Kiba (Wolf's Rain)
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Kiba (キバ (牙) Kiba - "Fang"?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Wolf's Rain. As the name suggests he is like a fang (Kiba means Fang in Japanese) and is literally a wolf in "human clothing" as the series shows that wolves have attained an advancement in evolution and now can use mental imagery to conceal the fact that they are not humans (for more information on the plot see Wolf's Rain). Kiba is the wolf who first begins the quest for a mystical (possibly mythical) place called "paradise" that is said to be inhabited by wolves - a sanctuary for their breed that is facing extinction. He is the one who convinces the other three wolves (Hige, Tsume and Toboe) to join him in this quest to find "paradise". He has a great prejudice against humans and has a great determination to find "paradise".
He is voiced by Mamoru Miyano in the Japanese version and in the English Version by Johnny Yong Bosch.
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[edit] Appearance
In his wolf form, Kiba is a white wolf with amber eyes.This shows he is probably an Arctic wolf In his human form, he wears blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a black open-jacket over it. His hair is medium-length and dark brown, his eyes are teal but also seem cerulean at times and he wears black and white Chuck Taylor All-Stars. All the wolves seem to retain some wolfish qualities in their human persona - for Kiba his tough yet sans bondage attitude is shown through his clothes. His white t-shirt also exudes he is a white wolf like Tsume's grey inner shirt shows he is a grey wolf.
[edit] Introduction
Kiba is introduced in the first episode, but unlike other anime genres and titles that begins very explicitly, Wolf's Rain was more subtle and we had no idea (when and who) Kiba was until the episode progressed further. In fact, his name was not introduced until the very end of that episode. This shows the complexity and enigmatic concentration that revolves around Kiba's character. We do not even know that Kiba is looking for "paradise" until he says so at the end of that episode. Kiba's introduction is not really pleasant and the most superb noticeable part of his being is that he starts off as an extremely controversial character.
Before the proper starting of Wolf's Rain, we see a few scenes of a white wolf who is Kiba. The next time we see Kiba is that he is under a great big tree. He is discovered by Tsume's human gang who mistakes him for a dog and notices that he is wounded. Kiba at this time is was most probably sleeping and resting - Tsume looks at Kiba and realizes that he is a wolf and also the dangers he can carry. He says "That's no dog." and dares him to pull the dog out. Kiba's eyes shot right open and in a ferocious, animal growl he launches himself upon the chest of the human and kills him. He kills another human by ravaging the neck who was a possible threat while growling at Gehl, Tsume's young gang member who is obviously terrified. He looks at Tsume, who runs off making Kiba follow him for a confrontation elsewhere. Soon they go to a rooftop and Tsume is revealed as a wolf.
Tsume questions Kiba's reason for killing and why he does kill so fiercely. Tsume comments that he doesn't know where Kiba comes from but now he is in the city and he must be bound by some rules if he is willing to survive without drawing much attention. Kiba refuses to follow these rules and insults Tsume by calling him something of a pet dog who panders to humans, Kiba is obviously disgusted by humans, their ways, and wolves who seems to "follow" them. This upsets Tsume, and the two battle. The fight is interrupted by Gehl, who means to drive Kiba off. Kiba, seeing the child, does not do anything violent and runs off.
Due to the blood spilled during Kiba and Tsume's brief scuffle, Cheza, The "Flower Maiden", seems to stir, move and somewhat awaken from the apparent hibernation/sleep she was in at a laboratory, floating in an orb-like, fluid-filled space. All the scientists are excited for their experiment is finally making progress. A blonde scientist comments on the prophecy on how Cheza, the beautiful "flower-maiden", will fall in love with a wolf and that wolf is destined to open a mystical place which is referred to as "paradise".
Kiba ventures around in the city without being violent or distressing to anyone but gets a lot of quizzical looks due to his size and appearance (which does not properly resemble a dog's). Suddenly a gun-shot is heard. As he snarls and looks around he sees Quent Yaiden (a man with a strong hatred and prejudice towards wolves) who is responsible for his fresh wound. The bullet manages to graze Kiba and briefly incapicate him, and soon both he and Quent get captured by the proper authorities.
