Review of Parasyte: The Maxim

Anime Review: Parasyte- The Maxim Overview: Parasyte- The Maxim is a thrilling sci-fi horror anime that comprises everything that can be desired from a show of this genre. The show is filled with suspense which keeps viewers on the edge of their seats and leaves them hooked and compelled to finish the complete anime. In my opinion, this is a must-watch for any anime fan. The story revolves around Shinichi Izumi, a high school student who lives peacefully with his parents. But on one foreboding night, something unexpected happens which proceeds to change his life drastically. A small snake-like creature known as a "parasite" tries totake over Shinichi's brain but fails and instead the parasite takes over Shinichi's right arm. Throughout the series, we are hauled through a rollercoaster of emotions, as it makes you think about life and death, sympathy for other creatures, what signifies humanity, if humans are selfish on the inside. etc

Soundtracks: The first opening is fantastic, and the endings are marvellous, and there is some pretty pleasant music throughout the series. 9/10

(Spoilers from here on) Story/Plot: Other parasites take over the brains of people, and as a result, they develop instincts to eat other human beings as food. In the beginning, Migi's sole purpose is survival, but as the story progresses, Migi supports Shinichi's decisions even though it puts him at risk. Most of the parasites don't bother about thinking and merely go about attacking humans. But few parasites are capable of thought; for example, Tamura Reiko brings up an interesting philosophy about why they came to existence and what is their purpose. Migi also thinks about philosophy a lot, and in the end, he drifts into a deep sleep to try to understand humans more and analyze his experience. The mayor's speech about humans is honestly quite intriguing as well. Ultimately, Shinichi achieves his goal by killing the most dominant parasite, and after that, parasites learned to coexist with humans. The pacing is honestly subpar as it fails to maintain a linear direction jumping from one side of the story to another and is somewhat confusing. The writers try to mix some romance into the narrative, but in my opinion, this aspect is not fulfilling enough. I don't mind the arbitrary fights from time to time though, as it keeps the drama and suspense at peak. But with its flaws aside, the story is thoroughly enjoyable and worth everyone's time.

Characters and their development:

Shinichi: It's quite riveting to see how Shinichi changes after Migi fuses with him. Shinichi becomes less sympathetic and unable to cry, which shocks the people he knows. Shinichi starts to think somewhat like Migi in cold, unsympathetic logic and he preserves this nature for a significant chunk of the series until the death of Tamura Reiko where he regains his emotions. However, he's still changed to a permanent extent even after that.

Migi: Migi is unlike other parasites and is quite curious and always in search of knowledge. Migi's character development is also quite interesting as Migi develops sympathy, which is something he failed to comprehend near the beginning. For example, when Migi saves Murano in the last episode, it's quite conspicuous that Migi is somewhat sympathetic compared to previous instances where he could've prevented the death of other humans by preventing the parasites' attacks where he chose not to. For example, Kana's death: I feel like Migi could've gone out and blocked the assault if he wanted to and he could've on other instances as well which represents Migi's selfish nature at that point as he's unwilling to take risks. The bond that Migi proceeds to develop with Shinichi is quite heart-warming as he shows that he valued Shinichi's life even when he had a chance of dying when they battled Gotou. Migi considers Shinichi to be his friend and says that he's glad he failed to take over Shinichi's brain. When Migi visits Shinichi in his dream, before going to sleep for an indefinite amount of time, he thanks Shinichi for all their experiences together and that he was fortunate enough to make a friend. Migi also says that "humans are wonderful for having time to spare for others". IMO Migi's my favourite character in this show.

Kana: I don't understand her point in the story. A little bit of character development and the story hints for more character development, but the writers kill her off in a cheap fashion. The way Shinichi takes revenge was quite epic, though.

Satomi: Lacked character development honestly and there's not too much to say about her.

Tamura Ryuko: This character was quite compelling actually. She gradually comes to comprehend human emotions and nurtures a human baby herself. Developing human emotions herself, before her death, she shows great attachment to her 'child'. One of the most emotional points of the anime was her death as she sacrifices herself to keep her child safe, taking on an inundation of bullets as she hands over the baby to Shinichi and succumbs to her demise.

Gotou: To be fair, Gotou wasn't compelling enough as an antagonist. Sure he was powerful, but we don't get to see anything interesting from his perspective. All we see is that he's following his instincts and killing humans. And by the way, has anyone noticed how similar he looks to Menthuthuyoupi from HxH?

Hirokawa: Hirokawa being an actual human put me off, and I sure wasn't expecting that twist. He had good reasons to sympathize with the parasites, as humans are genuinely becoming damaging to the environment. His final speech was quite thought-provoking, and it made sense(according to his logic) that even though he was a human, he went over to the parasites' side.

Uragami: Fook Uragami, fokkin dipshit

Shinichi's parents: Shinichi's mom's death was a turning point of the story, but his dad could've had more screentime and character development.

To wrap things up, despite its flaws, it's one of my favourite animes, and I enjoyed it a lot. Madhouse did a superb job on this one.

Final Rating: 8.25/10(If you're wondering about the fractional rating its because compared to other anime which I think is an 8 and an 8.5 I felt like this was somewhere in between.)