Chrono Crusade - Vol. 1

Starring: Akira Ishida, Tomoko Kawakami Dvd Release: 21st March, 2005 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: Animated, PAL, Region 2 Encoding

Article Index: [DVD Review] [Biographies] [Articles/Resources] [Link To This Article] Looking To Buy? Buy This DVD Here

If youre an anime fan who likes demons, deep, intriguing bad guys & a story that will burrow its way into your heart then where have you been hiding?

The story of Chrono Crusade -- like all good anime -- is far too difficult to sum up properly without giving away spoilers & ruining dramatic moments. The story begins in this volume as the telling of Sister Rosette Christopher & her demon pal Chrono, who combat the growing problem of demon infestation in New York during Americas roaring twenties. By the end of this volume the story is beginning to take shape but is still only in its infancy; the series grows into a deep story about the nature of our own time.

The characters introduced through the series are all loveable, pitiable & cherishable in some way; the character relations are all very well written & fall neatly & comfortably into the story. In the latter episodes, even the transient characters felt like theyve been a part of the series from the beginning & can take your emotions just as far as the main characters.

Only one or two areas really stop this series from getting five stars. The animation is very beautiful & New York has been captured perfectly into the series, but the producers insist on far too much fan service & it can really put a damper on a great scene. In the whole series, there are one or two episodes that really did not need to be made & they could have spent more time on the main story -- which begins to centralize about ep15. ADVs dub of the series had some real potential, where they have quite carefully added mid-twenties American slang to the mix to give it a more authentic feel - a good idea in principle. The problem is that the cast obviously didnt have chance to study their characters more thoroughly; in the volume 1 directors commentary - Hilary Haag & Greg Ayres see the show theyve been working on for the first time; a great shame in my opinion.

The bad points still cannot detract from the original story, superb score, Japanese voice talent & the series unique blend of humour & serious story. If youre an anime fan who likes deep stories with plenty of unexpected twists then youll really be glad of Chrono Crusade; just dont expect all to come out in this volume.

©2004-2008 DVDArk.co.uk