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beccastareyesThings that Make Becca Squee: Day 3
Another comic today -- for the record, I don't really have an order for these things. Day themes, yes. Wednesday is 'Gaslamp and Urban Fantasy', and I'm writing about the manga Chrono Crusade by Daisuke Moriyama. And, unlike the previous series, this one is finished at 8 volumes. You sometimes see it spelt Chrno Crusade, thanks to a weird romanization.
So, Japan and Christianity. The best way to explain things is to imagine everything you have ever seen in fiction about ancient Greek mythology or derivatives. Some of it is really good. Some of it might be entertaining but only has a couple of names in common with mythology. (True story: my dad had to keep me from complaining about Disney's Hercules while we were in the theater. Yes, I was old enough to know better, at age 13. Then again, friends had to do the same at Mission to Mars several years later...)
Christianity in manga can be like that. You get stuff like Nuns Are Mikos, which refers to the large numbers of young, part-time temporary sisters/nuns in anime, because that's how Shinto shrine maidens do it. You get plenty of stuff that is tossed in Because It Looks Cool, and some stuff that... well, if people at a friend's former church objected to her reading Lord of the Rings, they'd just have a heart attack at (see: Angel Sanctuary and Neon Genesis Evangeleon*).
*Though, from what I've heard, a lot of the religious stuff in NGE was tossed in for the Because It Looks Cool.
Just... bear that in mind.
Setting
America. The Roaring Twenties. The manga artist apparently found the setting horribly romantic, then got a little panicky when he found out the English-language rights to his manga had been purchased, because he figured that Americans would spot any historical anachronisms better than the Japanese audience.
With the upswing in prosperity from the end of the Great War comes an increase in supernatural activity. However, America has an answer to that -- the Magdaline Order, a cross-denominational organization that uses blessings and incense and holy water to banish demons. And also improbable technology and guns. Lots of guns.
For their part, demons seem to come in all sorts. Many are mindless creatures that feed on astral energy through their horns and generally cause havoc. Intelligent demons can be a lot more powerful. They also bear only a loose resemblance to the fallen angels of Christian theology.
Characters
Rosette Christopher: The main character and another one of those awesome characters. To be honest, she was why I bought the series. Rosette and her brother Joshua were orphans when they discover Chrono, a small, hornless demon sealed in a crypt. They befriend the demon, and, when their orphanage is attacked by Aion, another demon, Rosette runs to Chrono for her. Chrono is mostly powerless without his horns but he reluctantly offers Rosette a deal -- she can make a pact with him. Her lifespan will drastically shorten, but her life energy will let him power up enough to help her. Rosette does so, but the pair are too late to prevent the orphanage being frozen in time and Joshua being kidnapped by Aion. Rosette enlisted in the Magdaline Order so she'd be able to track down her brother, and Chrono tagged along -- tolerated by the order, as he's pretty weak without Rosette.
The main thing that got me about Rosette was that she had enough angst in her life to drown a horse, and yet she is still pretty cheerful, and very determined. I mean, she admits herself that the odds of her living past thirty are pretty much non-existant, and Chrono and Azmaria (and the Order) are about the only family she actually knows the whereabouts of, but she's still determined to keep moving forward.
She also drives like a maniac, gives her superiors migraines, plays the slots while in disguise, and is a crack shot.
Chrono: Rosette's sidekick and heavy artillery. His past is complex and Full of Spoilers, but explain why when two kids found him lurking about in a tomb, he actually took an interest in them. (And in humans in general -- most demons don't really care much about humans). Chrono and Rosette also have a neat relationship in which each anchors the other one -- they are partners, which I like.
Azmaria Hedricks: Azmaria is a Portuguese orphan who also has an angsty life -- she had a happy life as part of a children's choir, that was slaughtered because of her. See, Azmaria is an Apostle -- one of seven human children with miraculous powers that they can use by drawing off astral energy. Azmaria once healed an entire room through her song. Rosette's brother was also an Apostle, which explains why Aion cared enough to kidnap him.
Normally, I'd hate a character like Azmaria, I'm afraid to say. She's got a lot of Noble Sufferer Woobie archetype. On the other hand, she latches on to Rosette and decides she wants to be just like her (which make the senior nun do a spittake -- Rosette is not considered a Good Role Model), and becomes a Junior Exorcist. And Rosette tries to teach her how to deal with the angst.
Satella Harvenhart: Requite ambiguous loner-figure. Satella is a German witch who lost her family to a demon without horns in the Great War, and became a demon hunter as a result. She has occasional encounters with Rosette, and walks away wondering why Rosette hasn't gotten anything killed, and what the heck is up with Chrono. I'm starting to think this is some kind of manga archetype -- the 'rival' character who is constantly perplexed by the hero's unorthodox methods, and even more perplexed by how the hero keeps winning.
I'm also pretty sure her name should be Stella.
The Plot
Is actually pretty decent. Rosette is trying to find out what happened to her brother, and protect Azmaria from the same fate. Chrono wants to stop Aion, but is being very closed-mouthed about why. There is the required Saving of the World as well.
Bit of a warning. If you do get into this series, and happen to buy Volume Seven, for the love of God and Little Green Apples, buy Volume Eight at the same time. Seriously -- there is the Mother of All Cliffhangers at the end of Volume Seven.