Kiba awakens to find a young teenage man inspecting him and commenting on how stupid he is that he got caught. Kiba doesn't exactly retort to the remark but tells the man to reveal his "true self". We find out that the man is a wolf and we can see that it is Hige. Hige refuses to do so and his reasons make Kiba infuriated and extremely irritated. Hige says then that he should adjust to the mental-trick because where is there a wolf's pride in death? (Kiba had insulted Hige's liking to be in human disguise saying he is sans pride). Kiba gets attached to his words and soon tries his hand at the mental-human camouflage. Hige and Kiba both escape the facility in which they were being held and then rest on a rooftop. Finally Kiba says his name and gives his destination -"paradise".
[edit] Past
Kiba is defined from the introduction of the series as a loner. Later however he makes a wolf pack out of other lost wolves in the city he travels into when wounded. Kiba isn't a loner by choice though he is slightly introverted; he is actually very candid and perceptive. The major flaw in Kiba is that many times he forgets his morals by killing people due to his prejudice of humans, though this is an understanding that comes to be revealed through Kiba's past.
Kiba was born in a forest which was abundant with Lunar Flowers, a sacred flower in this anime universe which also grows in the place called "paradise". One day, when Kiba was still a pup, Jaguara's troops came and with their technology burned everything to the ground. Kiba survived and was found by a man (his heritage could be most definitely Red-Indian), who took Kiba in. At first Kiba the puppy was slightly hostile to the man for he most evidently came to know that humans destroyed his home and killed his family, but Kiba soon warms up to the man and allows him to take care of him.
As Kiba grew older he seemed to be more alone than content. One night, when the moon was full and the man was next to him on a cliff, Kiba expressed his confusion of always feeling lost and not being able to grasp the reason to why he survived while his family was killed. The man tells Kiba that the forest saved and protected him for he may have to fulfill something in the future. Afterwards, Kiba starts his journey with the legend of "paradise" taking him to wherever the scent of the mysterious Lunar Flower leads him. He finally arrivs at the city where Cheza is being kept, organizing the wolves when Cheza is stolen by Darcia to continue the journey to "paradise". Kiba was a pup when he saw the Lunar flowers but he only remembers the scent. Which is why he found Cheza in the city.
[edit] Personality
At first glance Kiba could be considered a very depressed and isolated wolf. He is also very disagreeable to many on first impressions due to his violence and insensitive reasons to why he kills. However, remarkably, Kiba is more than just a violent wolf and his character matures throughout the series. Even he forgets his prejudice many times, showing he is not violent, but a victim of his melancholic and insecure nature, causing him to lash out. Due to the fact that Kiba is a wolf he is a merge between animalistic and human qualities, which completes him.
The first traits of Kiba are sadness and violence, showing the tone of him as a sort of a dark protagonist. In actuality Kiba is a wolf and will most definitely have animalistic traits of defense. Yet his first kills of both somewhat innocuous humans (though they were planning on harming him), which was even a displeasure to Tsume, shows that Kiba's journey, which was followed mostly in the wild, may have made him more savage than necessary. Kiba in his introduction starts off as a dark protagonist who seems callous and very cruel, but his retreat when Gayru came shows that he has the pride of a wolf, not harming younger creatures and knowing when he needs to follow another direction. Kiba was still very violent with Tsume and his violence came because of the misunderstanding of humans.
Kiba's prejudice comes most evidently from the devastation of his home and family. As the series progresses however his prejudice is something he really doesn't focus on anymore. He was willing to help Quent when he was suffering and didn't care, even if Quent was an enemy of the wolves. Kiba's prejudice also declines due to the involvement of Cheza, who attempts to help any creature despite the race, and sacrifice herself for others. Kiba sans prejudice is very valiant and caring about every creature, including humans.
Kiba also depicts the somewhat detached manner of some humans with a subtle selfishness. This is shown after Kiba and the other wolves first find Cheza and the special military forces of Lord Oakum were there to retrieve her. A soldier grabs Kiba's shoulder to stop him from running away with Cheza. Kiba lives up to his name of 'fang' and he kills some soldiers. Though it was necessary at points, the wolves are not stronger than humans and so it may have been not so necessary. Another display is when Blue first appears in human disguise and needs help. Afterwards Kiba comments they never meant to help her but needed the fight to release unstable emotions (this is also for the fact that Blue is Quent's dog). The group of wolves also later helps Oakum's military forces but afterwards replies in the same manner. Kiba's prejudice appears here because he has a hatred for military forces (Jaguara's troops are responsible for the death of his wolf family), but his selfishness is there, for sometimes he depicts the ideology of humans doing things more for personal advantage. Kiba's detached manner comes because though he was taken and raised by a human he seems to have prejudice for them for his miserable account. This shows the insecurity of any species but also plays a major role in human psychology.
