Based on a manga by Peach-Pit, DearS was available in Japan in the Dengeki Comic Gao magazine on a monthly basis and here in the states we can read the manga thanks to Tokyopop. As with a lot of popular manga, DearS got the conversion into an anime series last year and has finally found its way overseas to the U.S. thanks to Geneon. The thirteen episode anime (much like the manga) features several commonplace standards from large-eyed big-breasted alien girls, to a guy victimized by an obsessive and attractive girl; the show even has an obnoxiously cute cat girl. There are a lot of unique things going for this show, but with several "been there, done that" scenarios floating around it has a hard time setting itself apart from the rest of the pack.

Takeya is your typical teenage boy. He walks around minding his own business, then one day a beautiful and buxom alien girl known as Ren gets dropped in his lap. The only problem is that he doesn't trust her kind, but once she starts walking around in the nude, his tune slowly starts to change. She is a DearS, which is an alien race of gorgeous women that crashed onto Earth a year prior. While there weren't many of them on board, they were quickly assimilated into the culture and have become revered by everyone to be virtual goddesses. It's ironic because their alien/human relationships are that of master and slave.

In the first volume of the show there wasn't an awful lot of character development, but the foundations were all laid out for future releases. We met Takeya, his friend Neneko, the ever-nude Ren, a few of the other DearS girls and some sub-characters. Unfortunately nothing really happened of significance. Takeya and Neneko tried teaching Ren what it means to be an Earthling, there was a whole lot of fanservice, a bunch of sexual gags, but nothing really noteworthy. It was with that in mind that I treaded softly into the second volume, hoping to find a story or something for the show to call its own.

The second installment has us rejoining Takeya and Ren in their little hovel of an apartment, and nothing has changed since the first volume. Ren still finds her way seductively into Takeya's bed every night, she has absolutely no common sense, and their teacher is a horny slut. The three episodes on this disc explore their relationship further, but never really clarify emotions or what a slave means to a master. Takeya remains constantly frustrated about his situation but finds he is falling in love despite his feelings about aliens in general.

His mistreatment of Ren soon earns the ire of his fellow classmates and of the other DearS in their school, Miu. Since her masters (the grandparents) give her nothing to do, Miu takes it upon herself to train Ren and Takeya in the proper ways of behavior for a master and slave. Whether it's cleaning, cooking, or decorating, Ren has a lot to learn if she's going to do credit to her race. There are a couple of funny moments, but there really isn't any humor here that feels "fresh" or "original".

Things get a little more entertaining when Natsuki shows up out of nowhere and decides to bunk with her older brother Takeya. She's a rambunctious little monster who is overprotective, jealous, and extremely adept at hurting her sibling. At first I found her character annoying, but by the end of the episode I was sad to see her go. Natsuki was one of the more interesting and entertaining characters the show has introduce, which is kind of funny considering how she's only a secondary persona.

I want to like DearS, I really do. There are a lot of funny situations and moments that will really make you crack a smile and I love the character design. The problem is that the show is so generic it gets lost in the shuffle thanks to overabundant fanservice, lacking personalities of some of the major characters, and not a lot of "original" content. So far the show proves to be entertaining enough if you have nothing better to watch, but is lacking a substantial point of interest to keep viewers happy.

DearS Volume 2: 2nd Contact is presented in its original 1.33:1 full frame ratio and has a very clean transfer. I noticed only very minor amounts of aliasing in a couple of scenes and the image is pretty much grain free, aside from a few scenes. I particularly liked the art direction and overall style of DearS since it has a very upbeat vibe with strong uses of color and facial expressions. The show also breaks down into a lot of super-deformed character animations at times, but these are some of the funnier moments of the series.

DearS is presented with English and Japanese 2.0 soundtracks and forced English subtitles tossed into the mix for the Japanese track. Both tracks featured very good quality and despite the 2.0 aspect of the channels there is some directional sound used, though not much. I found both audio tracks to be competent and worthwhile and neither offended me with any bad voiceovers. Some of the translations for the subtitles seemed a little stiff to me at times, but I didn't really encounter that with the English track.

Just like the first volume, the second offers up some paltry bonus material. A Non-credit Ending is included as well as some Geneon Previews and an Art Gallery. The images included on the disc are mostly of Miu, though there are only six pictures in total and many of them grace the DVD cover. Speaking of which, just like the original DVD release, this one includes a "naughtier" reversible cover with more cleavage and some raunchier imagery.

DearS wants to be loved. The show has a great atmosphere, some wild humor, and some very naughty material. The only really problem is that the characters are utterly uninteresting and the story just isn't going anywhere, even though the show is past the half way point now. Just like the aliens that the series is about, DearS just wants to be adored, though it's just trying too hard for its own good. Rent It.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!