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Context Manga / KerberosPanzerCop

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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/946fec5104182b6092d940fb1b309ffe.jpg]]
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3'''Kerberos Panzer Cop''' (犬狼伝説 Kenrō Densetsu) is a two volume ScienceFiction DieselPunk manga written by Creator/MamoruOshii and illustrated by Kamui Fujiwara that ran in ''Shonen Ace'' magazine from 1988 to 2000. It's the first manga in Mamoru Oshii's ''Franchise/KerberosSaga'' and serves as a prequel for ''Film/TheRedSpectacles'' and ''Film/StrayDogKerberosPanzerCops''.
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5The story follows the downfall of the titular Kerberos unit as their overzealous actions as well as internal sabotage and vicious InterserviceRivalry lead to their demise. The story is followed from the perspective of several different characters, but it mainly focuses on the "Devil's Trio" of Kōichi Todome, Washio Midori and Sōichirō Toribe as they tackle the anti-government extremists that run rampant on the streets.
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7A sequel called ''Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs'' ran on ''Ace Tokunoh'' magazine from 2003 to 2004 and followed the immediate aftermath of the Kerberos riot and Kōichi's escape from the country.
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9A {{Remaster}} of the manga was published in April 2010 to commemorate the release of the manga's first volume in 1990 under the title ''Kerberos Panzer Cop a Revision : 20th edition'' and featured digitally improved graphics of Kamui Fujiwara's art.
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11The first four acts of the manga were published by Creator/DarkHorseComics in English under the title ''Hellhounds: Panzer Cops'' in 1994 and was also published by Diamond Comic Distributors in the UK in 1998. This translation renamed and removed all references to real locations or political entities from the story.
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13!!This manga provides examples of:
14* ActionGirl: Midori has ImprobableAimingSkills with her Mauser C96 and isn't afraid to take the lead.
15* ActionizedAdaptation: Being a [[ShonenDemographic Shōnen]] manga, there is much more emphasis on action here than in the rest of ''Franchise/KerberosSaga''.
16* TheCameo: Detective Takahiro Matsui from Franchise/{{Patlabor}} makes an appearance in Act 3 and 6 as a police investigator working on cases related to the Kerberos unit.
17* CoolShades: Koichi wears these all the time, even while wearing a Protect Gear helmet.
18* TheCoup: [[spoiler:After it becomes obvious that the government and Metropolitan Security Police Organization intend to put an end to the Kerberos unit, Kerberos unit rebels against the government. [[ForgoneConclusion It doesen't end well for them]].]]
19* DirtyCommunists: The Sect is a [[FarEastAsianTerrorists Japanese communist group]] and their presence is a much more central villain in here than in the rest of the series and we get to see the full extent the actions they are willing to do to achive their goals.
20* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler:Since its parent work, ''Film/TheRedSpectacles'' takes place right after the Kerberos riot, it's made clear from the start that the Kerberos unit is doomed.]]
21* HowWeGotHere: The manga basically explains the events that lead up to the first scene in ''Film/TheRedSpectacles'' and ends as [[spoiler:Kōichi, Washio and Sōichirō escape to the docks.]]
22* LastStand: [[spoiler:The Kerberos riot for the entire unit. After the unit fails in its coup attempt, the remaining members desperately hold out in the Self-Police HQ, though Kōichi, Washio and Sōichirō manage to escape before the JSDF lays sieges on the building.]]
23* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The Sect recruits people [[ChildSoldiers 15-years-old and younger]], take hostages, hijack airplanes, etc. to further their own goals.
24* RuleOfSymbolism: At the end of Act 3, there is a scene in the junkyard where a dog walks up to the corpse of recently deceased [[spoiler:Tsujimura]] and wanders next to load of Kerberos unit's abandoned military equipment while a shiny skyscraper stands on the background, signaling that EndOfAnAge is arriving to Japan were Kerberos unit won't be present.
25* SceneryGorn: Act 3 has pages full of views of junkyards and landfills.

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