Chrno Crusade, Vol. 8

Chrno Crusade #8

by Daisuke Moriyama

Pandaemonium is dying... and with her passing, the earth is faced with the greatest threat ever, as Aion's age-old vendetta nears fruition... Only Rosette and Chrno stand between him and the world's annihilation! However, the odds are heavily stacked against them, for, the duo is up against the toughest enemy of all - time. Although the Apostles turn around and aid the two crusaders, it might be too late. Whatever the result of this conflict, one thing is guaranteed: There will be no winners, only survivors. And so, the roller coaster tale of a headstrong nun and her gallant demon companion comes to a bitter, tragic - yet strangely soothing - conclusion...

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Romance, Action, Drama, Comics

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

森山大輔 in Japanese

Reviews

[Ivan]

After Volume 7 ended on one hell of a cliffhanger, I knew it was going to be difficult to wait until I had a chance to read the final volume, so I picked the very first opportunity I had. In an earlier review I listed Volume 6 as the best of all the series so far, and now I can say Volume 8 ranks right up there with it.

It would be kind of pointless to go over the story at this point; if you don't know what Chrno Crusade is all about, you need to go back and check out Volumes 1 and 2. Volume 8 is the end of the line, and in more than one sense.

With the world on the brink of chaos and her soul almost completely consumed, Rosette uses what little time she has left to track down her brother and convince him she really is who she says she is. Plenty stands in her way, including a major battle between Aion and Chrono, and of course, death itself looms close. It's kind of funny that a volume so packed with action could still have time for wonderful, emotional moments between characters (one reason why I ranked 7 lower than 6 and 8), but Volume 8 has enough of them, and by the time I arrived at this part of the story I cared so much about Rosette that every panel depicting her in tears made me all misty-eyed. Things don't really turn out the way she expected them to, and it's only through her sheer willpower that things take the turn they do. There's no cop-out here, though.

Without actually telling you what happens, all I will say is that the ending is the best possible ending this series could have had. Even in the epilogue there were a couple of surprises I did not see coming, which were effective enough, but the epilogue's overall presentation, showing the aftermath out of sequence and saving the most dramatic moment for the very last pages, effectively sucked me all the way in, made me teary-eyed, and left me in such a state that, even after I was done reading, a few minutes passed before I could even put the book down. I've read plenty of stories that go for the darkest possible ending and plenty of stories that cheat and go for an artificially happy ending, and even stories with endings that, while they made sense, were still disappointing in some way, either because they favored unhappy events or were just anti-climactic. Chrno Crusade's ending was none of the above. The ending was exactly what it should have been, a mixture of happy and sad, and was enormously effective and moving. The only thing I'm sorry about is that such a charming series is over.

I will very likely reread this in the not-too-distant future, and will probably choke up as much over the ending then as I did now. Rosette Christopher jumped right off those pages and into my heart, and she'll stay there evermore.

[Rici]

Kein wirkliches happy end, aber ein reales ende. Und passend. Und eine Story die zeigt nie aufzugeben und die Zeit die man hat zu nutzen.
(aber mal so nebenbei, ist der Pater dann fast so alt wie der Waffenspezialist? dann hat er sich gut gehalten...)
Und die Erklärung woher die Teufel kommen war irgendwie passend, weil es trotzdem ungenau und genau war)

[Noel]

Argh so nostalgic! I still love these characters so much and apparently I still cry like a little bitch at the end ^^;

[Sophia F]

SPOILER OF ENDING!!!




I didn't like the ending very much, because basically Chrono LEFT Rosette for 8 years, and in her dying moments came back to say goodbye!!!! The battle of Aion I seriously doubt lasted that long, and if he was waiting it out for his injures to heal, that's not likely cuz he would do anything to see Rosette again.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?
I keep asking myself this, but I really don't know. He wasn't a 13 year old boy though, and was in his actual demon form, (but doesn't that mean he was using her life force that whole time??)
I guess Rosette died at 24, but I don't understand why she started having all the seizure-ish stuff happening to her, and Joshua's stopped.
The anime seems to end in basically the same way, (sad), but actually explained what Chrono was doing, (but he was with Rosette then, so it doesn't explain for the manga.)
I guess Chrono was executed too, according to a narrating a little bit before Rosette and Chrono's goodbye, (but obviously it was after the goodbye).
Then someone was leaving flowers on Rosette's grave every single year, and WHY DOES STELLA NOT LOOK ANY OLDER!
Why did this manga have to end so sad...

