Forum - View topicNun soup?
|
|
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Boomerang Flash
 Posts: 1021 |
|
||
|
I had been eyeballing the shelves of Barnes and Noble for volume 1 since I saw volume 2's front cover displayed on the top shelf--and I must admit that the gun wielding girl is quite eye catching. Unfortunately, v.1 seemed much rarer than v.2 and was not found until quite recently. The setup went something as follows.
The story is set in the late 19th century or early 20th century. It was a time of economic prosperity and, unfortunately for the populace, moral and religious decay. The dark corners of the metropolis was haunted by demons. Enter our protagonist, a gun toting nun wearing an indecent--for a nun, at any rate--habit. She is partnered with a young appearing demon, and both are engaged in the business of exorcism. The nun and the demon spoiler[have a symbiotic relationship, with the demon depending on the nun's life for continued existence,] and the nun depending on the power of the demon to defeat the other specters. They are members of an organization dedicated to eradicating demons from the face of the Earth. The organization operates from the shadows, and it possesses technologies which harness both science and the magicks, using antique looking machinery with parts such as exposed vacuum tubes to cast magical barriers in their battles against darkness. The head tech developer of the organization is an eccentric Q figure: He is an old man with a goatee, sporting a lab coat, a zucchetto, sandals, and--perhaps most distinctively--a strange eyepiece that looks suspiciously like it could be used as a magnifying device. The old man falls into the pervert stereotype, preferring the company of young women. The demonic half of the strange pair of protagonists is a powerful one who spoiler[seems much stronger than the opponents and holds back for the sake of the nun.] The story seems episodic at first, with the protagonists going from exorcism to exorcism, but that is only set the mood. There is an archnemesis and an overall agenda: Although the pair has been together for a long time, the demon harbors some secret vendetta from the past, something that has only begun to be explored in spoiler[volume 2, when another powerful demon--a fair haired bishounen in a stylish overcoat--shows his presence to the protagonists.] Which led me to think of the combat nun stereotype. Apparently, the stereotype is prominent enough such that it appears in recent parodies such as spoiler[the fake Sister Fortesia] of Hayate the Combat Butler, or the nun police force in Negima. However, I can't seem to think of many titles that feature combat nuns in a serious manner--and I assume that the stereotype arose from serious characters in action series (catering to a fetish, no doubt) rather than from satirical comedies. The titles that I remember are a pair of side characters in Hellsing and--if you count it--spoiler[Ciel] from Tsukihime. Aside from the titles summarized in paragraph two, I can't seem to think of any titles that feature a combat nun as a protagonist at all (Witch Hunter Robin, perhaps, though I believe that's only an anime, and Robin, although raised in a convent, isn't a nun). So, what are some of the titles that led to this character stereotype? And lastly, anybody recognize the quotation in the topic title? [Edit] Added spoiler tags to the summary. Last edited by Boomerang Flash on Sun May 18, 2008 1:12 am; edited 1 time in total |
|||
|
|||
jetz
 Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
|
||
|
You're referring to Chrono Crusade, right? Rosette Christopher would be the nun you're talking about, and Chrono is the demon. The anime and manga are both pretty popular, so there's a possibility that Rosette started the trend.
|
|||
|
|||
MorwenLaicoriel
 Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
|
||
|
Yep, that's definitely Chrono Crusade that you're talking about. I just recently finished both the manga and the anime--I think the manga is now one of my favorites.
