172–231 pages, ADV Manga, ISBN-13:
978-1413900842 (Volume 1); ISBN-13: 978-1413901047 (Volume 2); ISBN-13:
978-1413900453 (Volume 3); ISBN-13: 978-1413902396 (Volume 4); ISBN-13: 978-1413902730
(Volume 5); ISBN-13: 978-1413903096 (Volume 6); ISBN-13: 978-1413903393 (Volume
7); ISBN-13: 978-1413903430 (Volume 8)
When people think of Shōnen manga they will undoubtedly think of
stories that follow the typical format of Never
Give Up! and Believe In Your Friends!
with the main characters in these tales perhaps gaining various abilities along
the way that make them stronger or more powerful, or gathering a bevy of
beauties, each of whom have some illogical desire to be with the dweeb-of-a-main-character.
There are, however, a few titles that attempt to do something a little
different, such as this one: Chrono
Crusade, an eight-volume series written and illustrated by Daisuke Moriyama
that, at first glance, may appear to be nothing more than just another super-powered
feature for teen girls…but looks can be deceiving...
One of the biggest criticisms that I have read is that there is
simply too much going on, a not unfair argument as the tale does indeed pack a
lot into its 57 chapters. The series incorporates a lot of religious symbolism
and mixes it with action, demons, romance, some science fiction, magic and…aliens.
You read that correctly; for some reason Moriyama included aliens, but with all
that said the disparate threads actually work rather well together. While there
really is a lot going on, each aspect of the plot plays a role within the story
and nothing feels like it was simply tacked on because the author ran out of
ideas. Even the aliens are nothing more than an explanatory note rather than
the main focus of the story, which brings up a rather interesting point: if
anything, Chrono Crusade is something
of a triumph for Moriyama as very few Shōnen tales are able to move the plot forward
during action sequences. While there is plenty of combat throughout the story,
there is always the feeling that the characters are unwilling participants at
best, and it’s because of this slightly off-kilter approach that Moriyama is
able to progress with the story even while the characters are fighting, and
without resorting to long winded diatribes.
The artwork throughout the manga is pretty good on the whole, with
nicely detailed settings and many signs of 1920s America (clothing, cars,
buildings, etc) on display; however, there is a certain generic quality to the
character design which is reflective of the Shōnen nature of the story. One of the problems
with this is that it may dissuade potential readers who are looking for
something a little different to the norm, however it should be pointed out that
while the characters themselves may not look like anything particularly fresh
or different, they do display a good degree of visual expression, which one
could argue that this is much the same for almost every Shōnen
story. Probably the biggest surprise in Chrono
Crusade is the depth of the two lead characters: both Rosette and Chrono have
justified reasons for the paths they follow throughout the story, but this is
further supported by the other characters as well. In addition to this, the
pair share a history that predates the manga’s storyline, and their close
relationship is apparent from the very first chapter. What is surprising is
that both characters don’t really develop in the normal sense, but instead seem
to extend their characterizations, with each becoming more defined as the plot
develops.
Yes, there’s plenty of action, and the story plays fast and loose
with religious symbols at times, but in amongst all of the hijinks lies a
strangely captivating tale that has a heart. It drives many of the characters
and it’s surprising to find the theme works extremely well in what is
effectively a super powered Shōnen tale. No matter what one thinks of the
story itself, Moriyama deserves praise for trying to do something different from
the norm, especially at a time when the industry was very resistant to new
ideas and approaches, and even now there are few Shōnen anime
and manga that try to go off the beaten track.
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