If someone can try to explain what they think happened, feel free to leave a comment, and thanks for reading this review!

[Jennifer Troike]

Chrno Crusade (no it's not a typo, that's how they put it on the Japanese title... it was a typo there but it got published that way, so us old school hard fans keep to it!)

If you are a fan of manga, and like good stories with lots of back drama, beautiful art, and sexy bishounen guys with wings (uh huh!), then this is a must-read. I mean, it is my absolute favorite all-time manga. And Book 8... holy crapola... It's a fitting, sad, tearjerking action packed way to end it. It's so good... and lots of True form Chrno... mmmmm.

[Boxhuman]

Wow, the ending, I thought, was fantastic. It wasn't sugar forced down your throat, but it wasn't the literal end of the world. As crazy as it sounds (since the whole series isn't really), it was believable and realistic.

Yes, I'm a baby and it made me all teary, but I would have honestly been disappointed with any other ending. I know some people won't like it since it's not the typical ending, but everything wrapped up and if you squint, you'll see that it really was a happy ending. Great series.

[C'est Moi ♪]

ok, so...
the only reason why i gave this volume a 3 is because I HATED THE STUPID/DEPRESSING ENDING!!! why do most anime endings have to be so sad? can't they be happy for once? IT'S CALLED BECOMING OPTIMISTIC, PEOPLE! really isn't that hard to do...

but anyways, if the ending was better and happier (same goes for the tv series), i would've gave it a 5/5. yep yep :]

[Alexandra]

so much better than the anime!

[Elizabeth]

Chrono Crusade is a rare case in the long line of "the anime deviants from the manga" early 2000s titles, in that both the anime and manga are equally good in their own ways and both have fantastic endings. Up until the halfway point, the anime follows the manga almost to a T, then takes a drastically different route so I went into the rest of the manga blind, but both versions are beautiful, tragic, and yet satisfying stories.

I seem to always be drawn towards manga and anime with "demons" in the stories, whether of the Japanese youkai kind or the Christian-inspired spawn from Hell. And I'm definitely a sucker for "demon & human romances" when the Japanese do it; I roll my eyes at most Western paranormal romances, but anime and manga? Yassss, I eat that shit up, both of the shameless variety and of the thought-provoking! Chrono Crusade is a refreshing subversion of the "demonic romance" trope, in which the human girl and demon boy are more like fighting partners than lovers, and they fight on equal terms, with no real obsessive boy going "I'll save you!" to the girl, cuz she's too busy being a badass. They save EACH OTHER so often, that I honestly couldn't say who did it more often and therefore drawing away the emphasis of "protecting the girl" trope and focusing more on "our bond/friendship makes us strong!" trope, which I'm a sucker for when done right. Their romance is much more subtle, focusing on their friendship and bond rather than going through the cutesy rom-com motions of "does he like me??? Omg what am I going to do???" which I'm also a sucker for, but it's still nice to have an exception once in a while...

When I started watching this anime and realized it was essentially "badass nuns killing demons with spiritually-infused guns," my reaction was basically "HELL YEAH, THAT'S AWESOME!" I signed up for awesome action; what I got was a slew of Feels™️ and I still haven't recovered from that LAST EPISODE GCTJHXFCGJXDFCV *gross sobbing* The manga gave me a slightly sweeter ending, but still heartbreaking in its own right. Chrono and Rosette have a beautiful bond, both of platonically and romantically, and I wish both versions gave them a happier ending because they deserved it, dammit!!

This was mostly an incoherent review, my apologies, but this series, in both versions, gave me so many feelings, most of which may not be straightened out until after I rewatch/reread it some time later. It's definitely a story I do not regret getting invested in, and though its fanbase seems loyal enough, it's a shame it's not as well known as other titles of that era.

[Cherie Cheriri]

Ugh, ugly tears right now. I pushed off reading the end, but damn, it hurts as much as back when I first read it 9 years ago as it does now. It’s poetic, I was a child when I first read this series, went on an adventure with the characters and now revisited as a grown up. Like Rosette at the start being a child and ending it as an adult. I never realized just how much the series influenced me growing up, but I am grateful.
Part of me wishes it was longer, more in depth at parts. Yet, somehow it’s perfect as it is. It doesn’t need more and it doesn’t have less. How Daisuke Moriyama did this I will never know.
Just like other reviews this series goes by so quickly yet it also feels slow. It’s a clock ticking away and the entire series captures this to the letter! I’m so happy to be able to read this again! And to own all the copies now! Now to watch the anime adaptation, I already know it’s different, but I can’t wait.
SPOILER NEXT
I will also die on a hill that Chrono and Rosette died together and are buried together! Having them be separated again is too fucking cruel!!

