C3 (novel series)

C³
Cover of the first light novel
Genre	Action, Comedy, Harem, Romance, Supernatural
Light novel
Written by	Hazuki Minase
Illustrated by	Sasorigatame
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Original run	September 10, 2007 – June 7, 2013
Volumes	17
Manga
Written by	Tsukako Akina
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Dengeki Daioh
Original run	February 26, 2011 – January 26, 2013
Volumes	3
Anime television series
Directed by	Shin Ōnuma
Written by	Michiko Yokote
Studio	Silver Link
Licensed by	NA Funimation
Network	AT-X, BS11, Chiba TV, KBS Kyoto, Sun TV, Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama
Original run	October 1, 2011 – December 17, 2011
Episodes	12
Original video animation
Directed by	Shin Ōnuma
Written by	Michiko Yokote
Studio	Silver Link
Released	April 25, 2012

C³, also known as C Cube (シーキューブ, Shīkyūbu) or Cube×Cursed×Curious, is a Japanese light novel series written by Hazuki Minase and illustrated by Sasorigatame about Haruaki Yachi who receives a mysterious black cube from his father. That night, Haruaki is woken by a noise and finds a girl named Fear in his kitchen eating rice crackers. Haruaki then has to protect Fear from organizations that seek to capture or destroy her. Luckily, Haruaki has plenty of other friends like Fear willing to help. It was adapted into a manga and anime series at the second half of 2011.

Plot

The story begins with high-school student Yachi Haruaki receiving a mysterious package, a super-heavy black cube from his father overseas. That night, Haruaki wakes to a suspicious noise in the kitchen and discovers a cute-looking stark-naked female stealing rice crackers. After the embarrassing moment, the girl presents herself. Her name is Fear (pronounced "Fia" in Japanese), and she is the first of several surprises that Haruaki is to receive.

Characters

Main characters

Haruaki Yachi (夜知 春亮, Yachi Haruaki)

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji

The male protagonist. His father has a habit of sending him cursed artifacts to remove the curses within, as their home is a blessed location, a focal point for Positive Energy which gradually removes curses, and he is immune to the curses. So Fear's curse can't urge him to use her to torture people, he is immune to Konoha's injury-curse when she is in sword-form and he must fight with her, and Kuroe's curse to drain Life Energy from her owner isn't activated either. Due to the fact that his mother was never seen or mentioned in the series and his father is traveling, he developed a talent in cooking. He has a very stubborn but friendly personality, and does not hesitate when it comes to protecting his friends. Haruaki is somewhat aware of all the girls' feelings towards him. He is shown to have healthy sexual feelings in Volume 3 Epilogue, when he can't keep his eyes off Kirika's wet T-shirt, but it is hard to tell if he has more feelings for one girl than for the others. He appears to be a bit of a prude and tries to squelch or extract himself from their public displays of affection towards him.

Fear Kubrick (フィア・キューブリック, Fia Kyūburikku, also "Fear Cubrick")

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

The female protagonist. She's actually a cursed tool, a fictitious device called Fear In Cube, a terrible torture device that looks like a solid metal cube. In the anime there are linear grooves on each face, and a 4 inch diameter glass lens centered on one face. In the light novel several faces have concealed openings; there is no glass lens on any face of it. In size, when resting on the floor it reaches to Haruaki's knee in height, about 55 cm on a side. Fear in Cube has, according to the novel, 32 torture capabilities, such as a guillotine, an Iron Maiden, a giant drill, and more. Some of its capabilities are currently unavailable. This is determined by indulgence disks.

Developed during the height of the Inquisitions, Fear has caused countless people's agonizing deaths to the point she risks going homicidally insane upon hearing someone scream in pain. Eventually she developed a curse of her own, causing anyone who owns her to go insane. This insanity drives the owner to want to use her to torture people and revel in their pain and screams. Due to her extended time in the depths of a Spanish castle Fear has also developed animosity for spiders, as they would build cobwebs around her original form. Out of disgust at her past Fear prefers to stay in human form. She regards Haruaki as her owner, and her anxiety is eased by his assurances that her curse can not affect him.

Since Konoha, on their first meeting, referred to Fear as a "child", Fear expresses animosity towards Konaha by referring to her as "Cow Udders" and the like, and by playing to Konoha's worries that Haruaki might do something perverted with another girl (often Fear). Fear's favorite catchphrase is "I'll curse you". Fear also has an incredibly strong addiction to rice crackers. She was given a family name by either Haruaki's father or the school superintendent at the time she was enrolled into the high school. Haruaki considered it a poor attempt at a joke (in the novel, Haruaki explicitly notes that the spelling of Cubrick is off, presumably to reinforce the pun of combining "cube" with movie director Stanley Kubrick, and felt obliged to teach Fear to respond to others by denying any relation to the person.

Konoha Muramasa (村正 このは, Muramasa Konoha)

Voiced by: Minori Chihara

A long resident at the Yachi compound. Like Fear, she is a "cursed tool" who gained a will through the pain and hate that had long surrounded her. Konoha's true form is that of a katana. As the human form of a cursed tool she can do sword things as a human. She can harden her skin to that of steel, stopping bullets, and give her karate chops a sharp edge like a sword. When angry she sometimes breaks things as if they had been struck with a sword.

Items about her background have been revealed in little bits slowly over the course of the story. In the anime Konoha's curse is that her wielder also suffers from the injuries she creates on any living opponent. In the Light Novels her curse is for her to want to see "fresh blood" and induce her owner to do the same. When Konoha sees blood for an extended period, she sometimes begins to revert into a blood thirsty personality similar to Fear.

In the novels Konoha's curse has been nearly lifted, thus she tends to faint at the sight of blood. In the Light Novels it's revealed that her hemophobia is a result of self hypnosis in order to keep her blood lust from overwhelming her. Her glasses help block her vision to help suppress her curse. As she has worn the glasses for years, even when sleeping or bathing, they have become a part of her. As the glasses were specially built to be her 'scabbard' they don't fall off when she shifts to sword form. Haruaki, when fighting with her sword form, keeps the scabbard on to avoid shedding blood, exposing the blade only in a 'sword killing counter' blow. In this ability Konoha concentrates on the enemy's movements, find an opening, and destroy the enemy's weapon by striking its main weak point. This is a skill she taught herself as a means of defeating an enemy without drawing blood. When she so concentrates she is less able to aid Haruaki in parrying the enemy's blows and he must do that himself. When she transforms back from sword form she is naked. The first time this is shown it was milked for a gag: she was so concerned for Haruaki and his injuries that Haruaki in embarrassment reminds her that she is naked, and she runs off to fetch her clothes.

