''Kerberos Panzer Jäger'' (ケルベロス 鋼鉄の猟犬, ''Keruberosu kōtetsu no ryōken'', ''Kerberos
Hound
A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey.
Description
Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. ...
of Steel'') is a 2006
radio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...
series written by Japanese filmmaker and novelist
Mamoru Oshii
is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of acclaimed anime films, including ''Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer'' (1984), ''Angel's Egg'' (1985), '' ...
. It first aired in
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting.
Story
Background information
''Kerberos Panzer Jager'' is part of the ''Kerberos Saga'' multimedia franchise. While most of the saga's installments concern the downfall of the Tokyo police's armored Kerberos Unit, ''Kerberos Panzer Jager'' is a prequel set during an
alternate
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In this timeline, the United States remained
isolationist, refusing to enter the war, while the
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
allied itself with
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
against
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. In this alternate timeline, Hitler has been successfully
assassinated
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
by
Claus von Stauffenberg
Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer who is best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, part of Op ...
, leading to a purge of Nazi elements from the government. Advanced suits of
powered armor
An exoskeleton is a wearable device that augments, enables, assists, or enhances motion, posture, or physical activity through mechanical interaction with and force applied to the user’s body.
Other common names for a wearable exoskeleton in ...
, called 'Protect Gear', allow the Germans to win the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
. The term ''
Panzer Jäger'' in the title refers not to tank-hunter units, as in real life, but to these armored infantry units, whose equipment goes on to form the basis for the Kerberos Unit's armor in later installments.
Plot
In September 1942, Captain Maki Stauffenberg, in command of the 808th ''
Propagandakompanie'', leaves
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
station on an armored train to start her long journey into Soviet territory. A filmmaker originally affiliated with
UFA GmBH
UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. The original UFA was established as on December 18, 1917, as a direct response t ...
, she has been tasked with creating a propaganda film about the exploits of the 101st Panzer Jäger Battalion. Tainted by association with the displaced Nazi regime, the 101st has been committed to bloody frontline battles against the Soviets without respite, achieving stunning combat results in the process. However, Maki Stauffenberg, the half-Japanese niece of Hitler's killer, has taken on the mission for her own reasons.
Characters
*Captain Maki Stauffenberg
*Sergeant Major Hollerbach
*Corporal Lauth
*Captain Deisler
*Major Klose
*Sergeant Beinlich
*Sergeant Kahn
Chapters
Interview program
*2006.04.26: ''Interview Part.1: Radio drama's appeal''
:(ラジオドラマの魅力を探る)
*2006.04.26: ''Interview Part.2: Listeners questions about Kerberos Panzer Jäger''
:(ケルベロス鋼鉄の猟犬)を語る
*2006.04.26: ''Kenji Kawai & Mamoru Oshii''
:(川井憲次×押井守)
Drama program
Act I: Armoured Train
(装甲列車編, ''Sōkō ressha hen'')
*2006.04.31: ''Vol.1: Propagandakompanie'' (Propaganda Company)
: (宣伝中隊, ''Senden chūtai'')
*2006.06.28: ''Vol.2:
Kursk
Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of
Kursk ...
''
: (クルスク, ''Kurusuku'')
*2006.07.26: ''Vol.3: Kriegspferd'' (Charger)
: (軍馬, ''Gunba'')
Act II: Panzer Jäger
(装甲猟兵, ''Sōkō ryoū hei'')
*2006.08.30: ''Vol.1: Die Langen Kerle Potsdam'' (
Potsdam Giant Guards)
: (ポツダムの巨人兵, ''Potsudamu no kyojin hei'')
*2006.09.27: ''Vol.2: Die Dritte Armee'' (The
Third Army)
: (第三の軍隊, ''Daisan no gunntai'')
Act III: Blitzkrieg
(電撃戦, ''Dengeki sen'')
*2006.11.10: ''Vol.1: Blumenkrieg'' (Flower War)
: (花の戦争, ''Hana no sennsou'')
*2006.11.24: ''Vol.2: Westaufklärung'' (Study of the West)
: (西方研究, ''Seihō kenkyu'')
Act IV: Barbarossa
(バルバロッサ, ''barubarossa'')
*2007.01.12: ''Vol.1: Säuberung'' (Purge)
: (粛清, ''Syukusei'')
Licensed products
Books
* 2007.04: ''Kerberos Panzer Jäger Official Guide Book'' (official guide book)
:Japanese text, Mamoru Oshii, Barque, 32p.
