Review JIU JIU Volume 5

JIU JIU, VOL. 5
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Touya Tobina
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION/EDITOR: Annette Roman
LETTERS: James Gaubatz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5378-8; paperback (July 2013); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Jiu Jiu Volume 5 is the final volume of the shojo manga from creator Touya Tobina. Essentially a supernatural, dark fantasy with elements of both horror and teen romance, Jiu Jiu focuses on Takamichi Hachioji, a teen girl who was born into a family that pursues and kills demons.

The Hachioji Clan is the largest clan of Dark Hunters. “Dark Hunters” are people who hunt and slay the demons that lurk in the shadows. After the death of her twin brother, Takayuki, Takamichi receives from her family a pair of half-animal/half-human wolf-pups, named Snow and Night. She must train them to be her “Jiu Jiu,” a Dark Hunter’s familiar and hunting partner. The question is not only can she train them, but because they can transform into humans, can she also keep them on the leash?

As Jiu Jiu, Vol. 5 (Chapters 20 to 23/Final) opens, Kankuro moves forward with his plan to be the new head of the Hunters – by force. That means he must first commit a shocking murder and then, continue to agitate against the use of Jiu Jiu. Kankuro is helped by the actions of Snow and Night, especially of Snow

Meanwhile, questions continue to arise as to the true fate of Takayuki Hachioji, Takamichi’s brother. It also seems as if Takamichi will marry her current fiancé, Seijuro Shiratori. Now, all the intrigue comes to a head, but how will it leave Takamichi and her “dogs,” Snow and Night?

The Jiu Jiu manga proved to be a dark and edgy series, filled with characters that played at rivalries filled with bitterness and jealousy. It also had a weird romantic side, one that teased of a love between a woman and characters that were human, but could also be described as beasts, creatures, and demons.

I am disappointed to see it end, as the concept is one that could have run longer. The final chapters are melancholy, and the ending is bittersweet for reasons, which if revealed, would be irritating spoilers. However, I must repeat that Jiu Jiu should be read because it is dark and a bit nasty (in terms of the innuendo and violence). Jiu Jiu isn’t safe; it has bite, and sometimes, that is a good thing for a shojo manga to have.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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Review: JIU JIU Volume 1

"Off the Leash"
JIU JIU, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA

CARTOONIST: Touya Tobina
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Annette Roman
LETTERS: James Gaubatz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4274-4; paperback; Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Touya Tobina is a manga creator originally from Tokyo. In 2005, her series, Clean Freak Fully Equipped (Keppeki Shonen Kanzen Soubi), won the Grand Prize in the 30th Hakusensha Athena Newcomers Awards. VIZ Media is currently publishing her new series, Jiu Jiu, is a shojo manga. Jiu Jiu first saw publication in Japan as a one-shot manga in the shojo magazine, Hana to Yume. The series is essentially a supernatural fantasy with elements of high school teen romance, which may actually come to dominate the series in later chapters.

Jiu Jiu focuses on Takamichi Hachioji, a girl who is born into a family of “Dark Hunters,” people who hunt and slay the demons that lurk in the shadows. The Hachioji Clan is the largest clan of Dark Hunters. Takamichi’s twin brother, Takayuki, was killed protecting her, so she became the clan’s heir. Her family gives her a pair of wolf-pups that are half-animal and half-human, which she must train to be her “Jiu Jiu.” A Jiu Jiu is a Dark Hunter’s familiar and hunting partner.

Jiu Jiu, Vol. 1 opens with a 13-year-old Takamichi still grieving her brother’s death. Her family gives her two wolf-pups that she can train to be her Jiu Jiu if she wishes; otherwise, they will simply be killed because of their lineage. She names the white-furred one “Snow,” and the black-furred one, “Night.” Three years later, 16-year-old Takamichi is still trying to manage and control the now older pups. They frequently shift between their human and wolf forms and are clingy and needy. They want to help her, but she just wants to keep them on the leash.

Despite its supernatural leanings, one of which involves killing creepy-looking demons, the Jiu Jiu manga is not a shonen battle manga. Rather, it is decidedly shojo. This is a love story, one that is filled with both cutesy drawings of dogs and with tumultuous emotions.

What makes this first volume of Jiu Jiu successful is that creator Touya Tobina does not make anything easy for her characters. To understand one another, each character must first understand his or her own motivations and also be honest with herself (or himself). Denial, dishonesty, and selfishness can have dire consequences, as this volume’s last chapter, entitled “Jiu Jiu,” depicts.

To fully enjoy this story, the reader can engage the text in a literal fashion. The full implications of the story, however, can be grasped by opening up the imagination to the impressions (such as lust and want) that a reader may find in the visual narrative, which means feeling the wild sensations that the graphics are trying to convey. Obviously, I like Jiu Jiu; in fact, I’m ready to go off the leash for it.

A-