Kiseijuu

Parasyte/Kiseijuu is one of those mangas that remains timelessly good. While I was rather critical of the anime adaptation, I'm glad that I decided to read the manga afterwards. Thanks to a strong narrative, beautiful art, and well-written character arcs, this manga shines as one of the best examples of horror seinen.

[Story - 9]

The plot seems rather bland at first (Follows the adventures of high school upperclassman Shinichi Izumi as he has to cope with an alien inhabiting part of his body), but thanks to Iwaaki's clever writing, it becomes rather intriguing. Adequately exploring a range of themes such as humanity's destructive potential and whether or not we can really understand beings like the parasites makes each mini-arc a worthwhile read, which all ties together beautifully when it revolves around how Shinichi and Migi (his alien pal) react.

[Art - 9]

I ADORED the art in this manga. While some may call it dated, I personally love the look and feel of it. It has a very minimalist vibe to it, yet can have a degree of detail not seen often. Of course, the gore comes out grossly beautiful, but the various backgrounds and expressions of characters are just as noteworthy. Character design is a bit....tacky, but I mostly blame that on the time period, and reflect the character well regardless.

[Character - 8]

Characterization is one common element of critique this shares with the anime adaptation. To summarize: Most characters aren't really fleshed out beyond their initial traits, and feel incomplete. While some characters definitely escape this vacuum, it still exists elsewhere and it's a shame.

However, characters such as Satomi Murano (the love interest) and Tamura Reiko (an antagonist) receive a strong amount of development. Whether it's because of their actions or inner monologues, these characters stand out among the rest.

Of course, they don't compare to the protagonist, Shinichi, and the deuteragonist Migi. Seeing Shinichi go from a 'human with a monster inside' to 'half-human, half-monster', was absolutely Awesome, especially when done in the more relaxed format and pacing of manga. Migi's concurrent arc is just as noteworthy, seeing him go from someone completely analytical to a distinctive outlier.

[Enjoyment/Overall - 9]

This manga, as said at the beginning, is timeless. It will stay with you for quite a while, and it's safe to say it can easily become a favourite. Definitely check this out for a meditation on humanity's place in the world set to the backdrop of gory alien horror.

So if you're interested in reading this either from watching the anime or hearing it from your friends, well here is a review.

The manga for Parasyte was released between the late 80's to mid 90's

These parasites who appear in the manga, are aliens who take over people and well in similar stories like this, eat and kill people. Shinichi happens to be one of them who get attacked but survives (like any protagonist would do.)

As you read through the manga, you see how Shinichi's life is affected by these parasites, his character changes, his relationship among his family and friends also change even to one of them concerned for him.

I really recommend you read this, it's not a long story and it's not a short story. From what I see the story doesn't drag itself, it continues and the pacing is good.

Now for the people who watched the anime you will notice this:
While reading the manga you see similarities and differences.
As the anime basically modernizes the story, in the manga you'll see Migi reading a textbook or encyclopedia instead of using a computer, clothes are different and there's more scenes added and scenes altered.

Plot and characters are the same.

Some scenes from the anime are altered for example: There is a part where Shinichi is having a conversation with Satomi then out of nowhere Migi turns into a penis.

If you like sci-fi, aliens, horror, Prototype, the anime or a good story with characters and development (because who doesn't like that?) then give this a try!

Parasyte is manga written by manga author/artist Iwano Iwaaki and it is very well done. It starts out with spore like objects falling from the sky and infecting various people turning them into shapeshifting creatures who can blend into human society flawlessly and prey on unsuspecting humans. One of these spores infects a high school student named Izumi Shinichi but he manages to trap it into his right arm before it reaches it's brain and matures. The beginning is very well done. It's very mysterious and leaves you wondering what the hell is going on. The premise of the manga is also very interesting. It always left me wondering what was going to happen next. Iwano Iwaaki said that he wrote Parasyte because he wanted to make a manga that was never boring and I do believe he has accomplished that.
Now onto the main story. After Izumi stopped the creature from infecting his brain and trapped it in his arm he finds out that the creature is very intelligent and is capable of doing many things that humans can do and exceeds humans in some areas. Izumi names the creature Migi because migi is Japanese for right hand. At first Izumi and Migi only care for each other for their own wellbeing. If Izumi dies Migi dies. If Migi dies Izumi loses his right arm. As time goes on Izumi and Migi become very good friends as they both learn to work each other and defeat other parasytes who want to kill them or innocent humans. No one knows that Izumi has a parasyte in his arm besides other parasytes of course.
One of the big parts of the story was when a parasyte stabs Izumi's heart and Migi is forced to heal Izumi with Migi's own cells. While this makes Izumi stronger and faster than any other human it makes think more like a parasyte and care less for other humans. He starts to think as Migi would. I loved the story. It was very well done and I could easily read it again. I just wish it was a little longer because it could easily be longer. It ends with Izumi and Migi killing a powerful parasyte that was 5 in one. One was the head and the rest were the limbs. It was a coolass fight but it didn't feel like it was worthy of being the end. It felt too rushed. 9/10 manga. I would definitely read it again.

masterpiece

everything about this manga is great and the more you read the better it gets

i cant remember the writer name he is one talented genius for writing this and " hestorie ".

best thing about this is the character development from the beginning to the end it never stops being engaging , the main guy is very likable : much like the main guy from hestorie " .

this is nothing but a reflection on humanity itself in the form of an " outsider " , you cant say these things are evil but you cant love them either .. you dont get it ? , oh well .. youll understand when you start reading it .

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!

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

"What's Wrong?" that is how this great voyage begins.

This manga is very good, his story is very original for its time, and shares many things with their similes of today as Tokyo Ghoul, the high school student who ends up inadvertently embroiled in a mess by a strange creature, the villains who want to exterminate mankind, but this shows us a more realistic way, and not just focusing on put fights, THE PROTAGONIST WANTS TO DO SOMETHING, no for example Kaneki, it wants save humanity on their own to prevent something from happening to your family and friends, which ends up happening, but that's another topic.

