Today’s views are
based on a series I recently obtained second hand and at an amazing deal too
since I now have all the volumes said series, long enough to make 8 posts about
each volume. I swear to do my best to avoid spoilers. Now let’s introduce the series
in question!
“Why didn’t you get it
first hand?” Good question! The series in question is DearS by PEACH-PIT and
was done with the company TokyoPop and if you know anything about TokyoPop in
English speaking places, the company is long gone and their mangas are
basically out of print now. Yes, I should have gotten them years ago when I saw
it in stores and probably alongside Chobits but I was a poor and silly teenager
and assumed they will be around forever. Adult me still regrets some actions of
Teen me but now I can make up for it.
Why you should
consider DearS as a manga to read? A beautiful alien comes into a life of some
normal guy and possibly changes it for the best and maybe become a romantic
partner, yes, very cliché and so many series has the same premise but usually
different types of girls (Persecoms anyone? Lol).
What makes this series
different from any of those series? Honestly, I am not too sure. It reminds me
fondly of Chobits but at the same time, Chobits felt like a story of discovery,
finding the one for you and discovering that things are not what they seem. DearS
has the same thing, the whole “not what it seems” thing going on, compared to
Chobits, I feel like DearS has a darker ulterior since it was a colony of
Aliens coming to Earth due to technical issues, but they seem to be concealing
something, which is a vibe I got from the first volume.
Let’s talk about the
manga itself and end the comparison report.
DearS one starts with
the landing of alien lifeforms. About 6 months pass and we are introduced to
Takeya, your typical male high schooler who is being woken up by his neighbour because
they are going to be late for school. This is typical for most mangas of this
genre and of course, something goes wrong and Takeya storms off and finds a
girl in a park. He helps in his way and the next thing you know, she’s in his
home and in his bed!
Later on, we find out
that the girl is a DearS and is later called Ren since her name is obscenely
long and alien to our main protag. Like in Chobits, they must go shopping for
her and before long, she is now going to school with him.
You may wonder why my
story seems jumpy and all over the place? Simple, I want to be as vague as
possible cause saying too much gives the whole story away, then what’s the point
of getting and reading the manga if it’s all been given away. The story starts
off simple, but I feel it’s got a lot more in store, I have a feeling it’s a
lot darker than it’s showing with its happy-go-lucky feel that it is currently
giving me.
Now for something
drawn and made in the early 00’s the art is still gorgeous, but it still has
the unrealistic bodies, abnormally large eyes and dorito chins that is normally
associated with the genre and style at the time. I personally may not enjoy all
the clothes but some of the details is wonderful and at times I wish I had
clothing like that. Honestly, looking at the art is like a nostalgia hit since
I been reading manga since the late 03/early 04 and it reminds me of how
exciting it was to read manga. Silly to mention but it’s true. The other plus
side is that, for something so detailed in its own way, it’s very simple and
extremely pleasant to look at it.
“Why are you reviewing
it now!? It’s been out since 2005!” Age, time and experience changes a person,
what you once read something as a teen will look different as an adult, while
at the same time, you will see and understand content differently because you
have been exposed to more and different views and experiences. So, it’s always
fun to go back to something and see it in a new light and discover things you
originally overlooked because you didn’t quite see or understood it. I plan to
do other series that I read as a teen and still owned for all these years, such
as Chobits, Battle Royale and even Cardcaptor Sakura. I mean, as a child I didn’t
quite understand Toya and Yuki relationship till I got way older but that’s a
whole can of worms for another day. Another fact that was pointed out to me is,
during the time one could have read DearS to now is that one will read many
more mangas and stories between each one and able to build up a comparison and
feelings that was never there originally. It’s amazing to be able to do this, I
guess that’s one amazing things about humans, we change and grow with more that
we do and read. Until next, read moar manga~!
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