Review - Parayste

Parasyte by Hitoshi Iwaaki

• Edition: Kodansha 2011 Singles
  

• Publication: 22.11.1989 - 23.12.1995

•  Volumes: 8 (Kodansha Singles 2011)

• Chapters: 64 

• Demographic: Seinen

• Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi 

• Adaptation: 2014 Anime, 2014 Live-Action Film

 

WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF GORE AND HORROR

Parasyte is somewhat of a staple in the English Manga Scene, It's been around since 2007 in the west, during the first manga boom and is talked about fairly often within circles, It's a staple of body horror and you can't go too long into discussions about Seinen manga without hearing of the graphic depictions you'll find in this series. I was interested in Parasyte for a while, and it was a series I was keen to read and happy to pick up entirely due to being relatively short in comparison to many other series.

In terms of the story itself. Parasyte follows a young man, Shinichi, after the emergence of the titular creatures which kill their hosts and take over their bodies. Mimicking them and developing ways in which they blend into society and kill unassuming humans. Shinichi finds himself attacked by a Parasite, which ultimately fails to take over his brain and instead assimilates with his right arm, forming a symbiotic relationship with himself and the Parasite which he names Migi. Iwaaki did a stellar job making appaling visages of twisted flesh and rows of teeth which slice people and grind them up into red paste. The series doesn't pull many punches, for a manga written in the late 80s, it's impressive just how disturbing the art gets. 

Speaking of the art, Iwaaki's art style is a funny middle ground. It feels stylised to an extent but also retains a lot of realistic attributes without ever stepping into hyper-realistic characters or imagery. Its a solid look for a horror series, but not quite comparable to something like a Junji Ito series. Not that I would think to compare the two authors. They very much have different styles and traits.

Parasyte's strongest points are its wildly imaginative antagonists and the various ways they utilise their morpheous bodies to maim and butcher their victims, it really doesn't get old seeing how they contort themselves into horrific shapes and forms. Along with this, Iwaaki is adamant in making the reader pick up on its themes of naturalism, human nature and animalism in human beings. Rather than being overly preachy I enjoyed how honest he seems to make his points. I felt that his message, 'The earth is not ours to own' among points regarding how people are ultimately driven by base instincts, never went into a preachy detour.

I found that the story struggled when it came to characters outside of Shinichi and Migi and perhaps one other character named Ryouko Tamiya. I felt bad for characters like Satomi, who suffered because she had no real character of her own besides her relationship with Shinichi, which isn't even explored or fully realised due to the nature in which Shinichi refused to open up to her or any other character for that matter, something that greatly bothered me about the story.

 

Overall, I enjoyed my time with the series but couldn't help but feel that Iwaaki struggled to make compelling characters that I felt a connection with. I loved the visceral gore that never felt excessive, It's truly just like watching wild animals hunt for their prey in an innocent and instinctive manner, but you can't help but find yourself unsettled by the brutality of nature. I wouldn't say that Parasyte is a masterpiece, far from it, too many problems and a rushed, almost unfulfilling ending keep it from reaching its full potential. However if you're interested in a compelling and thought provoking horror read then Parasyte is worth checking out. 

Thank you so much for Reading!

FINAL SCORE - 6.5/10