In the characters are not that great, which many of them could have had a better development, especially Hideo Shimada, who was defeated in a very fast way, and could have done interesting things with that character, but the characters works for this kind of story and are good.

The story is excellent, hooks you from the beginning, and in each chapter are appearing new mysteries reflection while others are solved as Shinichi and Migi much about these, plus all the arc that goes from Chapter 11 to 48 is excellent and deserves some applause.

But then everything falls apart, the arc that goes from chapter 49 to 64 is bad, not so bad, but if you destroy everything that came before, but still leaves an important message about protecting the environment (a new thing in a 90's manga).

This chapters are bad because it is full of deus ex machina for lose the villain, but the ending is quite satisfactory, as it closes with most of the characters, but not finished Migi be clear what and how did she get out of the villain, but hey, it adds to the list of deus ex machinas.

The art is meh.., the designs are generic and not very remarkable, but is ok.

In general is a good manga, although it could be better without the last part, For my part it earns a solid 8/10.

I am no expert reviewer, and generally I am very generous in my reviews. I am also relatively inexperienced with manga, so who knows how many great things I have yet to read to overshadow this particular work? But for now, and from my personal opinion, this is a brilliant manga that I hope to remember for years to come. Because I feel it deserves this, I will give an in-depth review of each section that I have scored to the best of my ability. I will try my best not to spoil anything, but I make no guarantees.

Story: No words I have could do it justice. It started off very odd, something I thought I would just read for the sake of reading something weird. When I saw how many chapters the story contained, I doubted I'd ever finish it. Instead, I was drawn in to what became an amazing emotional rollercoaster, an educational experience, and a brand new outlook on the world. There are statements made in the very beginning of the story that you may or may not think you understand, may or may not agree with, but it won't be until the very end that you truly hear the message of this story. It was very gripping, and I can recall at least 3 times that I was very nearly brought to tears. Any problems I had with the story stem only from a few shaky translations here and there, making the dialogue hard to follow, but this was very rare. If not for that, if I were allowed a perfect understanding of every panel, I would give the story a 10.

Art: The art is interesting. As I believe another reviewer mentioned, it's not quite the same art as you might expect from a manga. Every artist is unique, of course, but this style certainly stuck out, and it was somehow very fitting for the story. No character is overly beautified, as you'll often see. The characters all appear rather average, which of course adds to the realism. Of course, this also creates a sharp contrast with the titular parasites of the story, which are certainly some of the most abnormal things you will ever see drawn. No matter what, everything is very nicely detailed and anything involving the parasites is satisfyingly surreal. If the artist wants you to see the inside of a body, then you will be seeing the inside of a body. If you should be seeing an amorphous parasite, then you can trust that the art will clearly show you an amorphous parasite. As for the negatives, some minor qualms with the art include some strange facial expressions, particularly any view of an open mouth from the side, and the fact that certain characters, mostly females, looked almost inconveniently similar. While I approve of the characters having an average appearance, a little more effort to differentiate between them would have been nice.

Character: I have no doubts in my mind that these characters are a perfect 10. When the character's faced a struggle, I faced it with them. When they lost something precious, I felt their loss. When they attacked in blind rage, I felt their rage. These characters are very real, even in the most surreal moments of the plot, and I refuse to believe anyone could read through this manga without connecting to them. The human characters, even the minor ones, experience various flavors of pain, and just like real people you can sympathize with even the most subtle hints of emotional distress from these characters. Even the cold, emotionless parasites will relate to you in their logic. What they lack in emotion, they make up for with the delivery of a different view on life that you won't soon forget.

Enjoyment: Now, it is in this section that I believe opinions will differ the most. While some will find this work to be brilliant, others could completely, and even understandably, disregard it for what it is at face value. To read a manga about parasites taking over bodies and mutilating humankind will require a certain, possibly acquired, taste, or at least a certain level of tolerance. However, anyone who can enjoy or look past the more disgusting aspects of the story is sure to enjoy every moment of it. As I've stated above, I hadn't expected to have the attention span to bother to complete a story when all I was expecting was a quick fix for that desire for something out of the ordinary, and instead this manga grasped me tightly as I stayed up in the late hours of the night just to blast through another few chapters. I enjoyed every moment of this manga, and I'd like to believe I'm not alone in this.

Overall: In conclusion, this is among the best manga I have ever read. The art gave me very little problems, and I don't regret a single night I gave up sleep just to read this to its conclusion. The plot, the characters, the themes and messages delivered all sliced deep into my heart like only a parasite can. And, similar to certain events of the manga, this parasite has proven itself to be a symbiote, because as it invaded me I only felt myself grow stronger and become a better person for reading it. At least, that's how I feel, and how I hope all other readers will feel once they've allowed themselves to be taken over by Parasyte.

I don't like this manga. I think it's overrated and very poorly written. I've no idea how it receives 10's and 9's from other people, I simply don't get it.

>Story
The story in this manga is actually... decent. It has a cool and relatively unique premise, and it's (sometimes) interesting to see what happens next. However, the author has no idea how to properly move with it. The structure of the story itself isn't dynamic at all, it's too slow for its' own setting and there's a lot, and I mean A LOT, of filler and just stuff that isn't very interesting to look at in a world where Parasites exist. Also, apparently, now that I have finished this manga, the author doesn’t even want to come up with an interesting explanation to Parasites, dismissing their existence to “lol they just came from space”. 5/10.

>Art
It's very bad and disappointing, and the few color pages at the beginning of each volume don't save it. The art is bland, everything feels so empty and soulless most of the time because of the lack of backgrounds. All we get is characters in an actually neat-looking artstyle in front of a white square (https://i.imgur.com/fzG6Lrv.jpeg - perfect example of what I'm talking about, laziness like this is all over the place). Riveting. Is this your award-winning manga?
While I'm on the topic of art, I'd like to touch up on the subject of the designs: they're repetitive as hell. I mean, come on, the mangaka creates a world in which there are intelligent parasites that can shape a human's head in any way, shape, or form they want once they inhabit it, and all he does with that is just draw the samey-looking stripes and blades over and over again. There was a breath of soul in terms of design somewhere near the beginning where the characters meet a Parasite-infested dog that transforms his head into a pair of giant bat wings, how cool is that? I wish this manga had more unique and interesting stuff like that, but, unfortunately, the mangaka doesn't seem to share my wish. 3/10.