Though he may possess flaws, they are understandable and make him a more likeable character for he is realistically portrayed and is not fully centered around the format of an orthodox hero. He is blessed with a heart that cares and wishes not to wallow in loneliness. He knows also his immense strength comes from his friends, the other wolves and humans, who he loves immensely. He is a heart willing to be understanding in most situations when others voice cynical or apathetic opinions. In one episode a somewhat unstable man saw through the disguises of Kiba and the others and desired to get rid of them with his shotgun. Kiba reasoned with the man and politely confessed of their situation on how they were being chased and needed to escape. Though Tsume was wounded Kiba could have killed the couple but his pride and perception never would allow such a disgraceful act, and so he talked to the man instead. Kiba runs into Cher Degre, the blonde scientist, many times but never was violent with her, even when she posed a possible threat. Kiba is not only violence and this shows in his determination to save those he cares about, human or wolf. He even tries to help Hubb and towards the end Kiba is more compassionate towards every living creature, most notably to Darcia who actually wishes to understand.
The most interesting thing about Kiba is that his dual forms in many scenes play a significant part. In most battles and other trials of his life Kiba is shown in his original wolf form even when he is violent or especially sentimental. This is portrayed in the cases when Kiba fights a mechanical guard in the initial parts of the story, when he first meets Cheza, when he tries to save Cheza and when he fights head-on with Jaguara. Those scenes, and many others, showed an intense emotion that helps to bring substance and development, and shows a creature's true form. As Kiba's true form is a wolf he was shown in those scenes as a wolf. Yet this does not mean his pseudo-human form is not important because with it Kiba shows another form of reasoning and understanding, and in most cases a rare perception. This shows the merging of both human and wolf qualities in Kiba and the time when Kiba's human face turned wolfish showed the dual nature of humans as well.
Though he states later in the series that no one in the pack is specifically the leader, he is very much constructed and construed to be the alpha of the four (later five) wolf pack. Kiba began the entire search for Rakuen, or "Paradise", and introduced Tsume, Hige, Toboe and later, Blue, to the concept of the journey. Kiba is introduced as a quiet, depressed and a contemplative loner from the moment of the series' start. Very intuitive, he follows an instinct he can't quite place a name upon, both in finding Cheza to begin with, and in retrieving her after she is stolen both by Darcia, and then again by Jagara's troops (though he reports himself that scent does play a part from time to time). Not adept in working with others, his hastiness can from time to time put him and his packmates in unintended danger, such as in their trip through the Forest of Death, and again when he chased Jagara's ship to no end, somehow ending up in the clutches of the poisonous plant that stole his soul away to the false Paradise. Through his journey to Paradise, his interactions with his own packmates, the fallen wolves of the city (introduced in episode 5) and many others, Kiba learns how to interact with and depend on others and comes to value his packmates as friends, as they did him, and they ended the series as comrades, where they had only begun as a detached group of wolves who merely had in common that they intended to go to the same place.
Kiba is a unique protagonist with both flaws and perfections, developments and decay.
[edit] Kiba and Cheza
The canon relationship of Kiba in the series is between him and the "flower-maiden" Cheza. Both are more separately drawn to one another and this is explained towards the end of the series. Cher gives a short speech on how the beautiful maiden will fall in love with the chosen wolf who is meant to open "paradise". This is made clear when Cheza reacts to Kiba's presence in Freeze City, when the other wolves were in the city for some time and seemingly not noticed. Both Kiba and Cheza love each other and they have almost the same condition of being alone without a family and so want to go to paradise where their kinds are not on the edge of extinction.
Due to Kiba's obsession with "paradise" questions have been raised regarding the authenticity of their relationship. The question that is asked is that if Kiba truly loves Cheza for her or that she is the key to his "paradise" or is Cheza using Kiba for the same reasons? Both need each other to complete this journey so it is a question if the prophecy only binds them as "lock and key" elements rather than lovers.
