We Appreciate Manga

Asuka comes to Japan! The definitive red haired tsundere shakes things up. We talk about the human genome, freudian stuff and the politics of a break up because of Misato x Kaji.

Skip synopsis @ 8:23

Neon Genesis Evangelion vol. 4

Chapters 20 to 26

By Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

Translation by Lillian Olsen

Topics

• Differences from the anime and the Angels
• Asuka talk and the Freudian dynamic (Eva even have umbilical cords/power lines)
• Kaji x Misato romance, and the politics of a break-up.

Other References

• Adam
• Israfel's name
• Sperm donation
• Biorhythms

Synopsis

Asuka Langley Soryu makes her way to Tokyo 3, she is the second child to have piloted Eva before Shinji Ikari. On her way she is attacked by an Angel yet manages to defeat it. Shinji sees video of her fight and it becomes clear that she is extremely well trained and talented.

After School Shinji spots a red-haired girl with his friends, Kensuke Aida and Toji. She is loud and boisterous, and a sore loser when it comes to playing crane claw games seen in arcades.

The boys watch her until she starts accusing them of perving on her. The attention brings round a gang of thugs, the girl is ready to fight and does well defending herself but Shinji is weakest of the two and manages to get punched in the face. The police are called in and they all scatter.

On his way to NERV, the base of the Evas. Shinji spots the red-haired girl and discovers that she is Asuka, the 2nd child.

Misato Katsuragi's ex-boyfriend arrives. Acting as Asuka's supervisor he has secretly delivered a foetus like specimen known as ADAM, the first human, and the possible reason why the Angel attacked Asuka on her journey to Tokyo 3. ADAM now belongs to Gendo Ikari.

As Rei's Eva is being repaired it forces Asuka and Shinji to team up and fight the next angel. Their lack of team work results in their fight being a complete failure and the Angel duplicating itself into two. Misato puts the two of them into a room together and sets up a training regimen to hopefully sync both Asuka and Shinji's biorhythms. Asuka tells Shinji that she has no father, and was chosen from a donated sperm by her mother, her raison d'etre is to pilot Eva, defeat the angels and to be acknowledged for it. She says it doesn't matter if she hasn't got a father, however, at night, Shinji hears Asuka crying and calling out to her mother in her sleep. Eventually Asuka's jealous and competitive nature is enough to help inspire the sympathetic Shinji and the two succeed in defeating the angel.

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]

On this episodes it's all about the definitive blue haired waifu, Rei Ayanami. Steven feels he doesn't have a lot of info to decide what is Rei's deal. Is James being presumptive? The gender politics are strong in this one.

Skip intro/synopsis @ 9:17

045: Neon Genesis Evangelion vol. 3

Chapters 13 to 19

By Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

Translation by Adapted to English by Lillian Olsen, Fred Burke + Carl Gustav Horn

Topics:

• Is there such a thing as a story without a goal?
• Joseph Campbell and the monomyth.
• Rei Ayanami .
• Stoicism and "Resting Bitch Face"
• The action scene/Angel battle being a plot device to get Rei and Shinji closer.

Synopsis + first impression:

On his return to base, Shinji befriends Toji and Kensuke Aida, it becomes the first time that Misato sees Shinji smile. Rei doesn't give much of a welcome to Shinji and Misato tells him that Rei never smiles and treats everyone the same. The exception is that Rei adores Shinji's father, Gendo Ikari.

Ritsuko Akagi comments on Misato's and Shinji's relationship, she congratulates Misato on passing the rite of passage which is Shinji's rebellion towards his guardian. Ritsuko was always confident that Shinji would return to Misato and pilot the Eva. Not long after this, Shinji notices that his dad has scars on the palm of his hands, which he acquired by saving Rei from a malfunctioning Eva. The Unit-00 which somehow tried to reject her. Shinji can't help but wonder if his father would ever do the same for him.

