Author(s): MORIYAMA Daisuke

Rosette Christopher is a gun-slinging nun of the Order of Magdala that deals with exorcism of demons in the 1920s U.S.A. Along with her partner who is ironically another demon named Chrno, they perform missions for the church all while trying to find Rosette’s brother Joshua. But there comes a certain twist. Chrno is a demon that has lost his horns, which is a source of power for them, and is contracted to Rosette. In order to fight the enemies they have to face, there comes a time when he has to use the powers of the contract to gain full battle strength which uses the soul and drains the life out of his contractor. Will they be able to find Joshua before Rosette’s life runs out?

Chrno Crusade tastes like your average action-adventure Shounen series, but its own flavor can be distinguishable once you chew enough. Although, it’s not because it has a girl for a lead character as Rosette is the kind of heroine you will find in most Shounen titles with female leads: a loud tomboy. Aside from that, certain traits of a typical Shounen hero are present in her as well such as having a positive happy-go-lucky attitude and a strong sense of friendship. What sets this series apart from most is the presence of a time limit and the lingering possibility that the heroine may die before accomplishing her goal which gives you the feeling that they have a set destination and are not just blindly wandering about in lieu of their goal. Although, there aren’t many subplots to begin with so you can really focus on the main plot without much distractions.

Guns may be present and, in the beginning, it gives the impression that it will be mostly gunfights, but that only makes up half of the action present in this series as later on it will be replaced by supernatural fighting, prevalently hand-to-hand combat as Chrno begins to use more of the contract between him and Rosette. Speaking of action, its fights are often brief, but they are long enough to make you hold your breath on how the heroes are going to fare in battle. One could say the length is just right as it allows the story to move on a faster pace to make you want to find out what’s going to happen next.

Its story is pretty straight-forward. We see them going on an adventure and face off enemies to find Joshua and we see their party grow and strengthen their bonds, especially the main couple – yes, there’s also a bit of romance but only at the end – Chrno and Rosette. Jokes and comedic routines are often thrown here and there which also makes it fun, but there are times it comes out of place. No notable twists that would hold you in suspense or a secret that you will be surprised with. But, despite that, it does have its redeeming points particularly its ending. It was a very well played finale as it first leans on the bittersweet side of the story before showing it was a happy ending after all, although the bittersweet taste still lingers. It was a masterful display of storytelling that could and should have been used throughout the entire series, but alas, the author only played this card only at the end, but that doesn’t mean the whole story itself was bad. It wasn’t, but it’s only “okay” at best, but the ending is certainly quality stuff.

Chrno Crusade may feel like another one of your action-adventure series, but this is certainly worth a read as it brings a little bit of something different to that genre. For one, it is set in the early ‘90s America. Not a lot of authors do theirs in that kind of setting. Second is, despite having demons, it is pretty down-to-earth. It is because there is a clear separation between humans and demons as the supernatural attribute is only limited to the latter and a few special humans that has been granted an unusual power called “Apostles”. Fans of strong female leads will be able to enjoy this as well as Rosette is the main fighter all throughout the story. And, of course, it is recommended because it is worth to see to the end.

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