Chrono Crusade Gospel 1: A Plague of Demons - Anime Advanced

• Media Source:Anime Advanced
• Reviewed By:Vincent Del Vecchio
• Review Date:09/15/04
• Read the original review click here

"This is one of those highlight shows for ADV this year as many people have been looking forward to this release."

Chrono Crusade Vol. #1: A Plague of Demons (also with art box)

Media DVD Region 1 Genre Action/Adventure Publisher ADV Films MSRP $29.98 Running Time 100 Minutes Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 / Full Frame Release Date 09/21/04 Age Rating 15+ Website ADV Films

September 15, 2004

by: Vincent Del Vecchio

'The combination of unique storyline, backed with Gonzo?s excellent production values and ADV?s first rate attention to detail make it a must own...'

Review Hardware Used: Panasonic CT-32HL43 Tau Series PureFlat HDTV Monitor, Panasonic RP-82 Progressive Scan Region Free DVD Player w/ Monster Video 3 Component Cables, Yamaha RX-V596 DD/DTS 5.1 Surround Sound Receiver, Klipsch Quintet 5.1 Speaker System w/ matching KSW-12 (400 watt) subwoofer, Monster Audio cable all around.


Disc Description

The year is 1928. Jazz is hot, bootleg liquor is king and the idle rich of a nation have discovered a horrifying new past-time: summoning demons! To combat this growing threat, a new order of Holy Warriors has arisen. This is the story of Sister Rosette, an elite Exorcist in the Order of Magdalene, whose soul has been bound by alchemy to that of the devil Chrono. Armed with Sacred ammo, they form an unstoppable team, ready to wage war at a moments notice? because when the gates of hell are opened, someone?s got to put the devils back!


Disc Review

Content: (This section may include spoilers)
It?s a good thing I wasn?t born back in the 1920?s. Why? Well because it seems New York was a haven for Satanists and devil worshippers!

Well, Chrono Crusade starts off in the heart of Brooklyn; the year? 1928. A rainy night it was. There was lots of Thunder, lots of lightning, and a few poor souls that just happened to summon a demon into the midst of one of New York?s five boroughs. Fortunately for the ?Big Apple?, there consists of a secret organization known only as the Order of Magdalene, which wages a secret war with entities we would call demons or devils. The organization is as professional as they come; using nuns and ministers armed with sacred ammunition to combat the hell-spawn which stalks the weak and the innocent. Unfortunately for the Order of Magdalene, this specific case falls within the ?capable? hands of one Sister Rosette Christopher and her sidekick, the devil Chrono! As the show opens up, viewers are treated to the sound of Sister Rosette snoring the night away in a car nearby what looks like the Brooklyn Bridge. The car is equipped with a type of special mobile telephone which resembles a standard telephone you might have seen in the early 20th century. Of course, I still wonder how that phone works. It is 1928 and cellular phones aren?t exactly a thought just yet. Regardless, the unlikely duo of nun and devil rush to the scene. During this sequence, we notice that the nuns of the Order of Magdalene aren?t exactly the best drivers in New York. Maybe this falls squarely on Rosette?s driving skills but think New York City Taxi Cab, only ten times worse and you?ll get the picture I?m trying to paint.

During the first episode and well into the ones that follow, we see the relationship of Rosette and Chrono in regards to the unique bond they share. Obviously a nun and a devil aren?t exactly the most likely pair to see as a team but these two are like brother and sister. The duo is definitely on the side of good here though, as both pull their weight to vanquish the evil demons which have come forth to wreak havoc on the general populace of the Tri-State Area. Of course, there is a downside to this combination of devil and servant of God. Every time Chrono has to use his full powers against the forces of hell, he drains Rosette?s life force from her body. At the current state of things, the poor girl doesn?t look she?s going to have a very long and prosperous life. But where there?s a downside, there is always an upside it seems as the Order of Magdalene has this kooky old, perverted ?elder? guy that creates some pretty powerful devil stopping ammunition for Rosette to shoot at anything that standard ?sacred bullets? won?t put an end to. As we have come to expect from a lot of Gonzo animation, the ?special effects? of such ammunition and subsequent damage area effects are all shiny and well done. You can never discredit Gonzo in this area and Chrono Crusade is no different. In fact, this show is packed with all the Gonzo over the top explosion and destruction effects to make even the most die hard fan shed a tear.

