Chrono Crusade Gospel 1: A Plague of Demons - Animefringe Online Magazine
- Animefringe Online Magazine
- by Andrew Chanthaphone with Adam Arnold
- 11/01/04
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Before we begin, we should clear the air of the first thoughts that might have sprung to a lot of people when they hear the title Chrono Crusade --this show has absolutely nothing to do with the SquareEnix game, Chrono Trigger. The two might use a similar time motif logo, but the original title was actually written 'Chrno Crusade' before ADV got their hands on this pre-depression era story about a nun and her contracted demon.
The year is 1928, or the roaring twenties as they have since become known. The location is New York City; your average city with one minor exception --the place is an undead battleground.
Meet Sister Rosette --one of the Magdalene Order's top devil exorcists. Her skills are second to none, but that's to be expected with an amazing arsenal of special bullets, called Gospels, at her ready.
When not off fighting vile undead monsters, Sister Rosette constantly finds herself in hot water with her superiors. Why, you might ask? Well, it's because she's a tad too spunky for her own good. Wherever she goes, massive property damage and mayhem ensue.
Luckily for Rosette, she gets to share her hot seat with her demon sidekick and friend, Chrono (the same bizarre spellings apply to his name as they do the title). Chrono is not your average demon though. To Rosette and the rest of the Magdalene Order, Chrono projects a gentle and sweet guise that he only splinters from when provoked by fellow demons. For these reasons, he has become infamous amongst the undead as a sinner that has betrayed his own kind.
When Rosette was younger, she formed a pact with Chrono, signified by the sealed clock around Rosette's neck. While the exact nature of the contract between the pair is an integral mystery for the enjoyment of the series, if Rosette releases the clock's seal, Chrono's body can undergo a drastic metamorphosis from a frail little devil to a fully-grown menacing demon with wings. Unfortunately, the trade off for Chrono regaining his original body is a grave one for Rosette. Each moment Chrono is free from his shackles is one less that Rosette has to live--a grave trade off for sure, but one that Sister Rosette would gladly make in order to save a life.
When not putting her life on the line or trying to frame Chrono for some trouble that she caused, Rosette constantly spends her time trying to sweet talk her way into getting The Elder, the Order's perverted mad scientist/inventor, into letting her field test the latest Gospels. Obviously, this ends up getting both her and Chrono into even more trouble with Sister Kate.
Sure, fighting vile and sinful forces for the greater good of humanity is all well and good, but what truly drives Rosette is the thought of finally locating her long-lost younger brother, Joshua. All she really knows is that he is still alive out there... somewhere.
While fairly episodic, Chrono Crusade progresses at such a pace that the events of each episode just pile upon one another. By episode three, when the third main character, an apostle with the voice of an angel named Azmaria, is introduced, the series is at such a fever pitch that scenes cannot seem to happen fast enough.
The series begins simply enough with Rosette and Chrono being assigned to investigate demon activity inside a building, and things just spiral wildly out of control from there. Maybe Rosette should have realized that wrecking one of the Order's cars was a bad omen, but her and Chrono end up wrecking more than that when they literally bring down an entire building in the process of their exorcism.
But guess what? They top themselves by running a haunted cruise ship into Liberty Island! Not even a million Hail Mary's might be able to save Rosette from experiencing the full brunt of Sister Kate's wrath after that one.
The nun-filled story of Chrono Crusade by manga-ka Daisuke Moriyama began its life as a manga in the popular Japanese anthology magazine, Monthly Dragon Age and spanned a total of eight tankoubon. GONZO (Last Exile, Gravion) transformed the series in a stunning and madly addictive supernatural action/comedy hybrid in 2003. ADV quickly snatched up the rights to both the manga and anime this year and ever since, they have become must-haves for many anime fans. AnimeOnDVD.com even voted the first volume of Chrono Crusade the 'Best DVD' for the month of September.
For the English Dub, ADV called in two of their biggest guns --Hilary Haag (Rosette) and Greg Ayres (Chrono)-- to voice these two incredibly energetic and somewhat troubled characters. While the lovely Ms. Haag seems to be keeping a low con-profile, Animefringe did catch up with Greg Ayres at Anime USA this past October where we talked flap-to-flap.
Posted on Monday, November 01, 2004 (Archive on Wednesday, December 01, 2004)