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Parasyte
Anime Review
A lot of movies and TV shows tell tales of kids and their alien companions. But while kids and friendly extraterrestrials might seem fun on the surface, Parasyte takes a decidedly darker turn because these aliens are parasites, living inside the human body. Sure, you might have a cool alien buddy -- but it's living inside you. How terrifying is that?
Parasyte is not a new series, but it's the first time we're seeing it animated, so this is a special treat indeed. Originally running as a seinen manga from 1988 to 1995, the series combines high school life with body horror, alien terror, and action. It's tense, gripping, and violent, making it a great candidate for an anime adaption. It's curious that it hadn't gotten one sooner, but with the recent live-action film adaptations, the iron is hot once again.
 We begin by meeting the main character, Shinichi Izumi. He lives a fairly ordinary life with (surprisingly, breaking all anime rule books) his mother and father. He has a crush on a classmate named Satomi Murano. Pretty typical so far! But then Earth is invaded by parasitic aliens that crawl in peoples' ears and take over their brains. However, thanks to Izumi wearing headphones to bed, a parasite instead embeds itself into his arm.
This begins an odd relationship between the two. Migi, as Izumi names the parasite, isn't exactly in this to help his human host. So sure, he'll protect Izumi enough that Migi himself can survive; it's because his desires are purely survival-based. The two have good chemistry, especially as they encounter other parasites throughout their adventure. The dynamic of exploiting Migi's abilities while also hiding him often feels like a superhero trying to hide his secret identity -- and it works well.
 The pacing is pretty brisk, dumping viewers into the action right away. Multiple encounters with other parasites have already been had, each with their own unique setups. In episode 2, a parasite offers to chop Migi off and give him a place on the parasite's body. Migi refuses the offer not because he wants to stay with Shinichi, but simply because he cannot know if the procedure would work. His cold, logical view of things is a nice contrast to Shinichi -- but it appears things may not stay that way forever, and both will change over time.
The animation is done by none other than Madhouse -- it seems fitting for a studio that has done many classic manga adaptations to tackle this one as well. Although they have been faltering recently financially, Madhouse is putting in excellent work here. In particular, they have animated the movements of Migi and other parasites surprisingly fluidly, giving them and otherworldly feel. The character designs, while altered slightly from the manga, are also well-done and feel unique.
 If there's one thing to complain about, perhaps it's the music. The soundtrack is an odd collection of boring stock tunes and generic over-the-top dubstep. During a school sequence or more calm scene, the music is frankly, forgettable, but when an action scene kicks in, dubstep begins to blare and may take viewers out of it entirely. It's not offensive, just a weird, un-ironic choice.
Still, Parasyte excels in almost every other area, from interesting characters to dynamic animation. While it feels like it should've come years ago (and perhaps the opening song reinforces this), fans should be happy with this adaptation. It's tense, exciting, and dynamic. Let's hope the entire series gets covered! This is definitely the adaptation Parasyte deserves.
Anime Review by Ben Huber, November 2014
Below: Scenes from Parasyte .
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Below: Parasyte Japanese manga covers .
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