>Characters
WHOOOOO BOY, HERE WE GO! Lots of spoilers in this bit, so be sure to skip it if you still want to read this manga.
The characters here are one of the stupidest I've ever seen in a manga. And to explain why, I'll just write about the two examples which frustrated me the most:
1) The case of the sukeban girl (I forgot her name because of how bland of a character she is, more on that later). So, you're trying to tell me that when there are rumors of Parasites going around all of Japan, that when these rumors are being even further explored in national television, that when the MC tries to tell this girl the truth about Parasites and actually explains what they are in great detail, that when said girl can literally SENSE THEM WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT SHE EVEN SENSES OR WHY, SHE DOESN'T BELIEVE THE MC AND SIMPLY DISMISSES HIS WARNINGS!? I'm sorry, but this is atrocious. To top it all off, because she doesn't believe the mc, she proceeds to die right in the same chapter by the hands of a TOTALLY RANDOM parasite-infested human. Absolutely brilliant.
And when she dies, am I supposed to feel sorry for her? Am I supposed to feel sorry for her because she's in love with the MC and is jealous of the girl he's going out with? Am I supposed to feel sorry for her because she got an "embarrassing" dream about the MC once? Those two things are the only things I remember about this filler of a character.
2) The case of the detective (guess why I don't remember this guy's name either). Alright, I can give the girl the benefit of the doubt, maybe there is some human out there stupid enough that wouldn't believe in the existence of Parasites in the sort of sutiation she is, but this guy? This guy? You're telling me this guy only "half believes" in their existence WHEN THERE WERE TWO OF THEM RIGHT BEFORE HIS VERY EYES A DAY AGO THAT ALSO THREATENED TO KILL HIM!? He got told not to meddle in this kind of business by two people: his wife and a woman he fears, and he still goes to investigate the matter of Parasites further with the help of his detective friend. To top it all off, not only have the humans told him to buzz off, one of the Parasites that he saw ALSO told him to mind his own business. And only when his detective friend gets killed by a Parasite, only then he realizes that hey, Parasites are actually dangerous! Who would've thought? God, what a joke.
The main villain of this manga is laughable. He barely gets any development, he barely has his ideologies shown and the final fight with him is just extremely underwhelming. Then again, at that point I was speedreading the manga because I was so bored of it, so maybe I did miss a few crucial points of his character.
But, it's not all that bad, I found the MC and his partner relatively interesting. The MC's development in partucular was interesting to watch, so there's that. But even he isn't safe from mediocrity, because he only gets a clear-cut goal by the 38th chapter, which is more than half of this snoozefest. Unfortunately, even with his flaws, I think that Shinichi is the only decent character in this manga. Every other one is just a stupid device to incite forced drama in the story. 2/10.

>Enjoyment
I didn't enjoy this after the first few chapters in the slightest. This manga is very stupid, and it really boggles my mind how stupid it is. The mangaka expects us to care about characters when he can't properly set them up for us to care about them. The art and the general designs are too boring for the premise the author created, becoming more and more repetitive as the manga goes on. I honestly hated it. The underwhelming villain, the stupid characters, the bad art that gradually got worse and worse (honest to god, defend this https://i.imgur.com/ECj2fQo.jpeg), it's all just terrible. 2/10.

>Overall
The story needs to be more dynamic in order for the story and the world to work and coexist. The art is borderline painful to look at. The characters are stupid. I didn't personally enjoy it, and I think it's highly overrated. What is there to look for in this manga when the only good thing about it is the distinct atmosphere of the 90's it has? I really just don't get it. 3/10.

I um... wow. This manga was incredible. It has a completely different feel to it from any other manga I've read or anime I've seen. This is truly a masterpiece.

- - - S T O R Y - - -
Parasitic aliens taking over humans, disguising themselves to kill/eat more humans. You might think it sounds like your average horror movie, but that line of thinking is completely wrong.
Only Shin's right hand is taken over by a parasite and he has to learn to co-exist with it. The parasite is as logical as math itself and has conversations with Shin. The story is not so much about some alien takeover horror, but instead about the way these characters change and grow throughout the series, as well as the way the other parasites learn to become less conspicuous in today's society. Some of them even learn to become more human than humans. It's just amazing to follow the plot and see how these things develop, and infinitely better than some simple war against aliens.

The story is very thought provoking. I also find that it's written in a way that can be taken literally and make perfect sense - or - you can read it with an alternate interpretation for an even more thought provoking experience when you think about things like how Shin's "right hand" is killing parasites guised as humans, and how the parasites are the same as humans. You can also read it as a simple battle manga, I suppose, if the plot is too complex for you. It's like 3 full manga series packed into one.

- - - A R T - - -
Seeing as this is from the '80s to early '90s, the art is from a time before "moe" and 2D wives existed. Truly, a better time for real stories to be told. Some of the characters have lame hairstyles and they don't look sexy like modern art styles, but who cares about that? This manga is dark and the art fits it nicely. It aims for a realistic approach, making it easier to take the story seriously.

I really liked how the characters' faces actually had emotions. The artist did a really good job of showing the sorrow in Shin's eyes when he'd give a distant look. One part of the art that had an impact on me was when a character was shown looking cheerful, then the next panel was pretty much the same drawing, except the smile was small, half-hearted, and the eyes looked like those of someone who's lost their way. It was just so perfectly executed and showed the emotion loud and clear.

- - - C H A R A C T E R S - - -
I suppose I was hoping for a little more with the characters, though they are quite good as is. Some characters simply fade out of the story, but I suppose there isn't really any reason to keep them around (for example, the girl Shin met on the ferry). A little more closure would be nice, though, as long as it doesn't devolve to pointless interactions. Many characters die even after we get to know and like them, so this manga may cause your emotions to react.

