Ok, now i realise, this will shock most, if not all of you that know me. But in the comming elections i shall be voting Liberal Democrats, yes, i realise that this probably goes against what most of you think of me and my opinions on stuff. But i truly believe, that out of the 3 parties that stand a chance of winning this election the Lib Dem’s are the only ones with policies that make sense…

First of all, why i’m not voting conservative…
1. Their leader looks evil/suspicious/like he wants to take over the world/like he’s hiding pleanty of stuff. No amount of good policy will be able to overcome this fact.
2. They are against the EU constitution.
3. They claim to be able to lower taxes…yeah right!
4. Environmental policies seem un-important to them.

Second, why i’m not voting labour…
1. Their environmental policies seem highly in-adequate (ie… “we’ll tell the public we’re doing all this, it looks good on paper, but it’s not really much, hopefully it’ll shut them up”)
2. They seem to only half be for the EU constitution, and mostly against the Euro. Put it this way…they say they’re for the EU constitution, but when the referendum comes, i don’t think they’re gonna put much effort into convincing the public that it’s good (therefore everyone’s gonna vote “no” in the referendum). And their “5 key points” thingy for the Euro seems more like a delay tactic to me, so they’ll keep failing it, which means they won’t have to deal with thinking about it, they’ll just leave it for the next govornment to sort out.
3. They’re for compulsory national ID cards. ID cards will cost the country loads, and they’re not even garunteed to fix the problems they claim to be able to. Not to mention the possible privacy and identity theft issues with them.
4. Immigration has turned into a free-for-all. (if the “asylum seekers” really are claiming asylum, you’d think they’d take the first country available, i mean they could apply for asylum in France…but no…they travel through other countries just to get to Britain…doesn’t that tell you something about the way Blair has been handling asylum?)
5. They seem to be rather vague about tax rises.
6. The iraq war. Well…not so much the war itself, but his “relationship” with Bush is driving our relationship with Europe into the ground. (not to mention that Bush is a damn religious freak, religion has no place in politics. And his religious views are hindering scientific research in the US. Therefore anyone associated with him must be a cock!)

Now, why i’m voting Lib Dem…
1. Environmental issues seem relativley important. (altough not on the same levels as the Green Party) We definatley need more renewable energy in this country.
2. They’re for the EU constitution, the Euro (both pending refferendum of course), and forming stronger ties with our European neighbors.
3. They oppose national ID cards.
4. They support the devolution of power to Scotland, Wales and Northen Ireland. Surley this has to be a good thing, each country will be able to run more efficiently if they are all run seperatley, it lets the leaders of each region focus on their region, not having one leader focus on all areas.
5. They’re being honest, they have said there will be tax rises if they win, but only on those earning over £100,000 per year.

So, there you have it, my views on this election. Now go vote Lib Dem, they need your support!! Incidently, if you choose not to vote, then for the next 4 years you have no right to complain about anything that happens in this country, so don’t waste your vote…democracy relies on everyone getting their opinion across!

Lib Dem Manifesto – http://mobular.onlinedm.com/libdems/manifesto/england/

Wow! In the US, the PSP sold more units in the first week than the DS did in it’s first week (600,000 PSP’s Sold vs 500,000 DS’s Sold). This is certainly unexpected!

Anyone going to the London MCM Expo? (14th – 15th May)

<<<<< Oh, and there's some new reviews over there too.

Elfen Lied is set around modern times and contains graphic violence with romance and demons. That’s pretty much the basis of this OVA but any expectations you have are about to be mysteriously sliced in twain (ebil laugh^^).

