Chrno Crusade

The 1920s was a decade of great change and upheaval, with monstrous demons appearing across America. To combat this menace, the holy organization known as the Order of Magdalene was established. The organization's New York branch is home to the young and reckless Sister Rosette Christopher, as well as her partner Chrno. Tasked with the extermination of demonic threats, the renowned team is excellent at their job, despite causing extensive collateral damage on their missions.

However, both Rosette and Chrno are driven by their dark pasts. Through exterminating demons, Rosette hopes to find her lost brother Joshua who was taken by the sinner and demon, Aion, with whom Chrno also shares a bloody history. The two of them must fight off the increasingly dangerous demonic menace and discover its source, while continuing to search for the truth behind Joshua's disappearance.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Chrno Main

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Christopher, Rosette Main

Kawakami, Tomoko Japanese

Hendric, Azmaria Main

Chiba, Saeko Japanese

Harvenheit, Satella Main

Neya, Michiko Japanese

Aion Supporting

Inoue, Kazuhiko Japanese

Christopher, Joshua Supporting

Minagawa, Junko Japanese

Remington, Ewan Supporting

Hayami, Show Japanese

Magdalene, Mary Supporting

Kawakami, Tomoko Japanese

Duffau, Duke Supporting

Wakamoto, Norio Japanese

Shader Supporting

Sasamoto, Yuuko Japanese

Kanbe, Hiroyuki Co-Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Character Design, Animation Director, Assistant Director, Key Animation

Kou, Yuu Director

Tsuruoka, Youta Sound Director

Sayama, Kiyoko Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Dec 30, 2007

toanbui

Recommended

Reviewer’s Brief Notables: I know that most people often don’t trust or are a little skeptical about a Perfect 10 review, but that is, without any exaggeration, how I feel about Chrno Crusade.
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Story:
I first watched Chrno Crusade without any expectations for it whatsoever. After completing the first episode (weeks before I completed the series), I wasn’t really fascinated with it at all. For the time, I just thought this anime was pretty generic and somewhat dull.

I was wrong.
After a few weeks, I was led to completing the series. To make the most general and the most appropriate statement: It was captivating! The story behind ... Chrno Crusade is very intricate with numerous characters, subplots and details. The story is brilliantly put together with no holes in the story and also a very complete ending (sniffles). Chrno Crusade is full of action, comedy and romance; the key ingredients of a great production. The general plot is nothing unordinary and is usually played out as other anime have, but there is just something about this anime that I thought really set this one apart from the others. Unfortunately, I am unsure of the reason myself; or am not able to explain it in words. As you watch Chrno Crusade, I am sure you will understand what I mean. –and I apologize for the slightly unclear story briefing.
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Art:

As for the art in Chrno Crusade, it would have to say that it is brilliant! The art gave me a very strong sense of familiarity. The animation is very similar to many series’ such as Full Metal Panic and Kaze no Stigma because they’re from the same animators. The kind of animation that Gonzo offers is my all time favorite. Everything is greatly detailed accurate lighting and shading. Skin tones look very natural and give the characters physical depth (they don’t look so 2-demensional), and best of all, the character’s eyes aren’t the size of my monitor. In the series, there are barely any CG and most of the time, it’s very unnoticeable.
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Sound:

