CHRNO CRUSADE (MANGA VOLUME 3)
July 5th 2010 22:25
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
Publisher: Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd
Story & Art by: Daisuke Moriyama
Translation: Leow Pau Wan
Cover Design & Lettering: Nicole Ng
Cost: AU$14.95
The Roaring Twenties are period of history noted for its gangsters, Prohibition, flappers and the sudden Wall Street Crash which lead into the great depression of the early thirties. Of course Prohibition was a phenomena strictly confined to the United States, everywhere else people were still free to imbibe their particular beverage of choice sans any guilt about breaking the law. These are common aspects of history that are generally known and accepted to the general public; however this particular manga set in this historical era adds another dimension to the whole Roaring Twenties – demons and demon summoning. It seems that there are those within the world that are not content with their wealth and power and seek occult means to augment it, this means making Faustian pacts with infernal entities.
Fighting demons and thwarting their malicious schemes is not all that Sister Rosette is about; she is seeking her long lost brother Joshua who vanished as the result of an incident at the orphanage that both of them were living at. Like all good manga this particular series has been turned into an anime which if memory serves me is still kicking around, probably being streamed on a website somewhere. It was a great series, which is what you’d expect considering the source from which it was spawned. Although having seen the anime and now reading the manga I can see that there is some degree of divergence in the overarching story of the manga and the anime. Still that’s not a bad thing if done well.
The Jewel Witch, Satella Harvenheit, has been contracted to break up the smuggling syndicate which she does with aplomb and sufficient carnage. Unfortunately in the wake of her battle with the nefarious smuggler she destroys the car that Sister Rosette is planning to use for her and her friends journey, the result of an important piece of equipment becoming collateral damage in a the unending fight against the forces of evil. When the dust finally settles the Jewel Witch and the Magadalan Order exorcist introduce themselves and become embroiled in a struggle over whether Satella is going to pay for the damaged car that she trashed in her fight.
Essentially the bulk of this volume is about bringing together the final elements of the combo that will go forth to do battle against the minions of evil and hopefully retrieve Sister Rosette’s brother Joshua. Satella joins the team as she sees that by doing so she can further her own agenda which is to find the demon that murdered her family, destroyed her home and effectively ruined her life ten years ago. This demon was an entity that had no horns, an unusual feature amongst demons as it is said that those who have no horns sacrifice a great deal of their power. Chrno is such a demon, he has no horns, but as Sister Rosette and Chrno soon prove to the Jewel Witch, Chrno only came out of hibernation four years ago.
So realising that her own ambitions are not to be easily satisfied Satella realises that be siding with this unlikely combination of apostle, exorcist and demon she might be able to track down the demon who shattered her world all those years ago. This just adds to the mystery that is gradually beginning to unfold in this series, the quest of Sister Rosette, Satella’s own quest and the fact that someone seems to be intent on bringing in demons into the country to serve as part of the mafia’s muscle for some as yet unknown reason. For the moment though it appears as only Satella’s thread of the drama has merged with that of the main storyline, the smuggling syndicates activities are being investigated by Father Remington, a senior member of the Magdalan order although still answering to the formidable Sister Kate who seems to be running things on the East Coast.
I came to this particular manga after having seen the anime, so I was wondering what to expect, fortunately for me I wasn’t disappointed with the source as it were. Chrno Crusade was an enjoyable read, when it showed up on my doorstep courtesy of Australia Post I couldn’t put it down, as soon as I started reading it I was hooked. The story mixes plenty of action in with moments of pathos, humour and mystery too keep the ball rolling, the audience engaged in its unfolding drama. It’s an interesting employing of aspects of the Christian religion; usually nuns are seen as being carers of both physical and spiritual welfare than gun toting demon slayers. Still it works for me, after all it’s a manga after all and the concept of a fighting order of nuns and priests dedicated to defending mankind from otherworldly menaces is no different from having a chosen girl who is destined to fight all the vampires, demons, you know the spiel. Chrno Crusade is definitely worth checking out at your local comic store…
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