Animation quality is great and all, as it adds some really nice viewing emotion to what you are watching; but, what?s animation without an all-out engaging storyline to go with it? Well, I?m happy to report that Chrono Crusade?s story is engaging. With these four episodes, the storyline and plot has been tight and packed with many cool settings and characters to keep me glued to the edge of my seat. The whole New York setting just plays the perfect set of notes for me. Being a New Yorker all my life and seeing some areas of my city recreated in a show that I am enjoying just helped the overall experience altogether. It?s good to stray away from a Japanese setting every once in a while. Of course, not all the actual locations depicted in the show are true to their real life counterparts but from what I see, the feel of New York is definitely here and they?ve done an excellent job of putting forth the 1920?s New York feel into the show as a whole.

During the course of the four episodes on this disc, we?re introduced to a bevy of interesting characters. From the child apostle Azmaria, to her devil worshipping captor Ricardo Hendrick, as well as the demon Lerajie (who seems to be an old acquaintance of Chrono), each character has a nice back story and explanation of who they are and why they do what they do. We also get the start of the story, if you will, about the contract between Rosette and Chrono and why her life fades away everytime Chrono uses his full powers. We also get a few teasers of the demon?s weaknesses and well as what gives them strength and from what I can gather so far, it all makes as good a sense as it possibly can given what?s been revealed. We also delve into the background story of Rosette and her brother Joshua and how they met Chrono and the possible reason of why Joshua isn?t around. All this makes for a very engrossing storyline with markings of an epic tale of battles between good and evil, sibling love, wayward demons, and above all: friendship.

Video:
Chrono Crusade originally aired in 2003 and the transfer here looks excellent; typical of most all of ADV Films? Gonzo released titles. Cross coloration is pretty much non-existent and aliasing just isn?t noticeable. The show has its share of dark and drab scenes and the colors don?t look washed out at all unless the scene specifically calls for such an effect? and it is just that, an effect. When the show portrays its more colorful scenes (and it does have quite a few of them), it does so wonderfully.

Character models are excellent. The demons in their human form look a lot like artificial human beings. I?m sure this is meant to bring about a menacing aura around them. It works well and is a very welcome design. Even the secondary characters that have all but one or two lines in the show are drawn nicely. I believe this gives any show?s background a more personal and believable feel.

All in all, the character designs are extremely attractive and it?s been an enjoyable time watching them, at the very least.

*On a side note, Rosette is unfathomably cute. I hope I don?t go to hell for that?

Audio:
First watching the disc in its native language of Japanese, no audio dropouts or noise could be heard with our equipment. The stereo mix was loud and sounded very good. Voices were clear and background music and sound effects played out nicely.

After the initial viewing, we went and watched the disc in English 5.1 and this definitely added more depth to the audio experience. Voices came from the center speaker and the front soundstage was very nicely manipulated with music and sound effects. The rear sounded good as well. The 5.1 track definitely added some more thump and thud to the destruction and battle scenes and also the overall track in general just sounded excellent.

Menus:
ADV went a unique style route for these menus. The main menu has the resemblance of a stone tablet or sort of bible like feeling to it. Parts from the opening animation are shown in the large cross in the middle while episode selections are placed at the top, scene selection option is placed to the right, and the extras choice is placed on the bottom; when which chosen scrolls the menu down the tablet piece revealing the huge selection of extras on this volume.

Menu music definitely keeps the feel of the show, with soft chords and melodic tunes to desperation like hard rock and even a little gothic cathedral type piece that seems right out of a vampire or demon movie. Each section of the menu has its own music and effects when you click on the choices, such as bullet hole effects for the language selections, ect.