The way Shin's character developed was surprising and is also open to interpretation. Did he become the way he was because of the parasite's influence on his body or did he become that way due to psychological reasons? I'm leaning towards thinking it was psychological since even Migi acted more human than Shin at times, and that's really saying something. Still, you could just as easily see it the other way, which makes it interesting.

- - - O V E R A L L - - -
Well, this left me on the edge of my seat. I was completely engrossed in the story. Some moments were so tense and suspenseful I was sweating. Other moments were so sad I nearly felt like crying. In any case, it's addictive and has you wanting to know what happens next.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. Chapter 63 is the true ending. Chapter 64 is more like a little add-on to give closure to a few more things, but leaves you with a kinda empty feeling. So, if you read this, keep that in mind and look at chapter 64 as just a little bonus.

This manga is fairly short, so you should just read it if you have time to waste reading a long ass review like this. If you like stories with depth and value, you'll probably enjoy this.

PARASYTE:

CHARACTERS- each characters has a story. Each parasite in these chapters shows their weaknesses and strength. Each parasite shows their strategy skills when they were on fighting.

STORY- the story is about a parasite that falling from the sky and the teenage high school boy battling with parasites. If they will invade into your brain, they will eat humans. If they become unsuccessful, they can use hands, eyes, nose, mouth, or ears and it won’t attack humans. They can also change appearance; they can easily remember things, can presence from other parasites and the human that they invade can be strengthening skills or abilities.

ART- the art of hitoshi wasaki was very good, creative and unique. Migi is one of the cute parasite while the others are scary especially gotoh, the strongest parasite. The drawing in manga is not the same in anime. I choose to read manga rather than watch the anime. But their voices in anime were cute.

ENJOYMENT- while reading this manga, i am counting on how many parasites living inside the body of humans. How many are the parasites fighting over migi. How many are the parasites comrade with migi. And what is the new image of the parasites in the next chapter. Who will die in the end of the fight?

A strong blend of action and provoking social commentary that is for once done well. There aren't many mangas I have read that successfully pull off both an exciting and thought provoking story, without erring on one side. Where Parasyte succeeds is in its strong and likable characters that you can't help but root for. There's tons of character development and the conclusion is a very satisfying one that finishes off a very solid story that has few flaws.

The concept is clever: a school kid gets infected by an alien who then becomes symbiotic, giving the teen unusual powers, but gradually transforming him into something less than human. This is not the only alien however, and the kid is one of the lucky few who becomes symbiotic rather than dying and being taken over by the alien, creating the conflict present in the plot. This story has many highs and lows for the protagonist, and for once I found myself rooting for and relating to his struggle. Mostly when high school characters are involved in a manga, you'll get all sorts of terrible angst or melodrama, but this manga has a good amount of subtlety.

The hits come fast and hard at certain points for the protagonist who has a horrible life as a result of the Parasyte and the other aliens. The alien becomes a character in its own right as it develops a personality and befriends the main character. You get some pretty funny wacky humour at the start, and there's always some comedy despite all the serious plot going on, except for an extremely tense conclusion that is an absolute nail biter. The other side characters, some alien and some that are school friends, all serve a good purpose in development for the main character. I'd like to have gone over a few specific moments I loved here but I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to read this manga.

As far as action goes, this series doesn't have the flashiest of fights or anything. It's not a fighting series but the action is fun enough to keep you interested. The Parasyte gives the protagonist certain powers like massive stretchy limbs or very precise aim, and the predictable superhuman strength, but mostly the fights come down to him having to outsmart his opponents. This can require some ingenuity on his part or teamwork with the Parasyte and the stakes are always high and at the same time, realistic. As the story has so many tragic poignant moments and no filler, suspension of disbelief actually works. Again I wouldn't want to spoil any of this specifically, but there's not nearly as much plot armour as you'd think, it's refreshing after so many supposedly mature series that follow the same set of clichés,

The art is one area I may want to criticize slightly as it's not the greatest art. It's of its time, this is a fairly old manga now, around 30 years. It's pretty simplistic and while it has its moments, such as awesome detailed gore and other great bits and pieces, especially in the first few chapters, the simplistic 80s style of the humans can become a little tiresome. There aren't any good human designs, though it's par for the course compared to the average modern anime and there's at least great designs for the aliens and so on. (Off topic, the anime adaptation really manages to impress me with how it changes (see: ruins) several of the human characters by modernizing them to look like sissy losers because it's set in current day Japan.)

As far as complaints go, this is a very solid manga with little negative to say. There were a few moments that made me go "Huh?" Namely one of the plot twists about the corruption sub-plot's major players, and some of the wackier parts can be a bit too silly. The villains aren't too numerous, what is there is well done and I loved the final major alien confrontation. Even the very last confrontation had me second guessing what might happen. The plot is not that riveting and definitely could've done more with the corruption sub-plot. What is bad is merely stuff I feel could've been done slightly better, but overall this is simply a great manga that I find hard to imagine anyone wouldn't enjoy.

I am not a gore person... unless there's a good reason behind that gore. And Parasyte gave me many good reasons to keep reading! The manga doesn't give a long, dragging introduction. Rather, it stars off with a bang. While sleeping, these organisms called Parasytes start taking over brains of living things by entering their ears. Shinichi Izumi, however, has headphones on so when a Parasyte attempts to enter through his ear, it buries itself in his arm! Shinichi discovers that the organism (which he later names Migi) has the ability to turn his arm into a weapon. Others who have Parasytes in them have unfortunately become man-eating monsters. Thus, the fast-paced adventure to find out what the Parasytes purpose in the world begins...

Story: 9
I can't say much without giving away the whole story. Loved the premise of Parasytes taking over humans and turning them into monsters. Shinichi and Migi's journey is definitely worth the read. They encounter many obstacles to unveil the truth about Parasytes. The plot twists were mostly subtle but well done. I'm still not sure what to think of the conclusion. But the story was great overall.

Art: 7
While some of the drawings may be a bit rough-looking, I liked the design of the characters, mainly Migi and the Parasytes. I got a bit mixed up with some of the older male characters at times and had to read over it again to get their faces and names straight. The Parasytes are terrifying! And the gore scenes are drawn very well: viciously and with little left to the imagination.

