A Beautiful Story!

Well I have a beautiful story I want to share. I am a fan of manga and anime. I Love the expression of emotion and the grandeur of the stories. I discovered the genre during a time I thought we had finally run out of any good plot ideas here in the US, and it was refreshing to get some new ones. At least some old ideas turned on thier heads and spun around.

So here it goes my review of Chrono Crusade!

~Rosette and Chrono~

Chrono Crusade is an 8 Part manga authored by Daisuke Moriyama. Pictures from manga and anime, but don't watch the anime. Read why below.

The Story is set in the late nineteen twenties during the height of prohibition and the hedonism of the upper classes. Sin is rampant and it is leading to the surfacing of demons who would tear the world apart if it were not for the effort of exorcists working in the background to silently protect to masses from evil using ammunition forged with holy oil and prayers. One such group is the Magdalene Order which is headquartered in New York City. (The fact that Priests and Nuns are monster hunters might be offensive to some, but the story makes it clear this is fiction) The protagonists are members of this order, Rosette Christopher a teenage girl with a troubled past, and Chrono her demon partner allowed because he has a contract with Rosette. A contract formed years ago when Rosette was desperate for help to save her brother. Her brother disapeared and she was taken in by the order due to the supernatural nature of her brother's disapearance and 'gift'.
Contracts are a serious buisiness, and one doesn't form one for any reason. A contract allows a demon to feed off of the soul of the contractor. This feeding brings the contracter to lead a brief life often in pain. However this contract has two great differences from most. First it was formed for a good reason, and second the demon Chrono does not want to drain his contractor. He cannot entirely avoid this, buts slows the process forcing him to remain inside of a much smaller humanoid form until he fully unleashes his power. He too has a mysterious past being a demon with no horns, the source of a demons personal energy.
Rosette Christopher is a tomboy with a reputation for making turning even the smallest tasks into disasters. Whether it is wrecking convent cars, or crashing a ship into the statue of liberty she creates no small amount of frustration for Sister Kate the convent leader. She longs to find her brother and save him, but has no idea where he is, only hopes her current life will cross into his. She knows by her contract her life is limited, but is determined to live her her the best way she can, to help others and not waste even a moment. Often she falls short of the ability she needs to complete the challenges in front of her, but her spirited determination and sure faith pull her through and make her a character that is easy to be attached too. She has a deep trust in Chrono and sees the good in him despite the attitude of her leaders. Throughout the series she becomes more attached to him, fighting for him when no one else will.

Chrono in his human form

Chrono is well-trained fighter known as the demon that killed a hundred (or thousand in anime) of his own kind for the ferocious battles he fought a long time in the past. It is never said how long demons live but he has been alive for at least a hundred years. He is very silent about his past, He seeks revenge on another demon named Aion who is the cause of Rosette's bother's disapearance and his missing horns. He is very attached to Rosette despite the abuse she sometimes puts him through and on the outside is very patient and good willed. Rosette reminds him of someone he loved a long time ago, and so he desperatly tries to protect her and save her life force which he feels deep regret about taking. His anger becomes a great weakness for him through the storyline and often it is Rosette which saves him from his rage.

There are many more characters, I don't have the space to put them all in, but they are all extremely memorable and make for a great story. The real plot thickens when Rosette's brother Joshua surfaces in San Francisco and Chrono and Rosette take thier leave to face thier pasts in order to win back thier future. As Rosette takes more risks her clock runs low on time and the choices become more critical and friendships grow stronger. I don't want to reveal all the secrets. I encourage you to either buy, checkout, or go to either AnimeA or MangaOne to read online scans for free. Caution (Fan translation!, however even the professionals screwup :)

Near the end of the anime, always together

I love the concept and story, it is beautiful. A pure love story of impossible barriers that two flawed but determined individuals manage to breach in spite of heaven and hell fighting against them. The interaction between Rosette and Chrono makes a touching story with a bittersweet finish that will have you happy and crying at the same time. However the series is not without its faults some inherent of the manga scene. For one thier is alot of small minor subideas which pop up at the end which are confusing and try to change your whole perception of the conflict. Such as the author seems to try to turn the demons into aliens at the end which really throws off the rest of the story. (eg. Why do only holy bullets work?) However these little plots are easily ignored as the rest of the story is surging so powerfully it cannot hold you back. Secondly the author seems to have been extremely restricted by the publisher and occasionally crams entire story arcs into say a couple pages. Overall these do not take the beauty of the whole away from me, but could probably be distractions to others.

My final Comment is do not watch the anime. It is decieving. At first it seems they fixed the story arc flaws of the manga and lead you along a path to a horrifically mangled ending which leaves you so depressed that any suicidal tendencies would probably claim your life right there. It has many anti-climatic moments at the end, and characters do things that seem out of character, and on top of that the ending gives the impression God doesn't care and the devil has more power, on top of no matter how much good you try to do it is worthless. I don't think that was thier intention, but some careless script writing left a terrible taste in my mouth.

My end grade is an 8.5 Mainly due to some story-arc problems. I highly recommend the series for anyone in the mode for some occult action, or just a beautiful story.