Introduction

Basic info, spoiler-free summary and review of the series, with my comments

Basic Info: Chrno Crusade is a manga (Japanese comic) created by Daisuke Moriyama in 1998, which was first published in the old Comic Dragon magazine, and later in Dragon Age, published by Fujimi Shobo, a division of Kadokawa Shoten. The popularity of the series quickly gave birth to four drama CDs (1999-2001), an anime series (2003-2004), an anime drama CD (2004) and a novel “Tsubasa yo, are ga tamashii no akari desu” (2004). The manga and the anime series ended recently in Japan (June 2004), with a total of 8 volumes and 24 episodes, respectively. Chrno Crusade is licensed in several countries, such as the United States (by ADV Manga) and Germany (by Carlsen Comics). The manga is also known as “Modern Wizard” in Hong Kong, China, and Korea.

Summary: The story begins in New York in 1924. Sister Rosette Christopher, a young novice nun from the Magdalan Order, a religious militaristic organization, and her assistant and best friend Chrno, a patient and kind hearted demon, are sent to different missions, consisting mostly in fighting the many different monsters that lurk in the shadows. During one of their missions, they met Azmaria Hendrick, a young girl with supernatural powers that is somehow connected to Joshua Christopher, Rosette’s younger brother who was kidnapped several years ago by Aion, a former comrade of Chrno. Aion is an overly ambitious demon that has big plans for the future of the entire world and will go to any lengths to achieve his great “dream of freedom”. To do this, he needs the help of 7 very special people. What exactly are Aion’s plans, and what does he intend to do with Joshua and Azmaria’s powers? Rosette and Chrno, along with Satella, a jewel witch who is also targeting Aion for personal reasons, are determined to find out, but they will have to face the dark shadow of Chrno’s past first, a past that is now coming back to torment him and could separate Rosette and Chrno forever. Will the strong bond they share be able to survive the test? Will they be willing to pay a very high price in order to stop Aion and rescue Joshua and everybody else?

Review: The story of Chrno Crusade, though it looks rather simple at first, it’s actually very complex, with all kinds of situations that often surprise the reader. You can find a silly comedic moment in the middle of a very dramatic situation, or a happy moment that later becomes a moving drama scene, all in the same chapter. There are also a lot of spectacular action scenes that complement, but never take your attention away from the main story. The plot is very fluid and flawlessly developed, and even the smallest detail can turn out to be an important clue to what happens in later chapters. The artwork is also excellent, and even the most complex action scene or dramatic situation is drawn in such a way that you can actually understand the character’s feelings by looking at their eyes or facial expressions. The quality of the drawings is always consistent, and carefully elaborated. Each volume of the manga also comes with several color illustrations that serve as a nice introduction to new chapters.

The best part of the manga, however, is the characters themselves, and the complex relationships between each one of them. Though there is a very clear line that separates good from evil, nobody is a sinless saint or a hopelessly evil villain. Everybody has their own virtues, faults, fears, hopes, etc, and all of it is reflected in the way the characters interact with one another. Whether a character is good or evil depends mostly on their actions, choices and motivations, rather than their appearance, affiliation, personality or natural inclinations.

Comments: One of the main things that made me fall in love with this manga, in late 2001, besides the mixture of humor, action and drama of the first volume, was the personalities of Rosette and Chrno, the two main characters, and the way they interacted with each other. It was immediately clear to me that these two had something going on between them that was not mentioned in the first chapters, but I was rather surprised when I found out exactly what it was. These two obviously cared a lot for each other, despite their constant fights, but the bond between them proved to be a lot stronger than I imagined at first. For Rosette to be able to literally give her life to Chrno, and for Chrno to treasure it so preciously as to actually humiliate himself to remain in the form of a child and serve her unconditionally, despite being a powerful demon, requires an incredible amount of trust, generosity and most of all, love.

I was very moved by the author’s portrayal of their relationship. Unlike many shoujo or shounen mangakas I know, who equal “love” with “sex” or “romance”, Daisuke Moriyama seems to have a pretty good understanding of what love is really is. Indeed, the relationship between Rosette and Chrno is based on friendship and self-sacrifice rather than mutual attraction or idealistic “love at first sight” scenarios. Their love for each other also changes over time.  It starts as a friendship between a lonely demon and a caring, innocent girl, but it grows deeper and deeper as the two of them mature and learn to trust each other. They are very different, and their relationship is not without faults, caused mostly by their nearly opposite personalities and their radically different backgrounds, yet they accept each other as they are and slowly learn to overcome their differences. Their relationship also evolves in a very natural way, without cheesy love scenes or sugary-coated dialogues.

Another aspect of the manga I really enjoyed are the action scenes. Unlike many mangas that are completely focused on action rather than the story, the action scenes of this manga nicely complement and enhance the plot without relying on pointless fanservice, extra-long battle sequences or violence for violence’s sake. My suggestion? If you haven’t read this manga, go grab yourself a copy. You can’t go wrong with it! ^_^

Places to get the manga