But what happens when humans, the race that has always been on the top of the food chain, becomes challenged in that fact? Does life of an other being matter less than your own, or are morals the fundamental thing that will keep you from turning into an animal?
The series follows a young man, Shinichi Izumi, whose right arm gets infected by an intelligent parasite with metamorphing abilities. As he learns to coexist with this creature, he finds out that he is not the only one, but that there are others infected. However, their parasite took complete control over their human hosts and now they pose a threat to society due to their cannibalistic nature. Trying to balance his school obligations, social life and his role in the ongoing parasitic threat, Shinichi slowly starts to question all the moral views he used to have in order to adapt to the situation and secure humanity's survival.
In my opinion, one of the main aspects of a good story is its villain. For that matter, in Parasyte, two entities stand out: the parasite-turned-human Reiko Tamura, and Goto, the parasite-boss. Since physical strength of a character isn't as appealing to me if none of his wits are used, I will have to say that Goto failed to deliver as an interesting villain. The fact that he is invincible surely does make a lot of problems for Shinichi, but I do not find his eagerness to slay the human population at all convincing or relatable. Reiko Tamura, on the other hand, is far more layered character and the one I actually felt kinda sorry for at the end. Her character development is almost as believable as Shinichi's; starting from the point of pure curiosity, she examines humans as up to the point of conceiving a human baby in her own body. Thinking she will never be able to change, she experiences motherhood, one of the most powerful forms of love in the world. She cannot comprehend the emotions she starts to feel, but she also doesn't fight them, and allows herself to evolve beyond the pure logic of a parasite. The scene of her death was really well done, and probably the only time in the series I actually saw the human kind as the bad guys.
The story itself is unfortunately very repetitive, and that's what bugs me the most. It is noticeable that, every time the plot settles, Migi recognizes one of his kind, just stronger than the enemy they have previously beaten. They then proceed to eliminate the threat, either by using some sort of a smart trick, or by realizing that Shinichi has gained some new powers (and splashing some parasitic exposition on us in the process). By the time they get to duel with Goto, it becomes a little bit boring. Since Reiko Tamura is the only villain that doesn't succumb to that pattern, she becomes more interesting in the eye of the viewer; and due to the complexity of the villains mentioned above, I believe the quality of the plot itself drops after the death of Reiko Tamura. The romantic subplot of the anime is rather annoying because and the girl Murano resembles an ordinary high school cliche girl for the most part of the story; she never seems to display any sort of believable interest in Shinichi's well-being up until the last episodes of the anime.
The protagonist, Shinichi, has one of the best character developments I have ever seen. Starting from a naive and socially akward nerd, the parasite infection slowly makes his thinking become cold and logical, and thereon forces Shinichi to walk a thin line between his inborn humanity and parasitic bestiality. The process of change is really smooth, and it can clearly be seen that a part of Shinichi's humanity dies with every person that gets killed by a parasite. At the time of Reiko Tamura's death, it actually becomes a relief to see that he is still capable of mourning another person. The only thing I do not understand about Shinichi is actually Migi; it felt rather weird that Migi is all of a sudden willing to sacrifice himself for Shinichi when throughout the whole anime he keeps saying he doesn't understand Reiko Tamura's actions nor human feelings. They should have given him a bit more development in order for the viewers to see that the friendship Shinichi and Migi share isn't only one-sided.
The philosophy of this anime is based on the value of life, as the title states. As Shinichi is torn between the choice of taking other parasite's lives and preserving his own, this question gets elaborated through the various well organised monologues in Shinichi's head. Aside from that, Murano also implicitly contributes to the development of humanistic philosophy. "Are you Shinichi Izumi?" may have been the line that felt very odd and annoying at times, but it is fundamental for the viewer and the protagonist himself to repeatedly question ourselves whether we had lost our ability for compassion; either for the little dog that died in the street, or for other human beings that surround us. Lastly, I have to say that the scene of the alleged-parasite-mayor getting shot after his speech about the malice of humans does a great job of shocking the viewer... because not all friends of our enemies are our foes.
All in all, Parasyte: The Maxim is a well done show. With the tension of Psycho-Pass and the musical feeling of Death Note, it successfully manages to present an interesting plot with a well developed protagonist. Give it a try, and you might find yourself appalled.
