DearS, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Peach-pit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 2005

Luckless, loveless and lonely, Takeya Ikuhara attends high school all day to come home to his own apartment. His whereabouts of his absent parents are as of yet a mystery, but his mother did entrust Neneko, the landlady's daughter, with an allotment of money that the young girl is to doll out to Takeya in small amounts. One day he encounters a beautiful, and needless to say naked, girl who is light-headed from a lack of food. Though she is unable to understand Japanese, Takeya is able to learn that she is a Dears, an alien peoples who crashed-landed on Earth and have since begun integrating themselves into society. He names her Ren and brings her home. She calls him master, as is the custom among the DearS, and serves him as a slave. Of course, nosey Neneko soon learns of Takeya's new friend and sets immediately to the task of teaching her Japanese (which the alien picks up in a night) and getting her something decent to wear (using some of Takeya's monetary allotment). The next day, Ren wanders after Takeya all the way to school, where she is mistaken for a new DearS transfer student, a situation made madcap when the actually transfer student finally shows up.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This shonen manga mixes familiar elements: a high school boy, a buxom young woman and an alien invasion. The twist is that the alien invaders are hot girls. They appear to be docile, polite, complacent new arrivals to Earth, but there are hints to a darker side of their society (such as a mention of slavery). Typical teenager Takeya gets involved when he rescues an invader from a traffic accident. At first, he's unaware that this improbably proportioned girl is a space alien, but when she changes into a Star Trek-meets-bondage type of uniform in the blink of an eye, he realizes he's been duped. Typical complications ensue when Takeya brings the alien home and must deal with explaining the naked girl in his bed to his housemates and classmates. Ren, as she's called, also wants to serve Takaya in every way, given that she was a slave in her society. Many embarrassing and titillating situations arise, as Takaya improbably refuses to do what any teenage boy in his right mind would do in a heartbeat. Despite the completely unoriginal story, manga collective Peach-Pit's detailed and lush art makes this workbearable. Fans of the "regular boy must live with incredibly hot alien who is almost always naked" genre will get just what they expect here. (Jan.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (January 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595323082
• ISBN-13: 978-1595323088
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,217,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anime Alien Babes +1, April 5, 2005

By 

Chris Sipple "SajuukCor" (Pine Hill, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DearS, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

As most reviews and intros have said about DearS, the story goes about as an alien girl finds her way into the life of an ordinary guy who stands indifferent on the whole aliens-living-among-us facade. It should be noted that even though the book says it's for ages 13 and up (Teen), it should've been more towards the ways of 16 and up in areas, or at least any part concerning the teacher who is driven by sexual desire it seems.

As far as the story goes, it feels a bit like Chobits without as much of it's morals, but brings in it's own bag of morals as well. The DearS, being as attractive and kind as they are, were a slave race who's ship crashed landed in Japan over a year ago. Being a slave race in a world where you're free to do as you wish can be hard on some. In case with Ren, the main DearS character of the story, it was as if she just landed on Earth herself, unable to speak the language nor what to do or where to go. After stumbling into Takeya, the main guy lead, things start to change, for the both of them.

Overall, I'm like the story, if not just for the plot line as with it's different art style. This does not look like your Chobits/Love Hina artstyle that some people are used to in the "Pretty Girl" genré. Aside from some overproportions the character have that soft feel to them, with a lot of free forming of the hair, particularly in Ren. The book also switches from chibi (cute, quick characters) to very detailed, but not as much to interupt the flow of believement in those characters.

DearS definately gets my recommandation if you're into the Pretty Girl genré. For those starting to read in that area, it probably won't change you over, but it'll get you to wonder how things will turn out in the next book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both Cute and Funny, February 11, 2006

By 

D. Jones "DemmaJ" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DearS, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

The Plot is easy to follow. The characters personalities flow nicely against each other to make such a comedy as this one. I think it is a great read for those of the mature comedy persuasion.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Series & Artwork, October 30, 2005

By 

Null (Where I Am) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DearS, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

one of my friends let me borrow this first volume for a weekend,

and just about every waking minute of those two and a half days was spent reading it. (..barring time spent gaming and things of that sort)

anyways,

i like how DearS starts up..and how it leaves lots of questions to be answered in future volumes.

now, a lot of people *won't* like that, but that's when you save up money and buy the first three volumes all at once so you don't get too confused.

sorry..um...getting back on track..

i don't think the way Ren is always almost-disrobed is a cheap...

well, okay, maybe it is a way to slip much female form into DearS,

but it all serves a purpose, and not done just for it's sake.

(though it will scare people like my conservative christian mother away..)

^and that will make it a rather tough sale for kids who deal with the same..^

but, the story is intriguing and (as in all manga) there's always a big cliffhanger at the end making you NEEED that next volume.

and again, some might not like that,

but this is my review.

they can make their own.

- Henry