Chrono Crusade

Gospel 2: Holy War

Review by Matthew Anderson

24 Episode TV Series

Company: ADV

Running Time: 100 minutes (4 episodes)

Region: 1

Rated: PG-13 for action and violence

EXTERNAL EXAM

The 1920's were well known as a period of excitement and change. For the elite of society, they have found a new form of excess, conjuring devils. A special organization called the "Order of Magdalene" was created centuries ago to deal with this kind of threat.

One of the more infamous members of this group is Sister Rosette. Her fame isn't necessarily positive. In fact, Sister Kate thinks she is nothing more than a menace to society, because whenever Rosette is on a case, things tend to explode. It also doesn't help that Rosette's partner is one of the very things they fight against, a very powerful devil named Chrono. Bound to Rosette by a mystical amulet, Chrono may be under control, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous.

Having completed her last mission, Sister Rosette has decided now is the time to look for her brother Joshua. To find him, she has to become part of the Militia, as only those elite members can investigate personal matters. Azmaria, grateful for the help that Rosette and Chrono gave her, has made the choice to join the Magdalene Order.

No sooner than Rosette completes her training she encounters two new problems. One is the demon hunter Satella, a Jewel Witch from Germany who is also looking for someone close to her. The other is Aion The Sinner, the devil that took Joshua from Rosette. He is very eager to bring Rosette and Joshua together, even if it means the death of everyone in New York.

Rosette and Chrono now must face the ultimate evil, but are they up to the challenge?

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The transfer is fantastic. There are no pixels, wrinkles, or blemishes anywhere to be found. This is the benefit of digital based animation. Many of the technical errors of the past are nonexistent when you transfer from a digital source to a digital medium.

AUDIO: Well done for both the English 5.1 and Japanese Dolby 2.0 tracks. The English track has a fuller sound, and is louder in volume. On both versions, the audio is crisp and rich, full of surround sound during the action elements.

EDITS: The opening animations for episode 5 has been replaced with the "standard" clean open. The opening animation also uses a modified "Chrono Crusade" logo. Both the opening and closing animation for the actual episodes are clean versions, with English titles. No other edits have been noted.

EXTRAS: There are tons! We have Azmaria's Extra Classes, a pair of informational bits that cover key points of the universe of Chrono Crusade. Along with that, we have background info on the characters the setting, and the weapons of Chrono Crusade, done in the style of an 1920's newspaper. We have the clean open and close, and the clean versions of the original broadcast opening animation as well. Last but not least we have production sketches and a reversible cover. Sadly, no audio commentary.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Based off of the popular manga by Daisuke Moriyama, Chrono Crusade is a delightful blend of comedy and action, with a dash of drama. Never going too far with one particular aspect, this series will appeal to a wide range of fans.

ACTING: The voice acting for the Japanese cast has gotten a lot better. Tomoko Kawakami shrill voice for Rosette is still annoying, but Akira Ishida intense performance for Chrono was fantastic. Michiko Neya's deep vocals for Satella were right on the money, and Kazuhiko Inoue as Aion was right on the evil money.

I found Hillary Haag's vocals more soothing to the ears and her comedic timing was also better than Tomoko Kawakami. I loved Greg Ayers as Chrono, I was impressed that his voice as "hot and sexy Chrono" was different than his "cute little boy Chrono". Like Akira Ishida, when he got angry, Greg's screams struck my soul. Tiffany Grant gives a very sexy performance as Satella, but I found Andy Mcavin's voice for Aion just wasn't menacing enough.

FAN SERVICE: Nothing I would get hot under the collar about. Sure, Rosette's Militia outfit is pretty sacrilegious, and Satella is a walking sex bomb, but it's all innocent enough.

FINAL EXAM

The second volume of Chrono Crusade just keeps rolling along. While it certianly has a darker tone than the previous volume, it's still full of awesome action, great acting, and interesting stories.