At Amazon
At B&N
Another comic today -- for the record, I don't really have an order for these things. Day themes, yes. Wednesday is 'Gaslamp and Urban Fantasy', and I'm writing about the manga Chrono Crusade by Daisuke Moriyama. And, unlike the previous series, this one is finished at 8 volumes. You sometimes see it spelt Chrno Crusade, thanks to a weird romanization.
So, Japan and Christianity. The best way to explain things is to imagine everything you have ever seen in fiction about ancient Greek mythology or derivatives. Some of it is really good. Some of it might be entertaining but only has a couple of names in common with mythology. (True story: my dad had to keep me from complaining about Disney's Hercules while we were in the theater. Yes, I was old enough to know better, at age 13. Then again, friends had to do the same at Mission to Mars several years later...)
Christianity in manga can be like that. You get stuff like Nuns Are Mikos, which refers to the large numbers of young, part-time temporary sisters/nuns in anime, because that's how Shinto shrine maidens do it. You get plenty of stuff that is tossed in Because It Looks Cool, and some stuff that... well, if people at a friend's former church objected to her reading Lord of the Rings, they'd just have a heart attack at (see: Angel Sanctuary and Neon Genesis Evangeleon*).
*Though, from what I've heard, a lot of the religious stuff in NGE was tossed in for the Because It Looks Cool.
Just... bear that in mind.
Setting
America. The Roaring Twenties. The manga artist apparently found the setting horribly romantic, then got a little panicky when he found out the English-language rights to his manga had been purchased, because he figured that Americans would spot any historical anachronisms better than the Japanese audience.
With the upswing in prosperity from the end of the Great War comes an increase in supernatural activity. However, America has an answer to that -- the Magdaline Order, a cross-denominational organization that uses blessings and incense and holy water to banish demons. And also improbable technology and guns. Lots of guns.
For their part, demons seem to come in all sorts. Many are mindless creatures that feed on astral energy through their horns and generally cause havoc. Intelligent demons can be a lot more powerful. They also bear only a loose resemblance to the fallen angels of Christian theology.
Characters
Rosette Christopher: The main character and another one of those awesome characters. To be honest, she was why I bought the series. Rosette and her brother Joshua were orphans when they discover Chrono, a small, hornless demon sealed in a crypt. They befriend the demon, and, when their orphanage is attacked by Aion, another demon, Rosette runs to Chrono for her. Chrono is mostly powerless without his horns but he reluctantly offers Rosette a deal -- she can make a pact with him. Her lifespan will drastically shorten, but her life energy will let him power up enough to help her. Rosette does so, but the pair are too late to prevent the orphanage being frozen in time and Joshua being kidnapped by Aion. Rosette enlisted in the Magdaline Order so she'd be able to track down her brother, and Chrono tagged along -- tolerated by the order, as he's pretty weak without Rosette.
The main thing that got me about Rosette was that she had enough angst in her life to drown a horse, and yet she is still pretty cheerful, and very determined. I mean, she admits herself that the odds of her living past thirty are pretty much non-existant, and Chrono and Azmaria (and the Order) are about the only family she actually knows the whereabouts of, but she's still determined to keep moving forward.
She also drives like a maniac, gives her superiors migraines, plays the slots while in disguise, and is a crack shot.
Chrono: Rosette's sidekick and heavy artillery. His past is complex and Full of Spoilers, but explain why when two kids found him lurking about in a tomb, he actually took an interest in them. (And in humans in general -- most demons don't really care much about humans). Chrono and Rosette also have a neat relationship in which each anchors the other one -- they are partners, which I like.
Azmaria Hedricks: Azmaria is a Portuguese orphan who also has an angsty life -- she had a happy life as part of a children's choir, that was slaughtered because of her. See, Azmaria is an Apostle -- one of seven human children with miraculous powers that they can use by drawing off astral energy. Azmaria once healed an entire room through her song. Rosette's brother was also an Apostle, which explains why Aion cared enough to kidnap him.
Normally, I'd hate a character like Azmaria, I'm afraid to say. She's got a lot of Noble Sufferer Woobie archetype. On the other hand, she latches on to Rosette and decides she wants to be just like her (which make the senior nun do a spittake -- Rosette is not considered a Good Role Model), and becomes a Junior Exorcist. And Rosette tries to teach her how to deal with the angst.
Satella Harvenhart: Requite ambiguous loner-figure. Satella is a German witch who lost her family to a demon without horns in the Great War, and became a demon hunter as a result. She has occasional encounters with Rosette, and walks away wondering why Rosette hasn't gotten anything killed, and what the heck is up with Chrono. I'm starting to think this is some kind of manga archetype -- the 'rival' character who is constantly perplexed by the hero's unorthodox methods, and even more perplexed by how the hero keeps winning.
I'm also pretty sure her name should be Stella.
The Plot
Is actually pretty decent. Rosette is trying to find out what happened to her brother, and protect Azmaria from the same fate. Chrono wants to stop Aion, but is being very closed-mouthed about why. There is the required Saving of the World as well.
Bit of a warning. If you do get into this series, and happen to buy Volume Seven, for the love of God and Little Green Apples, buy Volume Eight at the same time. Seriously -- there is the Mother of All Cliffhangers at the end of Volume Seven.
At Amazon
At B&N
