In a small farm town on the coast of Fukushima resides Kiva – an excitable mixed- breed dog, the beloved pet of 13-year-old Toru.
Ever since he was picked up as a stray when he was young, Kiva’s days are tranquil, revolving around playing with his best friend, Toru and his neighbor, the Akita-ken, Cruz. But after a chilling encounter with Inui – an enormous, vicious-looking stray in woods – he begins to question if the world, and his place in it, is as peaceful as he was raised to believe.
On March 11, 2011, that peaceful world is turned upside down. A 9.1m earthquake shakes the coast, setting in motion a horrific chain of events that devastate the entire country of Japan. Monstrous tsunamis wash through entire towns, at once uprooting families and communities from their homes.
Miraculously, Kiva survives the earthquake and tsunami. But the nightmare doesn’t end there. The town’s surviving residents, including Toru and his parents, must immediately evacuate the area due to a nuclear meltdown at a nearby power plant. Government orders forbid the evacuees from returning to town, meaning Toru and his family are suddenly torn away from their home. Kiva is left behind to fend for himself.
Once the tsunami waves recede, Kiva finds himself washed several miles away from town. Determined to find Toru, Kiva begins his trek home. The sight that greets him shocks him. The entire landscape has completely changed overnight. The tsunami and earthquake have destroyed the land, washing piles of debris across for miles. Alone, Kiva must fend for himself in this strange new world.
Kiva soon makes a friend in Princess – a haughty stray cat who agrees to help him find the way back in exchange for helping her. Not long after, Kiva is miraculously reunited with his friend, Cruz. As they head back to town, the odd trio find themselves saving, and then unwittingly leading, a pack of illegally bred designer dogs. Now a much larger group, Kiva and the pack finally make it back to town. But things aren’t as they had hoped. The hurriedly abandoned town has completely changed. There is not a human in sight. As the dogs excitedly explore the new world, they quickly realize they’re not the only pack in town when they come head- to-head with a growing pack of violent strays. Led by Inui, the wild strays are determined to reclaim their territory, their home, their family.
Meanwhile, Kiva and Cruz are separated once again when Cruz’s owner returns to take him with her. After a dangerous run-in with the strays, Kiva’s pack decide they must leave town. But Kiva isn’t ready to give up on finding his family yet. To Princess’s frustration, he decides to leave the pack, and wait for Toru on his own.
Kiva waits for several days, but Toru doesn’t return. Instead, he finds himself in the company of human vagrants, who have come to raid his home. Discouraged, feeling betrayed by humans, Kiva launches into attack. Just as the vagrants close in to put an end to him, a pack of dogs rush in to save him. It’s the strays, led by none other than Inui.
After saving Kiva, Inui reminds him of his long-lost past, when he was a stray before he became Toru’s pet. She tells him that he was once a part of her family, and that now, she’s bringing her family together again. Kiva is faced with a choice: does he stay and wait for Toru, or does he return to his roots as a stray?
Two years later, we meet Kiva again. This time, he’s a well-seasoned wild dog, part of Inui’s pack. By now, they completely run the abandoned town. But when they run into a familiar pack of dogs when they raid a nearby farm, Kiva’s newfound freedom is put to test. The pet dogs are old friends he had once left behind. Once again, Kiva is torn between two worlds, two identities – does he stay with his family of wild strays, or does he defend his friends?
As time passes and tensions build, animosity between the two packs soon reaches a peak, and the abandoned town becomes a violent battleground between them. Then, one extraordinary day, Toru finally returns. Kiva is overjoyed to see his long- lost friend. But Toru and Kiva realize that they’re both forever changed. After months of hope, loss and betrayal in the exclusion zone, Kiva has a new family and purpose to fight for. He can’t simply return to life as Toru’s pet.
In the sealed-off world after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, caught in the clash between the wild and the manmade, a group of dogs strive to recover a sense of home.
Story Structure
Volume 1 – Scheduled for publishing in Decmber 2024
Issue 1 : Pre-Disaster Tale
After a nuclear disaster, Kiva and Toru are forced to split ways.
Issue 2 : Journey
Kiva begins his journey home.
Issue 3: The Pack
After helping a group of dogs escape an illegal breeding house, Kiva finds himself their leader.
Issue 4: The Wilds
Kiva and the pack sense danger lurking, when they run into a violent pack of wild dogs.
Issue 5: Left Behind
When Kiva’s best friend Cruz departs with his owner, he finds himself and his pack left behind in the dangerous town to fend for themselves.
Issue 6: Lost hope
Despite the challenges, Kiva is faithful that Toru will return for him. As he waits, a new path opens up for him.
Story to be continued in Volume 2.