Story: After recently watching Shiki, and finding myself most impressed with an impeccable delivery of a cliché in terms of both story and characters, I have discovered a newfound interest in highly-rated horror stories. The gore and bloodshed does little to fan my interest, but the willingness of these types of stories to “ignore the rules” and brave sadder, more dramatic paths increases the likelihood of encountering a legitimately well-done series.
Of course there is the other end of the spectrum with shock-value buffoonery such as Deadman Wonderland, but Parasyte falls cleanly in the category of “a cliché that does it right.” Within the first few minutes, one can notice striking similarities to the famous “The Puppet Masters” by Robert Heinlein (fans of this particular show would like the movie adaption, certainly, but the book is even better), with small insidious alien parasites finding themselves dispersed about the earth wreaking absolute havoc. From this premise springs an interesting tale of these intruders attempting to adapt to life on earth in human society, driven by their own instinct, lack of social cohesion, and virulent self-interest. Where Parasyte deviates from the original sci-fi norms is that it grants these aliens near impregnable superpowers; though certainly not a fatal flaw to the story, at times feels a bit overdone and more a plot device to keep the story moving in a predetermined direction.
While the story may be imperfect at times, however, incredible characterization drives the narrative forward with intensity and purpose. The tale follows Shinichi, a high school senior, who by simple chance becomes target for one of the parasites. As he struggles against its assailment, he forces the alien to gestate prematurely and take over his right hand while leaving his nervous system intact. From this emerges an intriguing drama in which he and his hand, affectionately named Migi, must coexist within the same body, navigating ordinary life as a human with a substantial handicap. With the truly “complete” parasites being cannibals against humanity, the duo find other parasites, family, friends, and random strangers on the street all to be potential enemies.
Were events simply a spin on survive-against-all-odds or aliens-goring-everything-in-sight, this series would no doubt have done little to stem beyond shock-value gore and bored me to tears. More than these things, the story emphasizes the interpersonal interactions of all parties involved – just because Shinichi has attained a parasite for a right hand, for example, does not mean his crush loses feelings for him or he loses his desire to maintain his family bonds. Yet, his necessary secrecy causes friction among these relationships, and encounters with other parasites – also desperate to keep their anonymity – creates situations that may either bluff away or turn into fights to the death where incidental casualties are a very real possibility.
By the time Parasyte comes to a close, it does not feel spectacular in any particular way. Rather, it carries a certain concoction of tension and sadness that grips from start to finish, and despite its lack of any superlative qualities feels remarkably well done in composition. Importantly, while there is a general linearity to the overall plot, there are many twists and turns that keep it anything but predictable. The ending proper is a bit lackluster, but in the grand scheme of bad endings (of which are the multitude of anime endings) it is passable.
Animation:
The choice of animation style keeps Parasyte from becoming too brooding. From a glance at the cover image, one might expect a phenomenally dark and bloody alien invasion with a moody tone and pallid lightning. On the contrary, the parasite designs are certainly alien and twisted, but are not particularly shocking or overly-disturbing nightmare material. It many ways I am reminded of Narutaru in which the horrific elements are masked behind a somewhat cheerier mien.
That said, Parasyte is visually brutal when it means to be. With spiraling head cleavers for weapons, people do get decapitated and gored when parasites happen to have a go at each other. At no point, however, does the shock value feel excessive or the gore glorified. Those with a softer stomach should be forewarned, but it’s nowhere near the level of a Hollywood Saw-style production and should not be thought about as such.
Sound:
The musical score works well generally, and aids with the animation style in keeping a relatively neutral tone for most of the screen time. Sad piano pieces are appropriately placed for the plethora of melancholic events, as are chilling tracks accompanying a parasite in action. All in all, the music seemed to sit idly in the background and not contribute heavily one way or another. Fitting, yes, but not particularly remarkable.
Likewise, voice acting was on par with standard quality. Shinichi’s seiyuu does a great job capturing his evolving character, and Migi’s dispassionate analysis with hints of emotion remind me a lot of Nanachi from Made in Abyss. Passable works by all parties for sure, but again I cannot really cite any outstanding performances.
Characters:
Migi, hands down, steals the show. His character fills a multitude of roles from dispassionate observer to self-interested actor to comedic relief. At first glance I thought Parasyte to be a dark or morbid show, but as it moves along it comes across as far more blunt and carnal. Life is cheap to the parasites, surely, but each one values its own above all else. Migi thus finds himself caught in the middle of needing to keep Shinichi on his side, but Shinichi is a human and has far more that he cares about in his life than himself. Migi’s constant struggle against his human host creates a gripping drama in which the underlying brutality functions well to keep a massive level of unpredictability as to what will happen to any particular character.
At times, however, the scenes which occur and the characters’ reaction to them seem a bit too flat. Digging into any level of detail here would spoil too much of the show, but in a world where the parasites are blatantly “overpowered” one has to take some of it in stride. Balancing this, though, is a far more realistic take on how humanity would adapt to an invasion of this nature. Shinichi is not a typical anime hero who confronts and fights the alien threat with his own misfit, wielding some superpower that can save the world; quite the contrary, he is a normal human teenager who gets wrapped up in some truly horrific events that make him a central locus of the drama more than a central player. In his place as the “hero” is an intriguing web of different actors all competing for larger goals, and “good guy” versus “bad guy” is a matter of perspective of who is fighting who.
The resulting free-for-all of self-interested parties, each trying to preserve themselves, drives Parasyte forward with a powerful force that easily carries one episode to the next. Characters adapt and change to events around them, and the parasites, in particular, show the fundamental flaws of the “hyper-rational mind” that gets praised so much in the modern day. Logic and reason are powerful tools in the human arsenal, but their imperfectness is not a flaw as not all situations are aptly solved with these traits.
Overall:
Though it has its very “over-the-top” shounen-style moments, Parasyte is a riveting horror-drama that hits all important points to make it a captivating and well-written story. While certainly dark in several ways, the show does not carry the chilling atmosphere of Shiki or the underlying sadism/masochism shock of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Emphasis is not placed on the gore for the sake of gore, but rather to create a more realistic tension as to the stakes involved with all parties, and in this way understands how such elements should be employed (unlike, say, Shigurui which is little more than a mindless rape and murder fest.)
For those looking for a solid drama with good characterization and an emotional story, this one’s for you.