The next day Shinji is sent on an errand to go to Rei's home and drop off her new security pass. Shinji finds the doorbell broken and the door already unlocked. As he makes his way inside, he finds that Rei has kept broken spectacles that belong to his dad. Rei appears out of the shower. She is more concerned that Shinji is touching Gendo's glasses then him seeing her naked. Rei is cold and reticent in her demeanour and Shinji is embarrassed through their meeting. It becomes clear to Shinji that Rei is more loyal to piloting Eva than Shinji is, but also that Rei lives a lonely life and has given it solely to Gendo Ikari.

Soon another Angel attacks the city, Shinji is almost killed by its laser and it forms a drill in order to attack the underground base, calculations are made and they have less than a day to kill the angel before it succeeds. Rei watches Shinji recover like a mother at a bedside vigil, she even notices him cry as he dreams about and calls out to his own dead mother.

When Shinji recovers, he is ordered to use a prototype positron rifle whilst Rei uses a shield in order to protect him. It becomes their first time battling together. Shinji realises that if he misses the shot, the time it takes to recharge the rifle means Rei's shield would be destroyed before he can fire back. Shinji misses the first shot but thanks to Rei's sacrifice and her promise to protect Shinji, they manage to fire a second time and defeat the angel. Shinji runs out to Rei's Eva; he opens her pod door and looks into the cockpit as his dad did before him. Shinji sees that Rei is okay and begins to cry. Rei asks him why he is always sad; Shinji says he is not sad but that he's happy she is alive and tells her that its okay to show emotion when you're happy. For the first time we see Rei smile.

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]

Shinji Ikari runs away! Which gives us time to reflect on the thing all teens do. Which is to rebel! Skip us chewing the fat/synopsis @ 5:50

Theme music: 'Electro Hype' by Liam Bradbury.

Neon Genesis Evangelion vol. 2

Chapters 7 to 12.

By Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

Adapted to English by Lillian Olsen, Fred Burke + Carl Gustav Horn

Topics:

• First form of fan service/gratuity shot (Misato in shower p212)
• Comparing the depiction of Shinji compared to the Anime, he has a tough exterior but we get more thought bubbles and inner monologs. Sadamoto's intention was to "shine a spotlight on Shinji's soul"
• Shinji vs Misato – Why did Misato slap him? Is Shinji doing the right thing? And is it right for Shinji to live with Misato?
• Running away from home and generally rebelling against your parents.
• The action scene that involves a depleting battery.

Synopsis:

Shinji arrives in his new home, Misato Katsuragi's apartment. He is introduced to her pet penguin, Penpen and her pig sty mess of a home. Her fridge is full of nothing but beer, she eats TV dinners and gives Shinji the majority of chores. Decided by a fair game of rock, paper, scissors of course!

Shinji attends school and rumour quickly spreads that he was the pilot in the fight with the Angel. He is flattered by the attention but by confirming the rumours he exposes himself to criticism. A classmate, Toji, blames Shinji's sloppy fight for putting his sister in hospital. During classroom breaks Toji beats up Shinji.

In a surprise attack, a new Angel appears, merely 3 weeks after Shinji and Rei fought the last one. Toji and his friend Aida sneak out from their shelter to record video of the fight. During the fight, Shinji's power line is cut and thus he is forced to fight with a battery backup. Toji and Aida almost die as Shinji's Eva falls towards them. Shinji spots them and goes against Misato's orders by opening the entry plug to the Eva. He allows Toji and Aida to sit beside him inside the cockpit for their own protection.

Shinji refuses Misato's order to retreat from the fight, he fights the Angel as the clock countdowns the battery. By the time the battery dies, the angel dies too.

Afterwards Misato berates Shinji for his defiance, he remains detached and cavalier both about the situation and his relationship with Misato. She slaps him.

Shinji runs away, he briefly meets Aida before he is apprehended by NERV agents. Aida envies the position of Eva pilot but Shinji, when given the choice, refuses to pilot Eva. Shinji is given his belongings and cast out of NERV. When Toji and Aida go to Misato's home out of concern for Shinji, They tell Misato that although Shinji acts calm and nihilistic, he is still just a child. He will act like a spoilt brat when not appreciated. Misato runs out and stops Shinji before he gets on the train out of town. Shinji knows he has nowhere else to go and can only stay where he feels he is needed. Misato asks for Shinji to come back home.

