Chrono Crusade

Plot

Chrono Crusade is set in the height of the Roaring Twenties, where jazz is king, bootleg liquor flows freely, and the mob rules the streets. It is a time of prosperity, luxury and decadence, and the division between rich and poor grows even wider in the wake of the First World War. It is at such times of great change and upheaval that the dark things that lurk below the world of man can come to the surface. In the world of Chrono Crusade, a fictional organization known as the Order of Magdalene (home to the characters Sister Rosette Christopher and her soul-bound demon partner, Chrono) exists to fight the demonic threats that appear with increasing regularity across America. Both Rosette and Chrono are revealed during the course of the story to be driven by a shadowy past, centered on a search for Rosette's lost brother Joshua who is shown to have been taken from her by the Sinner, Aion, a demon who shares a dark and bloody history with Chrono. He seeks nothing less than to overthrow the delicate balance between Heaven, Earth, and Hell (in the manga it is the demons' hierarchy he wished to destroy).

The anime follows the manga through the events of Volume IV, but it diverges during a crucial plot event, creating different courses of events and endings. The characterization of some of the characters, including Rosette and Aion, and their roles in the story were changed drastically in the adaptation of the manga. Much of the story is driven by the individual pasts of the main characters and the complex relationships between them.

Setting

The Order of Magdalene is an organization that banishes devils and demons. The Order has many branches around the country (some that are mentioned/visited include the Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle branches); each one is presided over by the Council of the Catholic Church. The New York branch of the Order is headed by Kate Valentine, assisted by Ewan Remington, who lead the fight against the forces of darkness. The Order has many members; however, in times of great crisis, other less generally accepted individuals may be introduced into the Order to help fight the forces of darkness.

They use various weapons, mainly guns, swords, and melee weapons, many of which are developed by the New York branch's own Edward "Elder" Hamilton. The Order's preferred handgun is the Colt 1911, often loaded with Sacreds, standard bullets containing holy water, and Gospels, bullets with alchemy-transformed silver. The Spirit bullet was also developed, but upon test-fire it was found to be too dangerous, using a repressed lower-class demon for its explosive power. Tetragrammaton, a gun with high power against demons with low backlash, is given to Rosette and later used by Chrono. Besides using guns, there are members of the Order with special powers as well, using devices like tomes, violins, or dolls. They also use Angel Capture Fields, specialized barriers that can repel demons, their powers, and other astral based substances, and are set up by creating a rectangular array of cross-shaped stakes in the ground and activating them. The Order also developed the Soul Dive, an experimental system used to dive into souls for direct exorcism. The Order also unveils its flagship, the Metatron, in the final showdown with Pandemonium and Aion.

Characters

Main

Rosette Christopher (ロゼット・クリストファ, Rosetto Kurisutofa)

Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese); Hilary Haag (English)

Rosette is a 16-year-old elite exorcist of the Order of Magdalene and goes out on missions to destroy deadly spirits and devils. Her primary motivation is to rescue her younger brother Joshua, who has been kidnapped and later brainwashed by Aion. Because of a contract she formed with Chrono when she was 12, her life is slowly ticking away. Despite this, she continues to run towards her goal, confronting every challenge with a headstrong attitude. This conviction inspires others like Chrono and Azmaria to push forward surpassing their own limitations and personal doubt. She is almost entirely unfazed by the future she chose when she made her contract with Chrono, claiming she is still going to be "kicking and screaming 'til the very end". Despite knowing exactly who and what Chrono is, she does not seem the least bit afraid of him and trusts him indefinitely as her partner. Rosette is somewhat simple and prone to impulsive behavior that gets her in trouble; she claims it is because she knows she is short on time and can not afford to hesitate on things she may never live to do again and later regret.

Chrono (クロノ, Kurono)

Voiced by: Akira Ishida, Minami Takayama (child) (Japanese); Greg Ayres (English)

Rosette's contractor, partner, and closest friend. Chrono is stoic, loyal, kind, and somewhat quiet. This mild facade of a young boy belies a fierce, full-grown demon of infamous power and utmost rage. His contract with Rosette allows him to exist without his set of horns, which were ripped from his head in an early battle with Aion prior to the initial storyline. Demons' horns allow them to absorb astral energy, which bestows both power and life. In order to maintain Rosette's remaining life force and prevent Chrono's subconscious from stealing the rest, her life's energy is kept sealed in a pocket watch that is worn around her neck, the creator of which is none other than the Sinner named Shader.

Despite being a demon, Chrono cherishes life and those he loves. This creates conflict whenever Rosette is required to unseal her pocket watch, allowing him to harness his immense power to defeat powerful foes or rescue them in desperate situations. Chrono will always try to persuade Rosette to think of other solutions as releasing the pocket watch not only creates pain in his partner, but also lowers her already shortened lifespan.

