Dears

Infobox animanga/Header
name = DearS


caption = Cover of the Tokyopop edition of "DearS" volume 1
ja_name = ディアーズ
ja_name_trans = Diāzu
genre = Comedy, Science Fiction, RomanceInfobox animanga/Manga
author = Peach-Pit
publisher = flagicon|Japan MediaWorks
publisher_en = flagicon|United States Tokyopop
publisher_other = flagicon|France Kami
flagicon|Germany Tokyopop
flagicon|Italy Flashbook
first = March 2002
last = 17 December2005
demographic = Shōnen
magazine = Dengeki Comic Gao!
volumes = 8Infobox animanga/Anime
title =
director = Tetsuji Higuchi
studio = Bandai Visual
network = TV Kanagawa
first = 10 July 2004
last = 26 September 2004
episodes = 13

nihongo|"DearS"|ディアーズ|Diāzu is a Japanese romance comedy manga by mangaka duo Peach-Pit, serialised in the monthly shōnen manga magazine "Dengeki Comic Gao!". The manga was adapted into a 12 episode TV anime series which aired from 10 July 2004—26 September 2004. The DVD release includes an additional episode labeled "9.5" (occurring between episodes 9 and 10) for a total of 13.

Plot

One year prior to the beginning of the story, mankind made its first contact with an alien species, when a malfunctioning alien spacecraft made an impromptue crash-landing in Tokyo Bay. The aliens on board the UFO are human-like and remarkably beautiful, and are soon affectionatly nicknamed "DearS" by their human hosts, which means "Dear friends from outer space"; as extraordinarily kind and gentle as they are lovely, the DearS are a slave race in actuality, seeming to thrive as individuals and as a species by making others happy; as they are unable to return home, the small community of DearS attempts to integrate themselves into human society, concealing their status as a slave race from the public due to concern over the fact that humanity does not agree with slavery.

The main plot follows the story of Takeya Ikuhara, an average high school student in the fictitious Koharu precfecture, and how his life is turned on its head, due to the appearance of a beautiful and apparently defective DearS he calls "Ren", who, after Takeya saves her life and nurses her back to health, promptly becomes attached to him and moves into the closet of his apartment, declaring herself his slave.

As the story progresses, Takeya finds himself becoming surrounded by several more DearS along with his near-constant companion Ren, and the cast is further-expanded with the introduction of Takeya's family and friends; the focus shifts to follow the progression of Ren's growth as a person and learning about the world around her, Takeya's overcoming of his suspicion of the DearS' true intentions by his acceptance of Ren and his attempts to keep the somewhat naive DearS out of harm's way, and the machinations of parties, both DearS and human alike, in either progressing or halting the evolution of Takeya's relationship with Ren into something more serious than an unlikely master-slave bond - the culmination of which, along with a shocking revelation as to the true nature of the clueless "Zero Number", will ultimately determine the fate of mankind as a whole.

Story

A UFO boarded by members of the "DearS" species (an alien species with a human outer appearance) makes an emergency landing on Earth. Ever since then the life of Takeya Ikuhara, a typical male high school student in Japan, and Neneko Izumi, his female childhood friend, has been complicated by the arrival of Ren and other DearS members to their city.

The DearS (which means " friends", not ) ship contains beings that are genetically engineered as slaves, which is why there is never any search party sent out for the disabled ship. Because the DearS are very intelligent, they do not release this fact to the Earth public because of public distaste for slavery. Instead, they release the completed slave models into exchange student programs, in hopes of integrating themselves into society. A DearS will imprint itself onto one person, who becomes its "Master". Since a DearS' happiness is derived from serving a Master, the integrated DearS search for someone to serve.

One pod goes awry, and releases an incomplete DearS into the public. This DearS is functional, but lacks the other DearS's knowledge of Earthly teachings. Her name is, "Ren-Ren-Ren-Nagusaran-Rensia-Roroonren-Nakora"; the three "Ren" prefixes indicate a defective model. According to the DearS language, the term "ren" actually means "nothing" or "zero". Takeya saves "Ren" from an oncoming truck, and she imprints on him. The remainder of the story focuses on the chaos that results from Ren's escape and her subsequent imprinting and continues in the manga after Lady Rubi allows Ren to live.

Characters

;Nihongo|Takeya Ikuhara|幾原 武哉|Ikuhara Takeya
*: A hotheaded 17-year-old high school student, and the protagonist of "DearS". Takeya is unused to change, which makes his acceptance of the mysterious alien girl Ren all the more difficult (especially because Neneko constantly showed him the "Alien" movies when they were children, seemingly giving him xenophobia). But beneath his constant mask of indifference, he has a kind heart. Takeya tends to jump into things headfirst, and waste more time panicking about a problem than solving it. He also seems to lose his temper more often than he should, and as a result, has few close friends. He dislikes the idea of having a slave, though in the end, he does realize that he loves Ren.