Pop culture references/Product placement:

Pocky

Yebisu Beer

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]

This is it! The cultiest of cult 90's anime, the daddy of the sekai-kei genre! And maybe Elon Musks favourite anime? It kickstarted the popularity of angsty teen anime heroes. Skip synopsis talk @ 6:52

Special thanks to 'Eagle8burger' for our intro.

043: Neon Genesis Evangelion vol. 1

Chapters 1 to 6

By Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

Adapted to English by Mari Morimoto, Fred Burke + Carl Gustav Horn

Topics:

• The Western Anime boom, the days of collecting VHS tapes and trading with friends, which Evangelion's first American dub came to us during that time.
• Shinji's "daddy issues", sometimes you just learn that you don't need your daddy's approval, sadly the main character, Shinji Ikari, has a long way to go.
• Rei Ayanami being possibly "albino"
• The concept of the "Angels" and the originality of how aliens are depicted in Neon Genesis Evangelion.
• The ending to chapter 6, which differs from the original anime and clues us in on things to come.

Synopsis:

In the year 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, teenager Shinji Ikaritravels to Tokyo-3 at the behest of his estranged father, Gendo. While meeting with Misato Katsuragi, a woman who works for Gendo, the city is attacked by a giant creature known as an Angel. Misato takes Shinji to NERV, an organization headed by Gendo that has developed giant bio-mechanical mecha known as Evangelions. As Evangelion Unit-01's pilot, Rei Ayanami, is wounded, Gendo asks his son to take her place. Shinji decides to fight the Angel, named Sachiel, but panics when he first sees it. During the fight, Shinji makes Unit-01 furiously attack Sachiel, which self-destructs, causing minor damage to the Eva. Next day, Misato discovers that Gendo is not planning to live with Shinji. Therefore, she decides to become Shinji's legal guardian to keep him from being isolated.

Pop culture and other references:

• The Christian cross is used to depict a flashy death state of the defeated Angel, over the next volumes there will be many allusions and references to not only Christianity but all Abrahamic religions, and even kabbalah.
• Group A10 is the largest group of dopaminergic cells in the ventral midbrain tegmentum of rodents and primates. The cells are located for the most part in the ventral tegmental area, the linear nucleus and, in primates, the part of central grey of the midbrain located between the left and right oculomotor nuclear. Not to be confused with T10 which is found in the human spine.

"On the floor of the midbrain is the ventral segmental system, that neurobiologists call region A10. Cells soaked in dopamine, certain emotions are processed here: such as the thoughts of two lovers - or a parent and a child. And it is the synchronization of the threads and bundles of A10 that splice pilot and Eva together; to become one entity, to fight. In other words, the power of love drives this weapon of mass destruction." – Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]

The concluding chapters! Skip plot summary @11:31 Email: [email protected] 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.

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]

Warning: we speak about distressing scenes. Podcast originally recorded on 19/02/2020 lots of talk on "love rivals", contact: [email protected]

DNA²

By Masakazu Katsura

Topics:

• Patching up last episode discrepancies:

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

• Is it morally right to use sexual assault scenes as a plot device/entertainment?

In reality Kotomi would have been beaten up if not raped if she could not be saved by Junta. And the idea that she needs a man to save her gives no respite.

Technically interesting Moments:

• Having the Iwasaki siblings track Junta through Karin's monitor. This is important since Junta can teleport. Naturally they can't spy on Junta all the time and he is easy to lose.
• The contrivance:

Ami is able to ditch Karin's tracking bug (a love totem ring) but Junta can't wash out the bug from his hair.

Real Talk:

Ami vs Kotomi (when friends become love rivals)

Who would be better for Junta?

Ami:

Pros – loves Junta for who he is and not what he is becoming. Handles rejection very well, in other words, she isn't selfish when it comes to Junta's feelings.

Con – Could hold Junta back. + lacks confidence and can't initiate. (older lovers, the long haul)

Kotomi:

Pros – wants to improve herself + wants to help Junta improve himself too. Helping each other with their goals.

