Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu

“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 these ... concepts 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!

Hello, humans. This is Ebb a parasite living in mercury1980's body. If you were wondering what happened to mercury1980, he just got caught in an accident and he is severely injured. And now I am supposed to make him recover and do this review. Instead I am supposed to review this anime on the behalf of him. I took most of his memory from this anime so that I can take time to process what is going on. With that said, let's get onto the review.

STORY (8):

This anime follows a human being, Shinichi Izumi who lives with his parents in Tokyo. Parasites like us are ... alien worm creatures who enter human body to take control of human brains. One parasite took control of Shinichi's hand and they form a duo.

This anime took the time to develop the characters of Shinichi & his right arm. I thought their chemistry was handled well. The story also addressed how parasites originate and it was an interesting lesson.

The problem is there was not enough material given to some characters and some of the parts are dull. Nevertheless the story was handled well.

ART (9):

The animation is solid. It has a lot of disturbing images with different looks of parasite. Quite creepy to you people, aren't they?

SOUND (9):

The opening was catchy. The opening song "Let Me Hear" by Fear describes perfectly the tone for this anime. They use electronic synth pop music.

The ending song by Daichi Miura "It's the Right Time" was relaxing.


CHARACTER (8):

Shinichi & Migi became badass by fighting evil parasytes in the world including Gotou. At first, Shinichi was not used to having Migi on his right hand however as the series progress, Shinichi formed a strong bond with Migi. I did like the way how their relationship develops. Aya Hirano embodied the character of Migi well especially Nobunaga Shimazaki who embodied Shinichi well. They are one of the most interesting duo I have seen.

Reiko Tamura was an interesting character with a good backstory.

I also did like Kirishima Kana as a character who tells Shinichi that nobody can perform perfect tasks. The problem is that Kirishima Kana did not get enough character development to make her memorable.

Gotou was very intimidating as a parasite and as a main villain. His role was handled well.

Satomi Murano who is Shinichi's love interest was bland and generic. She has no fight scenes given to her. If the anime really made her into becoming badass, like a parasite infecting on her arm, I thought she would become badass. However, all she does is cry all the time which is annoying. Oh yeah, her voice actress Kana Hanazawa, she did voice acting earlier on that awful anime known as Coppelion where she voiced another crybaby character known as Aoi. If this anime tries to develop the relationship between Satomi & Shinichi, I thought that could work.

The rest of the characters really had not much material to work with.

CONCLUSION (8):

Despite some problems that plague the show, I thought that the rest of the story was handled well, the animation and sound are solid, especially the characters. In fact, the moral of the story is "Humans are unique in their way of living, just like species are". This is why we must learn how to appreciate living creatures despite appearances.

This anime gets an 8 out of 10.

I hope you enjoy this review, humans. I will revive mercury1980 soon. Hopefully, you will see him in his full form in his next review. Till then, peace out.

Parasyte is an odd anime. Not in terms of its basic premise, story or characters or anything like that. It's an odd anime because there's so much it does right, yet leaves an unsatisfying feeling once you're done.

The basic premise isn't anything exceptional or noteworthy, though it isn't bad in any way either; the show opens up with a normal teenager waking up and realizing that his arm is gone, and in its place is a parasite (roll credits folks).

The show basically covers the dynamics between the parasite and the student, exploring how parasites are slowly taking over the world, melting into human society and ... the contrast between them and the humans (whether as a community or as a species). The contrast is generally well done, but becomes less engaging as the show progresses due to a lack of any real complexity among any of the parasites (for the most part) and completely among the humans.

This makes sense in the context of the themes, but means that the characters are simplistic and one note, becoming less engaging as the story continues.

The themes are quite interesting and compensate somewhat for these flaws, discussing how humans are in this setting no longer at the top of the food chains and how the parasites attempt to coexist and cope with humans for survival.

The show delves further and discusses how humans aren't mere killing machines among the parasites, delving into all sorts of different perspectives among the parasites and among the humans.

Problem is that that is exactly what the show does wrong. The themes are well-fleshed out and very interesting, but the plot is incredibly simplistic and incredibly reliant on the themes and the audience being completely engaged with them; once you delve further, the plot is filled to the brim with plotholes and flawed logic, and becomes less consistent and weaker as the show progresses.