;Nihongo|Ren|レン|
*: Takeya's devoted DearS, who was found by Takeya after her suspension pod was lost and broke open during transport. Initially she had no given name, but Takeya dubbed her "Ren" after the first word of her identification number (000-3901-0) — at which time she "imprinted" upon him. According to DearS law, a slave that chooses a master on her own is seen as having the 'Gift' and is considered sacred. In the DearS language, the word "Ren" means "zero" thereby making her one of the imperfect "Zero-Numbers", in which was not intended to be revealed to the public. Big-breasted and beautiful, she is a wonder to Takeya and his classmates, but constantly needs to be watched due to her inexperience with human customs and Japanese culture. Ren absorbed the Japanese language in a single night with a pile of textbooks and dictionaries from which Takeya planned to teach her. Her favorite food is melon bread, for which she harbors a ravenous appetite since it was the first food that she ate. Her full name is "Ren Ren Ren Nagusaran Rensia Rurunnren Nakora" (レンレンレンナグサランレンシーア・ルルンンレン・ナコラ).

:She does not understand the concept of love until the end of the manga series, after talking to a variety of people, and confesses her love to Takeya, who eventually confesses his love for her as well. Ren is also considered as the 'Gate' in which all DearS respond to the emotions of the host populace, mainly the people of Earth. With her awakening, the DearS also gain back their ability to reproduce. Humorously, with Takeya being the ONLY male on the ship, Ren and the other DearS now have a new goal, making as many babies with Takeya as possible.

;Nihongo|Neneko Izumi|和泉 寧々子|Izumi Neneko
*: Takeya's childhood friend. Incidentally, his landlord is also her father. Despite their constant bickering, the two are best friends, having known one another since childhood. Neneko generally serves as the balance and common sense of the duo, and often shows up during difficult situations that Takeya is too alarmed about to solve. She helps him out of tough times so often, in fact, that one wonders how he would ever get along without her. At the end of the manga, she reveals that she will be going to America to study fashion design. Near the end of the book she admits she has "unrequited love for Takeya", but she had to let him go. She also says she is unable to become Takeya's bride when they are in the classroom talking about their goals in life.

;Nihongo|Mitsuka Yoshimine|芳峰 蜜香|Yoshimine Mitsuka
*:The main characters' knockout teacher, Mitsuka is both intelligent and resourceful. She is also a shameless exhibitionist who spends more time conniving to "show off" to her students than she does teaching them English (Spanish in the English manga). Mitsuka has a habit of popping up when it is least convenient to Takeya and company, turning normal conversations into overly embarrassing situations, usually by mistaking most things for sexual acts and orgies. At times though, she does show surprising insight concerning the relationships of others, especially between Ren and Takeya.

;Nihongo|Hikorou Oikawa|及川 彦郎|Oikawa Hikorō
*: A male friend of Takeya's — though apart from being in the same class, the two have little in common. The #1 member of the "DearS Love Club", Oihiko is extremely interested in DearS, particularly female ones; he harbors an especially deep infatuation with Ren. Though goofy, and more than a little shallow, at heart he remains a decent young man.

;Nihongo|Miu|ミゥ|
*: The "official" DearS exchange student to Takeya's high school, and Ren's main rival. She was seen as a "fake" upon arrival, due to an enrollment mix-up with Ren entering the school. Eventually, she took it upon herself to train Ren to become a better DearS. This tutoring has the unpredicted side-effect of her seemingly developing feelings for Takeya. She initially mistakes this as the "Gift", though she later realizes that she was experiencing love. Miu has a bit of a tragic past when she was younger, when her former master, who was also her breeder, was brutally murdered and she was unable to save him, despite her best efforts. She later decided, in the manga, to join Io and the others when they go into space, in the hopes of finding someone to truly love, as Takeya is already in love with Ren.:Her full name is "Sia Nostal Ren Naguregyug Thanast Useim Ruki Miu" (シーアノスタルレンナグレグユグ・タナスト・ァウセーム・ルキ・ミゥ).

;Nihongo|Khi|キィ|Ki
*: A male DearS exchange student who goes to the same school as Takeya's sister Natsuki. He is something of a black sheep amongst the DearS colony and is generally soft-spoken; it is perhaps for this reason that he is considered the DearS' diplomatic negotiator, and is often sent on assignments to clear up various mix-ups and solve sensitive DearS-related matters, including bearing witness to a duel between Ren and Miu, and retrieving the forgetful Nia from Takeya Ikuhara's apartment. He stays behind on Earth when Io takes many DearS with her into space.

;Nihongo|Natsuki Ikuhara|幾原 菜月|Ikuhara Natsuki
*: Takeya's little sister, who has been away overseas. She cozies up to Ren at first, but after hearing Ren refer to herself as Takeya's "slave", she starts to hate Ren, "and" pummels her big brother for "being a pervert". This is a significant change from the stereotypical "cute little sister" character prevalent in anime.

;Nihongo|Harumi Ikuhara|幾原 晴海|Ikuhara Harumi
*: Takeya's stepmother, and one of the few people who can keep the rambunctious Natsuki in line; she taught Natsuki all of the techniques that she uses to beat her big brother up with, or so it appears. It is also implied that Takeya and Harumi could have fallen in love but before Takeya can say these words Harumi sticks a cherry tomato in his mouth and says "it doesn't matter now I am your mother".(Another indication was when Takeya turned to Neneko in panic as Ren was prepared to leave the Earth, she stated that Harumi dumped him) Harumi is a truly funny character with her own "personal attacks", such as the "Harumi-driver".

;Nihongo|Hirofumi Nonaka|野仲 宏史|Nonaka Hirofumi
*: The playboy of Koharu High School. When Takeya's actions put Ren in doubt of his feelings for her, Hiro tries to seduce her away from her master. Even when he admits to "really liking" Ren, (the closest he'll ever admit to loving someone), Ren still only thinks of him as a friend. Eventually, Hiro gives up on her, and to his horror, Xaki has now formed an attachment to him, and makes any girl too scared to approach Hiro. In the Japanese version, Hiro-kun usually call girls "Koneko-chan" whatever their real names are. The word means something close to "kitty".

;Nihongo|Xaki|ザキ|Zaki
*: The "Biter" sent by the DearS colony to retrieve Ren. Unlike the other DearS, he is tall and muscular, and apparently quite versed in hand-to-hand combat — or so we hear. He is also a mentor to cat-like DearS Nia, who aspires to become a Biter herself. He believes he is the gift for Hirofumi, which leads to some awkward scenes in book 8.

;Nihongo |Nia|ニア|
*: Xaki's somewhat catlike apprentice. She is quite a flake, and often forgets her assignments - even the ones she assigns herself, such as challenging Ren when Xaki fails to retrieve the wayward Zero Number. As seen in some parts of the anime, she is also quite klutzy, but agile when she needs to be. She manages to befriend both Takeya and his little sister Natsuki, and when Ren is kidnapped by Rubi in the manga, Nia even helps Takeya venture inside the DearS ship to find her. She always ends her sentences with her trademark nonsense syllable "nii"(her own name in the English dub). She decided to join Io into outer space as Xaki, her teacher, stays behind.

;Nihongo|Rubi|ルビ|
*: The somewhat dominatrix-like "Barker", she is second-in-command of the DearS colony. Quite busty like Ren, she is almost never seen without her whip in hand. She assigns the "Biter" Xaki to retrieve Ren. She is subservient to Fina and stays with her on Earth.

;Nihongo|Ayu|アユ| "Manga only": A DearS visiting from another town. She seems to speak with a Kansai dialect, meaning she might be homestaying in a town near Osaka. She also forms a friendship with Natsuki right off the bat, even helping her sell "takoyaki" at the Koharu Summer Festival. She stays on earth when the option is presented.

;Nihongo|Fina|フィナ|: Known as "Lady Fina" to the other DearS. Her official position is that of the "Watcher", and she seems to be the leader of the DearS colony; even Rubi bows to her. She does not awaken until volume 5 of the manga, and seems to support Takeya taking Ren in as his slave. In fact, she immediately orders Rubi to stop trying to recapture Ren.

:Fina seems to be the oldest of the DearS seen so far, and knows almost everything there is to know about the DearS and their "society". Fina can be quite flaky. She also seems to be narcoleptic, seeming to always doze off at the most inopportune times. Eventually, she decides to stay behind on Earth to watch over the DearS that remain on the planet.

;Nihongo|China|チナ|
*: China was a main character in PlayStation 2 game, but she made a small appearance in the final episode of the anime and in the manga. Like Ren, she is also a "Zero Numbers" and much younger than any of the DearS previously seen. She is known to Earthling scientists as "Sample B7", and has been charged with retrieving another escaped "Zero Numbers", only known as "Sample A2". During her very brief foray into the outside world she mistakes Ren for her target, and convinces Takeya to play at being a master to her. She decides to leave Earth with Ren, Takeya and the others when Io goes into outer space.

