You know religion would be a lot cooler if members of the church kicked some serious ass and thanks to Chrono Crusade that's exactly what you get.
The year is 1928, Jazz is King, Bootleg Whiskey flows like water and the nations idle rich have discovered a dangerous new past time. Summoning Devils! To combat this growing threat, a new order of holy warriors have been formed. And their greatest agent is. "Sister Rosette Christopher, Order of Magdalene at your service" "The wet blanket is my assistant Chrono"
I'm sorry I had to do the opening of the old ADV Films Trailer, it's so cheesy and can open a review better than what I can think of.
Anyway, Chrono Crusade takes place in 1920s America at the height of prohibition and there's been a rise in demon activity so Rosette along with Chrono must stop the demons. Chrono is more than a little runt voiced by Greg Ayres, he's actually a demon who made a contract with Rosette who hopes to save her brother Joshua who went mad and petrified everyone after putting on Demon horns. Using a special watch, Rosette gives up her life force to allow Chrono to fight at full power. Rosette is hardly helpless herself having joined the Magdalene order as a nun who can wield guns for exorcism, which is as awesome as it sounds. Not long into the story, Rosette & Chrono come across Azmaria, a young girl who is actually an Apostle, a unique human with holy powers. After saving her, more demons join the equation including a group from Chrono's past.
Chrono Crusade has a great story, it's very good at setting a tone, it's not afraid to pull tearjerkers, drama and comedy in the same episode, similar to what Full Metal Alchemist does.
It's not perfect, there are a number of fight scenes which are poorly edited giving the impression that they constantly ran out of time and rushed the process. Plot twists are a little predictable but on the plus side it's an epic story and top quality dubbing makes it all worthwhile and lets not forget the ending, I won't spoil it but make sure you have a tissue box handy.
Final Verdict: This anime can make you feel everything from sadness to joy and is definitely worth picking up. Dubbing is more effective as it's set in America and doesn't work very well in original Japanese.
Chrono Crusade Review
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