Chrno Crusade: Finale

If anyone was optimistic enough to hope for a happy ending, he’ll sadly be disappointed. Not to be mistaken, the series ended with a surprisingly decent wrap up. Considering the pitfalls of the mediocre monster-of-the-week format it had on the first half of the season, the finale was sentimental, touching, and bittersweet.

Chrno and Rosette survived the ordeal with Aion. Instead of returning to the Magdala Order, they opted to live in the countryside where they spent their precious remaining days together. They left this world calm, peaceful, and content.

Azumaria, who was the only one left standing amongst the core group of the show, felt that it was her duty to follow Rosette’s path of faith, preferably without the demon contract and the stigmata. She officially joined the convent and hopefully lived a full life. Since her life was targeted most of the time, it was fated for her character to live through all the tragedies.

While Sister Kate and Azumaria continued with their beliefs, Remington severed ties with his master. To atone for his so-called sins, he abandoned his faith and lived an immortal life without meaning. Years of atonement, angst, and immortality rolled into one pathetic bum who roams around the world without any purpose. Sounds familiar? Throw him in Sunnydale to meet a certain blonde slayer and we have a sequel. Sorry, I am still listless and bitter about the WB cancellation. I can’t help but channel it to any subject, but I digress.

The charismatic Aion lives on. It’s fitting that he hid in the shadows while carefully carrying out his great plan. I suppose it symbolically meant that evil will always linger on wherever man resides.

If not for the crappy earlier episodes, the series could’ve been better. But let’s not cry over spilled milk. At least the second half of the season became a reward to those viewers who stayed tune even after those low, I mean really low times.

The penultimate episode was a little bit disappointing in the sense that it felt somewhat rushed. It pales on comparison to the amazing reawakening of Magdalena and the touching end of Satella. I pictured the Aion-Chrno final battle a little bit longer which would span two episodes. Or at least, a whole episode allotted for only that chapter.

Even on that note, the finale sort-of redeemed itself by wrapping up the loose strings nicely. Rosette finally admits her vulnerability to Chrno. After four years of maintaining a carefree attitude toward her shortened lifespan, she reveals to Chrno how much she longs for more years ahead of her. I’m sure after her admission, she and Chrno lived a quiet and joyful half a year. They were smiling when both their bodies were found.

One could say that I have a love-hate relationship with this series. At one point, I was quite frustrated with the storyline but with extreme patience I saw some brilliant episodes and character development. If there is a sequel to this, I’d rather have it set on contemporary times with Remington guiding the main character. He’ll be able to atone for his past sins, restore his faith, and fall in-love with his charge. Aion would be the antagonist, of course. Heh, wouldn’t that be nice?