Most of the time, I prefer subtitles over dubbing because usually the English voice actors talk like they’ve been deprived from their souls; emotionless and doubtable. In the case of Chrno Crusade, I very much enjoyed the English dubbing. One, because the voice actor for Rosette talked very fast and her pitch was very high (much like Excel from Excel Saga). Second, because my favorite English seiyuu, Hilary Haag (Teletha “Tessa” Testarossa from Full Metal Panic) was acting for Rosette. And lastly, because the series is set in America it would make more sense for it to be in English. The dubbing included uses of slang back in the late 1920’s which was when the series takes place. As for the opening song, it was very enjoyable and blended well with the opening animation that also suited the anime flawlessly. And the ending song…well, quickly became one of my favorites (it is actually playing on repeat as I write this review). Entitled “Sayonara Solitaire”, the song expresses feelings of sadness, loneliness and hope. The animation for the ending was beautiful too. The ambience of the ripples gave an awkward feeling of loneliness and at the end of the credits; the animation showed the watch that Rosette bore as a drop of water ran down from it while the ending song was closing with a small string orchestra. Having thought of that drop was a tear and by the knowledge of what that watch really represented in addition to the sad music made it easy for the viewer to cry. That short section at the end also gave a hint of foreshadowing that was just even sadder to accept. SAD but not depressing; which is all I can say.
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Character:

What I thought while watching Chrno Crusade was that the real essence of this series were the characters. Character development is a strongpoint in this anime and the process of it takes on most of the series itself. Each character is unique in their own way; even for the supporting characters. They all have their own personality and individuality. That effort from the producers made a real difference for me. The cast in Chrno Crusade are all affable; even the villain. Rosette (awkwardly) reminds me of Naruto. They are optimistic, earnest, hard-working, and both have the drive and potential to reach their ambitions. Rosette was just so lively and full of energy which made watching the series more or less pleasant. Chrono is depicted to be a very modest, kind and selfless character though he is a devil. Rosette and Chrono’s relationship are like of best friends if not more. They are both very close to each other, not hesitating a second to protect one another. Their partnering gives off such a deep feeling of fulfillment in your heart. They are both lovable and enjoyable to watch which makes the ending of the series even more melancholic.
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Enjoyment:

Chrno Crusade has quickly and easily made it into my top anime list. At first, as I’ve stated, I wasn’t really fascinated with it. Until a few weeks later, I found myself completing the whole series in less than a day. Every episode was captivating as I watched one right after another. There were a few episodes where it felt as if it were a filler, but I thought it was good to have a few fillers here and there to take a break from the story. Character development was not something I expected from Chrno Crusade, but it turned out to be my favorite point of the series. The rating I gave for Chrno Crusade went from an Eight out of Ten to a Ten out of Ten during the last two episodes. These two episodes are notorious for making viewers cry. Honestly, I cried for about 10 minutes straight; coming from a guy who hasn’t cried like that in over 5 years. The last episode had such an astounding impact and because of that, Chrno Crusade had earned the right to be on my favorites. This series has been very memorable and also very rewatchable. It is PERFECT.
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Overall:

I recommend anyone to watch Chrno Crusade. From the average otaku to an early anime watcher, you can’t go wrong with this series. If you plan to watch it, at least watch the first 3 episodes. Do not do the same mistake I have and nearly dropped it on the first episode; which I deeply regret doing. Give it a try.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 24, 2008

Bishounen_Hunter

Mixed Feelings

Apart from the few high-tension moments that come in the latter episodes this anime really has nothing that merits recommendation. It's a good enough series to watch if you are bored....or you have the type of job where you could watch this to while away the hours.

ART/ANIMATION
Art/Animation was done by a big budget company, Gonzo, which usually means there isn't going to be anything lacking by way of animation. I would assume this would be considered a period piece [since it takes place in the 1920s] and as such, a lot of the artistic design was from or inspired from that era: the ... cars, civilian clothing, scenery and buildings. Movements and high-tension moments, like, car chases and fight scenes were all very smooth and realistic. The only thing I really liked animationwise was the ending sequence.


SOUNDS
The ending song I really liked it. It was very beautiful and melacholy at the same time. The OP was not to bad either. However Azamaria's singing....tho quite lovely, totally annoyed me for some reason, it just didn't look real or that it would come from her. Why is there an echo coming from her voice like she is singing in a great hall.....eventho she's outside? Other than that I have no complaints, the voice acting was great as was the sound effects.


