042 - DNA² ~ File 5

042 - DNA² ~ File 5

Author: We Appreciate Manga™ March 28, 2020 Duration: 1:05:18

The concluding chapters! Skip plot summary @11:31 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.Com Make an itunes review and contact us for a chance to win a goodie or two!

DNA²

 

By Masakazu Katsura

 

Topics:

  • Dragonball GT and the character design of Vegata and Bebi
  • What did Karin do at that ambiguous ending?
  • "Psychomachia" the will of Junta, and how he overcomes the demon junta is the type of conflict that has been illustrated for years. In the style of mind over matter Psychomachia is the name of the Medieval work by the Latin poet Prudentious. It depicts the personification of human virtues and sins antagonising each other. Will makes the comparison of the devil and angel trope that reflects the conscious of those who are in a moral dilemma.
  • The way mist and smoke used to avoid rendering detail in scenes.
  • Why is Mazakazu Katsura's art style so good?
  • Catharsis of death and killing the antagonist.
  • What is methyl (and acetyl) tags? A brief description of the gene switches we all have. For more information on this and how epigenetics work you can watch the PBS documentary, 'The Ghost in our Genes'

 

Differences from the anime:

 

  • No incest motive from Lulala.
  • Mori's DCM bullet is the one Karin believed was for her future husband but in the anime Mori's bullet is the one that Karin hits Ryuji with, this makes Ryuji a returning antagonist in the anime.
  • In the anime, Mori can use a high-tech device so to mind control the Demon-Junta and everyone with his DCM*
  • In the anime Lulala is free from Mori's mind control and is able to go back to

the future. In the manga, she is killed before she's born via a time paradox

 

*DCM (DNA Control Medicine), in episode one we called it DMC by mistake.

What our dream casting would look like:

 

Karin: Emillia Clarke, Francesca Reale, Camren Bicondova

Ami: Lachlan Watson, Kyôka Shibata

Tomoko: Francesca Reale, Kiernan Shipka

Kotomi: Sei Shiraisei

Junta: Choi Woo-Shik

 

Other notes: the contucky friend chicken,

                              

Plot Summary:

 

The Iwasaki siblings attempt to humiliate Kotomi once again, and although they succeed to some extent, they still fail to make her lose in the Olympic try-outs. Afterwards Kotomi breaks up with Junta. Kotomi, more confident than ever, realises that she would feel more welcome in Germany then in Junta's arms. She slaps Junta, yet still tells him that he is a friend, same as Ami. Ami makes her feelings for Junta clear; she loves him but only as a friend. And that now is not the right time to start a relationship.

 

A corrupt government official travels from a possible future of Karin's. Mr. Mori, whom has come to intercept a message from Junta's child, the child who also happens to be the son of Aoi Karin. Mr. Mori tells Karin that he was responsible for switching the DCM bullet that was meant for Junta, in doing so he has created a timeline where Mr. Mori has amassed an army of psychic soldiers consisting of Junta's children. All of the children obey him except Karin's child, who has chosen to rebel against Mori's regime and defeat his siblings, even going so far to prevent his birth at the cost of a better future. For Karin this means that she may fail her mission but it also means that Junta and Karin's feelings for each other are valid in that they are not influenced by the DCM. Now Mori attempts to kill Karin so that he can succeed in his plans.

 

Meanwhile Junta discovers that the time line has changed, the Mega-playboy will eventually sire 101 children. The youngest, Kawasaki Lulala, has come back in time and has chosen Junta to father her children. Basically, she wants to sleep with her father in order to breed more psychic soldiers. Deeming Junta as the perfect candidate she injects him with a substance that speeds up the Mega-playboy transformation, to a point that we shall call the Demon-Junta.

 

As Karin fights off Mr. Mori's robot she is ambushed by the Demon-Junta and Lulala. Lulala goes in for a killing blow only to be stopped by the real Junta, who has gained back control of his DNA through sheer willpower, and taken it back from the Demon-Junta.

 

Junta denies being Lulala's father, saying that such a person is a demon, one that he will never become. Junta banishes Lulala from existence and creates a paradox in Mori's goal. The time police arrive to arrest Mori yet Mori takes credit for resolving the Mega-playboy problem by exacerbating the issue. To avoid arrest, Mori kills himself regardless of how the paradox may have changed his nefarious goal.

 

Karin is permitted to stay with Junta for longer before she heads back to the future. She goes on a date with him as a girl of the modern era would. During the date they visit Ryuji in hospital, Tomoko looks after Ryuji but is surprised to see that Junta isn't dating Ami. And although Karin wants to stay with Junta, she decides to go back to the future. Junta has no memory as to what happened in the summer he spent with Karin and turns Ami for help. But what is certain is that Karin knows exactly what happened.

 

The End.

 

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There's a particular kind of magic that happens when a friend hands you a book they love, especially when that book is a manga. We Appreciate Manga captures that exact feeling, beginning each conversation with a personal recommendation before letting the discussion wander into deeper territory. Hosted by the team at We Appreciate Manga™, this series is less a formal review and more like eavesdropping on a thoughtful, sometimes rambling, chat between enthusiasts. You’ll hear them explore how specific stories resonate, why certain artistic choices matter, and the very real comfort these illustrated narratives can provide during difficult periods. It’s a celebration of the medium that goes beyond plot summaries to appreciate manga as a unique and powerful form of visual storytelling. Think of it as your audio companion to a vibrant, anime-adjacent book club where the panels come to life through conversation. New episodes of this podcast have been available since August 2022, offering a consistent space to connect with the art and heart of these stories.
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