The way the manga was adapted takes a good chunk of the blame, since the internet being present yet no one knowing about the parasites is in itself a giant plothole that is increasingly difficult to suspend disbelief for as the show progresses. The manga took place in the 80s, at a point in time where the internet was non-existent and as such it would make sense if parasites took time to be discovered. This gets worse as the show progresses, and is incredibly hard to ignore.

The artwork is pleasant to look at, though not as fitting as the manga's artwork. The animation is above average but nothing particularly special to look at, fitting the show but fairly low quality by Madhouse standards.

The voice acting is solid and consistent throughout the show, and the sound effects do not disappoint either.

Here we get to yet another problem the show faces; the soundtrack is generally very poor with very few standouts. I don't know who had the bright (read: stupid) idea of putting dubstep in the soundtrack, but it doesn't work and ruins immersion completely in certain scenes, which is a shame because this show has plenty of amazing moments.

The characters are generally unremarkable and forgettable, with character relationships being very forced, unnatural and forgettable for many. The show is fairly good at developing the interesting dynamic between Shinichi and Migi, and this is easily the best part of the show and the most entertaining one to watch.

Most of the characters are poorly developed, with very few receiving anything resembling development other than the main leads.

Overall, Parasyte is a show that does it's job and is a solid time waster for those looking for something thought provoking and distinct from most anime.
It's a far, far cry from perfect though, and the show is very inconsistent or even weak at certain parts.
Nevertheless, there's something in it for everyone, and it's highly recommended to give it a shot.

I really wanted to watch it in one go but could not due to My papers. Still It took me 3 days to finish it. You can see how awesome this anime is.

Story: 10/10
Story is awesome. Cliffhangers , plot twisting and every thing are amazing. Now about little words about plot of this anime, Human being are considered to be ultimate species but what will happen when another species come which comes at top of food chain as well as more intelligent than humans.There numbers are few though What chaos can it create and what are humans gonna do....

Art: 9/10
Art was good. Fighting scenes ... are very well made. How human change into Parasyte. Migi is also very well drawn during fights but there was room for improvements.

Sound: 9/10
Best thing I can say about its sound are starting and Ending Songs of Parasyte. Starting races your heart to watch episode and then ending cool downs you by slow singing. Voice Characters are perfect match for their Characters. Migi voice was amazing through out Anime. The only Issue I had about voice was about OST because from my point of view fighting + romance scenes are good but they would have been perfect if they had perfect backgrounds for them like in HxH 2011.

Character: 9/10
Character development is amazing in Parasyte. Shinichi, Izumi in start was just a coward but with as plot moved on his personality and character improved. What I liked most after Miki and Shinichi is Reiko. She in start was simple Minded Alien/Parasyte. Then she became curious about her own existence and so on...

Enjoyment: 10/10
I fully enjoyed Parasyte kind of anime in which there is a main plot which are twisted in such a way which are fun to watch.

Overall: 10/10
TO end this review let me copy some of lines from Starting Song of Parasyte, which are following:
You guys do not notice that we are gifted just by being humans
We are absolute predators
We do not even have any enemies
Maybe there are other animals watching us
and thinking that someday "we will beat them down"

Now that i've actually gotten to actually finishing it. Overall it was pretty good. The start went off strong but then the crying and cowering was just getting to me. Just like Mirai Nikki (Future diary) But either than that the gore,slaughtering and epic moments were real in this anime. If you want to see some gore,mass murder and pretty epic kills then this is a MUST watch. As for character development there's quite alot, even to the point where he changes. But i wont say when and how.

"If you have the right to live, so do we. Granted, I believe rights are a concept unique to the human species." - Migi

Kiseijuu was one of the most hyped animes of the 2014 season. Not only did the anime ended up living up to most of the expectations, it completely stormed threw the anime world as one of the best and i now consider this anime a all time classic.

the story revolves around The 17-year-old Izumi Shinichi who was your normal average everyday teenager until 1 night that changed his life forever.that night, worm-like aliens called Parasytes invade Earth , entering human bodies ... and taking control of their brains and acts as the control of the brain. One parasyte Migi, attempts to enter Shinichis brain but fails and enters his arm, takes control of Shinichis arm. The duo soon realize that they were going to have to work together to be able to survive in this world.

