Thursday, January 27, 2005

My DearS review ^.^
One year ago, Japan made contact with, "The DearS", an alien race made up entirely of submissive, pre-collared men and women on the lookout for masters. We know the men exist because we're told (and there looks to be at least one in the series from the opening movie) but otherwise, it's wall to wall alien T&A.

Definately aiming straight at the heart of an audience still enamored with Chobits, the similarities are uncanny. Messy-haired haired, slightly perverted, but ultimately nice guy Takeya, is living alone in a one-room apartment. Motivation apparently isn't his strong point, only his childhood friend Neneko and 24 alarm clocks manage to get him up every morning. One day, while walking home from school he finds a naked girl with improbably long, flowing hair on the street wrapped in a blanket. Accidentally "activating her", she kneels at his feet and declares herself his slave. Taking her home, Takeya tries to teach her the niceities of clothing, food, and other human customs. Lacking command of human language, she mutely and adorably misunderstands them all while displaying immediate, almost romantic devotion to her new master. I guess this means Chobits is now, officially, a genre unto itself.

If Chobits appealed to the human desire to control another life in a morally-conscious manner (though it ultimately undermined it's own cautionary message), DearS intends only to exploit that desire and have as much fun with it as possible. Yeah, it's sick... if you think about what you're watching. But I'm willing to wager it won't even occur to 75% of the people who are about to become obsessed with this show. Rizelmine was sick too... but Japan isn't exactly haven for the womens' and childrens' rights movements.

There is one potential point of light for girls in Neneko, the "childhood best friend", a role that usually symbolizes overlooked true love. Neneko is the anti-harem girl. Flat, bespectacled and with a choppy, unstyled haircut... she's calm and possesing of a slightly Janine Garafalo sarcastic geek-girl quality. She's provides a welcome respite from the brainless, bouncy submissives. Inclusion of a character like Neneko in a series like this may even hint that the series will develop into something more than it's premise implies. Of course, she could also be played for comic relief and left out in the cold. Only time will tell. Either way, she rocks.

As pure entertainment, DearS is decent. But it's message and the ideas it enforces are ones I hope, for womens' sake, never catch on. In 30 years, what will guys be like that are raised up on this drabble? Will the Prime Minister of Japan be a DearS fan? Will our foreign minister have a Chii fetish? I suppose it's a very good thing that "only otaku" watch this sort of show, seeing as they're the least likely to reproduce and pass these ideas on to another generation O_o; Harem is bad enough. Any show with a "cute" slave theme should be immediately banished to the porno section to be enjoyed in secret with full-knowledge that it's a messed up idea.

But undermining 100 years of femenine progress isn't all DearS has in mind. DearS has another, more subversive goal: to employ all of Japan's most mindbendingly annoying voice actors in a single tribute to grating character acting. Ryuuichi from Gravitation is here, as the moderately annoying "best friend" Ohiko, who predictably ends lots of his sentences with cute sounds. As is 'Komugi-chan' singing the most inane theme song I've heard in years (a cheerful, totally grating opening that proclaims "I'm your slave, because you're special"). Don't know about you, but I know I find middle-aged women trying to sound like 10 year-olds with sinus infections singing about human bondage REALLY sexy. Then there's Mitsuka-sensei, with the annoying breathy, phone-sex voice that's given to all teachers with gigantic breasts. Seldom has a cast this shitty ever been assembled, or has an audio track so wanted me to claw out my eardrums..

So... did I like it or hate it? Both. After all, there's a catgirl. You know I've gotta watch it for the catgirl ^_^; So while every "that's wrong" sensor in my brain was set to buzzing: the eye-candy prevails. Chobits gave me a similar initial impression, and while I came out of the experience feeling dirty and cheated I wasn't significantly traumatized.

DearS is a definate "yes" for bishoujo freaks. If you like the genre, then you're probably not too worried about sexism anyhow. Girls, I think, will probably find DearS much harder to forgive than men. There's just something inherently scary about realizing that there are men out there who really want slaves. Not just guys watching porno in Japan... but guys who watch cartoons and read manga in our own back yards (the DearS manga was just liscenced).

If you can take it as pure fantasy, it's an enjoyable enough offering. But those looking for a bit more gravity, realism or romance in their shows will be, if anything, turned off by DearS ridiculously sexist setup.

Bottom line, It's a great anime even with the grating soundtrack. Definitly a must see for Chobits lovers.
Comments (0)