The series follows a young man, Shinichi Izumi, whose right arm gets infected by an intelligent parasite with metamorphing abilities. As he learns to coexist with this creature, he finds out that he is not the only one, but that there are others infected. However, their parasite took complete control over their human hosts and now they pose a threat to society due to their cannibalistic nature. Trying to balance his school obligations, social life and his role in the ongoing parasitic threat, Shinichi slowly starts to question all the moral views he used to have in order to adapt to the situation and secure humanity's survival.
In my opinion, one of the main aspects of a good story is its villain. For that matter, in Parasyte, two entities stand out: the parasite-turned-human Reiko Tamura, and Goto, the parasite-boss. Since physical strength of a character isn't as appealing to me if none of his wits are used, I will have to say that Goto failed to deliver as an interesting villain. The fact that he is invincible surely does make a lot of problems for Shinichi, but I do not find his eagerness to slay the human population at all convincing or relatable. Reiko Tamura, on the other hand, is far more layered character and the one I actually felt kinda sorry for at the end. Her character development is almost as believable as Shinichi's; starting from the point of pure curiosity, she examines humans as up to the point of conceiving a human baby in her own body. Thinking she will never be able to change, she experiences motherhood, one of the most powerful forms of love in the world. She cannot comprehend the emotions she starts to feel, but she also doesn't fight them, and allows herself to evolve beyond the pure logic of a parasite. The scene of her death was really well done, and probably the only time in the series I actually saw the human kind as the bad guys.
The story itself is unfortunately very repetitive, and that's what bugs me the most. It is noticeable that, every time the plot settles, Migi recognizes one of his kind, just stronger than the enemy they have previously beaten. They then proceed to eliminate the threat, either by using some sort of a smart trick, or by realizing that Shinichi has gained some new powers (and splashing some parasitic exposition on us in the process). By the time they get to duel with Goto, it becomes a little bit boring. Since Reiko Tamura is the only villain that doesn't succumb to that pattern, she becomes more interesting in the eye of the viewer; and due to the complexity of the villains mentioned above, I believe the quality of the plot itself drops after the death of Reiko Tamura. The romantic subplot of the anime is rather annoying because and the girl Murano resembles an ordinary high school cliche girl for the most part of the story; she never seems to display any sort of believable interest in Shinichi's well-being up until the last episodes of the anime.
The protagonist, Shinichi, has one of the best character developments I have ever seen. Starting from a naive and socially akward nerd, the parasite infection slowly makes his thinking become cold and logical, and thereon forces Shinichi to walk a thin line between his inborn humanity and parasitic bestiality. The process of change is really smooth, and it can clearly be seen that a part of Shinichi's humanity dies with every person that gets killed by a parasite. At the time of Reiko Tamura's death, it actually becomes a relief to see that he is still capable of mourning another person. The only thing I do not understand about Shinichi is actually Migi; it felt rather weird that Migi is all of a sudden willing to sacrifice himself for Shinichi when throughout the whole anime he keeps saying he doesn't understand Reiko Tamura's actions nor human feelings. They should have given him a bit more development in order for the viewers to see that the friendship Shinichi and Migi share isn't only one-sided.
The philosophy of this anime is based on the value of life, as the title states. As Shinichi is torn between the choice of taking other parasite's lives and preserving his own, this question gets elaborated through the various well organised monologues in Shinichi's head. Aside from that, Murano also implicitly contributes to the development of humanistic philosophy. "Are you Shinichi Izumi?" may have been the line that felt very odd and annoying at times, but it is fundamental for the viewer and the protagonist himself to repeatedly question ourselves whether we had lost our ability for compassion; either for the little dog that died in the street, or for other human beings that surround us. Lastly, I have to say that the scene of the alleged-parasite-mayor getting shot after his speech about the malice of humans does a great job of shocking the viewer... because not all friends of our enemies are our foes.
All in all, Parasyte: The Maxim is a well done show. With the tension of Psycho-Pass and the musical feeling of Death Note, it successfully manages to present an interesting plot with a well developed protagonist. Give it a try, and you might find yourself appalled.