Clockwise from bottom: Azmaria, Rosette, Satella, and Chrono.
An Animated Adaptation of the manga Chrono Crusade by GONZO based on the manga first aired on Fuji TV in Japan on November 23, 2003 and ran for 24 episodes until its conclusion on June 10, 2004. The series was originally licensed for an English language release in North America by ADV Films, Kadokawa Video, Gonzo, Happinet Pictures and The Klock Worx, which aired its English dubbed version of the series on Showtime Beyond in the United States from February 17, 2006 to July 28, 2006.
The series is adapted from the first three volumes of the eight-volume manga series of the same name by Daisuke Moriyama across the first thirteen episodes. The remainder of the series is primarily an original story line that occasionally still pulls from the source manga, which was incomplete at the time the anime series finished.
Provides examples of:
- Accent Adaptation: A strange one in the dub – a generic police chief was given an Irish accent to match the stereotype of New York cops of the time period. In the commentary track, the director admitted this was for Rule of Funny. The dub also gives Satella and Florette German accents (something that she's noted to have in the manga, but was cut out of the Japanese anime track).
- Alternate Continuity: The anime shows signs of splitting from the manga from almost the beginning, but splits pretty solidly in episode 7 and becomes nearly completely different somewhere around the halfway point.
- Alternate History: San Francisco wasn't destroyed by anything in 1929, nor was there mass-rioting across the United States.
- Anime Theme Song: The opening is (apparently) a love song from Rosette to Chrono, while the ending theme is a sad farewell song to match the feel of the ending.
- Anti-Climax: Some complain that the final battle between Chrono and Aion is much too short in the anime.
- Artistic License – History:
- The anime has the casino in Atlantic City, which both avoids this and explains why someone from the New York branch of the Order would be sent there (New Jersey being much closer to NYC than Nevada). Doubly smart because, unlike Vegas, Atlantic City was known as a gambling hotspot during The Roaring '20s.
- A panning shot in Episode 21 of the anime briefly shows what appears to be the Golden Gate Bridge, which did not open until 1937. One of the next episode previews also alludes to the bridge in the original Japanese, though the English dub writers noticed the error and removed the reference.
- One quick shot of Manhattan in the anime appears to show the Empire State Building, which did not exist at the time (it was started in late 1929 and completed in 1931).
- As the Good Book Says...: This version of Aion seems to be meant to be the anti-Christ, with constant scripture quotations to back that up.
- Badass Boast: Rosette delivers one in the first chapter and the first episode when dealing with the Nepalese/Indian idol going on a rampage."Bring peace to the lost lambs,
"Give rest to the fangs of wolves,
"And call the hammer of death unto the devil!" - Boob-Based Gag: There's a gag episode in the anime that has characters repeatedly fainting into Satella's breasts.
- Boy Meets Girl: Demon meets girl, demon loses girl, demon meets reincarnation of girl, girl gets kidnapped by demon's old "friend", demon and girl are reunited at last and die together. OR...
- Canon Foreigner: Eliza Brown is an original character from the anime.
- Cartesian Karma: When Joshua is forcibly separated from Chrono's stolen horns, he is able to revert back to his old self. Problem is, he becomes "locked" in that state, stuck with the mind of a 12-year-old for the rest of his life, with no memories of Rosette or any realization that the events of the series (which he does remember) actually happened. He fares much better in the manga.
- Christianity is Catholic: The liner notes for the anime state that, although it's technically interfaith, the Order of Magdalene is at its core a Protestant Order, which is absolutely silly if you know anything about how Protestant churches tend to operate.
- Crucified Hero Shot:
- At one point in the anime, Chrono is sent flying backwards by an explosion. He's shown falling in slow motion, his arms outstretched.
- A promo art for the anime shows Joshua on a cross.
- Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: In the English dub of the first episode, Rosette literally threatens to kill the Elder with a spoon.
- Dead Person Conversation: Mary Magdalene's spirit speaks to Chrono in the anime.
- Death by Adaptation: In the anime, Fiore dies trying to get back to Aion with Joshua. In the manga she's frozen in crystal trying to protect Joshua after defying Aion's orders to kill him.
- Distant Finale: The final episode ends with one: Father Remington in the Vatican on May 13th 1981, 52 years after the "end" of the series, where Aion appears and apparently is behind the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.
- Double Entendre: In the preview for Episode 2, Rosette frets over having lost something "very important". When Chrono asks her what she lost, her response is a vague "when a girl says she's lost something very important, what else could it be but that?" It turns out the object she's referring to from the episode is actually her gun, but Chrono assumes the sexual meaning (and is immediately scolded for being perverted).