Character: 8
Oh, Shinichi, you. Let me just say that Shinichi's character dynamics throughout were great. I loved how he battles for his humanity while having a Parasyte inside him. The struggle to remain human and come to the realization of what a human really was moved me. Migi completed the story. He was probably my favorite character. He doesn't give a crap and tells Shinichi how it is. His development was also well done. The female characters also contributed a lot to the story. Satomi Murano kept Shinichi sane as he fought to stay human. She wasn't really that strong, but I like how she was there to keep Shinichi grounded. I believe that was her main purpose in the series. Kana Kimishima, who is human but can sense Parasytes, was flat for me. She was just one of those characters there that just existed and was flat to me. Reiko Tamura was another strong character in the series. Seeing her change throughout the series was interesting. As for the other characters, they all contributed to the story, no matter how small their role was.

Enjoyment: 10
Really had a great time reading Parasyte.

Overall: 9
Awesome manga. Don't let the fact that it was written over twenty years ago stop you from reading! It's just as good, if not even better, than many of the manga series out there.

Alright, let's talk Parasyte:

STORY: Alright the story as described in the paragraphs above may sound cheesy and unoriginal to some, I know. However, as the story progresses the plot thickens and is beautiful. It shows how various people with the parasites, the bad not the good, try to cope in society and that's actually amazing to see unfold. One gets pregnant, one tries not to kill, etc.

Also, Parasyte shows quite vividly how someone would live with another symbiote in their body. Needless to say, this is very cool and interesting if you're in to that sort of thing. Even if your not, this doesn't slow down the story all that much which is fast-paced and easy to read.
(A tiny note here: One of my friends was reading it and it was about two in the morning so he told himself that after one chapter he'd stop reading. He stayed up until 4 to finish the whole thing.)

ART: The art is well done, although some may think it's a bit too sketchy and simple for their tastes. However, one of the neat things that the author/illustrator does, Hitoshi Iwaaki, is that he makes the eyes in such a way that after a while you can tell who's contolled by a parasite and who's not just by looking at their eyes.

Another great thing about the art is the transformations. When a parasite takes over a body they can change the shape and strength of the body to suit their needs. That means that their heads unravel to reveal blades, or they turn into a massive mouth, or many other neat, and creepy, ideas. The transformations are great to look at.

Also the author/illustrator can build teh tension very well by using great panel techniques. One such example is in the second new graphic novel, fourth old one (There have been two different publications), when Shin jumps over a ten foot wall. The panels keep widening until there's a full page spread of Shin leaping over the wall, then the next page the panels shortens to half the page to show the landing. Trust me, it gets your adrenaline pumped.

CHARACTER: At first Shin is just the average teenage hero archetype that has been seen in almost every shounen manga. But when you get to the second new graphic novel, fourth old one, things start to change. The parasite in his hand has to split and about 20% of it is strewn throughout Shin's body. Then Shin begins to start losing his very humanity and has to fight to get it back.

There is also a nifty little love triangle type deal that develops at the end of the second new graphic novel. Because every shounen manga needs to have a love triangle. (Sarcasm, if you hadn't noticed.) But I have to say this one's pretty well done.

ENJOYMENT: Wow. I just can't get enough of this series. Everything about it is pretty much perfect. Sure, you get a translation error every once in a while that makes you wince a little bit but besides that the thing is great. I read all the old graphic novels when I was about twelve and they blew my mind and now that it's being rerealsed by Del Rey there is no more perfect time to buy it. (They have combined two of the old graphic novels for a nice little price of $13-14)

If you like shounen, hell if you like action in your manga, check this out. You may not love it, but you won't be disappointed.

OVERALL: I want to give this series a ten but I just can't, otherwise I wouldn't be honest. If I could it would get a 9.5.

The only problems I can see is that every once in a while there is that translation error that doesn't make sense, and some people may find the art a little two simple.

However, the pluses definitely way out the minuses. There's a little something for everyone here: the one's who like a lot of action and not too much plot, the guys who like a deep story, the people who like watching others get chopped to bits, it's all here. (It even has a bit of sexual humor if you're into that.)

Even if you don't like manga too much, don't worry. I've had people read it who didn't even know what a comic book was, let alone manga, and they all really loved. One of them even went out and bought it himself. The others are all waiting on me to give them the next one when it's rereleased.

Try it, you'll like it.
(If you don't please tell me why. I'd like to know.)

Parasyte is a series written and drawn by Hitoshi Iwaaki. Unfortunately this is his only notable series so I can’t so much about his career. I mostly picked up Parasyte on a whim and also because my favorite manga reviewer, Y Ruler of Time mentioned it on his Seven Deadly Series list. But I digress, lets get started.

Story: The story is your standard alien invasion story. Little spores about the size of tennis balls fall from space and give birth to little worm like creatures. The creatures then invade the heads of humans and take over their bodies. The end result being that the creatures can flex the heads into any shape or size, making them stretch and snap like rubber, or turn them into blades.
Our story follows a teenage male named Shinichi whom a creature tries to invade, but, due to a fluke, the creature ends up stuck in his arm. Shinichi ends up naming the creature Migi, and they develop a rather odd relationship. For the most part their relationship builds around the fact that they have to fight off creatures that have successfully invaded human heads. Why do they need to fight off the aliens? Well, only because that the aliens that successfully invade human heads have to survive by eating other humans. Needless to say Migi can change Shinichi’s arm into pretty much anything, so that makes for some pretty awesome fight scenes.
What’s really interesting about this series though is that a small group of parasytes inherit human personalities (whilst still remaining homicidal creatures) and end up banding together to not really destroy, but to simply observe and survive. One of them even ends up being the closest thing to human in this series what it started out the most brutal monster of them all. Though later the government actually steps in and takes care of some of them.
I have to say the story didn’t get quite as repetitive as I thought it would, it always kept moving at just the right pace. However, violence does seem to take up a good portion of the series, so if you’re squeamish it’s best not to look into this series. Sometimes the way humans die are just brutal. The story itself was interesting enough to keep me reading.


