Never underestimate Cerberus and her allies … you never know what will happen!
Creative Staff:
Story & Art: Ato Sakurai
Translation: Caleb Cook
Lettering: Bianca Pistillo
What They Say:
The mythical beast Fenrir has set her sights on Chiaki, and Shirogane in particular is none too happy with the competition. It’s dog versus wolf in this showdown that will bring the whole school to its knees! Who will come out on top?!
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After Chiaki looked into the eyes of a girl named Rir Rir, the female form of Fenrir, he began to feel woozy; although Shirogane did manage to free him, she was still badly beaten since even mythical creatures can be controlled and manipulated by the Norse wolf’s gaze. Now back home and humiliated, with the help of their allies Idora and his nekomata Hako, the group tries to devise a strategy on how to defeat this annoying pest. With the time they spent in hiding, it can only be assumed that she has managed to place most of the school under her trance, so in order to confront this maniac, they must first find a way to subdue the enthralled student body. However, the silver haired Cerberus is still resolved to take revenge for her shame, so she leaves her friends behind, thinking she can vanquish that annoying intruder alone.
As they theorized within their meeting, the school courtyard is filled with males from the academy, dutifully listening to their new mistress’ orders. Shirogane knows she cannot hurt anyone, but that does not mean she cannot create obstacles to prevent their progress, like a giant crater. However even as a majority are halted by the impact, there are still more than enough swarming to impede her advance. On the verge of panic and backed into a corner, much to her surprise a few guys begin to fall, thanks to Idora’s well placed karate chops. Turning around, Shirogane sees her companions sporting dark sunglasses, all rushing to her aid. After a well meaning lecture from Chiaki for worrying them, the cat spirt summons neighborhood felines to impede their foes momentum while her master knocks them out. With new resolve, Cerberus confidently strides forward and lands a stunning blow which catches Rir Rir off guard. Now ever more fixed to settle the contest, Fenrir tries a return attack, only finding all movement stopped by a rope cast down from above the battlefield. The source is a floating girl with a long braided ponytail sporting an eye patch, accompanied by a small child carrying a backpack almost as large as she is tall. They command their sister stop and begin to tie her up into a tidy package; amid her vocal protests, they immediately haul off the foul mouthed sibling and vanish in a flash of light. It would seem that fight is over, but did they win or is this only a short lived reprieve?
In Summary:
It was nice to see a softer side for Shirogane and reasoning behind why she always has to lash out at the world. The relationship between her and Roze is special and not something which a tough girl would reveal to anyone. But the element which I didn’t like in the volume is the reduced interaction with Kuro, only allowing her to come out for comedic effect; from the first volume, it seemed that she would be a main character of the trio, but now, it seems Sakurai-sensei is turning more toward the shy and violent personalities to give the story drama and action. However the most pleasing attribute was the introduction of new cast, allowing for even crazier plots and stranger love triangles. Minnie seems like your typical jealous friend which appears in every harem based anime, however, the completion of the Norse sisters was the most entertaining. The daughters of Loki: Fenrir, Jormungand and Hel really helped to open up the current storyline and most importantly, an opportunity to restore Chiaki’s soul. How can you go wrong with these girls? The eldest is simply crazy, the middle calm, rational and mischievous when something peaks her interest, and the shy youngest gives us all the kawaii factor the series needs. Of the additional characters, Hel is my favorite: no talking but only communicating via innocent looks and pointing, and then her simple smile for pudding – the epitome of cuteness!
Today’s Cerberus is managing to open up the clumsy story from previous volumes, but it still feels like some of the components are lacking. As you read through the narrative, you have the feeling that you have read the various plots and subplots from somewhere or seen it in an anime. Although all of these sources mesh into a malleable plot and the artwork is amusing to see, it still is not as strong as other similar harem manga; the sense of déjà vu still hangs over like a blanket, waiting for someone to lift it off so as to allow the audience to see the true story which lies beneath.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: March 21, 2017
MSRP: $13.00
