Chrno Crusade

Apart from the few high-tension moments that come in the latter episodes this anime really has nothing that merits recommendation. It's a good enough series to watch if you are bored....or you have the type of job where you could watch this to while away the hours.

ART/ANIMATION
Art/Animation was done by a big budget company, Gonzo, which usually means there isn't going to be anything lacking by way of animation. I would assume this would be considered a period piece [since it takes place in the 1920s] and as such, a lot of the artistic design was from or inspired from that era: the ... cars, civilian clothing, scenery and buildings. Movements and high-tension moments, like, car chases and fight scenes were all very smooth and realistic. The only thing I really liked animationwise was the ending sequence.


SOUNDS
The ending song I really liked it. It was very beautiful and melacholy at the same time. The OP was not to bad either. However Azamaria's singing....tho quite lovely, totally annoyed me for some reason, it just didn't look real or that it would come from her. Why is there an echo coming from her voice like she is singing in a great hall.....eventho she's outside? Other than that I have no complaints, the voice acting was great as was the sound effects.


STORY
The storyline was not put together well, this could have really been one of those 12 ep. shows. The basic premise of this show is that of a young, reckless and impetuous nun her cute sidekicks, a meek, angelic apostle and a once powerful but now somewhat inhibited demon, go searching for her missing brother battling all sorts of evil along the way.......hilarity supposedly ensues. Yet, I never find this show as funny they maybe wanted it to be and most jokes seem to fall flat and fizzle. With some of the earlier episodes, it was such a yawnfest, at times I found it so boring that I found other projects to do, such as begin writing this review and scrubbing my toilet. It's not as if I was totally lost on what the creators were trying to achieve with this story and the whole church aspect but somehow, in this series, the whole idea/concept of gun-toting nuns and demon-banishing clergymen seem forced or just overall silly with a lot of religious catholic symbolitry being tossed about with no real meaning behind it. It did make for one heckuva battle scene in the later episodes, however. But it just didn't make sense, the story could have been the same...if not better in my opinion if they were regular clerics instead of warrior-nuns. Religious animes are a tricky affair but sometimes they work out really well like for example Trinity Blood or having a rogue monk like Saiyuki's Sanzo, it seemed “believable” or to at least fit neatly within the storyline as opposed to just being thrown into the mix.


CHARACTERS
I had no particular affinity for any of the characters in this show, which is a rare thing to happen for me, I usually get bonded to at least ONE character very quickly. However with this show, I found these characters so insincere, unreal and even cookie-cutter[ish]. I can't place my finger on one singular reason why they appeared that way to me but one reason could be the randomness of their emotions..... one minute she's teary-eyed then the next minute she's yelling and the scene is supposed to be funny. The Demon-kid seems emotionless for the most part—and I don't think it was supposed to be intentional, and Angel/Apostle-girl seemed too cutesy and 2-Dimentional personalitywise..With Character Design, again nothing too unique and a lot of the clothing of the principal characters seemed out of touch with the times [what grown woman wears a giant yellow bow at the end of her hair?] also modding a nun's gear and habit for battle with humongous splits running down the sides and garters seemed......NOT right.


ENJOYMENT
I don't know how to feel about this show. I want to say that it was bad....that it sucked and maybe overall it kinda did. However, it does have it's awesome moments like the Demon Battle scene, which was out of this world. But a few good scenes can't carry a show. And there were just too much conflict and contradictions: Biblical facts v. Science Fiction and then you have the past [the 1920s] mixed with futuristic elements. The creators bit off more than they could chew with this story I think or maybe too many random ideas...I'm surprized someone didn't throw in a headless Indian running around with a tomahawk.
It isn't something I'd watch again if I had the choice and I can't recommend it without letting the viewer know what they are in for.

I admit the animation is well done and the art is beautiful, but that is that.

In the end it is a bad developed idea, shows a very poor knowledge of catholic ethos (if you want to make an anime with this concept you need to at least STUDY what you are trying to use to do it in an artful way. The concept was so intriguing at first..) and with very absurd depictions of said organization. I saw it to the end and deleted it whole afterwards.

The end was also badly ploted and executed.

And do not mistake me for any religious ascet. I ... am not. Animes like Trinity Blood work far better using the catholic organization and its truculent side than this one...

In the religious ideas use for instance Demon Lord Dante has a real interesting plot, using the catholic ethos with much more attention and hability than what was used in this series.That anime is one of my favorites!

It is sad, for the characters could have been a lot better, and the overall idea was really interesting...

