Kerberos Panzer Cop

The Metropolitan Police and Kerberos succeed in their goals, quelling the spike in terrorism and forcing most of the terrorist groups to merge under a single group called the Sect. However, the Metropolitan Police faces friction from the Self-Police ("Local Police", "Metropolitan Police Force", or "NPA" in English)—officially the Tokyo Metropolitan Self-Police Department, whose jurisdiction overlaps with the Metropolitan Police—as well as the JSDF, while Kerberos's division, the Defense Division ("Capital Area Security Police Agency" in English), experiences interservice tensions with the Metropolitan Police's intelligence agency-like espionage unit, the Public Security Division. Additionally, into the 1950s, changes in Japanese society over time—improving living standards, the loss of the Sect's public appeal, and Kerberos's increasingly brutal tactics—lead to the necessity of Kerberos being brought into question.

Part I (第一部, Dai Ichibu)

• Prologue (プロローグ, Purorōgu)

A dedicated prologue to the manga, detailing the setting and history of the saga's fictional universe, as well as why the Metropolitan Police were formed. In the English adaptation, this is replaced by a single-page synopsis with no illustrations nor references to Japan, which is simply referred to as "the country".

• Act 1: The Forsaken Dog (突入, Suteinu)

Metropolitan Police rookie Toru Inui, part of Kerberos, engages with Sect terrorists in the

Public Security Division director Bunmei Muroto, realizing society has evolved to the point that it will eventually no longer need Kerberos, and deciding there is no room for them in the Metropolitan Police anyway, begins to work against it. He proposes to merge Public Security with the Self-Police to create "a new public peacekeeping apparatus that has the Public Security Division at its core", and implies this move would dismantle Kerberos. However, knowing Defense Division director Isao Aniya and Kerberos leader Shiro Tatsumi would view this as betrayal and attempt to strike back, Muroto realizes he must discredit or eliminate Kerberos for the merger to go ahead. After meeting with Self-Police officials, he accuses an underling, Tsujimura, of leaking secrets to a friend in Kerberos; however, as Public Security agents arrive to apprehend him, Tsujimura unmasks Muroto's ambitions and draws a gun on him, prompting the agents to shoot and kill Tsujimura. Later, a stray dog finds Tsujimura's corpse in a junkyard surrounded by decommissioned Stahlhelms, Protect Gears, firearms, and armoured personnel carriers from Kerberos lying throughout, with the gleaming office buildings of Tokyo prominently visible in the distance, symbolizing the coming of a new era without Kerberos.

• Act 4: The Fighting Dog - Chapter I (戦闘犬 - I 端緒, Sentoken - I Tansho)

The Sect attacks the German Embassy in Japan, taking several hostages and threatening to kill them, which could spark an international incident; Kerberos is deployed to handle the crisis, and they storm the embassy, eliminating the terrorists within minutes. However, it is learned that the attack was not the work of the Sect, but rather the

• Act 4: The Fighting Dog - Chapter II (戦闘犬 - II 対峙, Sentoken - II Taiji)

Kerberos is charged with defeating Fujiwara and the Four Seasons League, and they are deployed to Tokyo International Airport. However, they have a conflict over jurisdiction with the Self-Police, who normally have jurisdiction over the airport grounds and intend to deploy their Spezial Sturm Gruppe (inspired by the

• Act 4: The Fighting Dog - Chapter III (戦闘犬 - III 突入, Sentoken - III Totsunyū)

As Handa launches a diversion, Koichi, Midori, and Soichiro storm Flight 666 and kill most of the Four Seasons League terrorists, but before they can fully secure the plane, Fujiwara orders the pilot to take off. Koichi, Midori, and Soichiro promptly shoot the engines of the plane, forcing it to crash-land in a landfill on Showa Island. With Koichi and Soichiro dazed from the crash, Fujiwara attempts to escape, but Midori climbs the fuselage and begins setting up her Mauser C96 sidearm for long-range shooting. Handa and Kerberos rush to the crash site but are beaten there by the Self-Police, who surround Fujiwara and attempt to apprehend him; however, before they can do so, Fujiwara looks back at the plane and sees Midori, who shoots him between the eyes with her C96, killing him and securing the operation as a success for Kerberos.

