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.