Characters: Our main character as I said is Shinichi, a young teenage male. I would like to say he’s your standard shonen hero, but he isn’t quite. Migi does most of the fighting in the stories, though Shinichi usually delivers the finishing blow in the more serious battles ironically enough. Shinichi is definitely interesting as a character, he doesn’t quite develop so much as a person as through relationships, in fact, due to some bad flukes, he gets a little worse as a character through the series. But that is mostly Migi’s fault to be fair.
Ah yes, Migi, who undoubtedly is the best character. Migi develops the best, and the most subtly throughout the series. While most aliens are heartless and emotionless, Migi ever so slowly starts to understand human emotions. I even got a little sad when…Well, I don’t want to spoil too much.
There are a few villians but most of them die off pretty quickly. Shinichi also develops a relationship with a girl, Murano, but Migi’s relationship is more important and prominent.

Art: I’m not so much one to criticize art in a manga, since everyone has their own style and what I am presented with, will automatically become my standard. It’s also clear that this was made in the 90’s with the manga style, but I really liked this art. It could become quite gritty and dark at times but was detailed and precise when it needed to be.


The Bad: If I had any complaints about Parasyte, it would have to be the violence. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a prude or anything it’s just some of the fights are way too violent, too pointless, and overall seemed to be layered in bullshit. Most of the fights do help develop in the story, even the seemingly inconsequential ones, like where they fight a dog that got invaded by a parasyte. But sometimes it’s just aggravating seeing so much blood and violence


Parasyte overall: I have to say with Parasyte you can’t go wrong entirely, I enjoyed the characters, the fights, and the ending especially. The morale and whole idea at the end through me for huge loop. It really raised some philosophical questions.

As this is my first shot at reviewing please don't be too harsh. I would much appreciate any comments on thoughts you had of the review. thank you very much.

This is a review I decided to write after re-reading Parasyte 2 or 3 times on a period of about 4 years. There are many reviews already written, so I'll try writing a complete, simple review.

Story:
I loved it. Fairly long but not of epic sizes, it's just right not to be too short and leave you disappointed of an abrupt ending, nor is it one of those mangas you just lose interest after days of reading it because it seems it will never end. The storyline can be classified in only a few major chapters, and all of them continue each other, so basically it's a continuous reading, not the type of manga where you see a major enemy getting killed and just when you think that's about it, a new menace appears and must be stopped. When the plot starts, it starts without being too much all of a sudden, but it doesn't stagnate, and when it ends, that's it. Forever. No sequel, no nothing. Only an extremely short epilogue, so you won't be left thinking, 'wish there was more', because that epilogue gives you closure, with no loose ends within the characters or the storyline.
The plot itself is simple, but not completely clear on all details. You never get to find out where exactly DID the parasites come from, what ARE they, not what is their PURPOSE in the world, only enough hints to be well-rounded. What is clear is, they come from outer space as snakes/worms, they invade a part of a human's body (preferably the head), they can change shape, aaand~ they eat their host's species, using their host's own organs to digest it.
Story goes like this: parasite comes to earth, tries to enter Shinichi's head, fails, retains his arm and so becomes part of his host, without either of them losing their personalities. So, they go out facing those who wish to kill them, help a little the japanese army in fighting the maneaters, become stronger together, and also learn to understand each other in their free time. It's related mostly from Shinichi's point of view, but there are exceptions.
A few random scenes are shown so that you are helped to understand what kind of world this is, like, for example, a dog getting infected, a parasite attacking his prey while he's driving so that they both end up dead/on the verge of it, etc. In the end, all small things fit into place.

Art:
It's a stretchy art, not your every day anime style, with big eyes, small mouths and unnoticeable noses. No wasp-shaped female bodies, with departed feet and toes from one foot facing those of the other. So, if you like it realistic, you'll love it, and if you prefer classic innocent art, you should go pick something else to read. Either way, it's very clean, no useless lines, no greys, no overwhelming background. Balanced and nice. Not much gore, merely your every-day blood here and there to go along with the severed arms, heads, feet, and not to forget, the corpse-left-to-dry-on-a-rope-like-a-piece-of-clothing, with bones and flesh sticking out.

Character:
The characters are well- made, each of them has its own personality and way of thinking, even the parasites, who basically become human-like diverse, with emotions (...well, mostly different ways of interpreting their instincts), memories, and judgement. No two parasites are the same. some are dumb, others are curious, some are intelligent whilst others are leaders, well... you get the idea. People are just as well outlined: sometimes, you can guess how they will react, other times, they surprise you.
Reading the story overall, you can outline 3 distinct collective characters: parasites, feeding of and mingling with humans; humanity,conscious of the presence of its predator and fighting it off, and the 2 known symbiots (parasites who failed to invade the brain + the host), outcasted by other parasites, are helping humanity. Sometimes, parasites win, other times, humans do.
The most complex characters are Shinichi and Migi, and in both their cases we see a huge character growth from the start to the end of the story.Migi becomes like a thinking weapon for Shinichi, whilst Shinichi grows up, matures, and changes along the way. He becomes more mature in the way of thinking and judging, and at the same time, his emotional nature is being dulled by the presence of his parasite, to the point where he is regarded as an extremely cold person by some.

Enjoyment:
Well, I did say i re-readed it a couple of times already, and it's also my favorite manga of all times, so it's obvious that I really enjoyed it. I laughed my ass off when Migi transformed into a huge penis when Shinichi was in public, I felt sad for the puppy that died in Shinichi's arms after being hit by a car, and I was hooked up with the development of the plot 'til the very end, not once bored.
There are no flashbacks, so the story is incredibly easy to follow.

Overall: The only thing I trully didn't like about the manga was that I didn't get to know what exactly were the parasites and where did they come from and all of that. It felt as id there was some sort of all-powerful being that had a plan for them, and after a while, he abandoned it and left the poor parasites to survive on their own and do what they will with their lives, as if it was testing humanity. It left a blank sheet on this chapter. But this is only a small Minus that is overthrown by countless Pluses. I deeply recomment it to anyone who appreciates action, crime, survival and evolution. If you just want to see senseless fighting, sex or an alien invasion, pick something else, because this is not what you're searching for.