Little is known of her history before the start of the story. She came to the Yachi compound many years ago, when Haruaki was a child. He addressed her then as onee-san, 'older sister'. They agreed when they entered high school that he would stop doing that, but he sometimes does it in order to obtain a special favor from her. She was given the family name of 'Muramasa' and dislikes it, probably for 'double-meaning' reasons evident to Japanese audiences. To the outside world she and Haruaki are related cousins. In high school she and Haruaki are in different classes. She is a member of the student council. She sometimes works part time for a bookseller on the shopping street where Kuroe's shop is located. Before that she worked part time for a launderer on the same street.

When Konoha first met Fear she referred to Fear as a 'child', and continues to sometimes do that. Fear resents it and in turn disparages Konoha as 'Cow udders' or the like. Konoha has a crush on Haruaki, and gets jealous. Fear plays to this and Konoha's worries that Haruaki will do something perverted with another girl, often Fear. Anything that might be mistaken as intimacy between Haruaki and Fear gets interrupted by Konoha, who assumes the worst about it at first. An example of the conflict between her reason and emotions can be seen in Volume 2 chapter 1: After Shiraho stumbled and fell onto Haruaki, straddling him, Konoha exclaimed "Oh no! N-Not allowed, whether Haruaki-kun is hurt or not this will strain his body such intimacy I cannot ignore this even if it is an accident, ok.", the last dozen words spoken so quickly that they were printed without spaces, and she deftly separated Shiraho and Haruaki. Because of these concerns Konoha moved from the outbuilding that she had shared with Kuroe into the main building, into a room next to Fear's. In the light novel this happened at the end of Volume 1, after the inserting-the-indulgence-disk-into-Fear event. In the anime this happened at the end of episode 3, two days earlier, after Haruaki had fished Fear out of the ocean, and Fear insisted on washing Haruaki's back in the bath afterwards. In the Light Novels Konoha is aware that Kirika not only loves but is a rival for Haruaki.

Kirika Ueno (上野 錐霞, Ueno Kirika)

Voiced by: Eri Kitamura

Classmate of Haruaki. She is in student government. In the light novels he addresses her as "Class Rep"; in the anime he addresses her as "Prez". She has two cursed tools called Ginistrang's Love, a bdsm-style outfit that when worn the user will heal from any injuries, including fatal ones, but in exchange the user will die if it is removed and therefore has to wear it for life. she has been shown to slip her hand between the leather and her skin for things like showering, but little else is known about the limits of this waas. In the Light Novels it's explained it originally belonged to a sadist who wanted the women he tortured in it to not only stay clean and beautiful, but live longer whiles he's torturing them. As a result while it can heal any wound it doesn't prevent feeling the pain from the injuries. If her arm is broken she feels the full pain of a broken arm until it heals. As result she feels disgusted with her body. Due to Lab Chief's Nations' "testing" if a limb is cut off a new one will grow back, although the process is significantly faster if the original limb is held in its original place. In the Light Novel it also keeps her clean making the showers she takes redundant. The other, The River of Black Strings (or Tragic Black River), formerly owned by a serial killer, has the ability to expand and contract in order to bind or subjugate opponents. In the anime its curse is to make the user want to hurt or kill somebody with it. Kirika usually satisfies the curse by using herself as the victim since the bondage suit will heal all her injuries. In the novels she also uses herself to fulfill the condition of binding, breaking and strangling someone to death and is somewhat unwillingly a member of a group called 'Lab Chief Yamimagari Pakuaki's Nation', founded by her older brother. This group studies and researches cursed tools as the ultimate mysteries to explore. In the anime she used to be part of an organization called Nightcrawlers, along with her older brother. She has a crush on Haruaki, and (for some strange reason, as Haruaki puts it) often competes with him over whose cooking is better during lunch period. In the Light Novels this becomes love when he treats her the same after not only finding out about the cursed bondage suit, but what she has to do to satisfy the curse of Black River. Not only that, but little things like taking her into a pool for the first time since the bondage suit was put on while dispelling her fears of the suit being seen. She has always been fond of him since they met even though she was originally sent to the school to watch Konoha and him as an observer from afar who isn't suppose to get directly involved with them. But she hasn't confessed her love to him, only making oblique references to it. In the Light Novels her catchphrase of "Absolutely ridiculous!" is revealed as an expression of shock and anger that was initiated by Himura's explanation for a terrible deed he did to her due to his obsession. She's never forgiven or let her guard down around him since.

Chloe Ningyouhara (人形原 黒絵, Ningyōhara Kuroe)

Voiced by: Yui Ogura

A cursed doll who has recently returned to Haruaki's house. She has a very friendly and calm personality, and is very direct in her communication. Usually she seems emotionless and half asleep but anyone who knows her well, like Haruaki, can tell if she's feeling a particular emotion such as interest, rage, surprise, etc. Kuroe stated in Light Novel volume 3 chapter 1 that as her family name suggests, she is a Japanese doll with extendible hair. Kuroe can freely control her hair like tentacles for many purposes, such as moving things like she was using hands not hair, or to manipulate life energy to speed up the natural healing process of others. Due to the trust and thanks from her customers and fellow shopkeepers she has completely removed her curse. While not specifically given a "title" for her capabilities, Kuroe's original curse was that she would attempt to leech energy from her owner night after night weakening the person little by little until he/she dies. This was done by cutting off short bits of the owner's hair (along with part of their life energy through the curse) and absorbing it. In the Light Novels she can use her hair to put life energy into wounds healing them as long as they're not too deep or severe but needs to replenish the energy used. This doesn't instantly heal the wound but significantly increases the speed and efficiency of healing. Hence a severe wound would require more life energy than she can provide without tapping into her own life energy. She recharges by running a (very popular) salon where she cuts peoples hair and then feeds on the residual life energy inherent in the cut hair after closing, partly to keep her life energy up and partly because she finds the hair delicious. (e.g. unlike the curse which drains more life energy into the cut hair, this is only the life energy that the hair itself contained like body warmth as it's still LIVING hair. If she waited a few weeks there wouldn't be any energy or 'warmth' because the hair would be dead since it wasn't connected to a live person for awhile.) This way she can completely refill her energy without creating victims. Kuroe can be very perverted at times, especially in her practical jokes, as the time she intruded on Haruaki and Fear with a video camera thinking they were having sex (Haruaki was actually putting an Indulgence Disk into Fear in cube form at the time.) Although she does have feelings for Haruaki too, it's more as family and she isn't acting on it and is encouraging Kirika instead.

