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Most Japanese are not Christian. They hear Westerners talk about it; and most of it gets lost except for the imagery of some poor guy getting ritually killed and then reanimated, and a vague understanding of a specific kind of afterlife and hell. Ironically, this makes the more unfamiliar aspects seem somewhat morbid to those unfamilar with the context — in fact, similar to how many Westerners view Vodou/Vodun/Voodoo. Additionally,
many places are familiar with crosses as historically common execution devices but lack the religious baggage making their depiction explicitly taboo.
At the very least, Christian imagery tends to be visual short-hand for occult overtones if it's intentionally symbolic. Occasionally it's used as simply a fashion choice, much in the way "foreign" symbols are used in other countries.
See also Crucified Hero Shot.
Examples:
Anime and Manga
- The demon-fighting demon symbiotes of Tokko all wear crosses.
- In Broken Saints, there is a rain of crosses similar to a famous scene from The Wall, used for a lucid dream, and later on when referring to the same subject.
- In Princess Resurrection the vampiress Reiri seems especially associated with crosses; standing on them for effect or having them in her background.
- The cross-shaped explosions in Neon Genesis Evangelion shown above. Misato's cross was more a memorial to Second Impact and the death it caused than any religious icon. It's also the last thing her father gave her before placing her in the escape pod just before dying from his injuries, thus saving her life.
- This is actually lampshaded by the production team, who admit most of the symbolism is window dressing and that they might have been more selective about it had they known the show would ever be popular in the West.
- Hahahahahaha. While I believe they said that, yes; no way on Earth did they mean it, as the multitude of sequels show.
- Misa and Mello's respective necklaces (and, in Misa's case, also earrings) in Death Note.
- Interesting in that while Misa's is generally seen as her being into typically consumerist gothic trends, Mello's is often seen as an indication he is Catholic by fandom.
- This is probably because Misa's are just random crosses, while Mello is seen at least once with an actual rosary.
- Not to mention that while Misa is Japanese, Mello is European (what kind is up for debate) and thus more likely to actually have some personal connection to the religion itself.
- Alexander Anderson (given his profession) from Hellsing wears one, though to be fair the author clearly HAS done his research on Western religion, he just enjoys playing it ridiculously over the top.
- Fujiwara Zakuro from Tokyo Mew Mew wears a cross, goes to church, and uses a whip with a cross-shaped handle. In the Macekred English dub, the crosses were all edited into sticks without sides so as not to offend people. This has made for some interesting jokes about Renee venerating toothpicks.
- Jung from Gunbuster wears one, despite being from East Germany, when the Communist Bloc historically persecuted devout Christians. Maybe they got lax in the future.
- Isuzu (Rin) and Hatsuharu Sohma from Fruits Basket occasionally wear crosses.
- Crosses feature prominently in Weiss Kreuz, the title of which is in fact (slightly mangled) German for "white cross." A white cross appears to be the logo of Weiss, the team of four Hitmen With Hearts who are the protagonists of the series. Several members of Weiss habitually wear crosses - particularly in the Oddly Named Sequel Weiss Kreuz: Gluhen, in which every member of Weiss has a red cross somewhere on his "working clothes," including one who paints a cross on his bare chest. Crucifixion symbolism also turns up at least once.
- For added symbolism, regarding the team's red crosses on their working clothes: Ken's extends around his neck and Youji's (the one who paints it on his bare chest every time he gets dressed) is slanted. Aya has a main one on his cravat, which is extended across his entire chest because of the way his Badass Longcoat is styled, and he has two more on the wrists of his gloves.
- The school uniforms in AIR bear crosses on the ties. Religion does bear a big role in the plot - but it's Buddhism and Shinto.
- In Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, crosses are symbols of the Panthalassa race.
- Tooya in Ayashi No Ceres wears a choker with a cross on it.