Just when you think that all the new anime today is genetically engineered to produce artificial sweetener, this baby comes along. The basic story revolves around two cousins who have grown up together barr some separations. They now attend university and live in the same town and under the same roof of an old abandoned inn. However, this flowery scene is not contained within the first 5 minutes, dear god no. The series begins with a break out at an off-shore research facility. It seems a horned, dangerous, powerfully psychic, killer has nullified (ripped to gory shreds and decapitated) its guards and fled the island (while taking an armor piercing bullet to the head… so there’s probably some neurological damage, only a little though). This killer is the “victim” of a genetic condition, and not technically a virus, that threatens to wipe out all of human life within the next 5 years (probably by horribly slaughtering everyone if you wanted to know). This condition is noticed at birth via the small horns (fancy words were used) that appear on the baby’s head, after the age of 2 these kids go homicidal and kill the family, plus anyone around, with mentally controlled arms. Now, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that these two plots are gonna collide somewhere. But the way in which they do is something I would have never seen coming. These characters that have been mentioned, and one or two more, all live in the inn together quite happily for the remainder of the series… you can lift your jaw of the floor now.

As far as i’m concerned, Elfen Lied’s plot is as refreshing as a bloody shower can be, and that’s surprisingly refreshing. The creators have combined numerous stories into either a mangled mess or a brand new colour to the spectrum, you decide. It took me a while but as far as i know it’s a case of “Love Hina” meets “Species” meets “3×3 Eyes” (Species isn’t an anime but that’s the best i could come up with ). Despite the Love Hina element this is most definatly a show for those of us who were alive to see the original master system release(… those of us who are slightly older). One excellent part of the first episode was that they got the gore out of the way (for the time being), if you had seen that after the introduction of the cousins then it might have been a bit of a shock. What’s appealing about the plot is that it hasn’t lost sight of the boundaries of hentai and has provided atmospheric reasons for occasionally dancing over the line. With both humour, horror, and humour that you really shouldn’t laugh at because that guy was just sliced like cheese, the show keeps you waiting for the next character revelation. The effect of a “tears through a blood stained face” approach can strangly warm the heart as the story speaks of love, loss, anger …and the creation of horrible killing machines through childhood privation. Another point that is made clear is that despite the genetic condition that produces a “diclonius”, parental ties are still bound tightly (not foster-parental ties though). This can sound a little insane at a distance but they do try to make this point as much as they can.

Music wise, the score wants to add to the suspense and horror elements, if it’s a happy or funny scene, there ain’t gonna be no music. The main theme is a song from a german poem and also features as the “music box” theme that most animes of the type possess, y’know, ones with troubled childhoods. I did enjoy the ending theme though, “I wanna be your girl” ^^ it helps underline the second plot line, whether you want to have psychotic children or not (parents just aren’t shown in a very good light throughout the series by the way).

Each character has a story to tell. This has appeared to be a good call as it adds depth and complexity. Also, this helps avoid personality stereotypes, on closer examination, and with anything that resembles harem anime, this is definatly a good thing. Different personal delemnas are brought to the table, however, few are actually delt with (it’s only 13 episodes anyway). Surrounding characters have obviously been designed to put a point across; people are scum, it’s just the way it is. Though this can be disgreeable, if you wanted to veg out to a sappy-happy, life story, you picked up the wrong series. This can raise a very good issue about the main characters though; do you have to be mentally disturbed do be a nice person? It would seem so (but most of us prefer to think otherwise ). And perhaps the most disturbed of the characters has a damn good reason for doing their frowned upon activities.

This OVA has very few holes, but some just glare at you from the screen. In the joining of various genres, some things are more relaxed, such as seeing a man with gouged out eyes, no limbs and a gun. Most people would scream, run, or just walk away, but this was not the case. The only character this worked on was Kouta, one of the cousins, but saying why would spoil it for you^^. Another i found quite funny was either a badly translated phrase or some sort of poetic thing, because when police storm the scene of a bloody murder, they do not shout out; “…come out with your pants down”, but oh well.