Taishuu High School

Gabriel Sekaibashi (世界橋 ガブリエル, Sekaibashi Gaburieru)

Voiced by: Shūichi Ikeda

The eccentric superintendent of Taishuu High School who wears a gas mask over his face for unknown reasons. Gabriel constantly spins different stories as to why he wears the mask, but Fear and Shiraho just think he's perverted. Volume 8 of the Light Novels reveals the reason he wears the mask along with the fact that he feels nervous without it after having worn it for so long. He is a busy person, allowed the freedom to do many things besides show up to run the school. Usually he is off on travel and rarely in the office. When first seen in Vol. 2 he had only gotten back to the school at 11:00 am, and had to catch a flight on another trip that afternoon; he would return in a week. His interest is in collecting what he thinks are cursed objects, however he claims that Haruaki's father is far ahead of him in identifying them. He is currently looking for a way to heal and bring back to life a destroyed Cursed Tool due to a past incident with the Draconians. This prompts him to go on numerous trips seeking Cursed Tools but usually getting junk as he can't identify whether something is a Cursed Tool or not. Due to the incident his health is poor so while he can do one strong attack he's completely wiped out and would be unable to do anything other than walk away after the one attack. Zenon and her sister have been his subordinates since before the incident. He is very skilled with throwing things and seems to have a lot of clout and pull with important people in the city.

Zenon Houjou (北条 漸音, Hōjō Zenon)

Voiced by: Ai Orikasa

The superintendent's secretary who manages the office when he is absent. She has a deadpan personality. However, she has a soft spot for cute things, as her cellphone ringtone is a jingle in the series' fictional children's show called "Meow Meow Paradise Hell". She has a strong interest in cute things, especially outfits, whether for herself or someone else (like Fear or Sovereignty) and tries to hide this from others. Unfortunately for her, her figure and appearance is better suited for mature, serious, business type outfits rather than cute things. She is skilled with throwing knives and was also involved with Gabriel's incident with the Draconians. A running gag involves her letter of resignation. In the first example, after the trunk she had custody of proved empty, Gabriel mused about docking her pay, but since he had a camera handy proposed taking a picture of her smiling instead. She then pulled a Letter of Resignation with intent to use it, and declared that her severance pay could be swinging her fist at him. Gabriel declared he was just joking, and she put the letter back in her pocket. She is aware of the existence of Cursed Tools along with the fact that Konoha, Fear and Sovereignty are Cursed Tools as well as Kirika's and Izoey's involvement with Lab Chief's Nation.

Ganon Houjou (北条 ガノン, Hōjō Ganon)

Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi

The (incredibly lazy) school nurse of Taishuu High School, who is Zenon's sister. Has developed her own method of fighting that resembles Drunken Mastery which makes it seem she is doing one thing while actually doing the exact opposite such as appearing to be withdrawing while actually attacking and vice versa. Likes to sleep and drink while finding any activity to be too bothersome and tiring. Although when need be she can actually be reliable occasionally such as give Haruaki a 10,000 Yen bill (about $100 in US,) calling a taxi and give him Kirika's address after she fainted. Like her sister she is aware of the existence of Cursed Tools along with the fact that Konoha, Fear and Sovereignty are Cursed Tools as well as Kirika's and Izoey's involvement with Lab Chief's Nation.

Shiraho Sakuramairi (桜参 白穂, Sakuramairi Shiraho)

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō

A former talented performer in a famous theatrical group whose family owns an antique shop. She is lonely and cold-hearted and likens herself to a 'doll', but after Sovereignty addressed her during one of her wanderings in the antique shop she takes a liking to him, asking from the first "Can dolls fall in love?". In the novel, volume 2, she is first seen at the door of the an empty classroom. Haruaki, Konoha and Fear mistake her for Sovereignty, and she chooses to use that mistake to her advantage. She was found out when Haruaki and Fear check her medical form at the school nurse's office. Shiraho was enrolled but never attended classes at Haruaki's high school up until Sovereignty got his/her Killing Organ destroyed. After that, as part of the punishment for all the trouble they caused she has to attend school normally. Due to skipping school for so long she's failing everything initially and is reluctantly studying with the others to get her grades up. While her grades are terrible she is a top class actress who can capture an audience's attention with her exceptional performance even if she had no time to prepare or rehearse beforehand. Her personality is still cold from being treated as a doll by her mother to perform on stage, being highly praised for performances she put minimal effort into, and talks like she is a doll and humans are beneath her. Although she has lightened up somewhat and able to talk to Haruaki's group fairly normally, it's still with scathing remarks and treating Haruaki as a miserable excuse for a human whose only value to the world would be dying ASAP. However, while grateful for their help she finds the group extremely irritating for interrupting her time alone with Sovereignty. This shows when she helps the group, muttering numerous protests and complaints, but pitches in if she truly is needed, albeit almost always at Sovereignty's behest. However, if there is a fight and she and Sovereignty can only hinder and not help she'll make an excuse or protest about helping further, grab Sovereignty, and leave. The main reason she's willing to talk or help them is because Sovereignty likes them and her own gratitude for the times they helped Sovereignty. She still loves and lives with Sovereignty despite the curse still being present. Even though Sovereignty's curse makes the owner fall in love with him/her she doesn't want to relinquish ownership so her love for Sovereignty won't decrease at all in case some or all of her love for Sovereignty is from the curse. She is one of the few female characters of Haruaki's age group not head over heels in love with him. Although it's hard to tell if she really hates him as much as she says or thinks of him as a friend as she conscripted his help on a few occasions rather than somebody else. However she feels about Haruaki, her one true love is Sovereignty.

