Ranked #366

Chrno Crusade

Originally written by Daisuke Moriyama, Chrno Crusade (sometimes translated to Chrono) is an excellent action anime, that is possibly the saddest one I've ever seen.

I created this review, because unlike the one other CC review, I've seen the whole thing, and I appreciate it. Sooo, here's my opinion.

Story
Rosette Christopher, and her little brother, Joshua, two little orphan children, are exploring, when they come across a mysterious cave. Within, a devil named Chrno was living, but the two young children befriend Chrno easily.
One day, Joshua is driven insane by the powers he had already had, and the horns on Chrno, given to him by Aion, and puts all the other children of the orphange into a temporal stasis, where they are frozen for four years. Aion than takes Joshua away, as one of the 7 apostiles.
Rosette, devestated by the loss of her brother, makes a contract with Chrno. She is given a mysterious time-piece, where when she opens it, Chrno feeds off her soul to gain power.
As Rosette and Chrno try to find her brother again, Rosettes life is ticking away from her pack with the devil.

Animation
There is something I love about this animation, I can' even explain it. Unlike a lot of other action anime, this one does not cut corners with the shakey-screen effect. It's beautifully designed, with vibrant colours, and flows so nicely. I can't even explain it, as I said earlier. The best animation is definitly in the opening sequence, though.

Sound
Again, I just love the music. It's hard to explain. The ending and opening fit the series so well, it's perfect. The music within the series is awesome, with it fitting every scene perfectly. I especially love one of the songs, that usually occurs after commerical breaks in the first few episodes. It gives off a very mystery/horror sound, which I feel the series has a bit of, deep down.

Character
I love the characters. All but one.
Chrno was my personal favourite. He is a cute little devil, but can change into his awesome true form. He is such a nice little thing, and I can't possibly see anyone not liking him.
Rosette, while being a typical annoying female, I still loved. She is emotional, yes, but she's not helpless like so many other leads. For the first few episodes, she is doing the majority of the fighting. Of course, towards the end, she gets a bit helpless, but it's not like she didn't try!
I like Azmaria, for some odd reason. Just a cute little girl that admires Rosette. And I swear, that song she sings, I've hear somewhere... J
oshua was so adorable as a child, and just cool as a nut-job.
Aoin was pretty neat, having more layers than the "I want to destory the world" thing.
The only character I wasn't fond of Satella, and it was probably because I watched it in English, and I could barely understand her accent. It hurt.

Enjoyment
I watched this series in 3 days. I couldn't pull away. When I wasn't watching it, I was thinking about it. I was obsessed. I was Chrno Crusade sick. When I finished it, I cried. The ending was sad, and it was over, so I cried. Than I went to work, and I told everyone about this awesome anime I discovered. I proudly told them all I cried. I hummed the theme, until I went home. I am listening to the theme now.
I think that could qualify as I enjoyed greatly.

Overall / My Comments / My Feelings
I love this series, and I've owned it for 4 days, so far. I am a sad, sad girl. The ending was such a depressingly happy ending, that I cried. Sure, they... umm.. [SPOILER] sure both the main characters died, but they looked so happy, and I just get that "they're together forever" feeling that it makes me happy. [/SPOILER]
Anyways, I highly recommend this series. I love it for reasons unknown (maybe just Chrno? He is named after a game I love...) but anyways, I suck terribly at explaining the story, but believe me, it was awesome. Awesome, I say. Go out and buy this series, don't just download it. It needs to be enjoyed from your cozy couch, where you can cry into some blankets. read more

This is a short review. This is basically a very driven girl trying to save her brother from being manipulated by the forces of hell. She is a sister in a branch of a military-church sort of deal, and her best friend is a devil. The plot is very interesting, including the questions towards God's involvement, death, and devils, and you can tell that every episode is somehow relating to the overall picture. My only qualm with this amazing anime would be the accent for the "Jewel Witch" (Satella). Being a German and speaking fluent German, and knowing my parents' accents with English... i'd have to say that she's actually closer to Transylvania and Hungarian than German. But that's only the English dubbed. I saw the SUBBED version, too, and enjoyed the Japanese actress's pronunciation of most of the German words.

STORY- 10
Because of the originality (in a sense) and the religious undertones that make you question things intently, and because the character development is very, very intrepid. This has one of the most meaningful story arcs that i have ever come across. Every single episode means something. Making you empathize with a character, understand them, or even pity them. Even though there are flashback sequences that can sometimes be confusing, as long as you pay to the subbed dates, you will enjoy this series more than any other 24 episode anime, i guarantee it.

ART- 10
Beautiful. The action sequences use the "shaky camera" effect, but not to an overdose such as certain animes i have watched. The colors are always fitting for each of the episodes, and the blood is all the more gruesome with the contrast between the scenes

SOUND - 8
I LOVED the music. The openings and endings were amazing, i watched each and every one (i usually skip), but the music was captivating and well suited for the genre. The ending theme (for the last ep) was utterly perfect, too. Well-sung.

CHARACTER - 9
The contrast of character personalities makes this an a-typical anime. The main protagonist being a female with a very outspoken and agressive personality, the main male protagonist being very drawn back and selfless, and side characters that make you believe that there's either faith in humanity or lose your faith in humanity. The development is amazing too, you see between each episode a character grow stronger, or weaker, and the comparison is there.

ENJOYMENT - 10
This is one of those animes you can't stop watching. Just looking at the preview for the next episode makes you want to say "Eh... i'll go to bed at 11:30pm tonight." Then, the next previews make you watch another episode, etc. By the time you've pulled an all-nighter you're still fulfilled and energized to watch the next, and call in a sick day to work.

Overall - 10
I have finally completed the entire series, and i have to say, this has the most meaningful ending and perfect flow that makes Chrno Crusade one of the only animes that has PERFECT length and timing. This has amazing art, amazing characters, and an amazing message. One of the things lacking from most anime now is the artistic value and philosophical value. Sure, it's nice to have a good laugh every now and then, but if you're looking for a great series with characters that are funny, deep and intriguing, look no further. Chrno Crusade is a great series.

Enjoy!

TIP!!!!!

I enjoyed watched the subbed versions better, and have all together stopped watching the dubbed versions. There are too many scenes where the laughable accent of Satella has gotten in my way. Though i do love Rosette's dubbed voice, i had to part ways with it. read more