Ruin… Casshern “killed” Luna again and reversed the effects of the Ruin much in the same way as it was started.
On a side note, I don’t think robots could “grow” as organic lifeforms do. The only other instance of robots having a childhood in this series was in Ep. 18, and it’s in Lyuze’s mind. That could have been as much of a memory as that scene with the ghetto dude – it doesn’t necessarily reflect something that actually happened. I think, Ringo grew up either because it’s already a part of her nature before she even received the multicolored rock, or, as an effect of receiving the multicolored rock (made her “more humanlike”).
And on a final note, Ringo, in a way, is the fulfillment of the things Casshern, Leda, and Ohji failed to acheive.
I’ve got no problem with how this series ended. I haven’t seen the subbed, but from the raw, it was generally ok. None of my expectations from the preview became a reality, but it’s ok. This series has always been unpredictable to me to begin with.
Casshern and Lyuze didn’t exactly have a “happy ending” as I had hoped, but that’s also ok. It wasn’t a bad conclusion to their relationship. It drove Casshern to make that ultimate decision of his life; and putting an end to his misery while at it, the very same way it began. In the end, they’re still together in a way.
Wow, it still ended up with Casshern vs. Braiking Boss… so it did pay tribute to the original series.
The colored rock thing certainly was the lacking part for me. It would have been a more satisfying ending because of more understanding coming in. Otherwise, the ending was fine. I’ve yet to watch the subbed version though.
just finished watching casshern sins, its a shame that lyuze died, but i guess its a necessity, well, bottom line, i read your review about the ep, im a bit confused with the explanation about ringo, yes, she did grow, but didn’t lyuze also grow from child to the present??? in ep 18?
oh yeah, one more thing, if both casshern’s blood and luna’s were mixed, then wouldn’t that mean that at present, their both the same? you know, death x death???? how could they forget death with that, and also, now i know y im a bit dissatisfied with lyuze’s death, because casshern wasn’t able to die with her, unlike dio and leda’s death which was beautiful and in a way, happy ending to them both, hehe^^
Glen,
The episode where Lyuze was a child is actually a dream, or symbolism of what was happening in Lyuze’s mind.
I wonder if there’ll be a movie that’ll tie up loose ends here. But after watching the subs, I wonder if Oji used the colored rock in the fertilizer he was researching. haha.
well, i still think it could mean either ways…. anyways, she’s dead, no point in knowing if she used to be a child or not, also, based on how it ended, im open for a movie, ova, anything^^
I’m still puzzled about how Lyuze’s and Ohji’s deaths led Casshern to seek out Luna again.
At the moment it seems to me that he wants to pay tribute to Lyuze and Ohji, who despite being mortal have led meaningful lives. So he goes to Luna – since she happens to be the top brass in the field of immortality-granting – and warns that while it’s fine and dandy to be immortal, people had better find meaning in their lives like Lyuze and Ohji, or else he’ll start on another rampage.
Is this everyone’s understanding or is there another interpretation?
I don’t think that the Lyuze and Ouji died fast, or it had a wrong effect on the show. They have been suffering from the ruin for a long while. And about the fight between Casshern and Braiking Boss, I REALLY appreciate that it didn’t take long, because Cassherns fight style has been always like that, and on top of that, the real value of the show was in the diaglogues and monolgues, not in the fight.
Sorry for my bad english! ^^”
I love to see how fans of a show will make “excuses” for why there are glaring holes in the plotline.
I never wondered what happened to the colored rock. They gave you enough info by episode 21 to figure it out.
Oji said it was worth studying. No doubt that’s what he did when he stayed behind at Luna’s old dwelling, and that gave him some clues about what she used to do before Casshern ‘killed’ her. It’s logical that the rock would offer some insight into her nature, since it’s her ‘nano-cells.’ She is a machine–studying her key component might very well tell you her capabilities and function.
You don’t need to add anything to the series to come to this conclusion. All the information is there, and the rest is common sense. It’s just like those writers–they never seem to do any of the math for you.