Chrno Crusade

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When people think of shounen anime and manga they will undoubtedly think of stories that follow the typical format of never giving up and believing in your friends. Along the way the main characters in these tales may gain various abilities that make them insanely powerful, or gather a bevy of beauties, all of whom have some illogical desire to be with the main character.

There are, however, a few that attempt to do something a little different. The first anime adaptation of Full Metal Alchemist, for example, took a much darker turn than one might normally expect in a shounen tale. Likewise Akira followed its ... own dark path, but one born of politics and science rather than alchemy. Casshern Sins roamed a post apocalyptic world in search of forgiveness and salvation, while Black Lagoon decided to wallow in the dark places of modern civilization.

And then there's Chrno Crusade, which at first glance may appear to be nothing more than just another super powered shounen manga. Looks can be deceiving though ...

Created by Moriyama Daisuke, the manga began serialization in Dragon Magazine in 1998 and ran for six years. In 2003 the story was adapted for anime by Gonzo, and since that time both versions have garnered a number fans across the world.

The tale begins in 1924 with a cargo ship that has crashed into the New York harbour. Officials and police are startled to see a monster suddenly leap down from the flaming deck and start attacking people, but are even more surprised when a car crashes into it. From the wrecked vehicle emerges a girl in a modified nun's habit, and a young boy carrying a large backpack. They are Rosette Christopher, professional exorcist and monster exterminator, and her partner Chrno, and they have been sent from the Order of Magdala to "deal with the situation".

Now one of the biggest criticisms levelled at the story is that there is simply too much going on, and it's a fair argument as the tale does indeed pack a lot into 57 chapters. The series incorporates a lot of religious symbology, and mixes it with action, demons, romance, some science fiction, magic, and ... aliens.

That's right. For some reason Moriyama included aliens, but unlike Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, the numerous and disparate threads actually work rather well together. While there really is a lot going on, each aspect of the plot plays a role withing the story, and nothing feels like it was simply tacked on because the author ran out of ideas. Even the aliens are nothing more than an explanatory note rather than the main focus of the story, which brings up a rather interesting point. If anything, Chrno Crusade is something of a triumph for Moriyama, as very few shounen tales are able to move the plot forward during action sequences. While there is plenty of combat throughout the story, there is always the feeling that the characters are unwilling participants at best, and it's because of this slightly off kilter approach that Moriyama is able to progress with the story even while the characters are fighting, and without resorting to long winded diatribes.

If you're not sure what I mean, then have a think about some of the more successful shounen manga like Bleach, Naruto, etc. Whenever the characters get into a fight the storyline simply stops while they duke it out with whichever bad guy is there at the time. Granted this is partly because of the difference in length between the series, but if Oda Eiichiro can do the same thing with One Piece that Moriyama does with Chrno Crusade, then it does ask certain questions of Kubo Tite, Kishimoto Masashi, and the other long running authors.

The artwork throughout the manga is pretty good on the whole, with nicely detailed settings and many signs of 1920s America (clothing, cars, buildings, etc), on display, however there is a certain generic quality to the character design which is reflective of the shounen nature of the story. One of the problems with this is that it may dissuade potential readers who are looking for something a little different to the norm, however it should be pointed out that while the characters themselves may not look like anything particularly fresh or different, they do display a good degree of visual expression. Now one could argue that this is much the same for almost every shounen story, and that is true to a point, but we'll get to that in a bit.

Probably the biggest surprise in Chrno Crusade is the depth of the two lead characters. Both Rosette and Chrno have justified reasons for the path they follow throughout the story, but this is further supported by the other characters as well. In addition to this the pair share a history that predates the manga's storyline, and their close relationship is apparent from the very first chapter.

What is surprising is that both characters don't really develop in the normal sense, but instead seem to extend their characterisation, with each becoming more "defined" as the plot develops. Much of the actual development seems to occur on the part of supporting characters like Satella Harvenheit and Azmaria Hendric, and while this may seem strange at first, one could argue that it's also a very "shounen" approach, and one that is prevalent in stories like Full Metal Alchemist, InuYasha, and others of that ilk.