[Luana]

3,5

Certo, non siamo davanti al finale super tragico dell'anime, ma poco ci manca - visto il contratto stipulato da Chrono e Rosette (il potere del demone in cambio dell'energia vitale della ragazza), era evidente che non ci sarebbe stato un lieto fine vero e proprio. Peraltro, per un attimo ho temuto che Moriyama avesse deciso di non farli reincontrare più, ed ero già pronta ad incazzarmi di brutto, ma si è salvato proprio nelle ultimissime pagine - pagine che peraltro ci regalano più di una sorpresa e che ci mostrano cosa ne è stato dei vari personaggi dopo lo scontro finale.
Lettura consigliata agli amanti del genere (e per chi non trova troppo fastidiosi i riferimenti religiosi).

[Cress]

If I could give this 6 starts, I would.
This series, this ending inspired so much of my writing that I don't even know where to start. Chrono Crusade was the series that taught me that not all endings need to be completely happy, because life is not always happy. Life is a journey. There are ups and downs, but its the memories made that make it sweet. Ugh. I can't wait to inevitably read this once more.

[Daniel]

This was a great ending for this series. There were great character moments and interactions. There was great action and dramatic art. There was a great backstory sequence.
I have enjoyed this entire series, and I think it just kept getting better as it went on. I definitely got more invested in Chrono and Rosette. There were a lot of interesting plot points, settings, and world building details throughout the series.

[Anne]

Not sure about the ending, people think chrono is dead, but rosette sees him later?
And satella lives? But looks like she always did, even though azmaria died of old age and has a grandson?
And her sister lives, but will not say hello...??

And dont quite understand aions goal
And Joshua was easy

But All in all it was good

[Tallulah]

Bella storia, bei disegni, bello stile, bella ambientazione; il finale lascia un po' l'amaro in bocca, ma in questa storia c'era da aspettarselo. Chrono Crusade è un manga che più di altri può piacere o meno. Per il suo genere, è ottimo: alterna gag con drammaticità, l'andamento della storia è bilanciato, mai precipitoso o troppo lento.
4 stelle le merita tutte.

[K]

The manga is better than the anime btw. The ending is better in my opinion. 
Chrono battles Aion to prevent him from destroying the world, while Rosette fights to save her brother, Joshua. Chrono refuses to take the horns. Good guys win, bad boys leave. The duo see each other and embrace. I'm crying. 

[crystal]

I read this back in high school and I loved the series. I think this last volume was the first time a manga ever made me cry, it was that good. The ending was bittersweet for me because while sad it still had its beautiful moments and everything fit and wrapped up well. I still have all eight books and don’t plan on getting rid them.

[Serenity]

A great conclusion to one of my all-time favourites. It was nice to reread the story after ten years of the previous read. I loved the ending, even though it was quite bittersweet. I'll definitely miss these characters.

[Jessie]

A good ending to the series, I feel like this manga series wasn't too long or too short. It wrapped up nicely and after reading this series again since I did back in highschool - I'm happy to say it was worth reading and visiting again. 

[mari]

I feel empty inside......

[Silvana]

i so love this serie it's one of my favorite. it left me with questions but i just answered them for my own so i like the outcome. but still i woul definetly recoment this manga <3

[Francine]

I'm not a huge fan of this series - the premise is cool, but I'm just not that big on action-oriented manga. But it did have a satisfying ending. 👍

[Alonso Mitza]

Fantastic.

[Yumiko_Youku]

I really wish the world building was a bit... clearer.
So many things leave me confused every time.

[Jodi White]

I have this read this manga multiple times and every time without fail I cry my eyes out at the ending.

[David Doel]

I'm not sure I understood all of the finish, but overall, this was an enjoyable manga.

