Animania

Book's Summary: Chrono and Rosette infiltrate Eden, the stronghold of the Sinners, in order to rescue both Joshua and Azmaria. Little do they know that pursuers from Pandemonium have finally caught up with Aion, and when they launch an offensive of their own, all hell is going to break loose!

First off, I have to say that if you have skipped the manga because you've already seen the anime, STOP RIGHT NOW and go pick it up.  The manga and the anime are different, starting after the manga's first volume. By volume 7 they have still have a few basic shared items, such as the story of Mary Magdalene, but most everything else is different.  The only draw back to the manga is that its being released by ADV, who just plan sucks at releasing stuff reliably.  Fortunately, Chrono Crusade seems to be one of the few series they will actually finish, though the EIGHT month wait between volumes 6 and 7 was torture.

Volume 7 is the next to the last volume in this manga series, and it does not disappoint.  It opens right where 6 left off, as Chrono and Rosette arrive in Eden to look for Satella, Azmaria, and Joshua.  Joshua, meanwhile, had a dream about his sister that makes him want to see Rosette again to see if she is his sister (because he can't remember what she looks like).  Chrono and Rosette have arrived at Eden at the same time the Pursuers have arrived in full force to try and smack down Aion while the Sinners are using the Apostles to bring up Pandemonium while crying tears of blood.  We finally find out why Joshua was given demon horns, and another reason why Aion took Satella's sister long ago.

The battle heats up as Chrono and Rosette must deal with the Pursuers (who don't care if they kill our duo while attacking Eden) and with Pandemonium's out of control Legion.  Fortunately some backup from the Order arrives, despite their receiving another devastating blow.  This is a fairly sad chapter towards the end, as the final meeting between Satella and her sister is even sadder than it was in the anime (though the last scene of Fiore with Joshua was sweet).  As Chrono and Rosette make their way to the core of Pandemonium with Legion at their hills, they are separated, with the seriously wounded Chrono holding off the Legion horde as Rosette passes through the last door alone.

This volume also features a bonus chapter showing Rosette shortly after she came to the order, when she and Chrono were kept separated and how she made her first friend (and excised her first demon).  It was cute, but also a little sad to see how Rosette was treated at first. 

The main story is pretty much left as a major cliffhanger.  I hope ADV actually publishes the last one back on schedule instead of making us wait another 8 months.  The RightStuf has it in their catalog with a June 30th release date, so cross those fingers!  For the curious, though, the back of chapter 7 does have a teaser on volume 8.  Don't read if you don't want to know! "Deep within Pandemonium, Chrono fends off Hordes of demons while Rosette tries desperately to bring Joshua to his senses.  Agents from Militia show up to join the fray--but the real fight begins when Chrono faces off against Aion in a final, climactic battle."