Review of Parasyte: The Maxim

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu follows the adventure of a 17-year old high schooler who has his life changed once he is infected by an intelligent parasitic body. As he struggles to co-exist with this infection, he begins to question his deeply held beliefs about human nature and the human condition. How exactly does this critique happen? The anime attempts to critique the human condition by introducing humanity's "predator" - the parasyte. In contrast to humanity, parasytes are portrayed as a cold, calculative species driven only by survival instincts. They are incapable of comprehending "key" aspects of the human condition - emotional intelligence, "morals", altruism, etc.As such, the struggle between humanity and "anti-humanity" comes to fruition when a parasyte and a human being come to occupy one body (enter Shinichi and Migi). As the two square off on philosophical grounds throughout the anime, the line between the human species and other forms of life becomes increasingly blurred and the essential components of the human condition that Shinichi sees as unalienable (e.g. his "love" for humanity and his desire to protect it) is increasingly called into question.

This is supposedly the primary conflict that the anime entails. However, it is hard to decipher this conflict precisely because of the unnecessary side plot-arcs, inconsistent character development, and the attempt to include as much critical themes as possible. While this inclusion makes the anime an interesting task to unpack, it does little to make it more viewable. Instead, one is drawn primarily to the comfortable "good versus bad" and "hero versus villain" diatribe that sees Shinichi square off with parasites who have managed to infiltrate the upper echelons of society. While enjoyable, this detracts from the potential critical element that this anime promised to deliver but ultimately failed to do so coherently. The viewer is left on his or her own to contemplate the meaning of the parasytes. Without further context, their critical promise is no better than that of frequently used story-arcs (e.g. war, famine, disease) that "call" into question deeply entrenched human norms. At the end of the anime, the full critical potential of the parasyte is left undeveloped and underutilized.

Then again, perhaps Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu was never meant to be a philosophical treatise. The action-packed scenes and well-drawn art makes it enjoyable enough to binge. But aside from the occasional (strange) glee at seeing a parasyte transform or a human get slaughtered, one is left in an uncomfortable position of expecting more but receiving less when the Shinichi's story finally comes to a close twenty-four episodes later.