The characters from this anime is one of the strong points of this anime. Every character has a important role to this anime and it is executed exceptionally.

The Soundtrack in the anime is amazing. The opening and ending of the anime especially , it is just simply amazing and the song choices were spot on perfect.

Horrors , sci-fi and mystery animes have never really appealed to me. But Kiseijuu has influenced me to opened up space for me to explore a new genre of animes. This anime had me staying up late at nights thinking about the anime.

Overall this anime is a insanely good anime and it loves ups to the expectations that it had,10 our of 10. Kiseijuu, simply a classic.

It's been a full decade since this anime aired, and I must say that it holds up incredibly well. It's not perfect, no series is, but it's definitely up there when it comes to the story, art and sound design.

Story
Premise: 7/10
The basic idea of a parasitic organism inhabiting a human, coexisting within them and being used as a means to fight with other similar creatures has definitely been done a few times, and it's still explored to this day. At the time it probably seemed a lot newer, and I must say that I really enjoy the idea itself.

Execution: 8/10
Although the premise is fairly simple, ... the actual story is what drives it to be as good as it is. There is quite a lot of different plot points, but the amount doesn't feel overbearing. They are intertwined fairly well with each other, none of them left unexplained at the end, and every one feeling like an important part pulling the story together. With a slight exception to the romance, however.

The romance part: 4/10
A lot of series like this one include some romance, and I have to say I'm tired of it. Especially since it's not really done that well. The characters have next to nothing in common with each other, and the base of their relationship is basically "girl likes boy, boy likes girl" just because. Their conversations feel so incredibly empty, they aren't shown to talk about anything that would actually validate their attraction towards each other, no shared hobbies, no shared opinions, nothing. They go out because they're opposite genders, and that's it. The story could've really been told without any of that.

Characters: 7/10
I would rate them a lot higher if not for the romantic interest, but that aside, we have some very good characters in this series. The main character isn't overpowered, there are drawbacks to his abilities, which is honestly refreshing to see. He has his flaws as well, not just being a perfect being that is good at everything. He's strong, but his opponents are stronger. He's smart, but his opponents are smarter. However, he uses what he has to his advantage, and if he knows he won't win a battle, he runs from it, instead of stupidly throwing himself to die and hoping something will save him.
The antagonists are very well written. Throughout the episodes we can see these simple parasitic beasts going on pure instinct, but as the series progresses, they grow smarter and stronger, posing a real challenge to the main character.

Art: 9/10
The artstyle is very unique. It's nice to look at and it differentiates itself from any other works made at the time, you can instantly tell it's Kiseijuu and not something else.

Sound: 9/10
The sound design is great. The dubstep is kinda cheesy by today's standards, but it does fit. The opening is iconic, and the ending, which is the Achilles heel of most shows, is actually pretty nice. The voice actors did an amazing job as well.

All in all, Kiseijuu is a great anime to watch. It might not be in my top favorites, but it is up there. I grew attached to the characters, the story excited me, and at the end of the day I will remember this experience fondly.

To sum up this show? Good

Nothing much more but nothing much less either. I actully put off starting this because I thought it would be really gorry or scary and to be honest it was neither. lets face it, anime just can't be scary... it's not possable.

By that asside why I feel this show is just 'good'?

Well the premise is pretty good and a little different from any epidemic like show I have even seen before, for that I can give it credit. please be aware I haven't read the manga...

I found the characters a little boring, Shinchi probably the most so and that's ... not good when he's the main freaking character. Migi on the other hand is pretty cool and at least his lack in emotion can be understood. I just feel like the charcters went backwards in development and become more boring and less easy to sympafice with as the show went on, it wasn't really possable to grow to like characters. I'm not saying it's impossable to like them, the show just doesn't try hard to make you like them...

The art on the other hand and action scenes are beautiful and very well done and although i'm not a fan of 'screamo' i really felt the soundtrack fits the mood on the show to a tee... I especially love the second ending 'It's the right time' (note: no screamo, just a very lovely male voice ^_^)

I don't really know how to expain it, there was never a point where i wanted to drop this show, I just think compared to other stuff I wan watching at the same time this is not one of the best... but it's also not one of the worse...