Sovereignty (サヴェレンティ, Saverenti)

Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi

Her/his true name is Sovereignty-Perfection-Doll. An androgynous cursed doll (which Shiraho refers to as a male) whose curse causes his/her owner to fall in love with him/her unto death. Is able to appear as a beautiful boy (with a feminine influence) or a cute girl with (B-C cup?) breasts. Sovereignty says the female form can decrease and increase the size of her breasts by having them rubbed, and in the Light Novel used this on self the first time Haruaki and the rest witnessed Sovereignty change from male to female. She/he possesses a killing mechanism called Killing Organ with blades hidden in her/his body, specially designed to activate only when the Killing Organ detects a certain level of love from the owner which activates "Last Embrace." Last Embrace is where Sovereignty unwillingly embraces his/her owner while numerous blades pop out to kill the owner. This was because his/her creator had wanted to create the most perfect doll for any owner, (hence the ability to switch genders as some people prefer female dolls and others male dolls for various reasons) but before finishing went insane and included the Killing Organ and blades in order to have the "perfect doll" bring a conclusive "end" to the romance between doll and owner. While she/he is able to resist the urge to kill somewhat, it gets harder and harder the more love between the two exists until she/he can't stop the Killing Organ from killing the owner. Sovereignty is able to confuse the Killing Organ somewhat by taking the strong feelings of love from others causing the victims to faint and suffer a condition similar to anemia, although being with or touching the person they love speeds their recovery. Sovereignty also has the ability to control "replicas of life". Sovereignty sometimes does it by declaring: "I speak with sovereign right. All models of life are my subjects. Obey! Obey me!" This can control anything vaguely humanoid, whether a bent bedframe, Cursed Tool in Human Form (if the Tool cooperates and doesn't resist,) straw dolls, skeleton and anatomical models, puppets, etc. It is unknown whether Sovereignty can control replicas of humans, since Sovereignty didn't attempt to control the replicas of Alice Vivolio created with the Suicidal Beautification Mirror. Sovereignty can also control replicas of life without the declaration.

Konoha used her special ability to destroy the Killing Organ and break all the knives after Fear staged a performance in order to fully draw out all of the knives. Afterwards Sovereignty still loves and lives with Shiraho. Sovereignty is still cursed. As feelings of love accumulate Sovereignty must embrace Shiraho. With the Killing Organ excised it is not fatal, and the curse is sufficiently satisfied that Sovereignty can let go, instead of embracing Shiraho forever. Shiraho calls it a curse to hug. The Superintendent's requirement for Sovereignty is that she must work as the Secretary's (Zenon's) Assistant, doing and wearing what Zenon directs; her first job is to dress as a maid and serve tea treats. In the anime she is a major klutz. In the Light Novels she shows a mix of klutz and poise, tripping and falling on her face while serving tea treats, yet holding onto the tray so that only one cream puff was lost. Because of her job she is obliged to be female on the job and at school. She apparently carries the obligation over to her dealings with Haruaki's household. During a side story with a stalker it seems that while Sovereignty loves Shiraho most, s/he might also be developing feelings for Haruaki as well.

Taizo Hakuto (伯途 泰造, Hakuto Taizō)

Voiced by: Takuma Terashima

Haruaki's friend and classmate. While not as eccentric as Kana, Taizo gets extremely jealous when he discovers Fear is living with Haruaki. Has a bit of a crush on Konoha and completely unaware of the existence of Cursed Tools. Is one of the judges for Haruaki's and Kirika's lunch battles.

Kana Miyama (実耶麻 渦奈, Miyama Kana)

Voiced by: Kana Asumi

Kana is another classmate of Haruaki. She takes an instant liking to Fear, constantly obsessing over her like she's a cute animal. Kana served as class captain of the dance team for the upcoming sports festival. She is completely unaware of the existence of Cursed Tools much less the fact that Fear and Konoha are Cursed Tools. She is one of the judges for Haruaki's and Kirika's lunch battles.

Antagonists

Peavey Barowoi (ピーヴィー・バロヲイ, Pīvī Barōi)

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara

Known as the Balancing Toy, Peavey is a member of the Battlefront Collection Knights. Because of a traumatic childhood experience Peavey became a masochistic, violent woman. In the novels it involved her father bringing home a cursed whip from an antique store. In the anime it involved a serial killer slaughtering her family with a Wathe (later revealed to be Ueno's "River of Black Strings"). Her only goal in life is to destroy all cursed tools, hence why she joined the Battlefront Collection Knights. Even Mummy Maker states that Peavey has by far the most hatred for Cursed Tools out of anyone in the organization. She has a habit of calling out Bitch and is a heavy smoker. Peavey is eventually captured by Ueno after she attacks Haruaki and company for the second time. She is the principal antagonist of the novel volume 1. Her first weapon is a powerful machine armor for her arms that's similar to a Cursed Tool, but not cursed that greatly increases her arm strength so she can smash concrete with one punch, however, using causes severe damage to her arms in the process. Also, it's extremely heavy causing her to wobble when moving earning her the nickname "Balancing Toy." The second weapon after losing an arm and half the armor is a Cursed Tool called "Dance Time." It's an Ax that can replicate every swing or blow it's ever made, or make illusions to strike different blows at the same time as the real one. However, it keeps swinging on its own once it starts on its own and requires it to be used to murder someone before its special abilities can be used. In the Light Novels and Anime Peavey only uses it as a last resort but is so sickened mentally using it that she has to pause to throw up a few times.

Amanda Carlot (アマンダ・カーロット, Amanda Kārotto) aka Mummy Maker (マミーメーカー, Mamī Mēkā)

Voiced by: MAKO

An Auxiliary who often speaks like a machine, Mummy Maker aids Peavey in her missions. She is attired in a bandage, like a mummy, wearing a mantle over it. The bandage is a worst called 'chupacabra bandage' and has wound-closing healing powers, but at the cost of painfully sucking blood from the persons bandaged. Mummy-maker has burns over half her body because her parents had locked her in a closet while setting the house on fire for the insurance money. After being rescued her mother tried to strangle her in the hospital screaming "Why didn't you die, now we can't collect on the Insurance!" In return for affection Peavey showed her she attempted to convince Haruaki to either turn over Fear to the Battlefront Collection Knights, or to not interfere when Peavey returns to destroy her. This was all to protect Peavey, the first person to ever treat her kindly as most people are sickened or afraid to get near her due to her burns. After being tricked over Amanda's intentions Peavey kills her in a rage, claiming there is no compromise and that she will have revenge. In the Light Novels it's discovered that while on the brink of death, Amanda survived but is broken mentally.