Parasytes are an alien species that take over the human body by replacing the head. Our shmuck lead Izumi was about to be taken over by a parasyte, but due to some quick thinking he manages to stop the alien inside his arm, upon which the parasyte consumes his arm and takes it place. The two then have to learn how to live with each other while also dealing with all the other parasytes that have landed on earth.

What drew me to Parasyte originally was seeing the body horror pictures of how peoples’ bodies mutated and warped and started growing tentacles and teeth and occasionally dick hands. I’m usually a pretty queasy person so I’m not sure quite why this drew me in, but there’s a definite fascination with how alien the mutations the bodies undertake. Once you get over the original shock, it’s not even that scary anymore. The mutations are so alien and cartoonish they go into this area of scholarly fascination. The only times I would actually get a bit perturbed were the more ghoulish deaths of actual humans rather than the parasytes. This cartoonish nature of the body distortions could have undermined something that was only trying to shock you, but thankfully Parasyte is cleverer than that. It’s got a real dark sense of humour, one that’s willing to laugh at itself, what with the aforementioned dick hands and so forth. Plus the comedy segments don’t detract from the moments the deformations are supposed to shock you. It’s a delicate balancing act, but one that Parasyte pulls off remarkably well.

Parasyte does have more to it than just some alien horror story. Its larger theme is about humanity and what makes someone human. Migi, the parasyte that co-inhabits the main character’s body, is very Kyubey-esque in how he thinks. He has no empathy but endless curiosity driven mostly by a self-preservation instinct. Through his conversations with Izumi, they explore both sides of each character and broader concepts of what it means to be human and why it is that one might perform a selfless act. It’s got that perfect duo combination where the two sides’ conversations force both characters to develop. Migi’s development is more subtle than Izumi’s, but that’s because Migi slow development is reflected in the attitude of all the parasytes as they evolve and and start to change their approach to fitting into society. Their change becomes a way to explore what makes humans tick.

Izumi starts off as a bit of a Yuji Everylead, but he changes pretty quickly into a more fascinating character who struggles to find what it is that makes him human. Fairly early on in the manga he absorbs part of Migi into his bloodstream and it starts to change him in little ways. He doesn’t get emotional, can’t cry at friends and family’s deaths, and some of his actions start to reflect Migi’s apathetic nature. You get the feeling that the times he does show kindness and emotion is him trying to force himself to act human so he can reclaim his identity as a human. It mirrors how some of the more advanced parasytes try mimicking human actions in order to understand them and fit into society better, such as trying to smile, having children and laughing. This in turn causes them to start experiencing much more human emotions. It might sound like this is all heavy stuff, talking about the nature of humanity and all that, but it isn’t really. The last volume definitely gets a bit preachy, but otherwise the dialogue all feels very natural and goes about things with a sense of humour. Plus at the moment it really counted, when they really needed to bring everything to the table around both the parasyte’s increasing selflessness and Izumi’s own struggle with his humanity, they nailed the scene so well that it made me cry.

Let me repeat that for effect: I cried at Parasyte. Fucking Parasyte. The manga with dick hands made me cry. Do you know how often I cry at entertainment? Never! And yet somehow Parasyte made me cry? With proper tears streaming from eyes, so overcome with emotion that I had to stop reading and walk for a bit? The only other time in my entire life I cried at media was at Grave of the Fireflies, which is kind of to be expected since that is basically the only point of Grave of the Fireflies. Plus I’ve kind of gone off Grave of the Fireflies over time, as its method of drawing emotion is to have everything be shit and then everyone dies, which is kind of a cheap almost Jun Maeda-esque way of drawing emotion. Meanwhile Parasyte managed it by being positive. It’s key scene was the fulfilment of 8 previous volumes of thematic buildup and re-affirmation of the main character’s humanity that was so tragically beautiful it caused me to break down.

Sorry, is this all a bit serious?

I picked up Parasyte because I figured if I was going to jump into manga, I’d want to read something that would at least draw a reaction from me, but I ended up absolutely loving it. It keeps the story tight and focused on a small cast of characters. It’s paced excellently, comes to a conclusive ending and doesn’t drag on longer than it needs to. It has depth while keeping a sense of humour, and the body horror is shocking without being an obstacle to enjoyment. It’s a bloody great manga and highly recommended.

"Above Earth, someone was thinking...if half of Mankind dissapeared, how many forests would be saved?
Above Earth, someone was thinking...If 99% of Mankind dissapeared would pollution be reduced by 99%?"

Story - 10
What's there to say about the story? Extremely original. Upon finishing the first 4 or so chapters, I was amazed to an extent that's probably undescribable. The amount of gore, action, and plot progression they had done in such a short time was great. They'd portrayed it in a great manner. On a completely typical day, Shinji confronted a snake-like animal, which apparently, went inside of him. It went through his arm, and kept 'slithering' towards his brain. Luckily, he managed to stop the creature before it reached it's 'destination'. After that, his arm 'awakens' and introduces itself. This may sound like a childish story, which it did to me, at first. The manga isn't childish at all. The gore, the murder, and the blood will leave you horrified/frightened, and/or the opposite. Depends on what kind of a person you are.

Art - 7
The art is so-so. Even though it's to be expected of a manga created in the Early 90s'. Of course, the parasites are drawn exceptionally well, with really well detail. The humans on the other hand, could've used a bit of work. Actually, that might be just my opinion since I've never been a real fan of old manga or anime. When I read the first volume of this, I assumed it was a 70s or 80s manga. But, when I checked on MAL, I was welcomed by a "1990-1995". Although the art doesn't really matter, the thing on the inside is what matters. Unless you're an appearance whore. I think the story'll still make up for the lost art though.

Character - 8
There's characters of every personality. Cocky, arrogant, happy-go-lucky, comedic, etc. The list can go on and on. Even the so-called parasites develop these traits and become a big part of the manga in character development. The story and it's characters develop at a really fast pace, maybe even too fast. You'll see Shinji really confident at times, and scared so much that you wouldn't be scared if he shit his pants right then and there.

