Customer Reviews

Chrono Crusade - World Flesh & The Devil (Vol. 3)

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

 

 

Chrono Crusade, Volume Three: The World, The Flesh, and the Devil contains four episodes about the odd pairing of a demon and a nun in a crusade against demons in 1920's America. Rosette Christopher and Chrono are part of the Magdalene Order, which oversees such operations.

The first two episodes contain much anguish, as the reason behind Rosette's brother Joshua's strange disappearance are revealed. This is true horror - no if's, and's, or but's about it. In flashbacks, we return to the orphanage where Rosette and her brother lived. In real time, we also see the orphanage and the carnage that was preserved there.

The next episode is about a demon hound hunting down and exterminating members of the New York Mafia. Since these are clearly bad men, and the demon dog is not targeting anyone else, there is a moral dilemma as to whether or not the Order should intervene.

The last episode is a lovely Christmas episode. We get to hear Azmaria's beautiful singing voice. A charming story, and a much-needed respite from all the blood, killing, and violence of the previous episodes on this disc.

Extras are quite comprehensive. There are many to choose from. There are "Azmaria's classes," where she provides background on the religion featured in the show. There are the "Chrono Crusade Chronicles," a newspaper with articles you can read about the 1920's and the historical context. There is a color art gallery slideshow, and an interview with the American voice actor who plays Joshua.

As the forces of darkness continue their war against mankind, the depth to which the human soul can be corrupted becomes the catalyst for a nightmarish series of events. The horns of a devil take root in a child of God, a Devil's bargain is joined and Aion's monstrous plot to conquer Heaven itself advances one step closer to fruition.

A DVD-only release, including four complete episodes in both English and Japanese language versions, with English subtitles. Extras include: reversible cover, clean opening and closing animation, production sketches, Azmaria's Extras Classes video, episode commentary, background info for characters and setting, Chrono Crusade slang, and ADV previews.

Through the first 2 volumes of Chrono Crusade we found out that Rosette and Chrono were on a quest to rescue her brother Joshua from the clutches of the devil Aion. But we were never really told how that situation came to be. Episodes 9 and 10 of this volume clear that up as our duo plus Azmaria go to the place where the story started, an orphanage where Rosette and Joshua lived until the Magdalene Order pays a visit. What follows is a flashback to that earlier time, when the brother and sister lived a happy life of innocence. Episode 11 gets us back to the basic storyline of Chrono Crusade, mainly that of Rosette shooting demons, in this case a massive ethereal dog bent on killing Mafioso. Lastly, the charming Christmas episode really shows a more poignant side of the always clumsy but lovable Azmaria as we find out she's never had a happy life and never experienced the joy of that special holiday. It's up to the rest of the sisters to make her dreams come true.

This is an excellent series, and I liked this volume because it cleared up most of the questions that had been dogging me since the start. The voice acting and animation are first rate, and the characters are well written. The show moves gracefully from comedy to drama throughout its storyline. Highly recommended. There are a lot of minor extras included on the disk.

I would also reccommend Full Metal Panic and Last Exile. Chrono Crusade is also available in manga form.

I loved the first two dvds of this anime and this one continues the story effectively and gives good backstory for Rosette, Chrono, and Joshua. (The first two episodes are pure flashback which is a tad annoying, but is effective in making joshua sympathetic.) The next episode is gabriel hound which has the coolest vehicle yet. And the last episode is a standard christmas special focusing on Azmaria. The reason I don't give this five stars is that it is not nearly as funny as the first two dvds, and while the last episode is light Az annoys me, and watching the dub (I usually check both dub and sub.) Satella has the WORST german accent in history. I mean worse then Asuka in Evangelion dub