Age: unknown. He's a youkai, so there is no telling how old he is.

Appearance: Jaken resembles a humanoid-shaped toad more than anything else. He has bulbuous eyes, greenish skin and three-digit feet and hands. He wears attire resembling that of feudal lords/officials, baggy pants and a kimono tied with a sash over the pants.

Appellations: Jaken, Jaken-sama (by Rin)

Meaning of Name: The kanji for Jaken's name read "to look, to see" (the first kanji) and "to bother, to disturb" (the second one). "Pain to the eyes", hmm... (Info from Ness)

Quote: "Wait for me, mi lord."

Impressions: Jaken is a toad youkai and Sesshoumaru's loyal lackey, errand boy and stress relief. He is clearly a comic-relief character, although the anime has given him long philosophical speeches about the meaning of serving Sesshoumaru, life, and getting pounded... I think no other character in the series is so universally despised. Jaken is stuck-up and unpleasant, grovelling at Sesshoumaru one moment and acting haughty at humans or lesser youkai the next. He has utter confidence in the power and purity of heritage of his lord, and certainly seems to serve Sesshoumaru faithfully.

History: The anime does, in one of the filler episodes, shed some light on Jaken's past. Brace yourselves... Before becoming Sesshoumaru's vassal, Jaken was the leader of a clan of toad youkai. They were at war with another tribe of youkai. During a battle, Jaken was on the losing end as Sesshoumaru happened by and slew Jaken's opponent because she was in his way, ignoring the toad youkai completely. Jaken was deeply impressed by this and began following Sesshoumaru, whining at the dog-demon to make him his retainer. After a couple of days Sesshoumaru finally agreed, still not sparing Jaken a single glance. Sesshoumaru reached into a nearby waterfall and produced the Staff of Heads, which Jaken carries to this day. Jaken, pitifully grateful, then began trailing the youkai lord wherever he went.He carried a two headed staff around and used it to find Sesshoumaru's father grave. After they couldn't find the grave, he suggests that they go look for Inuyasha. He came up with the idea of making a fake image of Inuyasha's mother to trick him into revealing where the grave is. After Rin came along, he's little annoyed by this and doesn't understand why Sesshoumaru keeps her around. He also hates having to stay behind to protect Rin, instead of following Sesshoumaru around. the villagers.

Weapons & Attacks: Jaken mainly hides behind Sesshoumaru whenever danger presents itself. He was whacked up pretty good by a nearly incapacitated Miroku, and Kagome is his superior at hand to hand (during volume 2 of the manga) so that says something...

The Nintoujou ("The Staff of Heads"): This enchanted, wooden staff topped with the carved faces of a woman and a man (in Nou mask style) is the one ace up Jaken's sleeve. When commanded, the male head can emit a huge ball of flame from its mouth -- enough firepower to blast away dozens of soldiers in one fell whoosh. The staff was also the tool used to verify the location of Inutaishou's grave.

Love Life: If Sesshoumaru but asked, Jaken would probably take a dive down a dragon's throat, but I don't know if that's grounds for anything... So the conclusion is that Jaken has no discernible emotional life of any kind, other than his slavish (fearful?) loyalty to his lord.

First Appearance: manga act 12, anime episode 5 Seiyuu (Japanese): Nagashima Yuichi Voice Actor (English): Don Brown