Cons – Using Junta as a crutch/remedy to her personal problems, needs affirmation from Junta and lacks confidence. + Loves Mega-playboy, not Junta. + losing Ami as a friend/needs Ami's support. + needy and low maintenance. (Young virginal lovers)

Product placement:

"Contucky Friend Chicken" is used as a placeholder for a certain famous fried chicken establishment.

Plot Summary

Karin explains the previous events to Ami and is asked to prevent Junta from becoming the mega-playboy. Ami takes the news very well but is shy when it comes to expressing her feelings to Junta. Ami's friend, Kotomi Takanashi feels the same way and it quickly becomes clear that both Ami and Kotomi have feelings for Junta. Karin does her best to pre-empt this and puts a tracking bug on Junta yet Junta steals Karin's monitor since he's wise to Karin's act. Karin takes Junta to Ami.

Kotomi gets flatulent when nervous, similar to Junta being sick when he is attracted to girls, and so she decides to get a makeover to help with her confidence. Both Junta and Ami are astonished by Kotomi's transformation, and when Kotomi asks Junta out he starts to oblige.

Junta and Kotomi begin to date in hopes of fixing their physiological maladies, Kotomi practices to not fart when nervous and Junta tries not to get sick around Kotomi. Because of this Kotomi's confidence grows strong and she is chosen to compete in the Olympics. A jealous contender to Kotomi, Mako Iwasaki, plans to ruin her. She spies on Junta and is able to retrieve Karin's monitor from the trash, all because Junta falsely believes he washed the bug out of his hair. Then she gets the assistance of her psychic brother. With his help she is able to humiliate Kotomi during her demonstration.

Upset and devasted, Kotomi decides to give up competing in Germany and stay with Junta as boyfriend and girlfriend. Karin, who by this point has multiple tracking devices and monitors, is able to see that the Mega-playboy in Junta is becoming a threat.

Helplines:

For UK listeners:

The national rape crisis number is

0808 802 9999

The National Helpline is provided by Rape Crisis South London. It offers confidential emotional support, information and referral details. Callers can have a one-off call lasting up to 40 minutes.

Open between 12:00 -14:30 and 19:00 - 21:30 every day of the year.

Website: rapecrisis.org.uk

You can find your nearest rape crisis centre by contacting them and using their website.

For US Listeners:

The national helpline for rape and sexual abuse is

800 656 4673

You can also access 24/7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.

For Australia:

You can call the national helpline for rape and sexual abuse on

1800 737 732

Their helpline is open 24/7.

If you are in urgent need of assistance call emergency services or if you wish to report a crime then call your local police number.

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]

Ryuji transforms exactly like a Devil Man cum Dragonball Z villain, this certainly didn't make it into the anime! Did Ryuji ever really love Tomoko or was he so jacked on DNA changing testosterone that no one could tell the difference? Skip summary @ 10:30

DNA² ~ File 3

By Masakazu Katsura

Topics:

• The contrivances:

• The psychic Jacket transformation and Karin's exposition dump (not in the anime)
• Having witnesses for the fight so that Ryuji has people around he can graft DNA from. (also not in the anime)
• The lightning strike that causes a fire to burn the place down. Really their psychic power blasts could have served the same purpose, a la "pyrokinesis" perhaps.

• How the fight could have been less surreal:

• Ryuji didn't need to look like a superhero, or at the very least wear a mask, because this was counter intuitive towards the witnesses around him.
• There didn't need to be witnesses to see the Ryuji vs Junta battle, just having Ryuji claim to Tomoko that he was defending her honour would suffice.
• By having Ryuji transform it defeats the purpose of having witnesses at all. As the spectacle of the fight isn't Ryuji fighting Junta at that point, instead the spectacle becomes the transformation itself. It's the least surreal factor because the story already establishes that Karin's DMC bullets unlock psychic powers. But in terms of having an audience and all those witnesses to the fight, it would be the most surreal thing they've seen.

• The blossoming romance between Ami and Junta

• Did Ryuji Actually love Tomoko? A thesis on love.