It was a waste of good art and animation style

I'll make this review somewhat quick. Chrno Crusade was simply an alright series. While it has issues, I enjoyed the series somewhat and if it's on your watchlist and you have nothing else you want to watch, go ahead and give it a go. It's not bad but it isn't great either.
The art was acceptable but I couldn't get over that Kids-WB-saturday-morning-cartoon look. Most animations were crisp and clean but there were corners cut, especially with flying characters (ever flying scene was a static character moving around the screen), and the awkward animations of some side characters.
The story was decent and did suffer ... from pacing issues. At the start it's entertaining and fast paced (but not too quick) but about a dozen episodes in, the pacing slows to a crawl. Episodes go by with little to nothing of importance happening. There is lots of entertainment to be had in the first few episodes but it's somewhat sporadic after that.
The characters spend too much time being tongue-in-cheek to allow themselves to be taken seriously later on. That being said, the chemistry between the protagonists is some of what helps the series go from being mediocre to just 'okay'. The characters each have their own goal and they work toward their goals as a group and the teamwork aspect was something I enjoyed quite a bit.
My biggest complaint is the latter part of the series. The anime release outpaced the manga release and it shows. Despite the pacing issues, the anime was progressing fine up until a certain point and the story Some aspects of the ending are decent and fulfilling but others just don't make sense and you will end up scratching your head (I'm looking at you, final scene) as they rely on information that we aren't ever shown. The climactic battle upset me as it was quick with no tension. Many events within the series are shown to be meaningless to the overall plot and I found that frustrating.

WARNING, CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS!

Chrono Crusade

Review By: John Fragglepuss Evans

You might enjoy this if: Religious anime and the Roaring 20s intrigue you.

You might not like it if: You want a story that gets right to the point.

... Note to the Viewer: You will either love it or hate it.

EXPANDED REVIEW FROM SLC ANIME:

SLC Anime reviewed Chrono Crusade this month. One positive mentioned about this anime was regarding the historical events that it portrayed. As a reminder, Chrono Crusade is set in the 1920s in New York. The writers took care to add historical events to this anime, and that was appreciated. To go along with that, the group found it interesting to see the Japanese take on Western culture and religion. Another positive was regarding the magic system in the anime. It was an intriguing system for some of the group. Lastly, the finale of the series was greatly seen as a positive by the group. I will not give it away, but it was the consensus that the ending was appropriate.

The main negative review was regarding the slow progression of the story. It was mentioned that the story could have been told in 12 episodes, but was instead extended to 24 episodes. That being said, for somebody that truly enjoys the story, the more episodes the better. However, the slow progression seemed to impact the group’s interest in the anime negatively. Another negative was regarding a lack of interest in many of the characters. There were many characters in the show, but many of them lacked development, being one dimensional throughout the series. Being a 24 episode series, there was plenty of time to develop and add backstory to the characters. By the end of the series, there were simply few characters that we were invested in.

There were mixed feelings regarding the use of religion in the series. Some group members found it to be overdone while others found the use of historical references in religion fascinating.

Overall, Chrono Crusade was fairly polarizing for the group. Some people enjoyed it while others did not enjoy it at all.

The story was kind of boring, but at least the show did not lack sexual scenes. I enjoyed it mostly for that. I think the author had a thing for nuns. Mixing religious themes with countless suggestive scenes and Edward's inappropriate behavior, which was borderline molestation, was amusing to watch. I also liked the themes of angels and demons.

In terms of the story and excitement, it is clear that this anime is dated. Like many anime from the early 2000s, it is largely unremarkable and doesn't leave you with a burning desire to watch the next episode right away. While it may not have many ... innovative elements from today's perspective, there are some surprising twists and an ending that I couldn't predict - both of which are pluses for the story. I appreciate the basic idea of good and evil working together, which is executed well in this anime.

I enjoyed the drawing style, especially considering the age of the anime. There isn't anything particularly bad about it, but it doesn't stand out either.

After 24 episodes, the soundtrack becomes repetitive, as only three pieces of music are used for three different types of scenes. However, the opening and ending theme songs are among the better ones. Having an outstanding opening song is always a plus for any show, in my opinion.

The main character, Rosette, was why I stayed with the series. She is likable, undergoes understandable development, and has a significant character arc despite the relatively short length of the series. I also appreciated seeing Rosette in little clothing during and after battles, and I understand that this is a matter of personal preference. Overall, it's a good show and fairly entertaining.

It's not a review. I didn't take enough notes to make a decent analysis. I'll just say that it doesn't deviate much from the manga (which I personally judged negatively) and presents the same problems. However, this doesn't persist throughout the entire work.

Here and there, in the first approximately 17 episodes, some modifications have been made, but more or less the story remains the same. Towards the end, however, the work changes completely compared to the original piece, starting to conclude some subplots much earlier than in the manga, which continue until the end, and then taking a completely different direction.

The characters do undergo some ... development, nothing impressive, but it's actually there. But the most interesting thing is another.

In the path the work takes, it uses its components to address the theme of the danger associated with using religion as a tool for one's own purposes, and it succeeds reasonably well in its intent.

I can say I was also slightly satisfied with the ending, which manages to be melancholic and unsettling, but at the same time, in its own way, heartwarming.

This series story good, not best.
This series was one of the sad ending series I have ever seen. I feel so sad to see last episode. The animation maker show us it was happy dath with their last dath smiles. But I feel so sad. I want to cry. But I can't. I don't like sad ending series. I like more fun animation, child animation, adult animation like SPY X FAMILY, DEMON LOAD, KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE, TO LOVE RU, HIGH SCHOOL DXD, MYSTERIOUS GIRLFRIEND X, AHO-CHAN CAN'T STUDY ETC. I like those kinds of series most. But series makes sad.