- Hayate's Intelligent Device in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is shaped like a cross (and she's got crosses all over her mage outfit, too) and named accordingly: "Schwertkreuz" means "Sword Cross" in Gratuitous German. What with being a Person Of Mass Destruction and all...
- Nicholas D. Wolfwood from Trigun, partially justified in that he's supposed to be a man of God. Naturally, though, research was sacrificed for the sake of the Rule Of Cool... and More Dakka.
- Ikuto and Utau in Shugo Chara.
- Zange in Kannagi.
- The Quincies from Bleach incorporate crosses heavily into their weapons and clothing.
- An interesting subversion in Love Hina: Naru is neither creepy nor particularly cool, yet a discreet and small cross can be seen around her neck at times.
- This is similar to the case of Ranma One Half's Kasumi Tendo, who is the Yamato Nadeshiko of the series, who (and this is saying something) only managed to creep out the denizens of the Tendo Dojo an accidental once, and whose only involvement with things supernatural is indirect via her sister's fiance`.
- And in the manga of Mahou Sensei Negima by the same author, Evangeline (who can qualify as both creepy and particularly cool) has been seen with a cross on her clothing. (She may get extra Badass points for doing so, given that she's a vampire.)Other characters wear them, but all of them are either nominal Christians or impersonating nuns (or in-between, or both at once - at one point a student who normally wears a cross is praying to God to forgive the cross she's wearing... as part of the fetish nurse costume her classmates have dressed her in). And one of the maybe-fake nuns is seen using figures formed of darkness as her main weapon, which probably fits the trope.
- The kingdom and royalty of Sforzendo, from Violinist Of Hameln, use crosses as a holy seal. Flute goes one further and pulls out huge, mallet-sized crosses to beat down on the object of her ire. Queen Horn shoots laser beams from hers.
- Crosses show up plenty in Rosario To Vampire, usually in the form of Power Limiters. Another example of crosses and vampires holding a strong thematic association.
- Choutaro Ohtori from Prince Of Tennis wears a silver cross, despite not being Christian (he says so in the OAV when asked by Shishido). Subverted since he's not creepy, but quite a Gentle Giant.
- Since Chrono Crusade is about a nun with guns and the demon she's contracted to fighting other demons, it makes since that crosses would pop up—and they do, a lot. The bullets Rosette uses show crosses in the air when fired, the barriers used to trap the demons also glow with cross-shaped energy, in the anime Chrono is badly injured when a cross-shaped piece of a building falls on top of him, Remington's energy blade looks like a cross relic until it's activated...
- Death Scythe wears a cross shaped tie and has crosses on his shirt lapels, and had a similar style as a child. It also reflects his Weapon form, which looks like a cross when the blade isn't present. (On the subject, Spirit isn't the only Weapon to wear something related to his Weapon form: Marie has her lightening eye-patch, and Justin the crosses on his clothing. Though, in his case, they're relevant.)
- Also the aptly named Death Room is full of hundreds of grave marker style crosses.
- In Gungrave, the protagonist Beyond the Grave has a silver cross motif on the front of his hat, the back of his coat, on the red "kneepads" of his pants, the back of his boots, and the soles of his boots. It's probably mainly because of simply being cool.
- Halloween, a psychopathic villain from MAR, is chained to a cross-shaped ARM. As a child, he tortured small animals to death and burned the kids who bullied him to death, and spends most of the story either trying to kill his only childhood friend, Alan, or waiting to. Yeah.
- Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing was raised in a Catholic orphanage, is a devoted Christian, even wears priest-like clothes (if you exclude Endless Waltz, that is) and lots of crosses, he is known as Shinigami, or, in good ol' English, Death God. Can't get more creepy than that.
- In the first season of Yu Gi Oh, the cards containing the souls of Yugi's Grandpa, Mokuba and Kaiba are attached to crosses.
- When Kaiba is going to be sacrificed to create the Five God Dragon in the virtual reality story arc, he is tied to a tau or T-shaped pillar, but in a definitely crucified position.
