(Note: Very Minor Spoilers for Casshern Sins)

Sophita is a female robotic lifeform from Casshern Sins, one of my favorite psychological or thought-provoking series. She only appears in one episode, but that was enough for me to fall for her character. Some would dismiss her as “that yandere Casshern met in episode 4,” but to me her character is deeper and more interesting than that. In a time when the robots are dying off in large numbers due to the plague of the Ruin, Sophita is still full of life and energy. Some think she is the immortal human-robot hybrid Casshern, and they call her the Angel of Ruin.

“My heart only pounds when I’m in battle.”
~Sophita, Casshern Sins episode 4.

Sophita’s life is simple and savage. She is a warrior, and can’t help that part of her programming. She goes around looking for suitably strong robots to fight, killing them when she wins. When she meets the real, invincible Casshern and sees how depressed he is, Sophita tries to kill him to put him out of his suffering. Though she stabs him, it’s not fatal, and to her surprise, she couldn’t strike him with the intent to kill. She liked him. Sophita holds Casshern close while he regenerates from the stab wound. Tears form in her eyes as she realizes how sad it would be if the person she liked really did die. She no longer wants to kill him.

That’s Sophita’s story in Casshern Sins, but its conclusion (her love for Casshern) isn’t what I’m most interested in. What I love about Sophita is the dilemma in which she is stuck. She can only feel joy and satisfaction in life when she fights. Sophita was born– or was created– to fight. If there is nothing to fight, or no one worth fighting, what’s the point of life? I like this idea because it reminds me of myself.

I can only really function at my best if I’m fighting against something or someone. Obiously, I’m not talking about a literal, physical fight (though I do love martial arts when I can pay for lessons). I mean more of an emotional or spiritual battle. One of the problems in my life is that there’s nothing and no one pushing me to fight. I’m bored and tired, but extremely well taken care of, and I’m relatively at peace with issues that I used to be passionate about. My support system is so awesome that I don’t even have anyone pressuring me to improve my life. There’s nobody to fight against anymore, and there’s nothing to interesting enough to fight for. What can I do?

That’s why I empathize with Sophita so much. We’re both stubborn and created for conflict. Our hearts only pound when we are in battle. We don’t know what to do beyond fighting. As painful as it is to struggle, not having a real struggle, or not caring enough to cause a struggle, is much more painful. Time freezes. Life stops seeming like its alive. My heart doesn’t pound.

If you liked the sound of Sophita and her story, be sure to watch Casshern Sins for many more interesting characters and themes. This is has been 7mononoke of Anime Rants, covering another day in the 30 Day Anime Challange. I really appreciate you reading this. Ja ne!