STORY
The storyline was not put together well, this could have really been one of those 12 ep. shows. The basic premise of this show is that of a young, reckless and impetuous nun her cute sidekicks, a meek, angelic apostle and a once powerful but now somewhat inhibited demon, go searching for her missing brother battling all sorts of evil along the way.......hilarity supposedly ensues. Yet, I never find this show as funny they maybe wanted it to be and most jokes seem to fall flat and fizzle. With some of the earlier episodes, it was such a yawnfest, at times I found it so boring that I found other projects to do, such as begin writing this review and scrubbing my toilet. It's not as if I was totally lost on what the creators were trying to achieve with this story and the whole church aspect but somehow, in this series, the whole idea/concept of gun-toting nuns and demon-banishing clergymen seem forced or just overall silly with a lot of religious catholic symbolitry being tossed about with no real meaning behind it. It did make for one heckuva battle scene in the later episodes, however. But it just didn't make sense, the story could have been the same...if not better in my opinion if they were regular clerics instead of warrior-nuns. Religious animes are a tricky affair but sometimes they work out really well like for example Trinity Blood or having a rogue monk like Saiyuki's Sanzo, it seemed “believable” or to at least fit neatly within the storyline as opposed to just being thrown into the mix.


CHARACTERS
I had no particular affinity for any of the characters in this show, which is a rare thing to happen for me, I usually get bonded to at least ONE character very quickly. However with this show, I found these characters so insincere, unreal and even cookie-cutter[ish]. I can't place my finger on one singular reason why they appeared that way to me but one reason could be the randomness of their emotions..... one minute she's teary-eyed then the next minute she's yelling and the scene is supposed to be funny. The Demon-kid seems emotionless for the most part—and I don't think it was supposed to be intentional, and Angel/Apostle-girl seemed too cutesy and 2-Dimentional personalitywise..With Character Design, again nothing too unique and a lot of the clothing of the principal characters seemed out of touch with the times [what grown woman wears a giant yellow bow at the end of her hair?] also modding a nun's gear and habit for battle with humongous splits running down the sides and garters seemed......NOT right.


ENJOYMENT
I don't know how to feel about this show. I want to say that it was bad....that it sucked and maybe overall it kinda did. However, it does have it's awesome moments like the Demon Battle scene, which was out of this world. But a few good scenes can't carry a show. And there were just too much conflict and contradictions: Biblical facts v. Science Fiction and then you have the past [the 1920s] mixed with futuristic elements. The creators bit off more than they could chew with this story I think or maybe too many random ideas...I'm surprized someone didn't throw in a headless Indian running around with a tomahawk.
It isn't something I'd watch again if I had the choice and I can't recommend it without letting the viewer know what they are in for.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jul 12, 2012

halfshadows

Not Recommended

I can't fathom why this is rated so high. The first 12 episode were decent. They're an okay comedy action thingy. But once the plot starts to move, it just becomes stupid.

The main story was really bad. Aion makes this extremely convoluted and unnecessary complicated plan to do something, and just ends up dying anticlimactically at the end. After watching the entire series, i honestly can't tell you what Aion was trying to do, or why he was doing it.

The last 12 episodes are so bad it brings this down to a 3. Characters do things for no reason. Nothing is explained. By the ... end, i didn't care the slightest bit about any of the characters. I didn't care it they lived or died, or what happened to them. The last episode had more characters doing inexplicable and random things that make more sense, but there is one scene where Rose and Chrono die. It's actually the only decent scene that makes sense in the last half of the show. It's actually a great scene, one might say beautiful, but I didn't care about the characters so i felt absolutely no emotion in that scene. What a waste. I felt this scene was good enough to raise my rating to a 4.

I didn't really like the art. It wasn't bad, it just didn't fit the series. It seems too cartoony and happy for something trying(and failing) to be deep and dark. Chrono in his true form looks goofy and stupid.

It should also be noted that the author of this has no understanding of christianity. I don't understand why animes keep doing this. If you're going to butcher chistianity, just make up a fake religion instead of trying to be clever.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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