Customer Reviews

Chrono Crusade - Complete Collection

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In an initial review I wrote for the first volume of this series, I presented Chrono Crusade as no more than an action-oriented comedy that dealt lightheartedly with some rather controversial stuff. While I believe that was okay for the time, I've since learned, in watching the entire anime, otherwise. Yes, this series will make you laugh, especially at the antics of the two main characters. And about half of the of the twenty-four episodes are light-hearted, while the others are surely dark. Of those twelve more serious episodes, the last four or five are as as heart-wrenching as Aztec sacrifices. But, so as not to confuse, the constant contrasting emotions have no effect on the anime itself. The happy-go-lucky stuff happens early on, mainly to introduce the characters or the settings, or whatever, and the darker stuff comes later, during the main story line.

The story itself follows Sister Rosette Christopher, a spunky girl great at destroying things, and her trusted partner-in-mischief Chrono, a peaceful, child-like devil. Both of them work for the Order of the Magdalene, a fearless group of exorcists and devil-slayers. Early on in the series, Rosette and Chrono are sent on a collection of unrelated missions, either to destroy threats from devils or to save those in danger. In one of these missions, they meet Azmaria, a girl with a tremendous power to heal, yet a power she's unable to control. They take her under their wing. Soon after, the real story begins. Chrono and Rosette's histories are revealed, and the two main enemies, Aion and Joshua, Rosette's brother, begin their quest to start the apocalypse. This ignites a war between man-kind and devil-kind, and though the sides are sometimes blurred between the two, it's clear that the final outcome wanted by Aion is one that may be inevitable. Still, help for the good-guys comes from odd places, including a pagan jewel-witch who has the power to materialize creatures from gemstones, and a horde of devil/hell-police, who want to keep the order in place, the way God had intended.

By the end, I, personally, was floored. Not only did I like the idea of devils with morals, but I enjoyed the fact that Chrono Crusade was fearless in its attempt to present a great story, controversy or not. It uses stories from the Bible, as well as religious mysticism, and mixes things that would be considered sacrilegious in our society, such as the love between a human girl and a devil. Even with that controversy, though, the message of this series is deep, and one that tells the story of human history and how many mistakes we have made over the years.

And of course, there is the actual climax of Chrono Crusade, which I will admit brought more than just one tear to my eye.

Chrono Crusade ranks close beside Last Exile as one of GONZO's greatest anime. The story ranges from moronic to dead serious, and pulls this off well by presenting a message and a theme, something that's uncommon in anime meant for laughs. The ideas in this story, though rich with controversy (if anime were as mass marketed as Harry Potter, this would be a series in the burning pits), are unique for an anime, and the ending is one of the best I've seen, especially when you consider the history of anime endings. I recommend this box set to anyone who wants to see something unique and worth multiple viewing, because that's exactly what Chrono Crusade is.

I'm really surprised at some of the negative reviews surrounding this series. My wife and I just finished the collection, and we were both blown away. If you're at all into Catholic mysticism, exorcism, angels, and demons, all with a good helping of Japanese existentialism, you'll love this series. If you want mechs, you're on the wrong page. Chrono Crusade has its silly, humorous moments, but by the time you've gotten to the end, you'll find yourself moved, unsettled, and sad that it's over. It's worth seeing, and the five-disc collection is an excellent value.

This is probably my favorite anime series, and I have seen quite a few. The animation is brilliant and the characters are endearing. On the surface, this series tells the story of a battle between God and the devil, and on God's side there's a demon, an exorcist and an apostle. The character development is wonderful and by the end of the series you feel like you know the characters like the back of your hand. I cannot praise this series enough and I hardly suggest you check it out. :)

Chrono Crusade is an action/comedy anime with religious undertones.
Sister Rosette is a gun-slinging, psychotic-driving, demon-destroying nun working a for a psuedo-religious Magalene Order. I mean how many orders do you know of that engage in destroying demons with special guns loaded with blessed bullets?

