Julien Neaves, Editor
As I mentioned in my Akame ga Kill! review I am a fan of short-run anime series. And 2014/2015 anime Parasyte not only met that criteria (it’s one season of 24 episodes) but also ticked the boxes of two of my favourite genres: Horror and Sci Fi. So checking it out was the proverbial no-brainer.
Parasyte, based on the manga of the same name by Hitoshi Iwaaki, is about a 17-year-old high school student named Shinichi Izumi who is attacked at his home by a tiny worm-like mind-controlling alien called a “Parasite”. Before it can crawl into his nose and take over his brain Shinichi stops it and instead it burrows into his right arm. The two develop a symbiotic relationship, the teen christens it “Migi” (Japanese for “right”) and together they hunt and fight monstrous Parasite-controlled humans.
Imagine this being the last thing you see before you bite the big one. Sorry. Poor choice of words
Parasyte is definitely one of the most unique anime I have ever seen and a personal favourite. The heart of the story is the relationship between Shinichi and Migi. It starts off with mutual distrust but grows into a begrudging mutual respect and something resembling friendship. They are quite the odd couple as Shinichi is a caring, big-hearted young man and Migi is a calculating, amoral alien whose only concern is its own survival. The tone of their conversations range from the laugh-out-loud comedic to the deeply existential. If the entire show was just two of them discussing the nature of humanity and the Parasites I would not have minded.
But fear not action and gore fans, Parasyte has got you covered. The fight sequences are another one of the show’s unique aspects. Instead of an oversized mystical sword or elemental magic powers Shinichi has to use Migi’s one blade extension. It sounds limited but the duo find some pretty creative ways to utilise it. And speaking of creative, the other Parasyte hybrids are some super cool and totally disturbing nightmare fuel manifestations. Each has a different transformation from regular-looking human to monster and even that alone is enough to go “wth is that?” And unlike Shinichi/Migi these guys have no compunctions about butchering people and turning them into horrifying piles of meat. Our hero’s fights with these bad boys (and girls) are not testicles-to-the-wall action fares but they are thrilling, tactical and entertaining in their own way.
Somebody had one too many plastic surgeries…
I’m keeping this review spoiler-free but I will say Shinchi/Migi encounter some interesting friends and foes, some with a lot more going on under the surface (both physically and mentally) than you would first think. The plot is also packed with some cool twists and a few heartbreaking and shocking deaths. Yeah, this is a great anime, but definitely not a feel-good one.
So if you’ve get a fever for an exciting, intelligent and gore-filled anime then allow me to prescribe a binge of Parasyte (I watched it on Netflix myself). And I’m not a doctor, but I can guarantee that it will be a better experience than having a tapeworm.
Editor Jules’s Score: 8 out of 10
So are you a fan of Parasyte? Gimme a shout in the comments. You can enjoy more awesome anime articles below:
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train (Whew!) Lives Up to the Hype Train
Death Note Anime Review in 4 Slices
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “12 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.