Art (9): The art is a very 90's style (because it came out in 1989), and it is often used to great affect. The art is wonderful at communicating the tone of a particular scene. For example, just the difference in how Shinichi is drawn to stand can change how the entire scene feels. One scene he feels a lot more lose (like when he's hanging out with Murano), but then, a few scenes later, he's gone completely rigid as he grabs a knife to confront the intruder in his home. The gore and violence is also incredibly well drawn and legitimately disturbing at times (which is a good thing)! Sometimes the facial expressions can come off as a little stiff (like when Shinichi is trying to look contemplative, he sometimes just looks really sad) but overall it's brilliant to look at.

Story (9): The only reason I give this category a 9 as opposed to a 10 is because of the lack of explanation. We never learn where the parasytes come from. Just that they're here, they eat humans, and they want to 'help the earth' because 'humans are poisoning it.' Other than this the story is chilling (as it should be for a horror manga!), suspenseful, surprising, tragic, and just brilliantly told. I would definitely have liked some explanation on how the parasytes function and where they came from, but other than that the story has little to no flaws.

Characters (10): Shinichi is easily one of my favorite manga/anime protagonists. His character arc is brilliantly executed, and all the subtle differences in his facial expressions and body language that are shown through the artwork show his changes fantastically. Migi is also a brilliant character who also has a fully developed character arc. I can't think of a character who wasn't likable when they needed to be or unlikable when we were supposed to hate them. Even if the villains are hatable, sometimes you still empathize with them, which I consider to be quite a feat (check out Hunter x Hunter (2011) for more likable villains).

Enjoyment/Overall (10): Parasyte is a brilliant manga and a complete classic with brilliant story and characters, wonderful art, and just amazing everything else. There's no way I did it justice in my short review, so please go read it!