You would have to give this show a watch to gauge your own opinion I think, i just wasn't that over the moon about it, at least not as much as one of my friend's were, maybe it was just his hype making things a little worse for me and that could have effcted my overal enjoyment.

Parasyte is a refreshing anime in the sci-fi horror genre. It starts off strong by being strange and unusual, and will leave you wanting more by the end of the first episode. The parasites are brutal and capable of manipulating their human host in unspeakable ways, with little to no regard for emotion and sensibility. Their main concerns are for their own survival and the extinction of the human race. This anime is an exciting thrill ride from start to finish, with a quality storyline and great character development. You know the character development is top notch when it includes development of your feelings toward ... a parasite in a person’s hand. Parasyte will make you laugh, make you cry, make you wince, and everything else for that matter.

You might enjoy this if: You are searching for a unique sci-fi anime that you will want to finish as soon as possible to find out what happens.

You might not like it if: The sound of parasites taking over bodies and manipulating them in unspeakable ways is too much for you.

Note to the Viewer: Be prepared for something you will not be prepared for.

[SPOILERS] (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED)
This anime gets a thumbs up from me, and here is why. This anime starts out like every other anime, guy sees boobs, guy is a loser with glasses, but my main man here gets some sort of protozoa parasite that crawls into his arm. You might think "but what is so cool about a parasite in a guys arm? Shouldn't that make his arm to rot and cause infections?" Unless badassery is a type of infection, then yes, he does. My man over here becomes a jack ass and kills people left and right, my buddies and I started ... calling the as$ hole Joseph Stalin, and for crying out loud his parasite has the ability to talk and turn into blades and sh*t. I can't quite recall but i'm sure the parasite even knows the quantisation of matter or something. The thing is smarter than Kanye West. As all anime's go, the dude or "Joe" finds a really attractive female (I personally think the b*tch looks like Edna Mode from the 2004 Disney Pixar animated film "the Incredibles.) Anyway, he finds a girl and finds out his genitalia doesn't function properly when they are in the process of sexual intercourse, and so his arm turns into a 12 inch genitalia and splits the poor broad in half. Which is fine. I won't spoil the ending because it is worth watching. I'll just end this on the note of saying that this anime is sweeter than 90 year old virgin catholic nun p*ssy juice. Well kept and preserved with a tingling feeling on the tip of your tongue. Don't get me wrong, i've had more fun sneezing into a used tissue paper filled with my very own ejaculate fluid on it, but i'd say give both a try. This has been a Clams Review, if you'd like me to review something just message me.

The other reviews here are very detailed, I want to share just one thing. This is definitely an anime way out of my comfort zone. It's the second one I watched as a recommendation after Tokyo Ghoul, therefore I don't have much experience. Even so I found it pretty interesting and as someone who is more interested in a story rather than visual violence, it had a very good balance between horror/bloodshed moments, but not enough to make me turn away. I had a feeling this was not the focal point and that is why I expected more of the story side. There were some ... issues with it, some lack of character development or forced dynamics (especially at the end of the show), but my association for this anime is "balance" - it gave so much in little steps, giving you just enough to want more and giving each viewer their own perspective. It didn't have a straight answer on the question "why?" and to me it felt a bit open ended with questions to ponder about. The OST helped with leaving an interesting impression a lot. Even though I see why some people complain about the show, I dare to say it is definitely worth the watch as it was one hell of a ride.

Wow. I finished Parasyte last night (technically this morning) at around 2:00 AM. It's one of those anime. Now I'm not here to critique it's fine points, because you can break down even the greatest anime until they look like pieces of crap. So I'm here to simply talk about what was GOOD about the anime without giving any spoilers.