The events in this volume move pretty quickly. Rosette becomes a member of the Militia, the highest position in the Order of Magdalene, and gets a new, sexier costume to go with it. The way she gets there is pretty dangerous, and poor Azmaria gets caught up in the cross fire. From there, Rosette and her ever expanding gang run into Satella, a red headed bombshell from Germany. No sooner than they meet this Jewel Witch, they run into Aion The Sinner, the nastiest of all the Devils. In no uncertain terms he puts not only Rosette, but all of Heaven on notice. It's full on war between Aion and the Order, with Rosette and Joshua in the middle.

There were quite a few things that piqued my interest as I watched. First of all is how anachronistic the equipment the Order uses. As far back as the first episode, Chrono carries with him a case with a spring loaded gun rack, ammo, and a portable phone. Well that's all well in good, but exactly how does Rosette and Chrono have a wireless phone in the early 20th century? The Virtual Reality Exorcism device is also a little out of place, as is the beam sword used by Father Remington in episode 8. Not only are they years ahead of their time, they are remarkably compact. If they have a remote control car in the next volume, I'm calling the Time Police!

I found Satella an interesting addition to this world. First of all, she is a German hired by the New York Police department, and Germans were not exactly high on the "buddy" list, thanks to World War I. I'm sure her "va va voom!" looks and sexy voice had a lot to do with it. Her use of jewels was an interesting twist to the field of demon hunting. It reminded me of all my friends who were really big into crystals and the like. Perhaps it was Satella that brought it to the states. When she uses her powers, the physical representation is very much like the "Stands" of JoJo Bizarre Adventure. I would love to put her and Polnareff in a fight together, Jewel Witch to Stand User, and see who would win.

Certainly the biggest thing that drew my attention was the arrival of Lord Aion. Very much like the fallen angels from Kevin Smith's "Dogma", this demon does not hold a lot of love for the Lord. Full of similar rhetoric as Bartleby and Loki, Aion has decided that God is wrong, he is right, and it's time to wipe his mark from the face of the Earth. While he doesn't look all that intimidating, he can slap Chrono around with relative ease, destroy Satella's guardian, and doesn't fear anything or anyone. While he may appear to be defeated, I think he just gets bored and walks away. I can't wait to see more of Aion, and hear Kazuhiko Inoue's malevolent voice send chills down my spine

We don't learn very much about the past of Rosette and Christopher, or how her brother wound up working for Aion. We also don't know exactly why Chrono, Aion, Lerajie, and the other creature fell from grace, although I have my suspicions. Most importantly, there is something going on that requires reuniting the Christopher siblings, and I have a good (or in this case bad) feeling that Chrono Crusade is going to take an even nastier turn.

I totally love the animation for Chrono Crusade. Anytime Gonzo Digimation is part of the animation process, you have a winner. The blend of CG and traditional animation looks great, with the detail you have come to expect from this premiere anime studio. The characters move with fluid motion, and the trademark Gonzo "shatterwave" look is there in every fight. The colors are perfect, and there are no blemishes or errors.

The English voice actors continue to impress, and now the Japanese are fast moving up. The sexy sounding additions of Michiko Neya as Satella and Kazuhiko Inoue as Aion help to balance the annoying Tomoko Kawakami's hyper shrieking. As always the two Chrono's, Greg Ayers and Akira Ishida, do a splendid job, giving our lovable demon the right mix of youthful innocence, and demonic fury.

I really enjoyed Tiffany Grant's work on another German hellbrand named Asuka, and hearing her vamp it up as Satella was a delight. No offence to Michiko Neya, but if the character is supposed to be German, she should sound German. However, Andy Mcavin's voice for Aion just wasn't menacing enough. His acting was top notch, it just didn't have the "sexy beast" sound that Kazuhiko Inoue had. Still, there is no bad acting in either versions, just some minor annoyances.

I think that ADV is eventually going to put them selves out of the "Essential Anime" biz with releases like this. The audio and video is superb, and the extras are enjoyable. If all DVD's were like this, then I would not feel so bad paying $25 or more to get my anime fix.

Another glorious volume of Chrono Crusade has kept my faith in anime alive. Volume two "Holy War" is a breathtaking, entertaining ride that never gives up it's coolness factor. I am totally hooked on this series, and I will be dying to see the next volume!

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