Enjoymeny - 10
Those who'll like this manga, will get so immersed in it that they'll be wanting more and more after reading a chapter. I enjoyed it so much that I stayed up the whole night reading it. Yep, no life at all. And, also, this manga's rather similar to Death Note. Strategy, luck, thinking, everything's in it.

Overall - 10
I wish there'd be more of this. I'd say this is definitely a "must-read" for all manga-lovers out there. Even if you aren't really a fan of gore or murder. I wasn't. I despised all them freakish manga/anime, but, after reading this, I changed my whole perspective. I'd say I still hate the useless killing in several anime/manga. But, "Parasyte" didn't have useless killing. It had freakishly awesome useless killing with twists and turns.

An incredible piece of art!

At first the grotesque story nearly put me off, but since a dear friend recommended it to me I pushed through the first few chapters.

The story developes pretty fast and all of a sudden the reader is soaked deeply into it. It's astonishing how repulsive and captivating the whole thing is. In the end you learn to find the beauty in the horror.

I will write my review as an explanation to my rating.

Story: The plot, as simple as it appears, gets much more complicated as you read this manga. It tells us a story of parasytes along with the story of humans and the two are successfully merged together in a thrilling action plot. While this may not be the most original piece, it contains key contents that make you want to keep reading once you start.

Art: The drawing in this manga is not a 'standard' anime-like drawing you would see in Magical x Miracle or Mai Hime or most of other series. The drawings are more human-like and realistic. Sometimes rough, sometimes practically sketched, while sometimes quite detailed (Certain gory parts where quite visually descriptive) This kind of style suits this manga the most - keeping us reading a sci-fi manga while keeping us in touch with real world.

Character: Character development was great for the main character - throughout the story we see him change, we get to know everything about his family, relationship and the way he feels and thinks. The only thing that main character development lacks is his friends. We see him interact with them, but the story doesn't seem to talk about them too much. Which could be because the main character doesn't want any friends.
Another lack of character development shows in an incomplete storyline behind main sub characters (Arch rivals, girlfriend, etc). While it does not have an effect on the story - the fact that it wasn't there remains.

Enjoyment: I've already mentioned that this is not the first time that a story of aliens invading Earth comes out; however, once you get into it - you just want to keep on reading. The story sucks you in emotionally, bringing you a variety of feelings. It's genre also varies between gory horror to boring school days to romantic encounters to thrilling action.

Overall: All that can be said about this manga is this - It may not be a 'must read' because it is not as famous as manga that has been adapted into anime, but this manga is definitely worth reading (And a must read) if you like intense and anxious situations (This book has plenty). All fans of sci-fi will find this manga interesting, especially those who always enjoyed parts of movies like Spider-man or X-men when people just discovered their abilities.

Title: Parasyte

Alternate Title: Kiseiju

Mangaka: Hitoshi Iwaaki

Rating: 5.5/10

Genre: Not really sure how to put this

Length: 64 chapters compiled in 10 volumes


Summary: The world has been infested by Parasytes, who can take control of human bodies. They don't know why they were sent here, they don't know how they were created. What they do know is that they must kill, and feed off of the human remains. They have the ability to shape the bodies of their hosts in any way that they desire, whether to alter the body to jump 50 feet in the air, or make blades out of arms. The worst part is that noone knows of their existence, as they blend in seamlessly with society.


One of the parasytes, however, messes up. Instead of taking control of his host's brain, he gets forced into the host's right hand instead. The name of this host is Izumi, and after waking up to this horror, he and the Parasytes, called Migi [which means right in Japanese, not a very creative name] form a symbiotic relationship, in order to fight the other parasytes.


Analysis: This entire manga is a coming-of-age story, focusing on Izumi. Because he and Migi each are two people in one body, they each retain their own minds. However, Izumi is influenced by Migi's cold, harsh, logical mind. The story tracks him and those surrounding him, as he changes and he deals with the changes. That part is pretty interesting. Additionally, some of the Parasytes [such as Migi, but there are others] see the human race as an interesting experiment, and its interesting watching them interact and learn about humans.


Whats also good about it is that its hinted, both at the beginning and the end, that the Parasytes were sent to the earth in order to cleanse it of a plague, that plague being the human race, for all of the evildoings that we have been inflicting on the earth. Its a very eco-friendly manga.


However, my problem with it are the fights. The manga, even though it is set up as such [what with the body changing], cannot do fights scenes. When they're done, they're done ok-ish, however they have no read purpose in the plot. Its almost as if the mangaka said 'Allright, I think I'm going to put a fight in here for no reason at all'. I can only think of 2, maybe 2.5 fights in the series that were actually important and helped the plot and the characters along. The rest of them, I feel like the manga could have done without. [Its because of that that I gave it a low score]


The main reason that you would want to read this manga is because of the characters, and how they develop. Thats the best part of it, and probably the only part worth reading [except for the 2.5 fights that actually matter]. Asides from that, you'd read it to read the insights on humankind, the world, and society as we know it.


Characters:


Because this entire manga is basically character devlopment, I'm going to be very brief with the characters, and I'm only going to mention four of them. There are more, and they do play important parts, but I feel like if I say anything about them, it will ruin it.


Izumi Shinichi: The protagonist of the series, he starts off as an uncaring boy, with a dim view of the world. After his right hand is inhabited by Migi, he changers, becoming more and more parasyte than human.


Migi: The other protagonist of the series, he inhabits Izumi's right hand. He is very interested in human society as a whole, but only sticks his neck out for himself and Izumi. He has a very narrow view of the world, and is very smart.


Murano Satomi: She is the childhood friend of Izumi, and spends some of her time in a romantic pursuit of the titular character. However, for the most part, in the series she serves as a sort of barometer to Izumi's humanity.


Tamura Reiko: She is a full bodied Parasyte, however she is not as mindless as the rest. Maybe its the fact that she possessed a teacher, but she sees the entire world as an experiment. She looks at the world through an outside observer's eyes and shares that perspective with us. Throughout the series, we see how the views of humanity changes. She is not as violent as the rest of the Parasytes, and is more logical and contains more reason than them too.

review taken from animeruwelz, see my profile for more details