Parasyte: The Maxim (Review)
Parasyte Definitely Grows on You.
I’ve seen a lot of bizarre anime over the years, but Parasyte: The Maxim is in a league all of its own. It’s a blood-soaked series reminiscent of such series as Tokyo Majin or even High School of the Dead, but doesn’t suffer from the same levels of fan service that so many series often succumb to. It certainly suffers from its fair share of cliches and tropes that every anime fan will be familiar with, but the premise manages to be unique enough to compensate for them.
What does it mean to be human? Well, philosophers and scientist have been debating that for centuries. So, when Parasyte asks the same question the beauty is that it never really answers it. The main character, Shinichi Izumi (voiced by Adam Gibbs in the English dub) finds himself confronting this question when he finds himself the unexpected host to a parasite that attempts to take over his brain. Luckily, he manages to confine the being to his right arm and soon the parasite (named Migi and voiced by Brittney Karbowski) develops a symbiotic relationship with him. Of course, it would be a short-lived anime if that were the end of it, but Migi is far from the only parasite and he is one of the only ones that doesn’t manage to completely take over its human host.
Parasyte: The Maxim is definitely one of the newer series out of Japan and definitely not for those who are squeamish about little things like blood. This is a far cry from the kind of stuff I grew up with as a kid (save for Ninja Scroll), but it never feels gratuitous. There’s a purpose to every bit of blood that appears on the screen and that’s something I definitely appreciated from this anime. While there’s certainly some disturbing imagery when the parasites attack each other (the successful parasites live in human heads and unravel them to display bladed tentacles), instead director Kenichi Shimizu focuses on building tension. After all, Shinichi can’t exactly tell anyone about the precarious situation he’s in even though he starts to undergo a disturbing transformation as the series goes on.
The anime was produced by Madhouse, which is responsible for adapting some incredible series like Death Note, Claymore, and even Paranoia Agent. Needless to say, Parasyte found itself in some incredibly capable hands and the animation proves it. While I was a bit disappointed in some of the character designs, the primary focus is on the parasites themselves and the epic clashes that Shinichi has with them. Tentacles whip across the screen at blinding speeds with deadly blades throughout them, creating anxiety-inducing action sequences. Despite the fact that Shinichi is the protagonist, it never feels like he’s completely safe. Especially since the series takes a very George R.R. Martin approach to a number of other characters you meet throughout the series. Overall, the series proves to be one that’s hard to stop watching once started and I managed to knock all 24 episodes in a weekend.
The only serious downside to Parasyte is that it feels like it wraps up a bit too easily. The final confrontation between Shinichi and the parasites, who have been slowly implementing plans to undo humanity throughout the series, feels a little too easily wrapped up. That being said, the actual boss battle at the end is incredibly memorable. It just feels like there was so much more potential for the parasites to really prove themselves a threat to the entire planet. Instead, they’re very much an almost made it bad guy. The series itself though wraps up nicely towards the end and puts a bow on everything.
While a lot of anime fans are die-hard sub only fans, I found Parasyte to be much more engaging when it was dubbed. I originally watched the series as it rolled out from Japan and recently decided to check out the new dubbed version and found the voice acting really added to the characters overall. Like I said earlier, the designs are a bit simplistic (only one or two characters really manage to stand out), but the voices actors go a long way in making them easily recognizable and allow them to stand out more. Personally, I would go dubbed with this one if you’re giving it a chance.
While it’s certainly a fun series with an interesting premise, Parasyte isn’t really groundbreaking in the observations it makes about the nature of humanity. Instead, it plays it safe with the philosophy it uses, sticking to pretty obvious universal beliefs when it comes to human nature. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just means that it’s a lot lighter than series like Ghost in the Shell, which stands around and does a lot of talking. Instead, Parasyte likes to get to the action and overall story. It’s a series of action with a strong premise and just enough food for thought to keep your brain on while watching it. A solid choice for a weekend binge watch.