Alice Vivolio Basskreigh (アリス・ビブオーリオ・バスクリッハ, Arisu Bibuōrio Basukurihha)

Voiced by: Rie Tanaka

Alice, also known as the "Mother of Canonical" or "Matriarch", is the founder of the Vivolio Families, an organization that adores the curses of the Wathe and believes that they were saved by Wathe. And to affirm a Wathe's existence it shouldn't hold back on embracing their curses or any impulses they have, even if it results in death. If a Wathe's curse drives someone mad it should happily drive them mad, if they have urges or hatred they should act on them without holding back even if it means killing or torturing someone to death. In fact, the members embrace this so much that they consider it an honor to sacrifice their lives to Wathe and are even willing to help secure victims according to a Wathe's preferences. Alice originally hoped to talk Kuroe into joining the Vivolio families, but after she discovers Fear in Cube she turns her attention to making Fear join the Vivolio family instead. Alice carries two cursed tools: Carnival Cooker and Suicidal-Beautification-Mirror. The former can remember any action it has taken and repetitively reenact the process again, in a very rapid succession that almost overwhelms Fear. The latter has three uses: the ability to make the user beautiful, render a target immobile and create countless clones of the owner and anything they're carrying (except the mirror.) The drawbacks to using the mirror is that Alice must cut herself on the wrist every once in a while, and the clones only last for 10 minutes from the moment they came into being. The drawback to Carnival Cooker is that since it was used to chop up and cook human bodies, its curse forces the user to want to kill and eat people. Alice often hides Carnival Cooker inside a massive viola, as she claims it would attract too much attention from the police if she walked around with it in the open. She has no conscience as she is the owner of Abyss (true form a large cross,) aka the Patriarch, whose curse completely suppresses the conscience of his owner allowing them to do anything they desire without reservations or guilt.

Another member of the Family is Kururi Nikaidou, a young female juvenile delinquent murderer possessing a knife wathe. She was picked up by Abyss and joined the family off-stage during volume 3 / anime episode 12. She is first seen in volume 4 chapter 2 part 3 & in cameo in anime episode 12.

Sunao Himura (日村 素直, Himura Sunao)

Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki

Math teacher at the school and homeroom teacher of Shiraho's class 7. Also a member of the Laboratory Emirate and Kirika Ueno's partner. He often uses his superior position to torment Ueno by constantly goading and flirting with her, much to her disgust. Most confrontations between the two usually lead to Ueno hitting him or nearly choking him to death with her River of Black Strings. It's later revealed that he is literally obsessed with Kirika and had gained her trust and respect before snapping and doing something terrible to betray that trust and respect. His original mission was to observe and record Haruaki's attempts to dispel the curses on Wathe, and the actions of Haruaki and Konoha in school. He installed a multitude of surveillance devices in Haruaki's and Shiraho's homes. Kirika insists that he disable the ones in Shiraho's home.

Himura possesses a Wathe called "He in the Bastille" (named after the first person to use it), which is a large helmet that can render the user and one other person imperceptible. Whether it is sight, sound, smell, touch or taste when activated the user isn't detected. However, its curse causes the user to become more and more imperceptible after each use even when not wearing the Wathe. Like their presence or acknowledgement of their existence fades away from everybody's, including the user, perception. So extensive use would cause the user to forget their own existence. In the Light novels it's noted by all the students that he has very little presence at all. As time passes he tries to make Kirika his in various ways such as blackmail and trying to get Haruaki killed without revealing any connections to the deed.

Media

Light novels

No.	Release date	ISBN
01	September 10, 2007	ISBN 978-4-8402-3975-2
02	January 10, 2008	ISBN 978-4-8402-4143-4
03	April 10, 2008	ISBN 978-4-04-867023-4
04	August 10, 2008	ISBN 978-4-04-867178-1
05	December 10, 2008	ISBN 978-4-04-867422-5
06	March 10, 2009	ISBN 978-4-04-867597-0
07	July 10, 2009	ISBN 978-4-04-867899-5
08	November 10, 2009	ISBN 978-4-04-868143-8
09	March 10, 2010	ISBN 978-4-04-868397-5
10	September 10, 2010	ISBN 978-4-04-868879-6
11	April 10, 2011	ISBN 978-4-04-870421-2
12	October 10, 2011	ISBN 978-4-04-870957-6
13	December 10, 2011	ISBN 978-4-04-886246-2
14	July 10, 2012	ISBN 978-4-04-886707-8
15	October 10, 2012	ISBN 978-4-04-886982-9
16	March 10, 2013	ISBN 978-4-04-891433-8
17	June 7, 2013	ISBN 978-4-04-891677-6

Manga

Very little information is known about the manga adaption. The series started in late 2011, and is complete with a total of 3 volumes.

Anime

An anime television adaptation of C³ was announced in the April 2011 issue of ASCII Media Works's Dengeki AnimeStyle pamphlet. The series was produced by StarChild and Silver Link under the direction of Shin Ōnuma with Michiko Yokote as script supervisor. The opening theme song for the 8 first episodes is "Endless Story" performed by Yukari Tamura and the ending theme song is "Hana" (雪華^?, "Snow Flower") performed by Eri Kitamura. From episode 9 onwards, the opening theme is "Shirushi" (紋^?, "Sign") by Eri Kitamura and the ending theme is "Sympathy of Love" by Yukari Tamura. Funimation licensed the series in North America.

