he first episode of Chrono Crusade is mostly a blur of motion. In 1928 Brooklyn, a loud, blond girl in a blue nun's habit and a red-eyed, purple-haired, pointy-eared boy are dispatched to deal with a supernatural hostage situation: A man who attempted to summon a demon got more than he bargained for and is running around possessed of immense powers and immense malice. As members of the Magdalene Order, Rosette and her partner Chrono have been empowered to deal with such situations. But it rapidly becomes apparent that Chrono is more than he seems: His supernatural senses allow him to evaluate the intentions and abilities of the monsters he faces, but holy water burns him. Rosette, as it turns out, is less than she appears: Though she's a fearless and unhesitating monster hunter, she's also lazy, shrill, violent, quick to judge, a bit dim and generally willful and disobedient. It comes as no surprise that she regularly wrecks everything in her path in addition to the demons she dispatches.
But Rosette has her good side—she's unfailingly loyal to and supportive of Chrono, who is himself a demon and not entirely trusted by the Magdalene Order. In particular, Rosette's superior, Sister Kate, believes Chrono must have a hidden agenda, or that he'll someday go rogue. As it happens, he was once partnered with Aion, a particularly powerful and ambitious demon who, among other things, kidnapped Rosette's brother Joshua, prompting her decision to join the Order to fight demons. Joshua is one of the Apostles, people with powers and blessings conferred directly from God, and Aion has evil intentions for him and all his kind.
As Chrono Crusade progresses, Rosette and Chrono fight more devils and encounter Azmaria, an Apostle who becomes key to another demonic plot. Aion and Joshua both resurface with evil designs. More importantly, the nature of the link between Rosette and Chrono becomes clearer—as Chrono's "contractor," Rosette is the only one who can free him to use his full power, but every time he does he consumes part of her soul, shortening her life.
Crusing between comedy and drama
Chrono Crusade is one of what seems like a million anime series tottering on the line between comedy and drama. It shares some of the themes and ideas of Hellsing, and it takes the war between heaven and hell seriously enough. But unlike some anime heroes, who are klutzy during downtime and immensely competent when the chips are down, Rosette seems to operate at roughly the same level of frantic and random all the time. Sometimes her methods are successful and sometimes they aren't, but it seems to depend more on the situation than on her reaction. Not only is she more or less a comic heroine in a serious series, she's endlessly, obnoxiously shrieky, which makes her a hard pill to swallow as a protagonist. So does her seeming inability to listen to the advice of more practical, knowledgeable, experienced people, Chrono among them.
But that's really about all that's wrong with the series. Studio Gonzo's animation work is as impressive as ever, and while some of the demons and devils in this series look particularly spectacular, the overall animation quality is excellent as well. As it did with Hellsing, Studio Gonzo gives Chrono Crusade an elegant and unique look, particularly in the religious-iconography-based fighting gear that the Magdalene Order uses to keep Satan at bay. Azmaria's powers manifest themselves in especially beautiful and striking ways as they express the powers of light, while Chrono's demonic abilities are equally impressive to see. There's a lot to look at in this series, and that tends to balance out some of Rosette's negative qualities.
Things get particularly interesting in Chrono Crusade's second disc, as a German witch with complicated summoning powers gets involved in the demonic war, indicating the presence of an additional faction with its own rules and interests. Suddenly the war against hell seems far more complicated than light vs. dark, good vs. evil, the Order vs. Aion. As Rosette and Chrono find an uneasy peace with their new partner, this 24-episode series seems to have gotten off to a solid start with a lot more interesting developments to come.
Along with the usual stuff, Chrono Crusade has a few interesting extras—a voice actors' commentary on the first disc and a feature called "Azmaria's Extra Classes," where Rosette's Apostle friend briefs viewers on the setting, background and supplementary details of the show, as seemingly random images from the series whiz by at high speed.
— Tasha
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