Kerberos Panzer Jäger

"Kerberos Panzer Jäger" (ケルベロス 鋼鉄の猟犬, "Keruberosu kōtetsu no ryōken") is a 2006 radio drama series based on a story written by Japanese filmmaker and novelist Mamoru Oshii. It has been broadcasted monthly since April on Bunka Houso Kabushiki Gaisha's JOQR Radio station.

Title

"Kerberos Panzer Jäger", the official international title, can be translated to English as "Hellhound Tank Hunter", with "Jäger" being the German word for "hunter"."Panzer" in German can mean "armour", in this context however it is commonly used as abbreviation of "Panzerwagen" which means "armoured vehicle" = tank.In military use, the word "Panzer" always refers to tanks, so in WW II "Panzerjäger" were specially trained anti- tank units who were supposed to hunt enemy tanks down and destroy them.Although the correct German spelling would be "Kerberos-Panzerjäger," "ケルベロス 鋼鉄の猟犬" is Japanese for "Kerberos Steel Hunting Dog".

Kerberos saga

Kerberos

Primarily, the term "kerberos" is a reference to Hades' three-headed watchdog of hell in the Greek mythology. It is also used to designate the Panzer Cops.

Protect-Gear

The Protect-Gear is the full body armour used by both the Kerberos Panzer Cop and Kerberos Panzer Jäger assault units. Various types are used within the saga.

Jäger

"Jäger" is a German military term for light infantry. There is a "Panzerjäger"- team in every squad of German infantry units. They are specially equipped with anti-tank weapons. In "Kerberos Panzer Cop", the Panzer Jäger unit is part of the Ground Self-Defense Force (陸上自衛隊).

Prequel (1999)

The Kerberos Panzer Jäger characters made their first appearance in 1999, in ""'s Act 5 "War Dogs".

Anime adaptation project (2009)

On late May 2006, Mamoru Oshi has officially unveiled his plan to direct an anime feature of the German Kerberos blitzkrieg narrated in "Kerberos Panzer Jäger" [" [http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20060524/joqr.htm source: WatchImpress] "] .

Since recreating such a battle is extremely ambitious, the Japanese director doesn't plan to produce his project until 2009. In order to help the dramatization of the epic battle, the movie will heavily use 3DCG.

hort bootleg (2005)

A 2005 young freelance director's short film, also based on 3DCG and similar to the "Kerberos Panzer Jäger" story, was showcased at the Kerberos saga radio drama series launch party as a trailer [" [http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20060524/joqr.htm source: WatchImpress] "] .

tory

Chronicles

Kerberos saga historical background and significant dates in both the real and fictitious History.

Prologue

The plot of "Kerberos Panzer Jäger" is based on the popular Kerberos saga which started in 1987 as the black and white live-action feature film "The Red Spectacles".

This 2006 extension explores the European, military, origins of the Kerberos Panzer Cops, the German troopers known as Kerberos Panzer Jäger. The story is mainly set on the "Eastern Front", in East Europe, during the 1940s, with the Germans fighting the Soviets and eventually defeating them at the 1942 Battle of Stalingrad, creating a paradox and a major change in the course of History leading to the parallel world portrayed in the Kerberos saga.

Plot

In September 1942, German Captain Maki Stauffenberg, in command of the 808th "Propagandakompanie" (" [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Orden/Arm.Strf..htm Ärmelstreifen des Heeres] "), leaves the Warsaw station to start his long journey into the Soviet mainland.

His duty in the "Propagandakompanie" sends him from one front to another, conveying up-to-date information to both military-men and civilians. But his real mission is to secretly store and transport Protect-Gears parts for the 101st Panzer Company fighting in the fierce battle of Stalingrad.

Captain Maki must join Warsaw to Stalingrad in an armoured train which does not even have a mere window, in order to maintain maximum security. If successful, his secret mission, and long travel into the Far East, might change both the tide of the battle and the course of History.

Characters

*Captain Maki Stauffenberg
*Sergeant Major Hollerbach
*Corporal Lauth
*Captain Deisler
*Major Klose
*Sergeant Beinlich
*Sergeant Kahn

Historical similarities

Claus von Stauffenberg was the German colonel who failed to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944 delivering him a bomb.

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": (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 GigantSoldaten 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" (Flowery War): (花の戦争, "Hana no sennsou")
*2006.11.24: "Vol.2: StudiumWesten" (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: Sauberung" (Purge): (粛清, "Syukusei")

Licensed products

Books

*flagicon|Japan 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
*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

ee also

*Battle of Stalingrad
*Operation Barbarossa
*Battle of Kursk

Notes

ources

* [http://www.kerberos-saga.jp/panzer_jager/data/index.html Kerberos Panzer Jäger official website] ("Japanese")
* [http://www.kct.co.jp/raiden/ch02/index.html Kerberos Panzer Jäger@Raiden Kinema channel 2 (kinema)] ("Japanese")
* [http://www.kct.co.jp/raiden/ch09/index.html Kerberos Panzer Jäger@Raiden Kinema channel 9 (archives)] ("Japanese")
* [http://www.oshiimamoru.com/ Mamoru Oshii's official website] ("Japanese")
* [http://www.kenjikawai.com/ Kenji Kawai's official website] ("Japanese/English")
* [http://www.joqr.co.jp/ JOQR Radio] ("Japanese")
* [http://www.dhw.co.jp/df05-review/01.html Images of the Last Battalion@Digital Frontier Grand Prix 2005] ("Japanese")
* [http://www.dcaj.org/ DCAJ Digital Contents Association of Japan] ("Japanese/English")
* [http://www.dhw.co.jp/index.html Digital Hollywood] ("Japanese)
* [http://www.axisanimation.com/ Axis Animation] ("English")
* [http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20060524/joqr.htm Watch Impress] ("Japanese")

External links

* [http://www19.atwiki.jp/kerberos-saga/pages/1.html Keruberosu Koutetsu No Ryōken Gaisetsu Wiki] ("Japanese")
* [http://www.kerberos-saga.jp Kerberos saga official website] ("Japanese")