No.	Title	Original airdate
01	"I Don’t Know What Moved Into My Futon" "Futon ni Utsuru Mono o Shiranai" (布団に移るものを知らない)	October 1, 2011
The story begins when a high school student named Yachi Haruaki receives a mysterious, super-heavy blue cube from his father overseas. That night, Haruaki wakes up to a suspicious noise in the kitchen, and he discovers a fully naked female thief of rice crackers. The girl in question, named Fear, tells him that she is a cursed tool.
02	"Where, What, Something" "Doko ni, Nani o, Nani ka" (どこに、なにを、なにか)	October 8, 2011
The episode starts with Fear opening a box Containing several items. Haruaki tells her that she is going to be transferred to Haruaki's school together with Haruaki and Konoha, much to Konoha's disdain. Fear's appearance immediately starts an uproar in the school. After letting the entire class in on the fact she knows Haruaki, he gets questioned as to the relationship between the two. Fear, on the other hand, deals with several clubs trying to pressure her into joining them. After school ends, Fear reflects on the hectic first day, and along with Haruaki and Konoha, decides to take a detour to a lookout point by the ocean. A happy moment there turns dangerous when they are attacked by Peavey Barowoi, a sadistic woman from an organization dedicated to exterminating the cursed tools, specifically Fear in Cube.
03	"The Antinomy of Their Temperatures" "Karera no Ondo no Niritsuhaihan" (彼らの温度の二律背反)	October 15, 2011
Fear loses control in the fight with Peavey Barowoi and attacks Haruaki. Feeling that she has been foolish to believe that she could actually lift her curse she runs away and attempts to kill herself. Meanwhile, Konoha tends Haruaki's wound and reminds him what it was like for her adjusting to being human and coming to terms with both her good and evil sides. Fear, on the other hand, is caught wandering through town by Ueno, who she attacks blindly in an alleyway before coming to her senses and fleeing. After several hours of searching, Haruaki manages to find Fear after she has jumped into the ocean during a storm and carries her home on his back, explaining to her that she is welcome to stay with him no matter what and that he truly believes she can lift her curse. Because of this, he will put up with her selfishness. Later, an incident in the bath provokes Konoha into moving in with Haruaki.
04	"At Night, a Mother and a Hugging Pillow" "Yoru ni wa Hahaoya to Dakimakura o" (夜には母親と抱き枕を)	October 22, 2011
Mummy Maker comes to the house to strike a deal with Haruaki, Konoha and Fear while Kirika is there. She promises to return at noon the following day to destroy Fear, and that they have until then to decide.. Konoha, however, instructs Fear not fight because she is too dangerous. Meanwhile, a vengeful Peavey decides enough is enough and unveils a massive axe Wathe named "Dance Time." By viciously slaughtering Mummy Maker after learning of her offer, Peavey activates Dance Time's curse (The user won't stop fighting with the axe until the enemy is dead even if the user dies). When Peavey shows up Haruaki and Konoha go up against her alone until Fear, sidelined by Konoha's demand, exclaims that she is "very selfish" and enters the fight.
05	"Even If I'm Cursed" "Tatoe Norowarete mo" (たとえ呪われても)	October 29, 2011
The three friends retreat into the house to give Haruaki some time to rest. They are unaware that Kirika has come to visit so she falls hostage to Peavey. With teamwork, the trio manages to back Peavey into a corner, but she manages to slaughter Kirika before Haruaki can stop her. However, Kirika manages to survive the attack and uses a cursed tool in her possession to help finish off a shocked Peavey. As Peavey fears her own death, she cries out for an auxiliary from the Organization, specifically Mummy Maker, but then realizes that there is no one to help because she herself killed Mummy Maker. Fear promptly breaks her only arm using her Crushing Frankish Kingdom Punishment Wheel configuration, while Kirika strangles Peavey into unconsciousness. At the end of the episode Kirika reveals to them that she is in possession of two cursed tools against her will: Ginstrangs Love, which ensures that she will never die in return for her heart (meaning that she can never take it off), and "The River of Black Strings", an extendable black ribbon which she uses for self-protection. Its curse is revealed later.
06	"Weak, Like a Spherical Glass" "Kyūkei Garasu ni Nite Zeijaku na" (球形硝子に似て脆弱な)	November 5, 2011
Superintendent Gabriel calls Yachi, Fear and Konoha to receive a suitcase containing a cursed tool in the form of a doll. The suitcase is empty, so Gabriel revises his request to find it. At the same time they learn of several students in the school fainting. Eventually, the trio tracks down Sovereignty, the Wathe responsible for the situation, inside the sewing room. However, before the group manages to catch her with the help of Shiraho, Sovereignty escapes into the night. Later, Shiraho, Fear, and Haruaki discuss what Sovereignty may do next, and hope to convince her to try and break her curse with Haruaki's help. Haruaki is called to the sports field fence, where he encounters Sovereignty again, and attempts to convince her to live at his house and break her curse. Sovereignty rejects his plea, and Haruaki hears that there has been another student attacked. The description matches ...
07	"Not Reflected in the Eyes of a Seer" "Yokensha no Me ni Utsuranai" (予見者の眼に映らない)	November 12, 2011
Konoha has become the next victim of Sovereignty. As she recovers in Haruaki's house, Konoha creates an awkward moment when she grabs Haruaki and pulls him into her futon with his hand on her breasts. Startled, Haruaki manages to slip out when she falls asleep, only to end up in an even more embarrassing situation. Meanwhile, Kirika becomes angry because Haruaki is keeping information from her and trying to keep her completely uninvolved due to his promise to treat her "normally" as a classmate and student and not someone who knows about Cursed Tools or part of a secret organization. After Konoha recovers they investigate the situation further. After Shiraho disappears as well, the four students (Ueno insists on getting involved) ask the school nurse for Shiraho's address who hands them the file. Upon looking at Shiraho's file, it is discovered that the Shiraho they knew had lied about numerous things. Afraid they are running out of time, the four friends rush to Shiraho's residence only to find their suspicions confirmed. Sovereignty, suffering from its curse, has pinned Shiraho to a wall with one of its blades. Fear and Ueno force Sovereignty off Shiraho, but things only get worse when Sovereignty unwillingly rushes Haruaki with the blade instead. Ueno takes the blow, however, and Sovereignty flees in a terrified state. The group is left with Shiraho, who explains that Sovereignty's true curse is that the owner will fall in love with him/her, before being killed by Sovereignty's blades when the Killing Organ within Sovereignty detects a certain level of love. The reason for Sovereignty attacking others becomes clear as well.
