Saturday, October 10, 2020

Parasyte

Parasyte -the maxim-/Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu(2014)

All of a sudden, they arrived: parasitic aliens that descended upon Earth and quickly infiltrated humanity by burrowing into the brains of vulnerable targets. These insatiable beings acquire full control of their host and are able to morph into a variety of forms in order to feed on unsuspecting prey.

Sixteen-year-old high school student Shinichi Izumi falls victim to one of these parasites, but it fails to take over his brain, ending up in his right hand instead. Unable to relocate, the parasite, now named Migi, has no choice but to rely on Shinichi in order to stay alive. Thus, the pair is forced into an uneasy coexistence and must defend themselves from hostile parasites that hope to eradicate this new threat to their species.

Parasyte is an impressive body horror anime that reminded me of The Thing(1982), Brain Damage(1988) and especially the Ganados parasites from Resident Evil 4. The animation, especially during the body transformations, and the gore, are superb. For most of the story, it acts both as an alien horror mystery combined with high school romance and drama, and the communication between Shinichi and the semi parasite Miki was interesting to follow.

During the latter episodes, it turns into government involvement, survival ideologies, co-existence and the alien parasites themselves saying that humans are the true parasites. Parasyte has a pretty cool story, its action packed, gory, and has morals. It follows through and there aren't many faults in the storyline. It also touches on political and philosophical issues like comparing humans to animals, our ecosystem, global warming, and such.

Parasyste is the greatest anime I have seen since Gankutsuou back in 2015.

And with this resurgence, I think that the medium can continue to be impressive and enjoyable to me, despite my current age. I believe that there is something for everyone to be found in the medium by now, no matter how old or how young you are. I grew up with it, and I don't see it fading away, anymore.

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