Chrono Crusade Volume 1
Once again Gonzo try their hands at gothic fantasy, this time though vampires in floppy fedoras are out and nuns with guns are most definitely in.
Chrono Crusade is a genre-bending journey through the dinghy world of 1920’s New York, illicit alcohol is king and shady millionaires are dabbling in the black arts and unleashing hell on the streets of the Big Apple. It’s up to Sister Christopher Rosette and childhood companion Chrono, a devil whose power resides in the pocket watch around her neck to combat the demonic forces that threaten to engulf our world.
Gonzo fans delight, the digi-mation pioneers have yet another hit on their hands with Chrono Crusade, a gleefully subversive action adventure that will fill a big Hellsing shaped hole in many anime fans hearts. I don’t want to sell this series short by leaning too heavily on the Hellsing comparisons but they’ll inevitably be made, thankfully though CC has enough twists and quirks to emerge from Hellsing’s shadow and stand on it’s own.
Even in these early stages CC shows lots of promise, delivering just the right combination of gunplay, Gothicism and humour whilst retaining a certain amount of mystery and menace. These early episodes reveal quite a bit by the way of exposition and with the emergence of the apostles in episode 3 hint at some tantalising plot developments to come. I could accuse CC of being formulaic but to be honest a lot of the time I was having too much fun to care, roll on volume 2.
The character designs are bold and appealing, Chrono’s transformation from cutesy imp into uber-demon is astounding, and Sister Rosette’s militaristic vestments look superb. There’s also a sleek selection of retro armaments and clunky gadgetry that enforce the funky 20’s aesthetic. Being Gonzo this looks alarmingly good for a TV show crisp clean pencil lines complement solid colours, characters move with all the grace and fluidity we’ve come to expect from digital animation, throw in the odd CG flourish and you have the complete visual package.
In Summary
I came away from Chrono Crusade very impressed; it may be early days but judging on what I’ve seen so far this is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