[Jane]

Krásná kresba, která si po celou dobu držela svoji kvalitu. Bylo dost překvapující, že hezky vypadala již od začátku, což se moc nevidí. A líbilo se mi, že z démonů udělala oškliváky, ale asi ani neměla jinou možnost, protože kdyby byli hezcí, tak by je nemohla zabíjet, kdy se jí zachce. Což se i potvrzuje tím, že hlavní démoni vypadali hezky.
Příběh mě moc nebavil, protože jsem se nemohla nějak vžít s postavami. Dokonce ani hlavní hrdinové mě moc nezaujali, ale je faktem, že mě ze všech charakterů zaujali nejvíce.
Objevovala se i zde poměrně ohraná klišé, které jsem opravdu četla již několiksetkrát. Naštěstí to byl zrovna ten typ, jenž mi zas tak tolik nevadí.
Musím uznat, že mě konec opravdu překvapil, přestože jsem to již četla. Věděla jsem, že by měli oba dva zemřít, ale autorka mě přinutila o této skutečnosti pochybovat, protože to vypadalo, že by mohli přežít. Opravdu jsem pochybovala o své paměti. To opravdu oceňuji. :D
Přiznávám, že jsem moc příběh nepobrala. To kam se ubíral, mi přišlo divné a nudné. A vše co se zde odehrávalo taktéž. (Možná to je tím, že si to už moc nepamatuji, jelikož jsem lenoch a tohle píšu deset dní po přečtení, že?)
Očekávala jsem i nějakou romantickou linku mezi Rossetou a Chronem (Nechápu, proč se nejmenuje "Chrono" jako čas a ke všemu by se to i lépe vyslovovalo a pamatovalo :D)A nic moc se mezi nimi nestalo. Maximálně jsem se dozvěděla tragický backstory Chrona a jeho bývalky. :D Možná je to dobře, ale jelikož mě příběh celkově moc nebavil, tak je tu šance o pozvednutí na lepší úroveň.
Oceňuji poměrně originální myšlenku, která mě i zaujala, ale očividně ne na tolik, aby to zlepšilo můj pohled na tuhle sérii. Koncept s hodinami, reprezentující váš zbývající čas a výměna životní síly (:P) za moc, se mi líbil, jelikož se nikdo nestal přesílený jen proto, že se to zrovna hodilo.
U obálek mám konfliktní pocity. :D Opravdu se mi líbí, jak jsou nakreslené a co je na nich vyobrazené, ale hrozně se mi nelíbí ta barevná kombinace. :D Teda až na šesté volumko, tam je to celkem v pohodě.
Hodnotím: 56%% Jazyk: AJ (první čtení v Čj)

[Charlotte]

Well, let's give that another reread in another seven years time. And see if I still feel the same as I did now and seven years back. Also, I totally forgot about that twist ending! Pleasant to be surprised all over again. Not as pleasant to be sad all over again.

Fittingly, my reaction to the ending of the series is the ending of the series itself.


So, all in all, what is the verdict after seven years? Well, I was rolling my eyes at certain manga tropes, like cat girls and panty shots. I kind of tuned out at certain plotpoints (apostles what, you did what to the pandemonium now). I really couldn't focus on some of the fights (ACTION LINES EVERYWHERE). The demons' designs are... well they have a lot of extra random bits stuck to them. But the art is actually great, with great attention to fabric and motion, and even the expressions of the characters get more than the standard "XD" manga treatment. Also, I actually got to laugh out loud at some of the slapstick. But what mostly stood out was the characterization. The bond between Chrno and Rosette is just wonderful, and really carries the whole series.

So yeah, would recommend to future self.

[Wee!wawaLAA!!!]

haha :)
rosexchrono forever
although rosette is supposed to be a nun, she cusses, she drinks, oh she pretty much does everything that she's not supposed to as a nun :)
she and her brother found a demon locked up by accident, as if fate was knocking at their doorsteps, the demon was chrono
after a period of time, joshua, rosette's brother, sickens, his condition worsening...and grows an urge for power. With a voice guiding him, he took chrono's demon horns for power, in which overpowering his body
His wings unravel taking him to avion...and chrono and rosette are set on a journey to defeat avion and rescue joshua
Rosette's like my role model :3 no i don't mean drinking and stuff...just like the way she acts :]

[Theresia]

Finally got to finish this after 10-something years. The ending punched me hard. Damn it, book, you're just slices of tree corpses; you're not supposed to make me bawl.

It's not the end of the world, but still a fitting closure for the characters--the end of their world. Most manga end in somewhat an optimistic note, but CC drains you. Just like that, a nice balance of the darkest ending possible (logical, even, if you consider the course of the whole series) and the forementioned character closure. Truly a series that will stay with me.

Side note: I'm kinda thinking Shingeki no Kyoujin is heading towards this direction. I'd love to be proven wrong.