08	"Like an Inescapable Curse" "Nogareenu Noroi no yō na" (逃れ得ぬ呪いのような)	November 19, 2011
After Shiraho tells the story of how she met Sovereignty, Fear, Konoha and Ueno devise a plan to put an end to the issue. Since Sovereignty carries a phone thanks to Shiraho, Fear calls it, and sadistically claims she will torture Shiraho to death if Sovereignty does not confront her at Shiraho's house. When the time arrives, Fear goes mad and viciously fights Sovereignty along with Ueno while a dumbfounded Haruaki (who wasn't told anything about the plan) has Konoha's blade form at Shiraho's throat. Eventually, Fear and Konoha manage to change Sovereignty's curse through extreme means allowing Shiraho and Sovereignty to fulfill a dream of theirs. Later, after getting called down to the Superintendent's office, Shiraho is absolved from any wrongdoing while Sovereignty is made into Zenon's assistant/maid (in female mode, of course). Fear also obtains another Indulgence Disc from Sovereignty that was apparently embedded in the Killing Organ.
09	"The Returnee Seems Somehow Strange" "Kikansha wa Dokoka Fushigi na" (帰還者は何処か不思議な)	November 26, 2011
While Fear is home alone practicing her dance for the athletic festival, Haruaki and Konoha are out shopping. After a few frustrated failures, Fear storms inside only to discover a spider is lurking in the house. As Fear tries to hunt it, a large creature captures her causing her to scream. Haruaki hears and rushes in only to find Fear being suspended in the air by the hair of a former lodger at his house, Kuroe Ningyouhara. After an awkward reconciliation, Kuroe explains that she came back to town deciding she will open up her old hair salon. Kuroe also reveals she has been targeted by a strange group, which is met with the timely arrival of Alice. Alice introduces herself as a member of the Vivolio Families, stating she simply wants to invite Kuroe to stay with her. Upon recognizing Fear in Cube, however, Alice shifts to trying to get her to join instead of Kuroe. Fear promptly rejects, causing Alice to take her leave. As she leaves the grounds, Alice declares she'll try to invite Fear to the Vivolio Families once more. Meanwhile, Ueno discovers that her partner from the research organization is responsible for releasing Sovereignty and causing the incident. Later that day Haruaki and company hand out flyers announcing the reopening of Kuroe's hair salon. As the group hands out flyers, Haruaki explains to Fear that Kuroe managed to break her curse when she discovered she had a natural talent for hair styling. As the store readies to reopen, a crowd of onlookers and Kuroe's fans show up, all giving gifts to the town's idol including Zenon, Shiraho and Sovereignty. As customers begin to flow into the store, Haruaki, Fear and Konoha begin helping out. As the day winds down, Alice returns to the shop just to get her hair styled by Kuroe. However, as she leaves the store, she announces to the group: "I'm the culprit."
10	"The Sadist is Nowhere to be Found" "Shigyakusha wa Doko ni mo Inai" (嗜虐者は何処にもいない)	December 3, 2011
In the middle of the night, Kirika is woken by a phone call from her partner Himura. He informs her that she is not to get involved with the Vivolio Families, which Kirika questions. The next day, Fear is out practicing for the Athletic Festival when she gets frustrated again and starts arguing with Konoha again. Kuroe chimes in, mocking Konoha's large breasts and leading Fear to form the "Ladyboob" Alliance in order to antagonize her. The argument ends, however, when the group hears news of a murder in town. Later at school, Fear overhears Taizo and Haruaki talking about the murder, when Taizo explains that the victim was crushed into the shape of a box. This unnerves Fear, who later explains that this may be Alice's way of trying to force Fear to join the Vivolio Families. Haruaki and company track her down to a diner, but Alice refuses to divulge anything as to the crime and leaves. Fear, Haruaki and Konoha promptly give chase, leading the two to an abandoned house. After a two minute battle in which Alice unveils the cursed tool "Carnival Cooker", she tears down the house on the trio. Konoha cuts her way out of the rubble while Fear protects Haruaki inside of her Brazen Bull configuration, the Howling Steel Ox. The next day, Fear goes to request Ueno's help in tracking Alice, but before she can ask Ueno politely declines. Shortly afterwards, while Haruaki and Ueno are working on paper work for the Athletic Festival Ueno collapses and a panicking Haruaki carries her to the infirmary. Ueno wakes up shortly after and against Haruaki's insistence to stay in bed asks to head back home. Nurse Ganon arranges for a taxi to take them back, where Ueno invites Haruaki inside. In her house, Haruaki asks if Kirika is hiding anything from him and says that it is OK to tell him since the two are "partners" in Haruaki's opinion. The request moves Ueno, who promptly asks Haruaki to watch what she has been "blackmailed" to do. Meanwhile, Fear runs out to Kuroe's salon, only to find a very suspicious situation. Going back to Ueno and Haruaki, Ueno takes off her school uniform and asks a speechless Haruaki to watch as she painfully strangles herself and breaks several bones in her body with her River of Black Strings. After a short while, Ueno is revived by Ginastronte's Love, and explains to Haruaki that River of Black Strings forces its user to injure others. However, Kirika satisfies the curse by what she calls "a repulsive form of playing alone". Haruaki then compliments her kindness, saying Ueno truly cares about her friends by letting herself suffer this way. Haruaki then asks Ueno if she will give River of Black Strings to him instead, as the curse won't affect him. Ueno refuses, claiming that she'd be a "useless immortal" without it. Haruaki accepts this reason, and promptly leaves with a kind goodbye. Ueno then blushes, happy that Haruaki is kind enough to understand and accept her even though what her curses do to her. Later that night, Haruaki finds Fear outside of one of the appliance stores watching the news. As another murder is revealed on TV, Fear explains that the victims were both customers at Kuroe's salon. This prompts Fear to implicate Kuroe as the culprit.
11	"The Fanatic is Somewhere" "Kyōshinja wa Dokoka ni Iru" (狂信者は何処かにいる)	December 10, 2011