I'm usually one to zone out and simply enjoy my anime, so I usually don't try to write reviews as I don't go in depth too much, but ... I learned from this anime so I though I'd try. To begin, the story was fantastic. It's an interesting concept, and the story is perfectly done to intrigue you to ask questions and view the world differently. The characters were the best part. They were dynamic and never boring, with the main character Shinichi and his little parasitic helper forming a bond over the course of the show. The art was perfect for this show but if you don't like a LOT of gore don't watch this. I've seen much worse as far as gore goes, but there is still a reasonable amount in this show so just something to look out for. The soundtrack was suitable for the show, and the opening and endings were fantastic and perfectly captured the mood. The anime was intense and captivating and kept me on the edge of my seat for the first time in awhile, as I haven't enjoyed an anime this much for so long. The real part that made me enjoy the anime was the view it showed me on human beings. We as a race have this sense of entitlement and have these strange emotions such as loyalty, love, and we do things no other organisms do, like suicide. It's like our primary goal isn't just to live as our instinct tells us, but we want to live for others as well. When a predator comes on to earth that threatens human's in this anime, the first reaction is to call them enemies, and to do whatever we can to get rid of them. But what the characters and dialogue makes you think about is things like "What makes us so superior?'", "Why to we get to pray on other animals as a matter of course, but when we get preyed on, the other organisms are the truly terrible ones?". It makes you think of what's truly right and wrong and takes you out of society's norms.

Overall I give this a 9/10 and I'll hope you'll give it a shot.

To preface this review, I started watching it with next to no expectations whatsoever, good or bad, and I have never read the manga.

Parasyte: The Maxim has been a bit of a weird experience for me. On one hand, I think it’s a good show, but on the other, I don’t get the massive hype surrounding it. The show’s themes and plot definitely appealed to me, so there’s that bias. And by and large, I enjoyed the show. But there were a number of elements, mainly early on, that I simply couldn’t overlook. These are mainly personal issues, granted, but they bear mentioning. So, ... before I get into the specific sections below, I’ll run through these.

First, I was not able to take this show seriously for the first few episodes. In fact, if I didn’t know better, based solely on the first episode, I’d have thought this show was supposed to be black comedy. Contributing to this is the fact that I couldn’t take one of the main characters, Migi, seriously for about 9 or 10 whole episodes. I tried, trust me, but it wasn’t working. In addition, despite the show really trying to sell the viewer on the whole “the Parasytes are horrifying and threatening” thing, they just looked more silly than scary the vast majority of the time, which made it really hard to get into it.

And secondly, a number of events occurred/decisions were made that I thought were just awful. A certain transformation in episode 5 in particular was so ham-fistedly an homage/rip-off of Peter Parker/Spiderman that I rolled my eyes so hard I almost burst a blood vessel.

Now, on to the main stuff.

Story: 9/10
Easily the best part of the show. The presentation of themes, the way the plot moved and the handling and resolution of most events were wonderful. There were a few plot-related hiccups, and it wobbled a bit thematically near the end, but it righted itself and succeeded in telling a well written, well thought-out and profound story, and for that I applaud it greatly.

Art/Animation: 8/10
The art and animation in Parasyte is very good. The character designs look mostly good (and they actually look their age, which is rare in anime), the animation is smooth and consistent and the backgrounds are excellent. The biggest issue I have with the animation in this show is in the Parasytes’ fight scenes, which have a bad habit of devolving into blade-spam, which can be downright boring to watch. The fight scenes are really only interesting when human bodies are doing the fighting.

Sound: 4/10
Easily the worst part about this show. The soundtrack is heavily influenced by dubstep and electronic music, so unless you’re into that, which I am not, you probably won’t like it very much. Also, it just doesn’t work. It fails in setting the tone for the scenes, which makes many of them have a lot less impact than they would otherwise. What makes this even more unfortunate is that there are a couple (and by that, I mean like three) good songs on the track that are not overly (or at all) electronic/dubstep, which shows that the creators knew how to integrate fitting, emotional, non-dubstep music into the show, but chose not to. I cannot fathom why they would make that choice. Because of these moments, though, I’ll give the show a 4, rather than a 3 or even a 2 for music.

