is an

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle; high stakes and suspense are the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. Th ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

written by

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), '' ...

and illustrated by Mamoru Sugiura, running from 2003 to 2004. Part of the '' Kerberos Saga'', it is a sequel to Oshii's manga '' Kerberos Panzer Cop'' (for which Sugiura was in charge of managing the series' continuity) and a prequel to the 1991 film '' StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops''. Set after the failed Kerberos Uprising by the Special Armed Garrison " Kerberos", ''Rainy Dogs'' follows former Kerberos member Koichi Todome as he pursues former Kerberos sniper Eito Kurosaki across

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, seeking revenge for the latter's betrayal during the Uprising. Also included in ''Rainy Dogs'' is , an independent

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

based on

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

's short story of the same name and set in the ''Kerberos Saga'' universe.

Plot

''Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs'' is set in the ''Kerberos Saga'''s alternate timeline, where

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 ...

won

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 ...

, eventually

denazified Denazification () was an Allies of World War II, Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazism, Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removi ...

and restored the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, and

occupied Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

(part of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

in this timeline) to establish

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

rule; however, their attempts at establishing a new government led to increased

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and

class stratification Class stratification is a form of social stratification in which a society is separated into parties whose members have different access to resources and power. An economic, natural, cultural, religious, interests and ideal rift usually exists b ...

, resulting in the rise of anti-government movements and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, most predominantly the Sect. In response, the Japanese government formed the Metropolitan Security Police Organization to counter the terrorists and restore order to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The Metropolitan Police's Special Armed Garrison ("Special Unit" in English), nicknamed "Kerberos", was profoundly effective in defeating the terrorists and the Sect, but found themselves facing friction from the Self-Police ("Local Police", "Metropolitan Police Force", or " NPA" in English) as well as the Public Security Division, the Metropolitan Police's

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy obj ...

-like

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

unit. Eventually, a series of violent incidents led to the government ordering their dissolution, but the members of Kerberos resisted in the " Kerberos Uprising", an attempted

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

that was ultimately crushed by the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...

. Only three Kerberos members—Koichi Todome, Washio Midori, and Soichiro Toribe—fled the Uprising alive, but only Todome was ultimately able to escape. ''Rainy Dogs'' is set during and after the Kerberos Uprising, and follows Todome as he pursues elite Kerberos sniper Eito Kurosaki, nicknamed the "Afghan Hound". Kurosaki, a former friend and comrade of Todome, betrayed Kerberos by alerting Public Security of the Uprising's planning, allowing them and the Self-Police to respond to the Uprising and ultimately defeat it; during the Uprising, Kurosaki escaped in a helicopter and fled overseas. Seeking revenge for his betrayal, Todome pursues Kurosaki across Asia.

The Killers (キラーズ)

"The Killers" (キラーズ, ''kirāzu'') is an independent short story included in ''Rainy Dogs'', based on

's short story of the same name. In the restaurant "Papa's Lunch Room" in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, multiple people—a

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

in a tuxedo, a middle-aged bearded man in a

cassock The cassock, or soutane, is a Christian clerical clothing, clerical coat used by the clergy and Consecrated life, male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in ...

, an old smartly-dressed violinist, and hitman

Golgo 13 is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. ''Golgo 13'' is ...

—wait silently at separate tables. When two black-clad Latinos enter, a young boy delivers a package to Golgo 13, who brings it with him into the washroom; the Latinos suddenly attack the restaurant's chef and waitress and draw firearms, asking about Koichi Todome. When Golgo 13 reemerges with his trademark scoped

M16 rifle The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...

, the other men draw their own weapons and battle, but ultimately end up killing each other. The waitress, who survived the shootout, unbinds the chef and heads to a hotel in the outskirts of the city, where she alerts the occupant of room 203: Koichi Todome himself.

Related works

Kerberos Panzer Cop

''Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs'' is the follow-up to the 1988~2000 manga '' Kerberos Panzer Cop'' written by Mamoru Oshii and illustrated by Kamui Fujiwara. Flashback sequences from the ''Kerberos Panzer Cop'' key event called "Kerberos Riot" are depicted in ''Rainy Dogs''.

StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops

The plot of ''Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs'' happens before the events depicted in ''StrayDog'', Koichi left Latin America with his suitcase and is now living in Taiwan.

Killers

The short story "The Killers" was published prior to ''Rainy Dogs'' and in order to coincide with the theater release of Mamoru Oshii's eponymous live-action compilation movie '' Killers''.

The Killers

Mamoru Oshii's ''The Killers'' is a parody of the eponymous classic short story by American writer Ernest Hemingway published in 1927. Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, a known influence of Oshii, adapted ''The Killers'' for the screen in 1956 as his first student short film.Andrei Tarkovsky's ''The Killers'', English subtitled version
/ref>

Golgo 13

The yakuza character "Togo 13" appearing in ''The Killers'' is a cameo of

from the eponymous franchise.

Issues

Like its prequel, ''Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs'' was first serialized in a B5 comics magazine before to be published as a compilation volume.

Ace Tokunoh serialization (B5)

''Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs'' was first published in ''Ace Tokunoh'' (エース特濃, Esu ''Tokunou''), a comic magazine owned by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

. *2003.05: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.1'' :The Killers :キラーズ *2003.06: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.2'' :Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs - Act 01: Break Up :Rainy Dogs 紅い足痕 *2003.0X: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.3'' :Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs - Act 02: Technical Shot :Rainy Dogs 紅い足痕 *2003.09: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.4'' :Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs - Act 03: Bank Shot :Rainy Dogs 紅い足痕 *2003.0X: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.5'' :Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs - Act 04: Cannon Shot :Rainy Dogs 紅い足痕 *2004.01: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.6'' :Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs - Act 05: Hug Shot (color) :Rainy Dogs 紅い足痕 (color) *2004.0X: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.7'' :Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs - Act 06: Follow Shot :Rainy Dogs 紅い足痕 *2004.05: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.8'' :Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs - Act 07: Time Shot :Rainy Dogs 紅い足痕 *2004.07: ''Ace Tokunoh vol.9'' :Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs - Act 08: Eight Ball Shot :Rainy Dogs 紅い足痕

Original edition (A5)

The compilation volume was published by Kadokawa in its "New Type 100% Comics" collection (ニュータイプ100%コミックス). The dusk cover features a red '' obi'' with the manga's international title "''Kerberos Saga Rainy Dogs''". The previously unreleased prologue "Act 00: Set Up" was added to help in the understanding of the complex background and the 2003 short story "The Killers" (first issued in Ace Tokunoh vol.1) was also included as an epilogue. *2005.10.26: ''Kerberos Saga: Rainy Dogs'' :犬狼伝説紅い足痕 :A5 (384p.) Kadokawa Shoten :

References

External links

Official website

Kerberos saga official website
{{KerberosSaga 2003 manga Kerberos saga Seinen manga