VIII - Kiseijuu

I have a confession: I am a so-called "otaku."

Before you go "weeb!!!!!1!1!" or "eww ashgdsdf," I am not that kind of fan. I'm just a casual fan with an appreciation for animation, stories, and Japanese culture. *internally screams bc haikyuu s2 is so good i love seeing my children and sasuke and naruto are hella gay for each other agsdfshfg*

Yet, I was kinda disappointed in myself when I didn't have time to watch one of the animes my best friend recommended back in high school, which is Parasyte/Kiseiju. I have seen this anime everywhere in the Internet and a lot of people gave positive reviews. I researched a bit about it and there were a lot of freaky and weird things in Google images. I'm not really into body horror although I don't hate seeing gruesome and morbid scenes.

Yesterday, our EEP professor made us watch the live-action movie of the anime, and I admit, it was really awesome. As someone who prefers shounen over shoujo, I really liked it. It kinda reminded me of Tokyo Ghoul and Shingeki no Kyojin where the protagonist started as someone weak then something paranormal or supernatural turned him into a badass who wants to protect everyone he loves. Cliche and mainstream, right? But I'm a sucker for this kind of stories.

Izumi Shinichi, the protagonist of Parasyte

Parasyte centers on Izumi Shinichi, a 17-year-old high schooler who lives with his mother in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo. One night, alien creatures with worm-like features arrived in silence and darkness, descended from the skies and appeared on Earth. They are parasites who take over humans as their hosts by entering through the ears or nose and eventually eating their brains once they are inside the body. One Parasite attempted to enter Shinichi's ear but failed as Shinichi was wearing earphones, and instead entered the body by burrowing into his arm. The parasite took over his right hand and is named Migi after the Japanese word for right.

Migi (isn't he cute)

Because Shinichi was able to prevent Migi from traveling further up into his brain, both of them are able retain their separate intellect and personality. They end up fighting other Parasytes who attack them after realizing that Shinichi's human brain is still intact. These other Parasytes devour humans as food in order to survive, and Shinichi ends up fighting them with Migi's help. As the two of them encounter more Parasytes, they end up forming a strong bond as they work together to survive.

As the series/movie progresses, Shinichi becomes somewhat distant and unsympathetic, but also gains resilience. His bond with Migi becomes stronger and he occasionally begins to think like a parasite, as how he described the dead dog's body as "a lump of dog-shaped meat." He also loses the ability to empathize with others and even losing his ability to cry. Migi becomes more human, whereas the reverse happens to Shinichi.

Shinichi and Migi

The film adaptation of Parasyte hits the hard-to-find sweet spot between black comedy and serious sci-fi/horror which I find interesting. Watching the movie made me want to watch the sequel and the anime. It was also a fun watch with my friends and classmates making funny side comments and whatnot (there was a line where a police used the word "roger" and someone asked who roger was the fuck).

So if you're into gore or sci-fi or just anime, I would really recommend this movie. But of course, there wouldn't be much similarities between the film and the manga, so maybe just stick to the original series.