Characters: 6.5/10
This would be the best part of the show… if Shinichi and Migi were the only characters. Alas, they are not, and we have the misfortune of being forced to suffer through laughably shallow, poorly-written side characters. I will give credit where credit is due: Shinichi and Migi are two of the best, if not the best, characters of their respective seasons (both fall and winter). They are awesome, and they are even better together. But just about every other character is a cardboard cutout masquerading as a person. Granted, Shinichi and Migi are the focus, but it was still painful watching everyone else. At times, some of the characters do become legitimately interesting (only towards the end of the show, though), but this leads me to another huge problem I have with this show: it has a bad habit of killing off characters right as they become (or start to become) interesting. If this show handled its side characters even a quarter as well as it handled Shinichi and Migi, the score for this section would jump right to a 9. But it didn’t, so it won’t. Out of respect for the beautiful Shinichi/Migi duo, I’ll give it a 6, but it would be much lower otherwise.

Enjoyment: 7/10
Even with the aforementioned flaws, I found myself enjoying this show each week, liking it and being interested in what would happen the next week. Shinichi and Migi were a treat to watch, and the story and plot were compelling, appealing and deep. For the reasons given in this review, however, I was never able to fully engage with this show, but it was an overall enjoyable experience.

Overall: 7/10
Parasyte: The Maxim is an overall solid, good show. It stumbles, it messes up, and it has some issues that I will never be able to get over, but all things considered, it is a good show and an enjoyable experience.

Parasyte the Maxim is perhaps the most entertaining, yet disjointed show I have seen over the past year. The premise is simple; one day parasytes turn up in Japan (or across the globe, it's not known) taking over human bodies and using their human hosts to feast on other humans. Shinichi, our 17 year old protagonist, has his right arm taken over by a parasyte, Migi, and must learn to survive and co-exist with the parasyte while fighting other parasytes. This is a great premise, however the execution of the story that follows is flawed.

There are two things that are consistent in Parasyte; the young ... female characters are stupid and plot points being forgotten. Murano, the female lead, is both annoying and useless. Most of her interactions with Shinichi involve her creating drama for no reason or simply being stupid. There's one scene where Shinichi carries Murano, jumps three stories and lands on his feet unscathed and she doesn't question whether anything supernatural is occuring, instead only looking back on that moment to remember that Shinichi is actually a caring person. Kana isn't much better, being hopelessly in love with Shinichi for no reason other than being able to "feel" his presence, something that is never explained.

The general public in Parasyte are also quite stupid. There are hundreds of murders occuring frequently and yet there's no panic or change in the way the public behaves. After the mass murder at Shinichi's high school, the school is open the very next day as if nothing happened. The police are mostly clueless about what's going on, especially during the raid later in the show where they carry out one of the worst plans to attempt to discover hidden parasytes, leading to most of them being killed.

As for plot points being forgotten, this leads to the show feeling disjointed. For a while Shinichi is under suspicion by the police, but that ends up being forgotten. His father appears to be a part of the investigation but that is also forgotten. Tamiya Ryouko's whole plotline ends up going no where with her concluding that the parasytes are weak, when the whole show up until that point has shown that parasytes are, in fact, the opposite of weak. This makes the show feel like it lacks direction and makes it unclear what the end game is. When the ending does come around, many of the issues of having parasytes existing amongst society aren't solved.

The take home message from Parasyte is that humans are the same as animals and that we should treat animals with respect. There's nothing inherently wrong with this message. However, the method Parasyte chooses to deliver this message is awkward at best. Characters would monologue this message multiple times throughout the show, or the show would create characters to prove this point, for example, Uragami. The only points where the show attempts to explore these ideas come from the discussions between Migi and Shinichi, but these discussions don't really test the idea well.

Nevertheless, Parasyte is an entertaining show. The dynamic between Shinichi and Migi is captivating and holds the series together. The way both characters grow together feels natural. Seeing how they overcome great odds to survive is incredibly thrilling. The action scenes, while hard to relate to due to the blades moving at hyperspeed, are full of tension since they have real consequences that are felt by Shinichi. It also helps that some of the side characters, such as Uda and Kuramori, play their part well and are easy to empathise with, while Gotou is a fearsome villain.

The technical aspects are worth a mention. The gore is depicted well in Parasyte, however I hear that the manga has even more gore. The animation during the action scenes are satisfactory, but there isn't anything unique. The use of dubstep does put some people off, however it doesn't seem out of place. The voice acting is high quality, which is expected considering there are some big names in the cast of Parasyte.

If you wish to watch an anime which involves nice action scenes, gore and are able to tolerate moments of stupidity, this show will be great entertainment and I definitely recommend it. The journey that Shinichi embarks on is memorable and should leave you satisfied.