- The nameless young man (who may be the Christ or Anti-Christ) in Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg carries a large, cross-shaped weapon in his back. Mamoru Oshii is a former Christian who once aimed for priesthood, so he presumably knows his way around the symbolism better than an average Japanese, but it's still a case of True Art Is Incomprehensible.
- Kiddy Grade's Éclair wears a pair of crosses as earrings. Apparently, they also function as communication devices, and also indicate the status of her nanomist shield.
- What about her gigantic cleavage which has a shape of an upside-down cross?
- Yami No Matsuei - Dr Kazutaka Muraki sure loves those crosses to set a mood, and even gives a monologue at one point during the anime about how Christians in Japan in the past had to hide their faith. There's no indication that Muraki himself is a Christian, though.
- From One Piece, we have Mihawk with his huge cross-shaped sword and his tiny cross pendant knife.
- Eyeshield 21. The Devil Bats use a play called the Cris Cross, some translators having put in as "Christ Cross," as it was pictured as the religious cross with the quarterback at the center. The play is simply two runners taking the ball from the quarterback, or faking the play so the quarterback can pass. Monta and Sena never successfully play it.
Real Life
Video Games
- Seifer Almasy in Final Fantasy VIII is distinguished by the Templar cross that he wears.
- In La Pucelle, Croix's gun is shaped like a cross. Though parts of it were edited down in the US release to resemble an actual gun, the discerning eye can still see a cross handle somewhere down the middle.
- In fact, the original version of La Pucelle was brimming with crosses, the protagonists being a squad of battle clerics and all. Every single one was edited out, from Alouette's earrings, which became rectangular, to Prier's staff, which lost its cross-tip, to the little cursor for target selection in combat, which became a sort of Damocles' sword, not to mention the church buildings. Croix also lost his cigarette, but still put his hand to his mouth at the end of battles...
- Speaking of Croix, his name means "Cross" in French. There's a lot of Bilingual Bonus in this game if you know a bit of French.
- On the subject of Nippon Ichi, the Disgaea series has a recurring gun attack called Totenkreuz, which is German for "crux mortis" or "death cross". The character using this attack charges energy into his gun before firing a thick shot, which looks like a fiery laser, down on the target(s). Upon impact, the shot explodes into a gigantic flaming cross. Unlike most of the attacks in Absence of Justice, this one remains almost unchanged from its Hour of Darkness incarnation.
- Large crosses double as boomerang-style throwing weapons in the Castlevania series of video games. Richter Belmont's Item Crash for this particular subweapon summons a screen-filling cross, with a carving of Jesus Christ on it, to smash down foes. Also, rosaries (with large crosses on them) will instantly destroy all enemies in the room.
- Despite being a vampire, Remilia Scarlet of Touhou Project likes cross imagery, and uses them in her spellcards. (This doesn't seem to be the only religious imagery that she likes; she's got a spellcard named "Star of David" as well.)
- So does her little sister, though her attack is called "Counter Clock", it definitely involves crosses.
- During the NESTS saga of The King Of Fighters, Kyo Kusanagi wears a black shirt with 2 pairs of perpendicular white lines forming a cross on his chest. Also, in the Days of Memories Spin Offs, Goenitz, Chris and Shermie are seen wearing crucifixes. It may be important to note that, while of those chracters, Goenitz is supposed to be a priest, his true loyalties are with Orochi.
- Rin Tohsaka in Fate Stay Night.
- This is actually explained in backstory. Rin is decended from "Kakure Kirishitans". Japanese Christians who went into hiding in after Japan banned foreign influences (including the Christian religion). Also, her legal guardian is a Catholic Priest. Of course, that doesn't explain the crosses on then school uniforms...
- Rosenkreuzstilette justifies this by placing the setting in 16th-century Europe (more specifically, the German Holy Empire). One where bombs and clocks have been invented early, and where fairies and demons exist, yes, but nonetheless an European setting.
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