SO MANY FEELINGS OVER A RIGHT HAND! NO, MIGI, YOU CAN’T LEAVE. DON’T SAY GOODBYE, NO, I CAN’T HANDLE THESE FEELINGS. Stupid feelings, stupid right hands. Stupid, STUPID. So anyway, the episode starts with a dialogue about the decreased parasite activities. How they are blending more and more into society.
Then, he has a nightmare in which Migi says goodbye. That he’s going into a sleep, maybe until he dies. He asks Shinichi to forget, and stupid Migi! I can’t handle these feelings. Also, this scene takes a moment to bring up our perception of people. As Migi comments on how Shinichi perceives people. How they appear different to him.
Well, now we have Shinichi studying for college. What’s the plot point we have to wrap up though, with the parasites not attacking anymore and Migi in hibernation. What do we have left?
Oh wait, remember that serial killer that killed that cop I liked? Yeah, he’s the remaining plot thread. So, as Shinichi is out on a date with Murano. She gets kidnapped by the serial killer and dragged up to the top of a building. On top of the building there is a couple, as they see the serial killer drag Murano up. They get ready to leave until they see the knife. The man approaches and gets his neck slashed, then he moves over and kills the girl. Right next to Murano, covered in blood, he takes Murano again and hold the knife to her.
Why did he kidnap her? Because he wanted to talk to Shinichi. He wanted to talk to someone that is halfway between human and monster.
Once again, there is really deep dialogue here that I don’t feel right trying to paraphrase. However, what is the human nature? Are we killers at our core? What makes us different from animals? What makes us right when the parasites were wrong? Are killing for pleasure and killing for food or killing for self-defense so much different?
This series asks so many deep questions.
So, as Shinichi runs forward to save Murano, he hits the serial murderer and knocks him out but Murano seems like she is falling from the building. It seems like, again, Shinichi is going to lose someone precious to him. I can’t lie, my heart might of broken into a hundred tiny pieces if it had actually ended like this. Thank GOODNESS, Migi comes back and saves her. He goes back to resting after saving Murano, but he saves her.
It comes to an end where he doesn’t lose Murano, and he knows, even subconsciously that Migi will always be there for him.
Final thoughts
PHEW, I left the episode review pretty short because I have a lot to say here. It’s funny, when I saw the announcement for this anime, I looked at the picture for it and went to myself. ‘Wait, I think I know this manga’ because I vaguely remembered reading it in Smile magazine when I was reading Sailor Moon and Magic Knights of Rayearth. I couldn’t remember anything about the plot, the only thing that I remembered, were the parasites themselves.
So, because I did recall the manga if even slightly, I picked up the anime. I couldn’t be more glad that I did. I know a lot of fans of the original manga took some issues with the change in character designs and updates in technology but honestly? Even as I am now slowly buying up the manga, I’m finding that I am grateful for the changes they made. It helped translate the story and characters out of the past and into the present, the change of Shinichi from a glasses wearing nerd to a total badass just, worked.
The character development was well presented and I always felt for Shinichi and the things he was going through, from the loss of his mother, to Kana. To even understanding the bond he shared with Migi.
The animation and soundtrack also both lent themselves to the series very well, it struck me in particular in the scene with Murano falling. As the music struck up, it really set the tone for the scene. It wasn’t the first time I’ve felt a piece of music was fit for a scene in this series either. I will more likely than not, seek out this soundtrack. Even as I type up this review, I have the opening playing on repeat.
The ending is also a striking piece of music that left you with really good feelings as the series came to it’s end.
Parasyte was never scared to ask the hard questions. It was never scared to upset us, shock us, it never babied us and I really enjoy that. I am honestly glad I picked this series up, I’m glad that after all this time it got an animation. I am really surprised that it wasn’t taken up sooner, but you know what? Madhouse did the series right.
I think this series has all the makings of a classic. It has the character development and story to hold up for a long time, the questions it asks are as relevant now in 2015 as it was when the manga was written. That’s what makes it a classic, timeless subjects such as the state of overpopulation, pollution, human nature, life and death. These are issues that are not going to fade from the world any time soon.
Do we need a race of alien people to come invade our brains and cull the population. Probably not, actually, can we please not? That doesn’t sound pleasant. We do however, need to take a step back and look at ourselves as a race.
Rating: 10/10
I find it very hard to find anything to complain about with this series and when Sentei dubs it, I’ll be right on watching it all over again…and sobbing over a right hand all over again….MIGI!
~Midnight
Great Manga and great Anime adaptation.
Totally deserves the 10/10.
It also really resonated with me because I thought about the topic before (are humans the actuall parasytes?, what can we do? and so on). Maybe I even got this thoughts when I first read the manga (same Situation as you, I am pretty sure I didn’t get to the mayor (too much violence for my young self), and I didn’t conciously remembered stuff, I only remembered the eye in the hand^^).
I also can’t say much more, I think everyone has to process this anime for himself, except that I am sad that it’s over (a bit anticlimactic), but on the other hand I am happy because of the happy end. 😀 It left you not all depressed, but instead with a good feeling AND wisdom.