One of the things that struck me about Chrno Crusade is how very different the manga is to its anime counterpart, especially as the latter lacks the aliens (amongst other things). That said, I found both to be enjoyable in a way that many shounen tales normally aren't, and the main reason for this was the much darker tone that is prevalent in both versions of the story. Granted the series is top-filled with shounen aspects and stereotypes, in particular where the character design is concerned, but Moriyama's skill doesn't lie there, instead showing itself in the complexity of the plot and the strong characterisations. Given the numerous, disparate threads running through the story, it's a testament to his ability that many of them not only play a part in the whole narrative, but also gain a degree of resolution.

Yes, there's plenty of action and the story plays fast and loose with religious symbols at times, but in amongst all of the hi jinks lies a strangely captivating tale that has one thing at its heart - love. It drives many of the characters, and it's surprising to find the theme works extremely well in what is effectively a super powered shounen tale.

No matter what one thinks of the story itself, Moriyama deserves praise for trying to do something different to the norm, especially at a time when the industry was very resistant to new ideas and approaches, and even now there are few shounen anime and manga that try to go off the beaten track.

That said, given the success of Full Metal Alchemist, Casshern Sins and Black Lagoon, maybe the industry is finally getting the message.

My first encounter with Chrno Crusade was when the anime was still airing. I ended up gripped by it - following it weekly - until the tragic (yet satisfying) conclusion. And whilst I did not give it top marks due to its rushed Gonzo 'original story' second half, it did impress and move me.
Until last month, this was the end of myself and Chrno Crusade ('CC' from this point onwards) since I had not started reading manga until long after my memories of the anime had faded away. However, I saw an auction for the complete series and, since I have always wanted to see ... the full, unedited story, I won it.

The covers of the volumes are truly beautiful and vibrant. The drawings are attractive and the vivid colours help highlight this. And the lovely colour artwork does not end with the covers themselves since every volume has at least one colour page inside; the early chapters having quite a few, where as those near the end have one or two.
As for the standard black and white pages, the art quality is excellent throughout, thanks in no small part to the manga having been serialised monthly; allowing the author a lengthy amount of time to do his work in. The art style has a distinct charm to it and is one of the best aspects of the series.

...I did, however, have some issues following certain parts of the action. A problem that I am sure numerous manga authors share is planning fight scenes to allow the action to flow panel to panel, seamlessly. It must be very difficult to accomplish when restricted to a set amount of pages. Some artists are better at putting stories together and others are good at putting action together, and I feel the author of CC is better at crafting stories than he is at making action. Do not get me wrong, though: the fights were not put together badly and I was able to understand what was going on most of the time.

Before anything else, it is best I give a description of the plot for people unlike me that have yet to watch the anime:

CC comes across as rather silly at first. A nun/exorcist working for the Magdalen Order called Rosette Christopher and her demonic partner called Chrono go on trips around America killing demons. In between these character introduction missions is lots of comedy; some of it as a result of perverted jokes and the majority coming from the dialogue between the main two characters...or rather, coming from Rosette's short tempered personality and poor Chrono getting hit. Thankfully, the story becomes much more interesting and gains depth after the opening chapters - it isn't long before you're shown the tragic events that occurred in the past that resulted in Rosette agreeing to a contract with Chrono where she would give him the power to use his demonic abilities at the cost of her own life (Rosette wears a clock around her neck that ticks away when Chrono uses his powers from that point onwards). Without spoiling too much, all I can really say is that the reason behind Rosette joining the Magdalen Order and fighting together with Chrono is her brother, who went missing prior to the start of the story.

Forgetting about Rosette's brother, the heart of the story is about Chrono and his past as a sinner of Pandemonium (In the CC universe, Pandemonium is the equivalent of what we consider to be hell in our world). Chrono once betrayed his own kind by fighting for Aion (the leader of a group Pandemonium view as sinners) in order to be free from the chains of Pandemonium. However, after the friendship the two shared soured due to a certain person, the two became enemies who walked different paths, leading to the start of the CC story.

