A while back Square released a PlayStation game called Final Fantasy Chronicles which is essentially a must-buy for any PSX or PS2 owner. It contains two of the greatest and most important 16-bit RPGs ever: the first is Final Fantasy IV, otherwise known as the greatest game of all time, which set the bar for every sprite-based RPG that came after. The other was Chrono Trigger, an absolutely stunning game which to this day remains the very definition of "fan favorite". Of course these games weren't straight-solid ports of their 16-bit versions; FF4 got a whole new translation and a lot of stuff cut out of the original US release, while CT got some brand new anime cutscenes that helped segue the game into its lackluster sequel, Chrono Cross. Those anime cutscenes caused a lot of diehard Chrono fans to ask, "Where is the Chrono Trigger anime?" Well, Chrono Crusade is as close as we're ever likely to get. Apparently Square has nothing to do with this new anime, and the anime itself has very little to do with the games that came before. Not really a problem, since Chrono Trigger dealt with time travel while Chrono Cross dealt with parallel universes; in other words, the series seems to be adept at creating a plethora of new worlds in which to drown the canon. The first thing I noticed about Chrono Crusade is that the title graphic is very slightly changed from its predecessors. Observe:   This was likely done to mimic the pendant/clock that the primary character wears around her neck in the cartoon. In any case, how does this new Chrono story* stack up to the previous ones? That'll take a little longer to nail down...
Characters:
Rosette's partner is a charismatic demon named Chrono. Though his namesake is obviously a throwback to the silent swordsman himself, Chrono is much less derivative than Rosette is. He's soft-spoken and friendly, and while he doesn't share Rosette's zest for massive earthshattering explosions he does fight fiercely to keep her from harm. Chrono purposely keeps his demonic powers under control by sealing them away in the charm Rosette wears around her neck. She can unleash these powers only at the cost of her own life, and so Chrono is loathe to allow himself to be unsealed. Lesser characters include Azmaria, the young girl with an angel's voice and the mysterious magical ability to heal wounds; Sister Kate, Rosette's nagging boss who has as strong distrust for Chrono; and Viscount Lerajie, a powerful demon who has had a run-in with Chrono in the past. None of these characters are particularly well-developed on the first disc of the series, but the parallels between Azmaria and Schala are pretty strong, and I'm sure the resemblance between Lerajie and Magus is no coincidence.
Story:
A mediocre plot like this would usually score three hamhams, but I really had to knock off half a ham due to Chrono Crusade not landing anywhere near the ballpark of my expectations. Both Chrono games managed to have really great stories (if a bit contrived) without leaning on such humdrum plot hooks as "missing little brother" and "rescue the magical girl" and "dark mysterious rival from the past". For some reason, when the series made the jump to a more plot-heavy medium, the plot took a nosedive. While the story does start to thicken up a little by episode four it doesn't do much good since by that time the disc is over. Another oddity of note: the Chrono series has apparently materialized in the "real world" now. Chrono Crusade takes place in New York City circa 1928; whether this means the other Chrono games fit into Earth's timeline or not remains to be seen.
Animation:
One of the things I like about the artwork is that it's very bright and colorful. A lot of newfangled anime looks washed out; focuses too much on pastels and not enough on primaries. Chrono Crusade makes everything look fun and frisky. As far as the action is concerned, This is one of those rare animes that likes to keep the on-screen action moving -- not a monochrome montage or panning still-shot in sight. Watching Rosette dart back and forth taking potshots at today's demon is a breath of fresh air in a medium where normally she'd just stand there shooting. Just a heads-up: in episode four *Rosette unseals Chrono for the first time, resulting in a Power Ranger-style "transformation" sequence*. Whether or not this becomes old hat later in the series I couldn't say. If so, that's points off.
Culture Shock:
First off, the voice acting in Chrono Crusade is grating to listen to. Rosette's shrill harpy-like jabber wears thin about five minutes into the first episode, and Chrono can't decide if he's supposed to sound like he's in middle school or training pants. Some other characters are even worse off; the sharp drop-off between Sister Kate's normal voice and the one she uses when she's chewing someone out is best described as Jekyll and Hyde, while Azmaria's soprano singing
Secondly, the series is chock full of those annoying little emotes people love to throw in their anime. Giant sweatdrops, incredible shrinking eyes, white cartoony puffs of air shooting out of characters' mouths, and impossibly shuffling legs are all the order of the day. This gives the series a very "oil and water" feel as the ridiculous silliness of the emotes combats the serious tone of the plot for airtime. As far as I'm concerned the two are mutually exclusive concepts; it didn't work for Trigun and it doesn't work here.
In the end, I find it odd that they decided to take the Chrono saga in this direction. I could see Chrono Crusade set up as a true sequel to its predecessors in the form of a video game; while not suitable for a traditional RPG, perhaps it could work as a sort of action/mystery game with a slight RPG flavor - something like Parasite Eve. Rosette and Chrono (and possibly Azmaria) lend themselves well to various gameplay elements we're already used to. As it stands though we must content ourselves to merely watching the adventures of this rambunctious nun and her demon pal, which would be decent enough if everything weren't so quirky. The irritating voice acting and cliche anime nuances stack up with the subpar plot to form a spectacularly mediocre whole which absolutely fails to stand out from the ocean of anime it resides in. Taken as a chapter in the Chrono story, I must say that Chrono Crusade fits in a sight better with its parent games than does Final Fantasy Unlimited, which is saying quite a bit.
Then again maybe we just have to wait until the second or third disc until the sword-weilding amphibian is introduced. We'll see.
Overall Rating:
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