Extras:
Overflowing with extras is the closest thing I can think of to say when referring to this first volume of Chrono Crusade. For starters, we get Azmaria?s Extra Classes. In this little guide to the show, Azmaria explains such things as how times were in the 1920?s in America, the way of life, what was popular and cool, the types of cars used, ways of transportation, how America was the becoming the center of things, organized crime, ect. It goes on and on and provides a wealth of information to complement the storyline of the show and help people understand why things happen as they do. In short, it?s exactly what it presents itself to be; a sort of history class in a way.

This right here would have been more than enough extras for the disc but they didn?t stop there! Next on the long list of extras we get clean opening and closing animations, original on air openings for the first four episodes; which are different than the openings that were spliced into the first four episodes on this disc. The openings the episodes on this disc are using weren?t actually implemented into the show until after episode 4.

Next we get Chrono Crusade Chronicle, which is sort of like a newspaper clipping with information on characters, weapons, places, ect. Oh and it?s in color! Next up are production sketches, ADV previews, and DVD credits. Rounding things off, we get commentary from the voice actors for Chrono and Rosette; Greg Ayres and Hillary Haag, respectively.

I just can?t believe the amount of extras they packed into this first disc. Stuff like this is excellent and it makes you feel great when you crack open the case, stick the disc in your player, and are greeted by a long list of extras. It instills the feeling that pride and careful consideration went into the production of this disc in order to give you, the viewer, the ultimate experience possible. Thank you ADV Films.

Dialogue:
Subtitles are nicely sized and timed. We noticed no issues while viewing the disc with subtitles on the screen. Translation seemed very good and they did a good job of subtitle directionality while on screen, keeping them nicely in the center bottom of the screen.

The English dub was nicely produced as well. The English character voices are well suited for each character so far. ADV?s studio IS&M has done a wonderful job with the English voices. In particular so far, Hillary Haag shines as Rosette as the character is the perfect host for Haag?s talents to take on top form, which they no doubt have. Greg Ayres is good as Chrono as he is able to portray the soft spoken demon rather well. The rest of the cast is equally as impressive so far. What I am really waiting for though is to see how characters that haven?t been introduced yet will fare. Given ADV?s excellent English voice talent staff, I can image we?re in for a treat.

The Bottom Line:
I don?t know what to say that hasn?t already been said, so I?m going to try and keep this as short and sweet as possible. Chrono Crusade is awesome.

While the first episode seems to be just a ?get to know the main characters and what cool abilities they posses? episode, the second episode and onward expands the playing field ten-fold. We?re introduced to many of the supporting cast and we?re introduced to mysteries that leave you wanting to see more and more. I?ve been waiting and praying that ADV Films would do this release justice and I believe my prayers have been answered. I really couldn?t ask for more in regards to what ADV has presented us with here and I think that people who have been waiting and hoping this series would be given the special treatment will not be disappointed in the least.

This is a solid starting volume for a show that?s definitely been on my and a lot of other?s waiting to get list. ADV has given us something extraordinary here. The combination of unique storyline, backed with Gonzo?s excellent production values and ADV?s first rate attention to detail and viewer enjoyment make it a must own for any fans of good storytelling, exciting action, and truly likeable characters. It doesn?t get much better than this.

Content Excellent story, interesting characters. Chrono Crusade is very fun to watch and very enjoyable. 9.5
Video It's a GONZO animation so high quality video and animation are expected. Everything here looks great. 9.0
Audio Both Japanese and English dubs are very good. 5.1 English track gives things a little more overall 'oomph'. 9.0
Menus Stylistic and easy to navigate. Access times are quick and animations are nice. 9.5
Extras A plethora of extras make this disc well worth the cost. Azmaria's Extra Classes and voice actor commentary are excellent. 10.0
Dialog Subtitles are timed correctly and easy to read. Both English and Japanese language tracks sound very good. The English dub track, done by ADV's IS&M, is top quality stuff. 9.0
Verdict