Plot Summary

Junta hones his psychic powers so that he can battle Ryuji and yet Ryuji waits in his library and spends the time reading books on gargoyles. He keeps Aoi Karin trapped in his basement since she was too eager to fight Ryuji before Junta gets to him. As Karin fights off Ryuji's goons, Junta is given an invitation to fight, by Ryuji himself, clothed in superhero attire. Ami overhears this conversation and uses her bike to give him a ride to Ryuji's estate.

As Ryuji returns to Karin, he finds that she has defeated all his goons and is ready to fight Ryuji.

Karin loses the fight against Ryuji and in turn Ryuji grafts her DNA on to himself, becoming more powerful. Afterwards, he sets things up so that he can have the kidnapped Tomoko be placed inside a private cottage/hall where he will fight Junta amongst witnesses, all under the guise that he is defending Tomoko's honour from Junta. Most of the witnesses are previous dates that Ryuji cheated on in spite of Tomoko, basically fan girls.

During the fight Ryuji is angered when Tomoko is in support of Junta winning, the weakened Ryuji decides to attack his entourage of witnesses and graft their DNA on to his. This causes his blood pressure to rise and his veins explode. It looks as though he will be defeated under the weight of the transformation and yet he transforms into a gargoyle like demon. Rejuvenated into a monstrous form. Cue exposition dump when Karin deduces that his transformation is an exoskeletal psychic jacket.

Ryuji knocks Junta unconscious* but when Ami releases Tomoko she reasons with Ryuji, knowing that Tomoko loves Junta Ryuji attacks Tomoko and thus awakens the mega-playboy in Junta. Junta is able to cripple Ryuji and when Junta attempts to use his teleportation power to get the girls to safety, Ryuji holds Tomoko hostage. If Junta doesn't save Ryuji then Tomoko may die however Junta calls Ryuji's bluff and goes to attack Ryuji and Tomoko. This frees Tomoko thanks to Ryuji's mercy but Ryuji is maimed in the attack.

Ryuji is the last person Junta teleports to safety. Ryu is defeated, weakened and rapidly aged from the battle. And its Junta that demands that Tomoko go with Ryuji to the hospital. Ryuji sees the error of his ways but has nothing but hate for Junta. The Mega-playboy person doesn't stay for long either, seeing the ravaged Karin, he gets sick from looking at her exposed breast.

*By the way, after Ryuji's transformation a thunderbolt causes a fire!

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]

Trigger warning: talk of physical/sexual abuse. We have a shape shifting villain! In a romance manga! Will and James talk about the horror of the villain, when "friends" cross the line and jealousy in relationships. Skip plot summary @ 14:08

A Shounen romance? About a DNA manipulating time traveller who plans to terminate the Mega-playboy! We talk about how Butterflies in the stomach feels more like being punched in the stomach until you're sick. Very accurate, skip plot summary @13:45

Contact: [email protected]

DNA² ~ File 1

By Masakazu Katsura

Topics

• The Highschool setting:
• The mix of romance with Shounen genre.
• Eavesdropping at School the school gate (Why the school setting is easy to write for)
• Rumours spread easy
• Claustrophobic /intimate setting with many characters
• Relatable
• Karin's voice changing gadget used as a match making plot device, as well as her DNA changing bullets. (beats sneaking notes in lockers and stuff)
• The date with Tomoko, and the tension of having to guess what colour underwear she has on. Is Tomoko a "bitch in sheep's clothing"?
• How one man's desensitising of their attraction to women could turn them into a womaniser.
• Junta's physiological condition (butteflies/adrenaline rush)
• Impromptu "Stealth Dates"

Pop culture references/Product Placement

Will be included on the episode 39's show notes…

Plot Summary

Junta Momonari suffers from an allergy towards beautiful girls, the better looking they are the worse he is. Tomoko Saeki teases Junta out of spite but ends up feeling rejected when Junta gets sick. Meanwhile the mysterious Aoi Karin travels through time to hunt for the infamous mega-playboy. A man responsible for polluting the gene pool of the future and causing his descendants to overpopulate the earth, basically a walking sex god.

