Chrono Crusade
Chrono Crusade, originally known in Japan as Chrno Crusade, due to a typo, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Moriyama. It was originally published by Kadokawa Shoten in Comic Dragon, then a special issue of the Dragon Magazine. A 24-episode anime television series by Gonzo based on the manga ran from 2003 to 2004 on Fuji TV. The series was released in North America by ADV Manga and ADV Films, titled Chrono Crusade.
Set in New York during the 1920s, Chrono Crusade follows the story of Rosette Christopher, and her demon partner Chrono. As members of the Magdalene Order, they travel around the country eliminating demonic threats to society, while Rosette searches for her lost brother Joshua.
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 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.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 ; 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 Sacred, standard bullets containing holy water, and Gospel, bullets with alchemy-transformed silver. The bullet Spirit 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 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 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 Pandaemonium and Aion.
Characters
Main
Magdalene Order
;Sister Anna;Sister Claire
;Sister Mary Magdalene
Pursuers
Sinners
Terminology
;Militia;Dive
;Sinners
;Pursuers
Production
In an interview with ADV Manga, 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 the 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 female. The English voice actors for Rosette and Chrono 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 has 59 chapters, called "Acts". It premiered in the November 1998 issue Dragon Age and ran until its conclusion in the June 2004 issue. The individual chapters were published in eight tankōbon volumes by Kadokawa Shoten from December 1999 to September 2004.The series was licensed for English language release in North America by ADV Manga in 2004. In addition to releasing all eight volumes of the series, ADV Manga published some of the series chapters in its anime and manga magazine Newtype USA. The series was released in English in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. It was also licensed for regional language releases in France by Asuka, in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid, in Italy by Planet Manga, in Germany by Carlsen Comics, in Hungary by Mangafan and in Denmark and Sweden by Mangismo.
Most recently, a reprint of Chrono Crusade was released in Japan, beginning in January 2010 and releasing two volumes per month. These featured brand-new book design and artwork. Of note is the crucial spelling correction from "Chrno" to "Chrono", following the statement made by Moriyama's publishers during the original serialization apologizing for the typo. The series logo itself underwent a massive change, perhaps as a disambiguation from the logos of the video games Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, which also incorporated a clock within the first C in the title and was cause for some confusion among fans. The reprint features brand-new artwork on each volume with minimal ornamentation, featuring one character each until the last volume, which featured a collage of the main cast, including Joshua, Sister Kate, and Father Remington.
Anime
An anime television series by Gonzo based on the manga first aired on Fuji TV in Japan on November 23, 2003 and ran for 24 episodes until its conclusion on June 10, 2004. The series was originally licensed for an English language release in North America by ADV Films, Kadokawa Video, Gonzo, Happinet Pictures and The Klock Worx, which aired its English dubbed version of the series on Showtime Beyond in the United States from February 17, 2006 to July 28, 2006. On June 25, 2010, anime distributor Funimation announced on their online panel FuniCon 4.0, that they had acquired the North American license for this series along with 3 other former ADV titles, after ADV's shutdown in 2009.SyFy aired Chrono Crusade from February 22 to May 12, 2011.