Sister Rossette is constantly crashing and destorying her car because she's a maniacle driver, she can act cookie most of the times while acting mischivious and always hyper active, but when she gets down to business and whips out dual pistols, she puts on a more serious face and starts blasting demons away regardless of the odds. She is funny, psychotic and sweet all rolled up into one. She lets her little friend named, Chrono tag along with her on those demon busting missions and most of the times they get along like silly siblings. But Rossette and Chrono are linked to each other in a special way adding additional twists to an already twisted anime.

Chrono is a young boy, seemingly shy and very mellow, but trapped inside that little boy's body is a devil which can only be unleashed by Rossettes pendant. Possessing demonic powers and appearance, Chrono actually fights for the side of good giving against other demons him that anti-hero dynamic. Even though, Chrono is loyal to Rossette, the longer he remains free, the easier he becomes more evil and uncontrolled.

Some people might get offended by this anime's religious undertones and references to the bible. But everything is subdued and the Chrono Crusade series overall is not very preachy. Most of the tone is action with some comedy and a bit of horror.

The dvd extras include anime previews and little cartoon skits explaining some of the story lines and characters, which in itself was fun to watch.
The musical score is excellent and moody, the animation is fluid, the action sequences are kinetic and intense, the sound effects and voice acting are also very good!

In conclusion, I highly recommend that you buy the Chrono Crusade series as it rightfully belongs with your best anime collection.

***If you enjoyed Chrono Crusade, I also recommend the animes series called Excel Saga.

This series would be a 5 star from me, I love it, but the box set seems to be missing the additional 2-3 minute video clips called 'Azmaria's Extra Classes' that were included in the non-box set series. As such, I rate the box set as 4 stars (if you buy the individual discs, that is a solid 5 stars). Azmaria's Extra Classes show clips of the series and explain what happens in the series and how it relates to the christian belief system. They offer a lot of background information (in a short amount of time) and help you understand what is being talked about in the episodes. Without these little classes, you can still enjoy the series, but with space remaining on disc 5 of 5 the publisher could have easily included the little clips. If you bought the box set, I really suggest you watch the classes from the internet somehow (Youtube has them).

Chrono Crusade is the best if not the greatest anime i've seen thus far. The storyline is great the introduction of the characters the plot of the story was not rushed it flowed smoothly and the animation is awesome. ADV Films have done a fantastic job in getting the right voice actors for the job. 24 Episodes loaded with comedy, action, romance its soo good it will bring a tear to your eye seriously. Even though i give this series high praise........i wish the ending wasnt so sad.......From episoeds 1-15 its all fun and you get to know the characters but through episodes 15-24 things get all serious dark and gloomy.
But um if ur a person that really gets into the anime and the development of the characters this will leave in crying in the end. But with the collection bundle it doesnt include any special features but to sum things up Chrono Crusade is a great series to add to anyone's collection

This series is wonderfully done, I can't put into words how wonderful this series is and how to word this review without giving anything away. The characters deveolpment and struggles throughout the series makes the ending that much more memorable. It is so worth buying.

First, there is no reason to pass this Anime up. If you liked Hellsing, than you will like this. I can't say enough about this Anime. I bought all the books, while I was deployed to Iraq, and I bought one DVD to see if I would like the show. After that, I couldn't stop buying it, until I owned the whole set. This box set is wonderful, I own it. It's good art work, of course you lose the extras, but I never really watch them anyway, so no big deal. The story is awesome, and the action is really good. If you like Hellsing, or even Cowboy Bebop, than you will like this show.

Chrono Crusade has too many episodes that don't contribute much towards the storyline. The premise of the series, although intriguing, is bogged down by weak character performances. Watch this series if you have some time on the weekend and nothing good to do.

The message is clear... Appreciate the life you have because just like this anime it will be over way to soon...

This starts off really loud and obnoxious (Like the main character of Excel Saga). But very quickly you realize that is not at all what this is about.

You witness a sort of anti-racist commentary built into a fantastically well conceived story. The main character and her partner are not meant to be together the way Romeo and Juliet weren't (Just not in the stars), they occupy to different sides of the "railroad track" like beauty and the beast.

In the end ... well I won't ruin it... let us just say it is quite satisfying but leaves one with a bitter-sweet aftertaste.