Karin finds Junta, and believing him to be the mega-playboy, she shoots him with a DNA changing bullet, the DMC. She believes her job is done until she discovers she used the wrong bullet, having accidentally shot him with a bullet meant for her possible future husband. Karin finds that she is responsible for creating the mega-playboy.

That night Junta makes his way to Tomoko, knowing that Tomoko is using him to spite her boyfriend, Ryuji Sugashita. Junta tries to settle things with her yet Tomoko asks for forgiveness when she sees him transform into the mega-playboy. She decides to break up with her boyfriend upon falling for the newly transformed Junta. Albeit the Mega-playboy transformation is unstable and Junta can only keep up the persona at random times.

Karin attempts to set up Junta with his childhood friend, Ami Kurimoto, hoping that through monogamy she can counter Junta's transformation. Yet Junta starts falling for Karin whilst Tomoko falls for Junta. Junta goes shopping for a necklace to buy Karin but ends up going on an impromptu shopping date with Tomoko, who believes the necklace is for herself. Ryuji organises thugs to attack Junta yet they aim to attack the beautiful Tomoko instead. Can Junta / Mega-playboy defend himself and the woman who adores him?

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]

On the final volume of Sundome we talk about sex and death, the dream like atmosphere in the final chapters and conteplate the differences between vegan and sheep skin condoms. Skip plot summary @ 102:0 Email: [email protected]

Sundome vol. 8

By Kazuto Okada

Translation by Christine Dashiell

With Lettering by Abigail Blackman

Topics:

• Contemplating the differences between Vegan and Sheep skin Condoms.
• The dream like nature of the story telling:

- Hideo feels as if he's in a dream whilst sleeping with kurumi.

- Hideo at the nurse's office for fighting / Kurumi's ghost.

- Kurumi's reticent nature. (Leaving the clue /behind the glass)

- Love and the supernatural/dream state

• The way Okada foreshadowed Kurumi's illness.
• The gang of friends that breakout the one / Helping the lovers get back together.
• Sex and Death

Pop culture references/Product Placement:

• Let it Snow – Kyouko singing a Japanese version of the dean martin song
• "Mangina" – Apparently, Christine uses this vulgar word to describe a catfish, the original word is "Ketsu-Manko" or "Pussy-Ass"
• Kotodama – magic word

Plot Summary

In the Final Volume of Sundome, we see that winter has come and Kurumi has been absent from school. Kyouko and Katsun hide their relationship from the roman club but Hideo is more interested in the missing Kurumi, he promised to take Kurumi to the flower of the waves. In the club house, Kyouko finds Kurumi's medicine and when Hideo does a word search on the meds, he starts to become worried. At night he sets off to see Kurumi and finds her bed ridden and in pain.

He watches her all night and eventually Kurumi allows him to sleep with him, they even take a bath together. When Hideo goes to school the next morning, he sees that Kurumi is still absent and flowers are left on her desk. Taking this as an insult and a bad omen, Hideo grabs the vase of flowers and throws it through the window. By doing this he ends up causing a scene. As the flowers were not for Kurumi, just merely placed whilst the room was being cleaned. Hideo finds that Kurumi is in hospital via a clue she left for him. He makes his way there but upon seeing her Hideo is apprehended by staff, who brand him as a pervert.

Hideo then gets the roman club to sneak him back inside. Kyouko is disguised as a nurse and Katsun a cleaner. They sneak Kurumi out through an empty bin and are eventually caught. In the chase, it looks as if Kurumi and Hideo have fallen down stairs, leaving Kurumi injured and bloodied. But this is merely a diversion, the ex-president of the roman club has disguised himself, using a second bin as a decoy.

Hideo takes Kurumi out of the hospital and fulfils his promise of taking her to see the flower of the waves. That night they finally have sex on the beach, no games, no frills, no kinks, just two lovers knocking boots. Albeit he uses the "pull-out method".

Years later, Hideo works at the hospital and is happily in a relationship. Also, his friends, Kyouko and Katsun are getting married with the rest of the roman club up to organise it. As for Kurumi, she is still existing.

Instagram – weappreciatemanga.co.uk

Twitter - @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – [email protected]