C³, also known as C Cube (Japanese: シーキューブ, Hepburn: Shīkyūbu) or Cube×Cursed×Curious, is a Japanese light novel series written by Hazuki Minase, and illustrated by Sasorigatame. C³ is about a high school student named Haruaki Yachi, who receives a mysterious black cube from his father who is overseas. That night, Haruaki is woken by a noise and is surprised to find a girl named Fear Kubrick in his kitchen eating rice crackers. Haruaki confirms that she is the cube, but knows nothing about her past other than that she has a curse on her which she wants broken. Breaking the curse though proves hard as there are organizations that seek to capture or destroy Fear, along with her dark past as a “Cursed Tool” which comes to light. Haruaki vows to protect her though, and is joined along by other allies/friends as the series progresses.

The series was later adapted into a manga, and appeared as a serial in the manga magazine Dengeki Daioh from February 26, 2011 to January 26, 2013. ASCII Media Works then published the chapters in three bound volumes.^[when?] An anime adaptation came next, which aired on various networks from October 1, 2011 to December 17, 2011. Twelve episodes aired in all, excluding an OVA to the series which was later released on April 25, 2012. Funimation acquired the license to the anime for a North American release late in 2015, and the complete series along with the OVA was released in march of the following year.

Plot

The story begins with high-school student Yachi Haruaki receiving a mysterious super-heavy black cube from his overseas archaeologist father. That night, Haruaki wakes to a suspicious noise in the kitchen and discovers a stark-naked young girl with blue hair stealing rice crackers. The girl introduces herself as “Fear” (pronounced “Fia” in Japanese), and Haruaki comes to the conclusion that she is the cube that his father had sent. Fear explains that she is a Cursed Tool, objects which were used in the past by humans to fill out their evil desires. Over time they began to possess human attributes at a great price which include gaining human emotions, and hurting others without control. Haruaki assures her that he is immune to any curse that she might give him, and vows to help out by getting rid of her curse. Allied with next-door neighbour Konoha Muramasa and the strict class representative Kirika Ueno, they try to help her remove her curse, but in the process gets involved in many dangerous organisations, and other Cursed Tool incidents.

Manga

The manga 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 Oonuma 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 “Yuki 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.

Reception

Gabriella Ekens from Anime News Network criticized the anime for its unoriginal plot and characters, though she praised its visuals and considered it an entertaining show. Tristan Crocker from Anime Herald gave a similar review, calling the story and characters underdeveloped, while at the same time deeming the show “a fun surprise”.

C³
Cover of the first light novel featuring Fear Kubrick.
Genre	Action, harem, supernatural
Light novel
Written by	Hazuki Minase
Illustrated by	Sasorigatame
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Demographic	Male
Original run	September 10, 2007 – June 7, 2013
Volumes	17 (List of volumes)
Manga
Written by	Tsukako Akina
Published by	ASCII Media Works
Magazine	Dengeki Daioh
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	February 26, 2011 – January 26, 2013
Volumes	3
Anime television series
Directed by	Shin Oonuma
Written by	Michiko Yokote
Music by	Jun Ichikawa
Studio	Silver Link
Licensed by	NA Funimation
Original 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 + OVA (List of episodes)