This anime excels with its very unique story and progression of the characters, plot, and the anime itself. The story is well written, that creates a lot of suspenseful situations that leaves me on the edge of my seat. It had amazing music tracks that are queued in at the right time and great use of sound effects with some generic ones. The style and art of the anime can be seen being evolved and shows the artists in the production being increased in their skill, not saying the art was bad at first but you can really notice the effort and precision put into ... the later episodes. It puts a nice polish to the ending. The ending of the anime does seem a bit rushed, it could have been extended with more detail, but it is understandable since it is a 24 episode series. Not sure if there will be a sequel soon, but I can say that there will be an OVA for sure because there is a high demand for this anime. Overall it is a great unique story, and very well directed and co-ordinate help from the producers and is a must watch for any anime fans of horror/action anime.

This show was great! I just finished today, and the series amazed me. Throughout the show there was action. The last episode caught me by surprise because I had not read the manga before watching. I have since went back and read certain parts of the memorable scenes and seen that they did a great job portraying the actions as described in the manga.
My favorite part of the show was the music. For each scenario, be it action packed or even a romantic part, the music was on point.
I did feel like it was slow at some points, but after seeing the whole series ... through, I was amazed. Not only was it great to follow as the episodes were released, but the show also has very high rewatch value to see some of the fight scenes and see some of the interactions between the characters. Although I have only watched a small amount of anime, this show is going to be one of the best that I have seen.

Story

Parasyte's greatest strength is the relationship between Shinichi and Migi. Migi is more than Shinichi's right hand, Migi has his own intelligence and personality. As such, it is a nice treat seeing how the two of them grow as characters throughout the series. The really intriguing thing is how the two of them shape the views of other, with both of them behaving startlingly similar to the other at different points.

Soundtrack

While it got off to a bit of a rocky start with its heavy use of dubstep-like music early on, Parasyte's soundtrack eventually grew on me and now I can't imagine ever forgetting the ... songs in the series. From the excellent opening and ending themes to numerous pieces of background music, there was just so much for me to love about this show's music. It also helped that many of the songs perfectly set the tone for the scenes they played in. For instance, whenever the chanting from the song "Hypontik" would play, I knew something big was about to go down. But for my money, I think my favorite song on the show's soundtrack is the calming "Next to You" and "it's the right time"


Also, this is one of the very few anime that I've watched that I don't feel the need to go back and read the source material. Not because I don't think it'd be good, but because this is such a brilliant work that it left me with nothing more to be desired.

Lets start with the story. It was well put together and complete. The one thing missing was sufficient amount of background information so that the as called plot twists would be more twisty. On every scene there was a really high chance of you knowing whats happening next. These bits harm the otherwise naturally going story. I've got to mention that the decisions main characters made were rational in compassion of what they were presented. 7

Art was top notch. I could ask for more frames per second or smoother development in Izumi but on the other hand I understand this way of approaching. The style ... didn't do correctly in regards to the manga, though. Especially animation of Satomis expressions was just outstanding. 10

Sound track was memorable and fitting, although the dubstep in fighting scenes took kind of a big role. Also I just couldn't stand the opening. The voice acting was really great, as it should be on an anime of this caliber. 9

Characters, well apart from their close to rational choices in every situation, weren't the best part of this show. Every character of this show could be described in a single sentence. However, it did not ruin the experience in any way. 7

I did enjoy it, but wasn't that hooked on it. I always knew that what I'm going to watch is going to be good, and it didn't put me down. However if you have been thinking of environment and the place of human in it, this could be otherwise. 8

Overall, despite the ongoing tautology of the theme that I think everyone got during the first few episodes, the show was good. It had a thing to teach, had somewhat emotional impacts all cleverly enough plotted with action and packaged in a good outer shell. I would recommend watching it. 8

Summary:
Parasyte adopts many characteristics akin to previous great, popular anime. Specifically, it introduces an original fantasy concept and attaches it to an ordinary main character (such that the viewer can imagine themselves in that situation). The chosen concept allows for cool fight scenes and cliffhanger episode endings, both of which give the viewer a constant sense of anticipation and excitement.