This presumption has substantial evidence from both Kiba's and Cheza's obsession with "paradise" which is less concentrated in the other characters. Cheza is unwilling to stay with the dying and elderly Lunar flower because she wants to go to paradise with Kiba. Although she tries to heal the other Lunar flower at first she refuses the warning of sadness the old one gives her when she realizes that she can't stay without Kiba and be alone. Kiba is always willing to protect Cheza and Cheza always wants protection especially from Kiba - that shows the bond they share with one another separately with almost same characteristics.
However, although different from the usual romantic concoctions and expressions, their relationship is canon and seems genuine also because of those questionable factors. Kiba is always willing to endure anything for the sake of Cheza and vice versa making both characters increase their strength and potential to also help others. Also whenever Cheza is confused or seems dazed she questions or decides to confess to Kiba first which Kiba also does. The longing felt by both for each other makes their relationship very special, for even if they do not express it in words, their actions constantly say how much they love each other.
An intrusive element to this love was introduced in the later part of the series with the character Myu. Myu is a caracal and is a spirit living in a forbidden place that comes to creatures poisononed by a large plant in a desert. Kiba is lost there and Myu finds him. Because of the immense beauty of his new surroundings Kiba questions Myu if this place is "paradise", the place he was looking for. Myu said that if he considered it "paradise" then it was and he should accept that without a doubt. Kiba befriends Myu but then realizes than Myu has some romantic affections for him. The most paradoxical sentence Kiba ever said in the entire series was to Myu at this point - he says that he and Myu are both different species, and to that end a relationship could not work.
The ironic thing is that Kiba can love Cheza, who is a flower, but finds it troublesome loving Myu due to the fact she is a caracal. Yet when Myu shows the same traits he possesses, which Cheza also possesses, he does decide to stay with her until he realizes, due to the efforts of his friends, that the place was not real and that his real body was wasting away. He is reluctant to leave Myu but soon remembers Cheza and the others, so he leaves more willing after the realization. The part that Kiba forgot Cheza for Myu and that he was more expressive in some ways towards her made some fans become suspicious again of Kiba's true emotions for Cheza - is it the mere infautation of a young man? This phase of Kiba reflects human conflict with romanticism. Kiba utters those strange paradoxical words and even forgot at some point about Cheza (which is also stimulated by the circumstances) because human beings do have to strive with emotions regarding true love. The fact that Kiba returned proves that there is authenticity in his love for Cheza but many still question that if Kiba still had thought the place as paradise would he have had a relationship with Myu? Still the efforts and determination of Kiba for Cheza makes many viewers verified that he loves Cheza immensely.
In the conclusion of the series when Kiba is shown for one last time and he starts running as a means to get to Cheza their love is verified as something that matured and established itself, though not with the usual ways, but in the unique way the series itself stands on. It shows how Kiba and Cheza really can't be separated.
[edit] In The End, Kiba's Paradise
The ending of the series is a bittersweet one. Everyone is reincarnated after death as Kiba opened the gates of "paradise" which restarts the world and its civilizations. The ending was symbolic rather than solid and so many discussed its meaning. Its meaning was very much connected with the wolves and though all were shown properly Kiba's back is the only thing we see at the end as he walks, soon they show a lunar flower growing in a derelict place - it is after this that Kiba, whose face is still unseen, starts running.
The belief of people concerning the whole ending is differentiated but one thing many soldified is that the flower in the derelict place was Cheza calling out to him Kiba somehow knew that the flower was Cheza and so started running to get her. Many people said that this means the cycle to find paradise has started yet again, others say that because of the wolves efforts they are reborn as humans no longer having to fear extinction. There are others who say that the three wolves with exception of Kiba have all found their paradise (The place "paradise" was not really explained and theories regarding it as sprung with the common of it being the rebirth of the world). As Kiba started running towards Cheza could it be that she was his paradise all along?
[edit] Fan Speculation
There has been a fan speculation revolving around Kiba, Blue and Darcia. Blue resembles Kiba to some extent in her human form (as their hairstyles and eyes mirror eachother). So, fans speculate if either one of their parents could be the same - as Blue is only part wolf.
Yet the greatest speculation comes between Darcia and Kiba. Darcia in wolf form is a black wolf whilst Kiba is a white wolf. This creates a sort of "ying-yang" composition of them. When Kiba enters the false paradise of Jagura he moves throgh an array of memories of Darcia The First. When he sees Darcia The First opening the paradise one may notice that his facial features resemble that of Kiba's human form. This allow the speculation that Kiba and Darcia may to some extent share the same bloodline.