Ueno shows at the Yaichi residence, finally deciding to get involved with the situation. She begins breaking down the information that the group knows so far. However, Fear interrupts and pins the murders on Kuroe due to suspicion and runs off to her room when Haruaki interjects. Ueno promptly asks Kuroe for an explanation, to which she states that she knew the hair was of the deceased and ate it both in spirit of mourning the dead and also to replenish her special abilities. Shortly afterward, Alice returns and lures Fear and Konoha outside, while Ueno, Haruaki and Kuroe are still in the house. Ueno immediately figures out Alice was splitting the group up, and is proven correct when Alice renders Kuroe immobile with her Beautiful-Suicide Mirror, and kidnaps the three of them with a blade to Haruaki's neck. Alice later explains in a video message to Fear that her only wish is to become Fear's family to her, a being that isn't even human. Declaring all Wathe as "Transcendental", Alice exclaims that Wathe and their curses are above humans and that its OK for them to satisfy their curses on them. Alice then reveals that all those who had died are actually members of the Vivolio Families, which was the point in common. Ueno then asks as to why parts of their corpses were removed, to which Alice reveals Carnival Cooker forces its user to eat anyone they kill, making Alice a cannibal. Upon the video's end, Fear and Konoha immediately refuse Alice's offer. Suddenly a bruised and cut up Ueno is heard crashing through the glass. It is revealed that her partner from the lab snuck in and saved Kirika using a Wathe called "He in the Bastille", a spiked helmet that causes the wearer to become practically unnoticeable in any way. Himura then tasers a visibly angered Ueno and takes her from Alice. When Kirika wakes up in Himura's car, she questions Himura's role only for him to explain that the whole situation is observe only for him, as he cares more about research. Kirika retorts, complaining that she feels like just a tool, prompting Himura to agree and accept that fact. Kirika finally snaps at this, declaring she's fed up with the Laboratory Emirate and forces Himura to crash his car. As Ueno finishes her explanation to Fear and Konoha as to what happened, she asks what they think of Haruaki's powers. Dumbfounded, the two girls think at first it is his personality and cooking prowess, only for Ueno to laugh and say it is his friends.
12	"The Transcendentals are Everywhere" "Chōetsusha wa Dokonidemo Iru" (超越者は何処にでもいる)	December 17, 2011
Fear, Konoha and Ueno finally confront Alice, and a vicious battle between the groups ensues. Alice easily holds off Fear and Konoha, while a distraught Haruaki decides enough is enough and pulls his hands through the handcuffs causing him to bleed profusely. Haruaki then carries the still immobile Kuroe off, asking her to heal him after the fight ends. Haruaki reunites with the rest of the group, causing Alice to get irritated by his escape and the fact she's outnumbered. Alice then states she'll level the playing field, which Fear calls as a bluff. Alice retorts, saying she has something that turns "bluffs into reality." She pulls out her Sucicidal-Beautification Mirror and explains its three uses: To make the user beautiful, to render a person immobile, and to create polarized clones of the user that last for ten minutes each. Alice activates the latter, and creates more than a dozen clones of herself. Fear, thinking the clones will vanish if she destroys the mirror, rushes the original with her Human Body Perforation Drill configuration, only for one of the clones to intercept it and take the blow, much to Fear's horror. As the blood spills from the clone's body, Konoha's hemophilia kicks in, causing her to turn away. Fear, on the other hand, almost goes insane again because she caused the death of a human again. Alice tries to push this further with the torment until Kirika attacks Alice. Alice counters, however and immobilizes Kirika after slicing her abdomen. Taking notice of her Wathe's abilities, Alice shoves her hand inside the wound and begins squeezing her organs, much to Haruaki's horror. He promptly takes Konoha's sword form and rushes Alice, but gets overwhelmed and thrown aside. At this point, Shiraho and Sovereignty appear, with the latter using her abilities to throw Kuroe into Alice's Mirror, breaking it and undoing Kuroe's immobilization. Kuroe follows up and uses her hair to capture the remaining clones, allowing Fear to continue her battle with Alice. Frustrated with this development, Alice asks Fear if she knew how much love she had for Fear. Fear retorts, saying that hurting Haruaki and making her kill a clone of her was too much and promptly disavows Alice's love for the way she used to be. Claiming that thanks to Haruaki that she could become human Fear declares this as her reason to go on living, leaving Alice unable to comprehend it all. Haruaki uses this as a distraction and promptly breaks Carnival Cooker with Konoha's sword form. With this, Fear summons one of her largest configurations she has, Configuration Number 29: Choking Sacred Image, Steel Virgin Mary. Declaring that she wants to be human, Fear activates the Iron Maiden and entraps Alice in it. As Alice is pulled into the Steel Virgin Mary, she asks why she would become a weak, foolish human. Fear responds, claiming Alice is right, but states that she wants to be happy like humans as well. Fear exclaims for that reason, she sees humans as the true Transcendentals. As the doors close on the Iron Maiden, Alice tearfully screams, saying "humans didn't save me then...what saved me then was...that's why even the idea that humans are transcendental is..." before getting shut into the Iron Maiden. As the sun rises, a battered and cut Alice has her back to the ocean. Stating that they should almost be here, Alice jumps off into the sea, only to get caught by a passerby in a boat. Fear, seeing this, fires off one last attack to stop her along with Kuroe, but both attacks are intercepted by the Wathe who is on board. The Wathe, Abyss, tells Fear that even though they fought Alice truly loves her. Abyss also reveals that two Indulgence Disks are in Carnival Cooker and the Suicidal Beautification Mirror, respectively, and Fear can have them. The next day, Haruaki is sipping tea while Fear is practicing her dance routines again, this time with Ueno's help. As Haruaki lays down, Kuroe appears and reprimands Haruaki for shoving "you know what" into Fear. This embarrasses Haruaki and irritates Ueno and Konoha as well. Haruaki, afraid of going on the subject further, asks why Kuroe isn't working at her shop. Kuroe explains that she had some errands to run, and promptly hands Fear, Konoha and Haruaki their pay for handing out flyers. Fear is hesitant at first, but takes it after Kuroe insists. An argument between Konoha and Fear ensues over how much they were paid, with Fear getting a 500 yen coin and Konoha getting 5,000 yen. Kuroe apparently held back Fear's actual pay as a joke(?), but hands her 5,000 yen after her reaction. Ueno then takes off her track suit exposing Ginastrointe's Love, complaining about the heat. This causes Haruaki to make an unexpected comment, embarrassing Ueno. Regardless, the three girls keep up the dance practice.

External links

• Anime official website (Japanese)
• C³ (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia