DearS Vol. #03

By Robert Harris     October 25, 2006
Release Date: July 12, 2005



Creative Talent
Writer/Artist:Peach-Pit
Translated by:Christine Schilling
Adapted by:Anna Wenger

What They Say
After Ren battles a DearS Biter attempting to recapture her and Takeya asserts his rights as Ren's owner in order to save her from termination, their lives are further complicated by the arrival of Takeya's little sister Natsuki.

Due to her fangirlish worship of the alien DearS, Natsuki initially declares herself Ren's bosom friend, but she changes her tune once she hears Ren declare herself Takeya's slave - Ren is suddenly a perverted, impure alien and a living symbol of the DearS' plot to corrupt and take over the entire planet.

The Review
This volume of DearS does a bit of a 180 from the past two volumes, and avoids focusing on Takeya and Ren for the time being. Instead, the first half mainly focuses on Takeya's sassy little sister, Natsuki, and helps to expound a little on Takeya's situation at home and why he doesn't live with his family, although there are still no concrete details forthcoming. She has a real problem with Ren living with Takeya, and makes sure to bother absolutely everyone about it until Takeya's mom finally drags her back home. She's an annoyingly proactive character, and while I'm glad she's not going to hog the spotlight anytime soon, she does help liven things up a bit. Up until now, DearS has been missing a character that really jump-starts things (if you don't count Mitsuka�and I don't) and I can see how the occasional shot of Natsuki could help liven things up down the line.

The second half of the volume is almost entirely taken up with Miu, who, even after her last volume premiere, was still a little annoying; there, I said it. It's amazing what approximately 104 pages can do for a character. In Volume 2 there was a sense of despair around Miu, which did wonders for her as a character, even with her nagging; in this volume that sadness is fully explained after she falls down a well with Takeya. By the end of her segment, Miu is not only a more subdued character, but also a much more sympathetic character. And as much as she loves to drive the point home ad nauseum, when compared to Ren, she seems much more of a rounded, real character. Which is, again, a sign of excellent characterization; despite the expectation of Ren being just another walking stupid, subservient clich�, she really has no past, and therefore doesn't have the kind of emotional experiences that would enable her to behave in a more human way. I know this may seem self-evident, and I could be reading way too much into this, but that does help explain the drastic difference between Miu and Ren, and why I feel that at the end of this volume, Miu is by far the more interesting character.

Finally, the last chapter is about Ren and Takeya having some �relationship� problems, and Ren is introduced to the sickeningly narcissistic Hiro, a super playboy at their school. If there was ever a character that needed a good fist to the face, he's it. He's so arrogant and smug you can't help but hate him, which is good because he's meant to be absolutely despised. This is kind of a throwaway chapter; aside from introducing the character, nothing new really comes of it, although we do hear Ren's feelings about her relationship with Takeya and what she wishes it was like.

This was a volume with some great character development, all things considered. The first half or so is good, but when Miu comes into the picture things really start to take off. Having a DearS that behaves less like a DearS and more like a real person is a big step forward for the series, and it helps foster the idea that maybe the DearS aren't as different as they think they are. I can't wait to see what comes next, both for the characters and the question of whether DearS have free will or are incapable of being anything but slaves. Believe me, it's been a long time since I've actually cared about a moral question raised in a manga, so to me this is both a huge deal and a very pleasant surprise. Humor, fanservice, and surprisingly poignant philosophical overtones have definitely made DearS a series to keep an eye on.