Magdalene Order

Sister Kate Valentine (ケイト・ヴァレンタイン, Keito Barentain)

Voiced by: Yoshiko Sakakibara (Japanese); Laura Chapman (English)

Head of the New York Branch of the Magdalene Order. She is a strong-willed woman who often seems out of place fighting demons and devils. She leads the order with an iron resolve, making sure the New York Branch Office runs as smooth as clockwork. She also distrusts Chrono despite his gentle nature, due to his status as a demon. She is openly irritated with Rosette due to her aloof ways, but deep down, she truly cares for her.

Sister Kate is later demoted when Chrono loses his sanity and openly attacks Viede and Aion in San Francisco causing countless casualties and revealing to the public the presence of demons.

Father Ewan Remington (ユアン・レミントン, Yuwan Reminton)

Voiced by: Sho Hayami (Japanese); Jason Douglas (English)

The minister of the Magdalene Order. He also serves as a field agent and second in command to Sister Kate. In the anime, towards the end, he leaves the Order. He is seen quite a while later, looking about the same age but unshaven, when the third Prophecy of Fátima happens, just before seeing someone who appears similar to—if not the same as—Aion. He also has the apparent ability to warp, moving from the Magdalene NY HQ to a carnival in San Francisco instantly without anyone's notice. Immediately afterward, during the phone conversation with Sister Kate, he states that he is an Angel, and is implied to be a "fallen" one. It is later revealed that he has history with Chrono, as he was the boy who failed to save Mary Magdalene from being kidnapped by Chrono. It is revealed that he suffered an injury that would have ended his duty in the Order, but volunteered to be infused with Legion (a devil's equivalent to cells) in order to continue his work. After the events of the story, he retires but continues his duty as a father of the Catholic Church.

Edward "Elder" Hamilton (エドワード・ハミルトン, Edowādo Hamiruton)

Pursuers

The Pursuers are demons sent by the elders of Pandemonium to eradicate the defected Sinners. The strength of their demons varies from weak to powerful, with numbers many times over those of the Sinners.

Duke Duffau (公爵デュフォー, Kōshaku Deyufō)

Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese); Rob Mungle (English)

The leader of his own army. In the anime, he allied with the Magdalene Order to fight against the Sinners and managed to eliminate Genai. He led his troops in an attack on Aion, but was slain along with the rest when sprayed with Rosette's blood. Duke Duffau led the assault on Eden and fought well against Aion with his bare hands. He ultimately falls when a geas is cast on all demons worldwide leaving him immobile and open to execution by Aion who has ripped out his own horns to escape the geas.

Carv (カルヴ, Karuvu)

Voiced by: Takayasu Usui

One of the members of Duke Duffau's army. He was killed along with his enemy Viede (one of Aion's Sinners).

Gurio (グーリオ, Gūrio)

Voiced by: Masayuki Nakata (Japanese); Victor Carsrud (English)

One of the members of Duke Duffau's army. He followed Duffau on the attack against Aion but was wounded by Rosette's holy blood. He managed to escape and went back to Chrono to warn him about Rosette, but died of wounds soon after.

Sinners

Sinners are demons who have separated themselves from the demon hive Pandemonium and openly rebelled. In the case of the story, after Aion reached a higher domain and acquired forbidden knowledge, he was classified as a Sinner, with both him and his brood marked for execution. As a result, he becomes the de facto leader of this group, who eventually fight their way to freedom on Eden, although many comrades were lost. Of the Sinners, only Joshua and Fiore are not demons.

Aion (アイオーン, Aiōn)

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese); Andy McAvin (English)

A Sinner and a demon, and also Chrono's twin older brother. He is after all of the Apostles, including Azmaria, for reasons that are unknown until Chrono reveals them. His goal is to rebuild the world out of the "system" that binds everyone to their respective roles. Aion is very intelligent and manipulative while still remaining charismatic to those around him. He is fighting "Pandemonium", the system that maintains the roles that each of his siblings must take. If they were to ever reach a higher domain like himself, they will have learned too much and are disposed of.

Joshua Christopher (ヨシュア・クリストファ, Yoshua Kurisutofa)

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese); Chris Patton (English)

He holds allegiance to Aion's Sinners, and is also the Apostle of Hope and Rosette's younger brother. He is able to freeze people's time with the use of Chrono's devil horns, granted to him by Aion. He was tricked into taking Chrono's horns and followed Aion because he did not want Rosette to have to take care of him all the time. He wanted to be strong enough to take care of her and be her support.

Like Azmaria, Joshua was afflicted with the curse of ill health and suffering. Although he could heal the wounds of others, he could never alleviate his own suffering and is usually confined to a bed. He took Chrono's horns so that he could be stronger and fulfill his promise to become an explorer with his sister.

Both Joshua and Rosette were left orphaned when their parents went missing after their ship sank. He knows that the grave stone they attend is not real as their parents' bodies were never found. As a result, he pledged never to grow old as adults lie and hurt others.

Production

In an interview with ADV Manga, the original manga author Daisuke Moriyama expressed his own opinion about the differences and similarities of the anime and manga, with one of them being the theme of the story. Although the bond between Chrono and Rosette and the idea of time running out were the same, Moriyama felt that the anime and manga showed this theme in different ways. While the anime centered more on the currents of time, fate and trust, Moriyama believed that the manga focused more on Rosette's individual ideology and how the potential strength of her will can change her current situation.

