Review of Parasyte: The Maxim

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte -the maxim-) is a story revolving around a young man, Shinichi Izumi, who has an (un)fortunate encounter with an intriguing life-form he later calls 'Migi.' The two form a bond based on the collective desire to survive in an increasingly dangerous world. Every episode fit together neatly to form a continuous narrative. The plot, though initially unique, began to stale as the story took an unfortunately narrow approach. The diegesis had the potential to forecast a new era ripe with peril as humans begin to compete with an unknown race bent on domination. Instead, theshow decides to focus on a specific area of Japan and rapidly ends the conflict based on a single human victory. That being said, Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte -the maxim-) did its best to create a mystifying suspenseful plot and it definitely showed.

The art style isn't hyper-realistic nor overly pretentious. It's no better or worse than the industry standard. The art is neither unique nor memorable but it is fitting for the story and did not suffer from lack of fluidity or animation choppiness. The backgrounds were well-made and did not detract from the artwork. I enjoyed the character designs minus some of the odd facial expressions shown from time to time. Almost all of the characters were distinct from one another - the investment is clear in this department.

I watched the English DUB of the show and the quality was fair. Most of the voices felt natural and fit their characters well. No voice felt significantly out of place. I thoroughly enjoyed the background music scattered throughout the show. One theme in particular had an interesting vibe to it that enhanced any scene it was put in, including the action segments. On the contrary, I was not a fan of the OP (intro song) - it sounded like a cross between heavy metal and an odd concoction of bad autotune and dubstep. I did enjoy the ED (outro song), however.

Most of the characters in this show were not well-rounded. They generally seemed to stick with their base personalities without ever fixing their flaws or playing on their strengths. Shinichi, Migi, and Reiko Tamura were two characters who do not fit in this category and did show signs of development and growth. Oddly enough, the character I sympathize and relate to the most is Migi. The antagonists/villains had specific motivations and incentives to accomplish their goals, however, the show focused too much on a particular subset. The best way to explain this would be that instead of focusing on the forest, the show focused on a couple of trees. The antagonists had significant potential that was never tapped into.

I firmly believe that Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte -the maxim-) will be well-received by many. It has a decent storyline, solid artwork, and bearable characters. However, I'm certain that I'm not the only one who felt let down by many of the elements displayed in the show. I won't be re-watching Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte -the maxim-) any time soon. It missed the mark in my book.