Part II (第二部, Dai Nibu)

• Act 5: The Military Dog (軍用犬, Gunyōken)

A tachiguishi ("Fast Food Grifter" in English) named Cold Badger Masa is brutally beaten to death by Kerberos member Chuichi Koshiramaru in Mach, an illegal stand-and-eat (tachigui) soba restaurant. The Self-Police quickly arrest Koshiramaru and rumors of an anti-Kerberos conspiracy emerge. Soon, another rumor arises: the existence of "Jin-Roh", a secret counterintelligence unit within Kerberos that seeks to protect the unit from any threat to their existence. The Self-Police's investigation, led by Detective Takahiro Matsui (from Patlabor), details the intricacies of the existence and extent of the tachiguishi in the Japanese society of the Kerberos Saga.

This Act is an adaptation of "Third Night" from the 1987 radio drama While Waiting for the Red Spectacles. In 2006, it was loosely adapted as the film Tachiguishi-Retsuden.

• Act 7: The Mad Dog (狂犬, Kyōken)

Two German officials visit Japan on a diplomatic trip, but are met by hundreds of anti-Weimar Establishment protestors at a bridge junction near Tokyo International Airport. As the protest devolves into violence, the diplomatic convoy is attacked, and the Self-Police are overwhelmed, Kerberos members deployed on standby as backup open fire on the protestors, killing around 200 people. The event, known as the "Park Incident", becomes a political scandal and a firestorm that leads to public opinion turning sharply against the Metropolitan Police and Kerberos. In response to backlash, and deeming Kerberos no longer necessary in modern society, the National Public Safety Committee votes for the Metropolitan Police's dismantlement. However, Aniya and Tatsumi refuse to disband and instead plan a coup d'état, known in the Kerberos Saga as the "Kerberos Uprising" or "Kerberos Riot". Handa, the leader of Jin-Roh, gathers the Kerberos members and delivers a rousing speech enlisting them to the coup's cause.

• Act 8: The Fighting Dog II (戦闘犬 II, Sentoken II)

On

Various editions and reissues were released since 1988, and both the paper size and included bonus materials differ between them. The Magazine, Original, Zen, and Kerberos Saga editions use standard B5 (25.7 cm x 18.2 cm / 10.1" x 7.2"); the Popular edition uses A5 (21 cm x 14.8 cm); and the Frozen edition uses B6 size (18 cm x 13 cm). Additional contents such as prologues, production notes, scenarios, organization charts, glossary, staff interviews, and bibliographies are always included in tankōbon editions to explain the Kerberos Saga's complex background.

Amazing Comics serialization (Act1~2 / B5)

Kerberos Panzer Cop was first published in October 1988 through Amazing Comics (アメージング·コミックス), a science fiction/horror two-monthly comics magazine published from 1988 to 1989 by Kasakura Shuppansha.

Combat Comic serialization (Act1~4 / B5)

After Amazing Comics last issue in April 1989, Kerberos Panzer Cop: Part I serialization restarted in Combat Comic (コンバットコミック), a monthly science fiction/fantasy comic magazine published from 1985 to 1990 by Nihon Shuppansha. Part One (Act1~4) was completed in July 1990.

Original edition (Part I / B5)

In December 1990, Nihon Shuppansha compiled Kerberos Panzer Cop: Part One in a single paperback volume with the original cheap paper quality and B5 size kept (25.7 cm x 18.2 cm). This original edition features a curved silver dust jacket cover that included a white

Popular edition (Part I / A5)

Re-issue of the 1990 Original edition by Nihon Shuppansha. Paper size is smaller than the original B5 edition (now 21 cm x 14.8 cm) but the paper quality is a bit better. Half of the bonus material was removed though for a budget release.

Monthly Shōnen Ace serialization (Act5~8 / B5)

The sequel and completion of Kerberos Panzer Cop, featuring Acts 5~8 (第二部, Part 2), was published in

External links

• Kerberos saga official website (in Japanese)