Enter the era of America called The Roaring 20’s where bootleggers and cops battle it out and the richest of American’s get their jollies by worshipping Satan and summoning devils to aid them in their quest for riches. It’s a time of great spiritual presence for both good and evil and a secret society known as the Magdalene Order aid the local police and government exorcising these devils. The first thing that comes to mind is a cross between Ghostbusters and The Blues Brother. The two main characters of the show, Chrono and Rosette, are like weapons of mass destruction reigning heavy damage every time they go out to rid society of their devils. Maybe their not the best at what they do, after all one is a devil himself, but their path is paved with a divine light, even if the outcome is collateral damage.

I did a marathon run with this series watching episodes back to back to back, probably for the best with as much story is found here, and even after it was over I sat scratching my head and putting things together. I’m doing so even now. The pro’s of that reaction is that the anime has been more then just killing devils and copious amounts of drama. Chrono Crusade takes the mythos of the Christian faith and puts them into a story about the coming of the anti-Christ as well as creating a story within itself that is both captivating and interesting. The con’s are that there is maybe an overabundance of storytelling going on. The Christmas episode could have been omitted in the overall telling of this particular anime and the background story of Azmaria, or the character at all, could have been narrowed down to just an inclusion in the story of Aoin’s captured apostles. There might be some sort of significant story there but for the most part I found it to be an overextension of the series as a whole. In the end it was an enjoyable anime that I would say takes at least two viewings. The first time you will probably be a bit confused, maybe even dismissive about some of the plot twists in the series, but the second time around things will click. Watching the bonus features will also be a big help.

Bonus features aren’t your usual Textless Opening and Closing staples that have become known on almost all FUNimation releases. Azmaria’s Extra Classes is a must watch, especially for those of you out there, like me, who were left with some questions and to help make things click into place for you. The 7 part series has Azmaria explaining certain inclusions of biblical text in the series and some plot substance found in other sources like The Dead Sea Scrolls and other resources that may not be compatible with the Christian faith, of which the show borrows heavily from. While you might have to put on your thinking cap to make some connections is fairly useful information that helps clarify the series and open up other avenues of possibility in regards to the messages within the show. An absolute must watch feature, but only after you’ve given the series a complete run through. You’ve got commentaries scattered throughout the four disc presentation and the usual Textless Opening and Closing songs. Another great bonus is the inclusion of unused opening and closing songs for certain episodes. While it basically runs off the usual textless songs route there is a bit more to be seen. Finally you have trailers. As always I rather enjoy seeing what’s coming next in the FUNimation library and there aren’t to many here that I either don’t already own, haven’t already seen, or are disinterested in but there are a few that look good such as El Cazador De La Bruja, RideBack, and Ga-Rei-Zero. Worth checking out the trailers for if you ask me. As always final judgment is yours. Enjoy.