Sadly, Parasyte offers little beyond this enjoyment. While the anime attempts to explore themes relevant to modern times, it offers little incite into these areas beyond "humans are polluting the earth" and "human values are often inapplicable and illogical". In fact, the points it tries to ... make are often illogical or portrayed via a poor example. The idea that humans are demons and that

Overall, you should watch this anime if you're looking for something exciting to kill time.

Story 8/10:
As mentioned, the initial concept/premise of Parasyte is great and offers a world of potential. Additionally, the episodes cliffhangers are done really well, constantly forcing you to watch the next episode. Based on this alone, the story would be 10/10. However, the plot progression is unrealistic. Often you will be left wandering why character A did this and character B did that. Worst of all is when the special force teams get involved and take an idiotic, casualty-heavy approach to fighting the parasites.

I was not a fan of the final episode, but others may disagree. The ending scene was felt tacked-on to the main arc and felt like a poor attempt to re-iterate the points the anime was trying to make (that were already pretty in-your-face).

Character 6/10:
Let's start with the main characters. Migi and Izumi are great characters. Their actions completely align with their character progression throughout the series. The development of both these characters is great and well fleshed out.

Almost every other character is awful. All the female human characters get significant screen time. During all of this time they do nothing but hopelessly chase after or fantasize about the main character. They hold no real personality and have no objectives of their own. Each antagonist's character can be summarised by "I like to eat humans when I'm hungry". The detectives/special-forces are constantly endangering lives and hold no objective except "kill the monsters" without any thought towards gathering information. The female parasite is an acceptable character but her main appeal is just being different from the other parasites.

Many characters die but none of them are developed well enough for you to really care. You're left thinking "ah, they got themselves killed, that was stupid of them". If done well, events as significant as death should leave an impact.

Execution 9/10:
Parasyte is (or at least looks like) a high budget project. The art, voice acting, and dialog are all great.

Overall 7/10:
The cliffhangers will keep you watching. The concept will peak your interest. But at the end of it all you might feel a little bit empty and wonder if it was worth your time.

Parasyte (Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu) is a throwback to the old nineties sci-fi alien killing machine anime with a very thought provoking message.

Story:
Unpredictable - Parasyte goes from light-hearted school life moments to some of the most gruesome murders in the same episode. Parasyte does well to let you know early on that everyone is in mortal danger and nothing is sacred. There are moments where I was nearly unable to continue watching the show, which made it all the more impactful.

Art:
Parasyte's animation is above average but nothing too special in this day and age. The important scenes and characters are well drawn, however ... in some scenes they used that god awful 3D-rendering for panning crowd shots, which I absolutely hate, but can deal with in minor doses. The fighting scenes looked physical when they needed to, and they really nailed how arbitrarily the parasites can kill a person. I'm glad that they didn't shy away from blood and gore, but also didn't use an excessive - and unrealistic - amount of it.

Sound:
Solid type-cast voice acting with no annoying characters you wish would die just so they'd never speak again. The intro song is OK, a tad too "angsty-teen-who's-favorite-band-is-Linkin-Park" for me, but it fits the anime well. The outro song is really inappropriate and unsuitable except for a few select episodes, hilariously so.

Character:
A fairly bland main character in Izumi Shinichi somehow becomes more interesting by becoming more bland. The real star of the show is without a doubt Migi, with his dry humor and subtle quips that compliment his generally creepy (but somehow also cute?) appearance. The supporting cast definitely have more depth to them than Izumi, but he manages to engage the viewer by himself enough to be passable.

The strength of Parasyte is that you are never fully able to tell who is the antagonist, if there is one at all. It's about survival, and at the end of the day can you blame anyone for desiring to live?

Enjoyment:
This anime ripped my emotions to shreds; you're never quite settled in and it just keeps landing haymakers right where it hurts. It deeply invests you in its story - toys with you - before leaving you high and dry, and yet I couldn't get enough!

Overall:
9/10 due to a fantastic and thoughtful story; the only thing I felt held it back from the mythical 10/10 was a forgettable main character and several inconsistencies regarding characters (mostly with the ever-frustrating Murano Satomi). I left Parasyte feeling satisfied and yet also hungering for more.