- Dub-Induced Plot Hole: While not exactly a plot hole in the strictest sense, in the original Japanese dub, Satella's seiyuu sounds just as Japanese as all the other characters (who all happen to live in 1920s New York, by the way), while in the dub she has a fairly thick German accent. Therefore, Azmaria's sudden realization that she's German when she calls a hot dog a "wurst" makes the otherwise established intelligent girl come off as rather slow.
- Dude, He's Like, in a Coma!: Rosette kisses Chrono while he's trying to sleep off a fever.
- Esoteric Motifs: A pentagram is drawn in the air behind Rosette when she releases the seal on the watch.
- "Everybody Dies" Ending: The only main characters to survive the last episode are Azmaria, Joshua (sort of), Sister Kate, and Remington.
- Forceful Kiss:
- Aion forces a kiss on Rosette not once, but twice.
- He also does this to Satella after revealing he killed her parents and before molesting her.
- Fork Fencing: Rosette attacks the Elder with a spoon in the first episode.
- Intertwined Fingers: In the last episode, Chrono and Rosette clasp their hands together in this way as they both die in each other's arms. This is a very iconic image for the series – chances are you've seen a clip of this if you've ever watched a Chrono Crusade AMV.
- Gecko Ending: The anime ended before the manga was completed, with its original ending being drastically different and more depressing.
- Gratuitous English: "South Brooklym", "Joan Paul", and a doozy from the preview:"When the darkness enveloped the hidden world, the sudden post-war development of this new continent was gathering strange phenomenon and people wandeing [sic] in the darkness who are not human, regardless of the season was spring."
- Intimate Healing: Chrono comes down with some sort of demon fever, and Rosette is told by a fortune teller that a folk remedy for fevers is... a kiss. She tries it, and it works.
- It's All My Fault: Chrono says this in the anime once things take a turn for the worst, saying the cause is that he followed Aion instead of opposing him. In the manga he never says this word-for-word, but it's implied he feels at least some guilt for certain events.
- Kiss of Death: Aion kisses Rosette after giving her a Breaking Speech.
- List-of-Experiences Speech: The anime ends with an
absolutely heart-wrenching variation, with Rosette listing off all of the shared experiences with Chrono she will never actually have, since she only has a few hours left to live. - Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Death: Chrono and Rosette die as the sun sets.
- Past Experience Nightmare: The anime version introduces Joshua with a nightmare of Rosette's in episode 2.
- Post-Victory Collapse: Chrono collapses after his final fight with Aion in the anime.
- Present-Day Past: The story takes place in the 20's, but newspaper articles often have modern headlines.
- Retraux: Used in the ADV Films trailer, particularly the narration that mimics old newsreels. Also shows up a little bit in the opening and title cards, although isn't used too frequently in the anime proper.
- The Roaring '20s: Hammered home further than in the manga. The anime name-checks the era multiple times and ends right as the stock market crashes.
- Rubber Face: Shader does this to Chrono in a flashback.
- Shout-Out: A music shout out in the anime's English dub to Jerry Lee Lewis, from episode 6:(Rosette gets clocked over the back of the bench with an errant basketball, which shouldn't be possible)
Azmaria: Goodness gracious!
Chrono: Great ball of fire!
(Rosette gets up with a fiery Power Glow) - Sick Episode: Chrono falls ill during the trip to San Francisco.
- Spit Take: Sister Kate does this when Azmaria asks to be an exorcist like Rosette.
- Sprouting Ears: Rosette displays some cat ears when Satella picks them up while they were traveling in the desert to San Francisco, and then goes into Rich Bitch mode to tease Rosette for not having better prepared for the trip due to their lack of funds and training.
- Tears of Blood: A statue of the Virgin Mary cries tears of blood.
- To Be Continued: Every episode (except the final one) ends with a title card displaying this phrase, which then melts away in a way reminiscent of old, worn film.
- Together in Death: Chrono and Rosette are buried together in a grave with a single headstone.
- Transformation Sequence: Chrono was given one in the anime when he turns into his true form.
- Translation Convention: To be expected for an anime set in the United States – you don't communicate with Americans in Japanese, you just don't; and you don't speak Japanese or English in Germany…
- Unrequited Love: Rosette uses this against Rizelle on the train, and taunts her that despite everything the spider lady is doing for Aion, he never notices her. It seems to set off her Berserk Button, which also allows Rosette a brief opening to bypass her defenses.
- Voice of the Legion: When Chrono's transforming in the anime, his voice echoes – particularly in the second episode when he thinks Rosette's been killed and tries to break through the seal on his own.
- Wham Episode: The battle at the San Francisco carnival – Episode 19 in the anime.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Both played straight and averted. The "played straight" part is that Azmaria is the only main character to survive the end of the series without extreme mental damage. Averted, in that some young children are killed because of their powers (although they're minor enough to not even have names).
