The Kerberos saga by Mamoru Oshii is set in an alternate history from the 1940s up to the 2000s.

Alternate Japan

The backstories and timelines of how Japan became a totalitarian country differ between Oshii and Okiura screenplays. The live action films and manga series take place in the then-future decade of the 1990s and 2000s while Jin-Roh takes place in the 1950s. The opening narration to Jin-Roh explains that Japan lost the Second World War, not to the Americans, but to the Germans, who occupied the archipelago for at least a decade. The German occupation provides a rational explanation for the usage of German military equipment, vehicles, weapons, and architecture by the Japanese which was let to the viewers and readers' guess in Mamoru Oshii's original story. Later, the Kerberos saga creator exposed a definitive explanation connecting Jin-Roh, which original storyboard was altered by Okiura, with his previous works in the 2006 radio drama Kerberos Panzer Jäger.

While the background of the saga episodes differs, from Japan, to Taiwan to Europe, they use the same characters (either as the principal characters or background characters), reference the same incidents, and typically feature the same institutions, props, and settings. Any changes can probably be thought of as variations on the same theme. When placed together with the Tachiguishi arc, these different stories tell the same overall story, known as the Kerberos saga.

Kerberos history

The main duty of the Kerberos is to handle various terrorist groups, with the one of the most influential organization known as the Sect, and keep the matter as a police issue to avoid bring the military into the fray. As a result, the Capital Police report to the National Public Safety Commission. In the stories, as the country stabilizes from political upheaval and looks to peace and economic prosperity, the anti-government groups and the Kerberos anti-riot units become more and more isolated from the people. The Kerberos known for their brutal tactics, while having served the country during its troubling times, no longer have a place in the new police organization and are to be eliminated by the government.

After an incident in which a terrorist leader is killed to avoid having him enter police custody, the Kerberos unit is ordered to be disarmed and disbanded. However, the unit refuses the order, sequesters itself in the Unit headquarters, and fights the police, holding out for days before the military was called in. This siege is known as the "Kerberos Uprising". Many of the unit are killed or arrested, save the leader of the uprising, Koichi Todome, who escapes and leaves Japan. Other exiled Kerberos become refugees in Taiwan, the closest island to Japan.

Kerberos Panzer Cops part one and Jin-Roh cover the days of the Kerberos unit before the uprising and the political machinations that result in the rebellion, while the The Red Spectacles and StrayDog films encompass the reappearance of Koichi Todome in Japan, and the reasons for his return.

The Kerberos Uprising episode is covered briefly in the live-action films and is exposed in Kerberos Panzer Cops part two and its sequel Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs. Both volumes were never translated in English but are available in several Asian countries.

Timeline

Saga general timeline

Significant dates in the Kerberos saga fictitious history :

• 1942: Battle of Stalingrad (see Kerberos Panzer Jäger)
• 1950s: The Kerberos organization is created in Tokyo to support the metropolitan police in fighting vicious crimes and to keep public order. (see Jin-Roh).
• 1995: The Kerberos organization is ordered to be dissoluted by the Japanese government.
• 1995: Riot of the Kerberos known as the "Kerberos uprising" (???????).
• 1998: Koichi leaves Tokyo to Central America. Later he moved to South America and Taiwan (see StrayDog).
• 2001: Koichi leaves Tainan, where he met the escaped Kerberos Inui, and returns to Tokyo (see StrayDog).

Saga parallel timeline

Parallel dates in the chronology of the Kerberos saga :

• 1987: Kerberos organization's motto "A New World Order", this year is believed to be the organization's creation year too (see Kerberos Panzer Cop).
• 199X: Kerberos uprising, instead of 1995 (see Akai megane trailer).
• 1991 Summer: Koichi left Taiwan and returned to Tokyo, instead of 2001 (see epilogue in StrayDog).
• 1992: Protect-Gear '92 is created and used by the Kerberos units (see Kerberos Panzer Cop).

Historical timeline

Real Japan History event related or referred in the Kerberos saga:

• 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima ending the Japanese involvement in World War II.
• 1970: Creation of the Japanese Red Army.
• etc.

Sources

• Kerberos saga official website (Japanese)
• Mamoru Oshii's official website (Japanese)
• Production I.G official website (English)

External links

• Kerberos saga official website (Japanese)