"Casshern Sins" by Lilleah Adora West

Gawd that face, every time he made a face like that my heart melted <3
Took me ages to get the expression and style right, I used episodes 1 and 4 for reference.

closeup of the face (worth seeing bigger, you cannot see the eye detail in this) http://lilleahwest.deviantart.com/art/Casshern-detail-close-up-197096667

Pencil version http://lilleahwest.deviantart.com/art/Casshern-197071968

Casshern Sins (not the old animes by similar names) is my latest obsession.

It is full of the chest gripping angst I love in an anime, Casshern is the perfect kind of tormented hero that my heart can reach out to as he goes through such emotional and physical turmoil.
He may look like he is in a lot of pain right now but things will get worse for him in a minute as his regenerative abilities kick in causing his wounds to heal in a manor more painful than when he received them.

On top of beautiful fluent animation with kick-ass action scenes, touching music, great dubbing, and a unique art style...the plot and characters are very deep and it makes you think about the concept of life and death in a new and inspirational light...just wow I love this anime so much (aside from ep 18...that was a total mindfeck interpretive dream episode)

Casshern is immortal and thus in a sense will never truly be able to live, he has known so many people who died with a sense of fulfilment because they cherished the time they had, but he will never know this feeling for his time is endless. He cannot die and he cannot be killed, his body can (painfully) regenerate from even the most severe damage and so death is just not an option for him.
This is the first time an anime has ever made me wish to see the hero die happy...

Casshern Sins gripped at my chest and filled me with great empathy.
I am sad that the anime is now over, it was only 24 episodes...I have yet to have another anime grip me like this did so many times.

Casshern from Casshern Sins/Funimation