Did Axis cruisers fit their intended roles?

Did any Axis cruisers fulfill the roles they were built for?

Italian and Japanese cruisers generally did within their theatre concepts; German cruisers suffered from a much less coherent operational requirement.

Italian cruisers generally fit their Mediterranean battle-fleet requirements, and Japanese cruisers supported the scouting and light-force system planned for a Pacific war. German cruisers were less coherent because the navy lacked a stable concept for what it needed them to accomplish. Treaty symmetry and Hitler's desire for peer categories pushed construction toward British-looking fleet types. The answer judges designs by mission fit rather than nationality or paper performance.