Review of Parasyte: The Maxim

“You sacrifice other lives so that your own life can continue. That is how animals live. Humans are one of a kind creatures that commit suicide.” – Migi, Episode 3 Humanity is a fascinating subject. What does it truly mean to be human? Do extraterrestrial beings exist? If so, do they emote the same as we do? Surely this is a greatly exhausted topic of conversation, but one that never ceases to be interesting. Why are humans naturally altruistic? Is that what separates us from the creatures of the Earth? Parasyte The Maxim, adapted from a late 80’s manga by the illustrious studio Madhouse, takes theseconcepts and crafts a brilliantly paced suspense-thriller that hammers these questions home.

Shinichi Izumi is a timid, mild-mannered high school student who fits most of the normal “Slice of Life” quotas. He has the normal stresses of a teenager, and has a love interest made apparent from the very beginning. Shinichi becomes infected by a parasite, whose true origin is unknown. Instead of taking over the brain like most of its cohorts, the parasite (named “Migi” by his host) is stunted, thus limiting his control to the right arm. Migi’s introduction allows Izumi to do things he couldn't possibly do under normal circumstances, and causes his arm to take on a mind of its own. The rest of the series follows Izumi and Migi’s relationship as they adapt to survive and attempt to clarify the blurred lines of humanity.

As I much as I loved the series overall, I can't say I cared for the beginning as much. Instead of taking the time to flesh out the main cast ahead of time, the writers drop us in the midst of a parasite infestation from the very first episode. This puts a check in the action column, but forgets about the development one. The result is a protagonist that we really only know in tragedy, and a bunch of other characters that seem mostly reactionary in nature. It's really a double-edged sword. Sure, we get comments from Satomi (Shinichi’s love interest) about how he’s changed, but the comparison material is absent.

The first major positive about Parasyte is its outstanding pacing. There are no unwarranted time gaps or over extended fight scenes, resulting in an ebb and flow, with a suspenseful story line. Most of the time it appeared as though Shinichi was just struggling to stay alive, invoking a real sense of panic into each scene. I will say that the script writers did a fantastic job engaging the audience into an exciting and dramatic show. I get that some purists will disagree, citing that the anime doesn't stay true to the manga but I'm getting kind of tired of hearing that incessant argument…. it's not going to change anything.

With an anime whose characters exhibit supernatural qualities, there's really only two ways to approach it: either the oddity is explained via some “made up” reason, or nothing is said about it at all. The latter approach is one of the biggest complaints many people have about the series. Whether it's the random humans that can detect parasites based on intuition or the smorgasbord of a villain Gotou was, breaking many rules of the parasites themselves, it can be a tad frustrating. Perhaps less time could've been spent fighting the final enemy, and more time devoted to wrapping up loose ends. Although, you could also argue that the origin of the parasites was not the intent of the show’s message… which is personally how I feel. To be honest, I really didn't care where they came from because I was more focused on the intricate relationship between the parasites and the humans.

This brings me to the exploration of themes present within Parasyte. I've seen other anime that involve creatures attempting to comprehend humanity (HxH’s Chimera Ant Arc for example), and it's intriguing to see the similarities and differences across each series. It's possible that I'm more obsessed with the idea itself then the way it was handled specifically here, but it was still captivating nonetheless. Could these instinctive beings, who were so initially focused on vanquishing the human race, really know how to empathize or imitate human behavior? This is largely illustrated in the growth of Migi. Despite possessing an innate desire to protect only itself, Migi eventually learns to bond with and even depend on Shinichi. You could say at the end that they're even best friends. Ryouko Tamiya’s arc is just as interesting, and she's possibly the most developed character of the entire cast. The message exists that quite possibly the parasites really aren't so much different than humans, and that our very existences threaten each other’s. It's a race to see who’s eradicated first. It can get a bit preachy and repetitive towards the end (most notably the mayor’s speech), but still resonates.

The character development of the parasites is far superior to that of the humans, with many of the side characters being quite useless or convenient. For someone who’s so focused on throughout the anime, Shinichi’s development is there, but it’s just not enough substance. I had a difficult time adjusting to the massive change he underwent midway through the series, and I would've liked to see a bit more time spent on what he was “thinking” outside of battle strategies. Most of the “human” women in this series are also incredibly dense. I'm not sure if this was on purpose, but many of them seemed to do such drastic things without fear of consequence. Shinichi acted more on saving damsels in distress than exterminating the parasites at times. In the aforementioned paragraph I discussed the great characterization Migi and Ryouko underwent, convoluting the notion that parasites are inherently evil even more. It was brilliantly approached.

Animators assigned to Parasyte certainly had their work cut out for them adapting the evocatively dark manga. I feel they did a superb job keeping the ominous and menacing nature of the parasites and gore scenes while maintaining the necessary level of censorship. The way the shot would shift during various character’s dismemberment was done with finesse and barely made you notice how purposeful it was. The character models were modernized appropriately and the parasites looked terrifying and intricate during the action sequences. The OP was also fantastically timed and strung together.

Parasyte is quite the mixed bag when it comes to the music. The OP always got me pumped with its unique blend of AutoTune and hardcore, though it kind of waned on me when I realize they were speaking broken Wnglish through the verses O_o. The ED on the other hand did its best to kill any type of tension or suspense built up from the end of each episode. The worst instance was when it was used as its full version during one of the episodes. The track sounded more like a Boyz2Men song than a part of an anime OST. The EDM tracks get overused at the beginning of the series, but I really enjoyed the rest of the soundtrack. A seamless transition of tracks between scenes. Perhaps the greatest achievement in sound within Parasyte is the voice acting. A star-studded cast shines brightly in each of the major roles here, and some of the inflections in their voices were shrill and desperate.

Maybe I enjoyed Parasyte more than I should have given it's flaws, but the flawless pacing and nail-biting suspense made it an anime I'll truly remember for a long time. Plus, the thematic exploration and talented acting was right up my alley. Understandably, there are a plethora of loose ends and unanswered questions to be had, plus a few character development problems… but overall I think it's a solid series. I recommend it greatly, especially those who are looking for a gripping story with a strong underlying message. Thanks for reading!