Jiu Jiu, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Touya Tobina (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 3, 2012 | Series: Jiu Jiu (Book 1)

Werewolves at the door...and in the house

Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audiences rated teen plus.

Born into a family of “Hunters,” Takamichi's destiny is to pursue and slay demons. When her twin brother is killed, she is saved from despair by a pair of Jiu Jiu—shape-shifting familiars—in the form of two wolf pups named Snow and Night. Now Takamichi is in high school and an active Hunter. Snow and Night can't wait to attend school in their human form to "protect" her. But are they ready to go off leash...?

Takamichi's Jiu Jiu Obedience Training Goals

1. Stop them from following you to work

2. Avoid exposing them to the full moon

3. Save them from execution

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Touya Tobina is from Tokyo. Her birthday is May 23 and her blood type is O. In 2005, her series Keppeki Shonen Kanzen Soubi (Clean Freak Fully Equipped) won the grand prize in the 30th Hakusensha Athena Shinjin Taisho (Hakusensha Athena Newcomers Awards).

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (July 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421542749
• ISBN-13: 978-1421542744
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.7 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not to My Tastes October 1, 2012

By Nicola Manning TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Reason for Reading: I've finished a couple of manga series lately and am looking for a new one to start.

I liked the idea of this series being about a female "Hunter" who pursues and slays demons and the pair of wolf cub shapeshifters she's given as her familiars to protect her. Unfortunately this is not how it read for me. Takamichi is a spoiled, rude, obnoxious girl who gets what she wants except for having the wolf pups dumped off on her. So she treats them cruelly, with disdain and no show of affection at all. She has a wounded ego and a sad past she cannot get over. The book mostly revolved around her being rude and mean to the pups while they slobbered and worshiped all over her. This could have been cute had they been tiny little pups, but no they were 3 years old and when transformed to adult form they were the same age as Takamichi herself, naked, and inevitably found in bed with her all snuggled up. There is no s*x in the book but these images have been drawn for their sensuality, Two n*ked men and a girl in bed? And later on there is a scene with one of them on top of her saying he wants her. (Is it innocent? We never find out as they are interrupted) So no demons, I guess that's waiting for the second volume and while volume 1 allows us an introduction to the characters; I found them all off-putting and would say this is not my type of Manga or story-line.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Warning: contains high levels of cuteness July 30, 2012

By Two Shelves

Format:Paperback

If you like animals, cute boys, troubled main characters, or all of the above, then you need to read this.

The lead girl, Takamichi, is weighed down with regret: her brother died while protecting her. Now she's inherited his role of hunting demons, and tries to protect others, and her own heart, by keeping everyone at a distance. Even the two half-human, half-wolf pups that serve as her familiars.

Snow and Night do their best to cheer up their mistress. They may have speech and look like humans half the time, but they are canines at heart. Which means they want to please her, sleep in her bed, have her take them for walks and play frisbee, and most of all, receive her praise and attention. And, inconveniently, it means they have no sense of modesty when in their human form (ie, if they're at home, they're generally in the buff).

There were lots of things that made this story interesting and special for me.

Takamichi is practically a parent to the pups. Which means she experiences the shock of seeing them grow up, and losing their sweet innocence. And sees the consequences of how she treated them when they were very little.

Also, when a story has a being who transforms between human and animal, they usually seem essentially human, with a few animal traits thrown in. But these guys are canines, through and through, in how they think, act, and what their priorities are.

And even though the story's premise is about fighting demons, there's actually very little content with that. Takamichi fights them several times in this volume, but maybe 2-5 panels will be spent on most fights. Which I think is a good idea. There's plenty of stories already about high school kids fighting demons. This one focuses instead on inner struggles, and interpersonal drama; in other words, the things that make this particular story unique. (Of course, later volumes might start having more action.)

The last thing I want to mention is the art style. Tobina's style is very crisp and sharp, giving the impression of having lots of straight lines. The character designs are lithe and dynamic. But now and then it relaxes into into nice soft curves, like Snow's gloriously curly hair. Overall, the art doesn't look mainstream, but it suits this story and the characters quite nicely.

Every couple pages, I would mentally melt, thinking "Aww, so cute!" or "That's so sweet!" It's interesting, the material is pretty dense, so I rate it pretty high for the enjoyment factor.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very cute, but won't appeal to everyone January 20, 2013

By ChibiNeko TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I loved the first volume of this, but I do have to say that the #1 issue with this manga is that it really is a stereotypical series. All of the most common story lines, characters, and ideas of a supernatural manga series are seen here. Loner chick with a tortured past? Check. Love triangle with two hot guys? Check. Supernatural creatures that pop out to further the story along? Check. There really isn't much here that you haven't seen in a bajillion other series in the genre.

Yet somehow I really fell hard for this first volume. It's just that adorable. I do have to say that part of the strength of the series is that they tend to focus more on the interpersonal relationships and family politics than on the actual monster hunting. The monster hunting is there, but it's delegated more to the background of the series, although at times this does sort of weaken the series. We're also plagued with the problem that we have a main character that's not particularly well developed. I'm aware that this is the first volume and I do admit that we get more character development later in the series, but much of Takamichi's role in the series is to the just "be" while Snow and Night dance attendance around her.

The guys are what truly saves the series from fading into the background. They're not only adorable looking, but they're endearing as well. Takamichi is their entire world and they'll do whatever it takes to stay around her. It's occasionally a little creepy when you realize that they're only about 3 years old in human years, but this does pose an interesting problem for the inevitable love triangle that you can already see forming. The two boys are beginning to see each other as competition for Takamichi's affections, but there's also the issue of how quickly they'll age and what the life span of human/canine hybrids would be.

This is ultimately a fun series but one that I'll suggest that you read in store first. For those who love it, you'll totally love it. For the others it'll just be something that you'll kind of shrug and go "meh".