What makes the story of CC special is the main theme of the story, which is how people can use what little time they have to the fullest. Rosette is fighting the clock throughout the story as her contract with Chrono causes her to lose a little of her life each time Chrono transforms into his adult/demonic form (he disguises himself as a youngish boy in order not to use his powers and hide his identity) and uses his abilities. Chrono, being the soft-hearted demon that he is, always tries his hardest not to use any of his demonic power, fighting like a human and often simply supplying Rosette with ammunition for her guns. As Rosette selflessly throws away years of her life in order to save her brother and Chrono tries his hardest not to use his powers in order to keep Rosette alive, you can almost feel the unbreakable bond the two share just by reading the pages; they're the best of friends and yet, by fighting together, Chrono can't help but drain the life of the person he cares about the most - it's both touching and tragic.

It's very rare in any fictional story for a relationship between two characters to reach out and touch the heart of its reader/viewer, but that's exactly what Chrono and Rosette's relationship did, in my case at least. What kept me interested in the series wasn't the fact it has nuns with guns (and fairly large buns); it was the relationship of the two main characters. Most of the dialogue came across as natural as the two bonded over the course of the story. They argued and they cried but it was always clear that the two had strong feelings for each other, even if they didn't always express their feelings in words.

Just before shutting up about the story, let me add one complaint about the story that made me give it 8/10 instead of 9/10. I felt that too much story was crammed into the final chapters and not enough was spread over the other volumes. When I was reading the last two volumes I couldn't get rid of the thought that an easy to follow story had suddenly become far more difficult to follow due to the author not pacing it brilliantly. Some of the plot elements, one near the end in particular, lost me and it probably could've been avoided if more time had been spent explaining certain parts of the story.

Now that the most important bits are out of the way I can focus on the less important bits, starting with manga and anime differences. Apart from a death scene in volume seven, the anime diverges completely from the manga towards the end of volume six. But even before the plot diverged completely, there was lots of filler added. For example, Aion appears much earlier (in the flesh) in the anime then he does in the manga, his anime appearance occurring during a zombie outbreak filler story, with him somehow ending up with his tongue down Rosette's throat. Aion also has another filler episode later where it's shown that he uses a human woman (who happens to be madly in lust with him) to kill humans in order for him to use their souls as energy... with Aion somehow ending up nearly raping Satella. Just going on those two examples, it should be clear that both the anime and manga are very different and show the characters in different lights, Gonzo seemingly wanting to turn Aion into a sex pest.

Before my back refuses to allow me to bend over my keyboard typing, the last thing I want to touch upon is the ending of the manga. Surprisingly, both the anime and manga endings are very similar: both end in the same sort of way (I can't elaborate without spoiling) and both stories fast-forward to the future in the epilogue. If I was to choose between the endings, the winner would be the anime ending because... well, it ended the story in a depressing yet peaceful way. And, though I'm sure it was just thrown in to make the story appear far deeper than it really is, I also liked the surprise at the very end of the final episode.

Overall, I loved the story to bits and would recommend it to anyone. If you're looking for a very well done story about someone shortening their own life to achieve their dream, this is for you.

Rating: 9/10

I'm now going to try to rest my poor back. Here's hoping the review helps someone!

Honestly speaking, I didn't find the work very exciting, and I also believe it suffers from a lack of originality. The characters often use the typical phrases from the series, like "Once again, I couldn't achieve anything" or "I don't want to burden anyone anymore; I want to become stronger." Even the dynamics concerning the relationships between the characters follow well-worn patterns, such as the character seeking revenge who eventually befriends one of the protagonists after realizing a misunderstanding, or the character struggling to express and understand human emotions, learning to do so thanks to another character. All of this, of course, happens without any ... meaningful additions that could make it somewhat interesting.

Some characters find themselves in situations triggering their development, but it often seems as if this primarily serves to allow the character in question to overcome a specific situation without, except in rare cases, witnessing any genuine change leading to character growth, which we only see a bit of towards the end.

The author also attempts to delve into elements related to the world of demons in the work, but, even in this case, I must say that the demon cosmology and their culture don't bring anything interesting along with them.

Regarding the drawing style, I would describe the author's style as a well-executed but somewhat mundane one that effectively accomplishes its purpose. However, I must also mention that, at times, some onomatopoeias were so large that they hindered the comprehension of the scene in the panel.

Additionally, I found the design of some demons quite appealing. I particularly appreciated the brief part of the work that brought a Western atmosphere with it, complete with demons dressed as cowboys.