In producing the English-language version, ADV did extensive research in keeping the slang words within 1920s canon. One word, "bimbo", is explained to mean a tough man in 1920s slang, while the modern version refers to a stupid woman. The English voice actors for Rosette and Chrono (Hilary Haag and Greg Ayres) nearly lost their voices on numerous occasions due to the fast-paced voice work demanded by the anime.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Daisuke Moriyama, Chrono Crusade started in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Comic Dragon on December 9, 1998. The series later continued in Monthly Dragon Age from April 9, 2003, and finished on May 8, 2004. Its individual chapters were collected in eight tankōbon volumes, released between November 30, 1999, and September 1, 2004. Shōnen Gahōsha republished the series in a new eight-volume edition under its Young King Comics imprint from January 8 to April 9, 2010; in this edition, the title Chrno Crusade (in Latin script), which appeared in the original edition, was corrected, appearing as Chrono Crusade.

The series was licensed for English release in North America by ADV Manga. The eight volumes were released from 2004 to 2006. Some of the series' chapters were featured in the Newtype USA magazine. In Australia and New Zealanda, Madman Entertainment released the eight volumes from 2005 to 2006.

Anime

A 24-episode anime television series adaptation, animated by Gonzo, was broadcast on Fuji TV from November 25 to June 10, 2004. The series was directed by Yū Kō, with Atsuhiro Tomioka writing series scripts, Kazuya Kuroda designing the characters, Tomohiro Kawahara handling mechanical design, Hisao Muramatsu in charge of gun design and Masumi Itō composing the music.

The series was first licensed in North America by ADV Films, who announced its acquisition in 2003. The episodes were collected on seven DVDs released from September 21, 2004, to August 1, 2005. In the United States, the series was broadcast on Showtime Beyond from February 17 to July 28, 2006. The series was re-licensed by Funimation (later Crunchyroll), who announced its acquisition in 2010; the entire series was released on a single DVD set on February 22, 2011. It was also broadcast on SyFy in 2011.

Drama CDs

Several drama CDs based on the series have been released:

Chrono Crusade: The Contractor of the Beginning (クロノクルセイド I -始まりの契約者-, Chrono Crusade: Hajimari no Keiyakusha) (December 1, 2000; Marine Entertainment)

Chrono Crusade II: The Time of Eternity (クロノクルセイド II -永遠の時間-, Chrono Crusade II: Eien no Jikan) (July 25, 2001; Marine Entertainment)

Chrono Crusade III: The Time of the Beginning (クロノクルセイド III -始まりの時間-, Chrono Crusade III: Hajimari no Jikan) (November 28, 2001; Marine Entertainment)

Chrono Crusade Original Drama Spirit (クロノクルセイド オリジナルドラマ～Spirit) (April 21, 2004; Lantis)

Chrono Crusade Original Drama CD: Predecessor Version (クロノクルセイド Original Drama CD ～先行版～, Kurono Kuruseido Original Drama CD -Senkō-ban-) (July 23, 2004; Happinet Pictures)

Chrono Crusade Original Drama CD: Ghost in the Watch (クロノクルセイド Original Drama CD -GHOST IN THE WATCH-) (August 27, 2004; Happinet Pictures)

Chrono Crusade Original Drama CD: The Messenger of Joshua (クロノクルセイド Original Drama CD「ヨシュアのおつかい」, Kurono Kuruseido Original Drama CD -Yoshua no Otsukai-) (September 24, 2004; Happinet Pictures)

Chrono Crusade: Magdala Girls' Academy vs. Pandemonium Academy Part 1 (クロノクルセイド マグダラ女子学園VSパンデモニウム学園 前編, Kurono Kuruseido Magudara Joshi Gakuen VS Pandemoniumu Gakuen Zenpen) (October 22, 2006; Happinet Pictures)

Chrono Crusade Magdala Girls' Academy VS Pandemonium Academy Part 2 (クロノクルセイド マグダラ女子学園VSパンデモニウム学園 後編, Kurono Kuruseido Magudara Joshi Gakuen VS Pandemoniumu Gakuen Kōhen) (November 26, 2006; Happinet Pictures)

Novel

A light novel adaptation, Chrono Crusade: Wings, They are the Light of the Soul (クロノクルセイド: 翼よ、あれが魂の灯だ, Kurono Kuruseido: Tsubasa Yo, Are Ga Tamashii no Akari Da), was published by Fujimi Shobo on April 20, 2004. Written by Hiroshi Tominaga and illustrated by Hiroshi Miyazawa, the novel is an original side story for the series, in which Sister Rosette and Chrono investigate strange events in St. Louis.

Miscellaneous

A guide book Chrono Crusade Super Guide (クロノクルセイド スーパーガイド, Kurono Kuruseido Sūpā Gaido), was published by Fujimi Shobo on January 30, 2004.