;Nihongo|Io|イオ| "Manga only": A young DearS who appears to Takeya on the roof of his school in volume 6 of the manga. She can only say one word: "Ren". It is later revealed that she is the mysterious "Sample A2" that China was sent to retrieve. It is also revealed that her ability to manipulate gravity is phenomenally powerful — strong enough to levitate Takeya's entire apartment building. She may also possess the ability of teleportation. She eventually matures into the second DearS Watcher, and decided to take her people in search of a new host populace.

;Nihongo|Takezou Ikuhara|幾原 武造|Ikuhara Takezō: Takeya's father. He only appears in the later volumes of the manga. He's a scientist who had discovered that Ren was the key to saving the DearS. After finding this information out, he begged Ren to sacrifice herself to save the 150 dears, and the entire human speices. As stated by Io, there was no point to this.

Media

In the North American market, Tokyopop has distributed the translated manga since January 2005 and Geneon has licensed the anime series for DVD release and as of 2006 has released the entire series on 4 DVD volumes.

Manga

Volume list

Graphic novel list/header
Language = Japanese
Width = 99%Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 1
OriginalRelDate = March 2002
OriginalISBN = 978-4-8402-2086-6
LicensedRelDate = January 11, 2005
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59532-308-8
ChapterList =
* Chapters 1-6
VolumeExtras = ;Cover character(s)
* RenGraphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 2
OriginalRelDate = September 27, 2002
OriginalISBN = 978-4-8402-2206-8
LicensedRelDate = April 12, 2005
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59532-309-5
ChapterList =
* Chapters 7-12
VolumeExtras = ;Cover character(s)
* MiuGraphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 3
OriginalRelDate = March 2003
OriginalISBN = 978-4-8402-2343-0
LicensedRelDate = July 12, 2005
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59532-310-1
ChapterList =
* Chapters 13-18
VolumeExtras = ;Cover character(s)
* NiaGraphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 4
OriginalRelDate = September 27, 2003
OriginalISBN = 978-4-8402-2478-9
LicensedRelDate = October 11, 2005
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59532-311-8
ChapterList =
* Chapters 19-23
* Extra Contact
* Spring Contact
* Character Gallery
VolumeExtras = ;Cover character(s)
* KhiGraphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 5
OriginalRelDate = March 27, 2004
OriginalISBN = 978-4-8402-2651-6
LicensedRelDate = January 10, 2006
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59532-797-0
ChapterList =
* Chapters 24-28
* Setting Data Collection
VolumeExtras = ;Cover character(s)
* Ren
* MiuGraphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 6
OriginalRelDate = August 27, 2004
OriginalISBN = 978-4-8402-2797-1
LicensedRelDate = April 11, 2006
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59532-798-7
ChapterList =
* Chapters 29-33
VolumeExtras = ;Cover character(s)
* IoGraphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 7
OriginalRelDate = March 26, 2005
OriginalISBN = 978-4-8402-3011-7
LicensedRelDate = July 3, 2006
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59816-185-4Graphic novel list
VolumeNumber = 8
OriginalRelDate = December 17, 2005
OriginalISBN = 978-4-8402-3289-0
LicensedRelDate = November 7, 2006
LicensedISBN = 978-1-59816-861-7

Guest appearance

In volume 7 of the "DearS" manga, Shinku and Suigintou (from "Rozen Maiden") make a guest appearance at a doll festival. Neneko is the one that made Shinku and tells Takeya that she copied the design off of an anime that she saw. As for Suigintou she is standing next to Shinku on the display table. The manga didn't say that Suigintou was made by Neneko, but she is on Neneko's display so one would guess that she made Suigintou as well. Another appearance from "Rozen Maiden" is the plush toy Takeya wins for China: a "Detective Kun Kun" plushie.

Anime

Episode list

Theme songs

*Anime OP: "Love Slave" (ラブスレイブ) by Under17
*Anime ED: "Happy Cosmos" by PoppinS

Video game

A PlayStation 2 game based on the series was made for the Japanese market. It is a typical "dating sim"-type game. The player plays as Takeya Ikuhara, and basically lives the events of the anime and manga. The game introduces a new purple-haired DearS named "China" (チナ), who, like Ren, moves in with Takeya. It is predicted that you will have to choose one of the DearS at the end to pair off with.

The game received a CERO 15 rating.

References

External links

* [http://dearsdvd.com/ Geneon Entertainment's official "DearS" website]
*