I'm pretty sure that jetz is right about the "nuns with guns" stereotype starting with Chrono Crusade, it's the earliest anime I can think of. This page has a pretty good list of all the shows that feature this sort of character (along with some priests). |
|||
|
|||
Moomintroll
 Posts: 1600 Location: Nottingham (UK) |
|
||
It may be the oldest anime (though I'm not at all sure of that) but the genre stretches at least back to the 1960s and 70s when there were a flood of (mostly Italian) nun-themed exploitation films released some of which almost certainly made their way to Japan since they would have fit right in with the "pink film" scene then popular over there. There was even a Nuns With Guns roleplaying game released by BTRC in the USA back in the 1980s. More to the point, nuns are a fairly perennial fetish in porn (going back hundreds of years) and given the propensity of anime and manga makers for personifying such fetishes, it's suprising there aren't more nun characters in Japanese comics. |
|||
|
|||
|
Boomerang Flash
Posts: 1021 |
|
||
Boomerang Flash speaks with a forked tongue. As I started reading the title,the urge to label it a Chrono Crusade rip-off was great, but I suppressed it. Regardless of whether Chrono Crusade started the armed nun in anime/manga, by this time it seemed to have grown into a fetish, so it's not unlikely that Tetragrammaton Labyrinth was just jumping on the bandwagon rather than directly copying Chrono Crusade. The concept of a demonic companion also seems vaguely familiar and may be explained in the same manner. The juxtaposition of the two can be a natural consequence of seeking contrast. A secret organization that fights monsters is quite an old concept--in fiction or in anime/manga. However, by the time the "elder," as described in paragraph two of the opening post, appeared, the likelihood that Tetragrammaton Labyrinth's setup arose without copying Chrono Crusade diminished greatly, and by the time "Aion" descended onto the scene, it's nearly unthinkable that it was not a Chrono Crusade knockoff. And, of course, I couldn't resist writing a summary that highlights all the similarities between the two. I don't think the summary is an unfair generalization--it flows quite nicely as something akin to a back cover blurb, for one thing. There are differences between the titles. The most obvious is that Angela is a girl, whereas Chrono is a boy. This superficial difference was the reason for some of the awkward repetitions of "the demon" in my description rather than using a third person pronoun. Tetragrammaton Labyrinth is part of Seven Sea's Strawberry line. It is a seinen horror title with heavy yuri undertones. Chrono Crusade, on the other hand, is a shounen action title with a light romantic subplot. The widely different demographic is probably why the reviews I read online do not seem to fling accusations of rip-off. The atmosphere of Tetragrammaton Labyrinth resembles Hellsing more than Chrono Crusade. The superficial fact of being set in England aside, Chrono Crusade is an upbeat, hopeful story, despite the dark visuals and the seemingly hopeless situation. Tetragrammaton Labyrinth, on the other hand, is cynical and depressing. The Magdalan Order is a spoiler[warm, familial, and humanitarian organization devoted to protecting humanity from the demons, which sets it apart from almost all of the secret monster hunting organizations.] The organization of Tetragrammaton Labyrinth--a part of the Anglican Church, it seems-- is spoiler[simply devoted to eradicating demons] and spoiler[does not shy from employing the scum of the Earth.] The violence and gore shown for shock value are much closer to Hellsing than to Chrono Crusade as well. Despite the copy and past job of the setup, Tetragrammaton Labyrinth probably sit better with the Hellsing crowd than the Chrono Crusade crowd. |
|||
|
|||
|
MorwenLaicoriel
Posts: 1617 Location: Colorado |
|
||
|
Huh! It sounds really interesting! I don't know if it would be my sort of thing--particularly the yuri undertones--but I might have to see if I can skim through a volume in a store or find it in my library and see what I think. If only to see how a similar concept to Chrono Crusade would be handled when the demon is a girl and the manga itself has a darker tone.
|
|||
|
|||
DerekTheRed
 Posts: 3544 Location: ::Points to hand:: |
|
||
Seeing as nobody has answered this part yet, let me say Short Circuit. 
|
|||
|
|||
|
jetz
Posts: 2148 Location: Manila, Philippines |
|
||
|
On the surface, it still seems very similar to Chrono Crusade. I bet that if other people saw your description they would probably think of Chrono Crusade too. I have to say I'm motivated to read it, because the plot seems interesting, although I'm not sureabout yuri. I've watched a good number of yuri anime, but when it's manga I don't like it as much. I read one not too long ago (forgot the title) and I've yet to finish it.
|
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group