In closing, this is a new type of series. It has chanced a new style but rarely do these types cause repetition, left alone, this OVA serves as a landmark (which would have been true for the matrix if they left it as a single film… those bastards). What attracted me was the promise of bloody humour, and what hooked me was the younger drawing style combined with insight into the darker side of nihilism. The still artwork is also a highlight. Personally, i’m glad to see that the 90′s releases of anime had an effect on people and that the genre will never die despite the high cost of red ink. If you liked this then you should consider seeing some 90′s classics (but for the love of god get someone else’s opinion first^^”).

8/10
Reviewer: Matariel

Editors note:

It”s not an OVA apparently, even though there”s:
NO eyecatch,
EXCESSIVE violence,
PROFANITY,
INCESTUOUS content,
and
ADULT situations.
Who can blame me for thinking it was never aired on TV?

DNA^2… oh, where to start? It’s just great stuff. Highly identifiable by the particular mangaka. A bit dated but it works. This series has gone out on a limb to do something that no other series has or can ever do (anymore) justify fan-service. I only got that point awhile ago as I’ve read other reviews but it really is true, it’s just hard to notice because it’s never been done before. Junta, a boy but in no way ordinary. Junta suffers from a “mild” case of gynophobia whose origins are never explained. At the sight of a female’s flesh he panics, freezes, and begins to vomit (always in a comedic fashion). This is the way he’s lived for most of his life and the only girl his condition can stand is his childhood friend and neighbour Ami. The way Junta explains this is classic; he explains in one statement that because he grew up with her, she doesn’t really count as a girl ^^. Anyway, this is all established in the first 10 minutes of the first episode. Then Karin appears, a time travelling girl who was sent back in time to prevent an overpopulation problem that was brought about by a single “Mega-Playboy” (I kid you not) who impregnated 100 women who then all had “Mega-Playboy” progeny who then all procreated with 100 others etc. Karin is sent to simply shoot the megaplayboy with a dna altering bullet that will take away all his abilities. Each megaplayer has super strength, reflexes, pheromones etc that can be quite destructive but all serve to find a mate. These pheromones cause anyone of the opposite sex to instantly fall for them (notice family isn’t being mentioned here but it kinda goes without saying that they aren’t effected). Now, guess who the Mega-Playboy’s actual identity is or will be once Karin screws up which bullet she is supposed to shoot.

This series will have you doubled over in laughter unless you are one of the most uptight human beings on this planet. Oh, the male/female dynamic. It’s a plot aimed at, no prizes for guessing, getting Junta and someone together. It’s a harem anime that’s had all its characters compressed into a small box for hilarity. The playboy aspect doesn’t do anything but speed the process up to mach 5! Emotions do play a major part in this series as Junta is essentially a good guy but he can’t get within 10ft of the girls he likes. Characters pop up who then realize that they actually like Junta but there is significant evidence that this is not because of the Mega-Playboy and it’s not pity either. However, the ending does rely heavily on the playboy aspect as it is suggested that his powers could be used for evil. These characters show up rather quickly and aren’t given that much depth if memory serves but it’s tried.

The American dub is a mixed basket. I was surprised that Junta’s voice was not what I expected form an old dub. In most characters the voices are exaggerated at times and have a wide range of dynamics and NEVER stray from the original translated script. The only exception in the good voice acting is Kotomi’s. It’s a good thing she isn’t around for that long because this girl has little if any talent and really does stand out.

DNA^2 stands as a landmark in anyone’s collection (it’ll never leave my top 20 ^^). It’s just good stuff, some scenes appear a bit forced and it may be too specifically aimed at a male audience but I’ve heard laughs from all over the room at certain sittings. The opening theme by L’arc en ciel is one of the best intro songs I’ve heard, and remains my all time favourite. I’ll say this; you may be annoyed at the very end of the series and it’s a horrible shame it only got to 15 or so episodes, but that’s time travel for ya. I’d always recommend Video Girl Ai as another of this style but even that’s only 5 episodes. However, if you can get the manga, do so NOW, it doesn’t seem to want to come to English shores but the Video Girl Ai manga has.

8/10
Reviewer: Matariel