Production
Cast
*
Yoshiko Sakakibara: Cpt. Maki Stauffenberg (マキ・シュタウフェンヴェルク大尉)
*
Michihiro Ikemizu: Sgt. Major Hollerbach (ホラーバッハ曹長)
*
Yuya Uchida: Cpl. Lauth (ラウト伍長)
*
Masashi Ebara: Cpt. Deisler (ダイスラー大尉)
*
Ikuya Sawaki: Mjr. Klose (クローゼ少佐)
*
Tetsuo Goto: Sgt. Beinlich (バインリヒ軍曹)
*
Otoya Kawano Sgt. Kahn (カーン軍曹)
Production staff
*Original story / Scenario / Director: Mamoru Oshii
*Music:
Kenji Kawai
is a Japanese music composer and arranger. Known as one of the biggest names in the soundtrack world, he has worked on a wide range of mixed media productions, including anime, TV shows, films and video games. Among his credits are Toei's '' ...
*Sound director:
Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
*Recording: 宮澤二郎
*Effects: 伊藤道広 (Soundring)
*音楽制作: 安田玲子 / 仲野智子 / 奥澤麻由美 / 大久保絵美 (Aube Inc.)
*音響制作担当: 好永伸恵
*音響制作: フォニシア
*録音Studio: Tokyo TV Center
*Supervisor: 小泉聰
Recording staff
*Recording Engineer: Kitagawa Teruaki / Kyouhei Fukushiro
*Strings: 内田輝 Group
*A.Piano: Tohru Shigemi
*Keyboards: Kenji Kawai
*Recording studio: 一口坂 Studio / Aube Studio / i@ Recording Studio
*Assistant Engineer: 山本篤士 / 中田武士 / 菊地和孝 (一口坂 Studio) / 長谷部智子 (Aube Studio) / 見留由紀 (i@ Recording Studio)
Musical theme
*''Die Antwort'' ("the answer"):
:Composer: Paolo Bozzola
:Arrangement: Kenji Kawai
:Vocal: Akane Kawabe
See also
*
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
*
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
*
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...
Notes
The surnames of the German soldiers seem to be taken from professional soccer players
Bernd Hollerbach,
Benjamin Lauth,
Sebastian Deisler,
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, ; born Mirosław Marian Klose; 9 June 1978) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who currently serves as head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg. A Forward (as ...
,
Stefan Beinlich and
Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...
.
On late May 2006, Mamoru Oshi announced plans to direct an
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
adaptation of ''Kerberos Panzer Jäger'', to be produced in 2009 with the use of
3DCG. However, there has been no recent news regarding this project.
source: WatchImpress
''
''Images of the Last Battalion'', a short CGI fan film produced in 2005 featuring German power armor suits in a WW2 setting, was screened at the Kerberos saga radio drama series launch party as a trailer.
Sources
(''Japanese'')
(''Japanese'')
(''Japanese'')
Mamoru Oshii's official website(''Japanese'')
Kenji Kawai's official website(''Japanese/English'')
JOQR Radio(''Japanese'')
(''Japanese'')
DCAJ Digital Contents Association of Japan(''Japanese/English'')
(''Japanese'')
Axis Animation(''English'')
(''Japanese'')
External links
(''Japanese'')
Kerberos saga official website(''Japanese'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerberos Panzer Jager
Japanese radio dramas
Kerberos saga
Military science fiction
World War II alternate histories