LogFAQs > #968943391

66. Parasyte: The Maxim
https://myanimelist.net/anime/22535/Kiseijuu__Sei_no_Kakuritsu
Fall 2014 (24 episodes)
My Score: 7/10, MAL Score: 8.34/10
Best Character: Izumi Shinichi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm8UjBAS3cs

Premise: Strange shapeshifting creatures rain down on Earth and take over the brains of many people. High schooler Izumi Shinichi has his right arm taken over instead, forcing him to coexist with the alien Migi as they struggle to hide and survive.

The Good: Parasyte is mostly an action anime, but it also has elements of body horror with all of the freaky shapeshifting. I like the idea of this story more than the execution, as I'll cover in the bad section. There are still a lot of neat ideas in the setting and situations. The idea of monstrous creatures devouring people while blending in is neat, and I like how their abilities are clearly explained and explored. I like the societal reactions to it a lot, with it starting as an impossible global killing spree called the Mincemeat Murders and going from there. Shinichi is one of the few people aware of what's going on, but he can't come forward because that might threaten Migi and the alien would kill anyone he tried to tell. I like the symbiotic relationship they form as a contrast to the rest of the selfishly parasitic monsters. All that Shinichi can do is struggle to survive and protect the people closest to him.

The Bad: The story has quite a few problems, mostly related to the supporting cast. Both love interests suck. Murano I feel kind of bad for because Shinichi is constantly lying to her, but it's annoying how she wonders if he's really still Shinichi at least once per episode. Kana is a bad person and a moron who I felt nothing for. Most of the parasite characters are stone-faced and boring. The setting also does an edgy thing I always hate where people can't walk down the street without encountering roving gangs or kids torturing animals. Basically, it pushes the "humans are the real monsters" theme very blatantly at times. It detracted from the fun monster conflict, in my opinion.

Overall: Parasyte has a neat idea and does a lot of interesting things with it. I liked the powers the parasites had, as well as the dynamic between Shinichi and Migi. Those good aspects had to carry the story against the huge amount of nitpicks I have for it. Despite my complaints, it's still a quality production with excellent animation, especially during the battles. Shinichi also just barely reached my top 100 characters.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/9/4/AAcDcBAAD0BG.jpg

CHARACTER: Izumi Shinichi (Parasyte)
https://myanimelist.net/character/12323/Shinichi_Izumi
Voiced by: Shimazaki Nobunaga
TOP 100 RANK: 100th

SPOILERS FOR PARASYTE

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GltHikhFDwE

Much like the Parasyte anime itself, there's a lot I could complain about with regards to Shinichi. I rolled my eyes at how every single girl he came across had the hots for him, both before and after his transformation. I wasn't a huge fan of that transformation either. The story was a lot more compelling before he became a superhuman. Despite all of that, there was one part of his character that I really liked. Shinichi's parents go on vacation and have the bad luck of running across a parasite that takes over his mother. The monster returns home and encounters Shinichi. He can't bring himself to attack someone who looks like her, which leads to him getting stabbed through the heart. Since this creature had the appearance of the loving mother who once selflessly protected him from a pot of boiling oil, this is obviously a traumatic experience.

Shinichi is saved by Migi, but he no longer seems like the same person afterwards. In addition to the scarring on his chest and back, Shinichi is emotionally shut down. He can also immediately calm himself if he ever starts panicking. He still cares about things, but in a logical and callous way that terrifies Murano. He finds an injured dog, holds it until it dies... and then heartlessly throws it in the trash. When he and Migi discuss these emotional changes, he wonders if what Migi did to repair his heart somehow robbed him of his humanity along with all the other changes it made to his body.

Encounters with Tamiya Ryouko, a parasite mother with a callous disregard for her child, are one of the few things to get a reaction out of him. The video I linked is their final interaction, the moment when she shields her human child from police bullets rather than fighting back to save herself. She even briefly wears the face of Shinichi's mother, just to drive the point home. This act of selflessness has a deep impact on Shinichi. Not because it came from a parasitic monster, but because it came from a mother to her child. This is just my interpretation, but I don't think anything Migi did to his heart actually impacted Shinichi's emotions. Getting attacked by someone who looked like his mother just left him with some regular old trauma, and he shut down emotionally as a result. Tamiya's sacrifice breaks that barrier down, and Shinichi is finally able to cry. I thought this was a powerful moment in the anime, and a nice examination of both trauma and motherly love.