Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu – 07

Shinichi lands from the jump he began last episode and turns to find a parasyte… just not the parasyte he was expecting. As it turns out, Shinichi discovers he’s not alone in this crazy world: Uda Mamoru, a cry-baby but moral fellow, is also in an alliance of sorts with a parasyte.

Uda’s situation is a bit different from Shinichi’s, in that he lives in a rural area and hasn’t run into any other parasytes yet. On top of that, his parasyte (simply called Parasyte — it didn’t want a name) comes off as generally more up-beat than Migi. Maybe even ‘nice?’

Oh Yeah! Mikako is in this episode! I guess.

You see, Uda fell into the water during the transformation process and Parasyte had to save his life from the get go. Sure, he probably would have died if he’d tried to just eat Uda’s brain, but that thought process, and Uda’s love of movies over books, has lead to a quirkier, less edgy relationship.

And for goodness sakes! His face is delightful!

Uda and Shinichi quickly become friends and Uda promises to warn Shinichi over the phone if he encounters another parasyte, which happens about 5 seconds later and then there’s a show down with Shinichi’s Not-Mom on a cliff.

Unfortunately, Migi has just fallen asleep and Uda is stabbed through the heart very quickly. So Shinichi has to go it alone… albeit with a sword-hand Migi left him at the last minute.

In simple terms, Shinichi wipes the floor with Not-Mom. While he has a moment of pause when she shields herself with her brun-arm, Sinichi’s new speed and reflexes let him see how simplistic not mom really is.

In fact, the hybrid’s appear to be smarter than pure-parasytes in general. Uda survives because Parasyte understood Not-Mom’s attack pattern and moved his heart elsewhere. Uda even lands the killing blow, as a courtesy to Shinichi.

Soon there after, Shinichi is reunited with his dad, has a nice moment where they sort of indirectly come to understand each other, and Mikako gets totally left behind because… wait why was she introduced as a character in the first place?

I’m not even sure Shinichi remembers her name…

So it was a good episode but I can’t figure out how it deserves anything higher than an 8? Honestly, between the multi-character voice overs, the DBZ style ‘flurry of fists’ fight animation, and the completely obvious and predictable outcome of all this build up, none of episode 7 was notable.

Sure, Shinichi finally got to be mister bad ass and Udo/Parasyte were a cute duo, but I’m scratching my head over Mikako and Not-Mom. I was waiting for some twist to happen with the first, and bewildered why the later was still hanging around this remote town AFTER she’d already gone to Tokyo.

Maybe we’ll get some answers later on but I don’t get the feeling we’ll see Udo or Mikako again, which just made the last 3 episodes feel like a fetch quest style ‘whatever’ side mission.

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu – 06

Shinichi’s not-mom may have stabbed him through the heart, but obviously our protagonist can’t die a quarter of the way into the show. I mean, he could, like this guy (spoilers!), but I’d rather he stick around, and obviously so does Migi, since he won’t last long without a living host. His revival is a “how, not if” situation. But that doesn’t meant the “how” won’t change both host and parasite.

I like the juxtaposition of Shinichi on the floor dead with a scene at school in which a concerned Satomi is grilled by another classmate who seems to be into him. This is all the drama Shinichi would have had to bear had he never “met” Migi. High School Drama, with rumors and innuendo and love triangles, not creepy-as-fuck monsters and massive internal injuries.

Migi’s manner of reviving Shinichi is plausable within the construct of a show in which a character like Migi exists. The stabbing last week could have been construed as a cheap cliffhanger we knew would be resolved relatively simply, or the show intended it to feel like just another day in Shinichi’s Hell. It must also be pointed out that if Shinichi ever shows his chest to a physician ever again, there will be questions. Many, many questions.

Poor Satomi has the worst timing this week (you could say, timing-wise, she’s…snake-bitten), as she stops by Shinichi’s just as he’s leaving to see his father at the hospital on the island where he and mom were staying. Satomi’s no fool, and sees that Shinichi is troubled by something; for Pete’s sake, he looks like he’s aged ten years! Dying for several minutes can do that.

Shinichi’s relative cold shoulder isn’t just a factor of him wanting to protect her from the truth; he’s simply so emotionally on edge right now he simply can’t deal with something from his “normal world”, right now, which must’ve felt like it happened hundreds of years ago. His dad is in the hospital, his mom is dead, and he’s through with being Mr. Evolved Sensibility. He wants revenge.

Did you notice how differently Shinichi’s father acted when his son was there, as opposed to earlier, when he was recounting his crazy story to the cops? He talks of a monster murdering his wife, but both the detectives and doctor believe he’s mixing reality and nightmares after suffering a head injury falling into the sea. A perfectly logical explanation. When Shinichi sees him, not only does Dad not want to cause a fuss in front of his son, but truly believes the explanation the others gave him.

When Shinichi mentions a monster, his dad just assumes he got the idea from an erratic phone call he made. In any case, Shinichi remains utterly alone in his knowledge of the Parasytes. Not that his dad’s continued raving would have accomplished anything. Two voices speaking about things like this carry no more weight than one.

While staying at the inn owned by the family of a cute schoolgirl who he met on the boat to the island, Shinichi ponders his next move, and Migi finally awakens with important news: In his current physiological state, he now has to sleep four hours every day, and cannot be woken, even in an emergency. That’s bad news for Shinichi, who chose the inn specifically because it was within Migi’s detection range, but he can’t detect anything while asleep.

Still, Shinichi makes it clear that despite what his biology is saying to Migi, he no longer considers him an enemy, but a lifesaver and an ally. Admittedly, Shinichi could just be saying this because he doesn’t have a change against Not-Mom without his slippery friend.

The innkeeper girl Mikako pretty much falls for Mr. Tall-and-Dark during his visit, and again, Shinichi simply has no time for love, as Migi finally detects a Parasyte. Shinichi rushes after it after only getting half of Mikako’s directions, but it’s all good because Migi further merging with his body has not only bestowed upon him heightened senses, but increased speed and strength. Are Not-Mom’s days numbered…or is Shinichi mistaken about the Parasyte Migi detected even being her?

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu – 05

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu episode 5 brings us yet another no name/ no personality Parasyte to deal with… but it’s clever about it. No-name gets a lot of brutal screen time from the get-go, and none of the dots it will connect are clear until it the end.

Cheap? Predictable? Maybe? At least, if you guessed like me about the end-potential of last episode…

So Nagai, one of Shinichi’s classmates, is being beaten to a pulp by high school thugs of some sort and of course Shinichi has to dive in for an inept rescue. This wouldn’t be so bad if Shinichi ever thought anything through before diving headlong into it (or whining about it) but of course he doesn’t.

I mean, 5 seconds to remember ‘fighting is a bad idea unless I want to lose or accidentally kill someone because Migi has no sense of control or value for human life’ would do this idiot some good.

Ultimately, the thugs get bored and wander off. However, not before Kana, the maybe-girlfriend of the thug-boss, gets a good deep look into Shinichi’s soul and is massively disturbed by what she sees there.

It looked like an eyeball to me. So, who knows where that’s going but Migi warns that women (and Kana in particular) seem to be better at detecting the energy waves created by the Parasytes.

Hrm… bummer.

Later, because the evil thug leader wants to teach Shinichi a lesson for being a poser hero or something, Murano gets captured and it’s implied the thugs are going to rape her for a while and…timeout.

Is it me or am I just ignorant of the total shit-hole status of Japan and Japanese culture? I mean, are rape gangs really a thing there? Are there no police and no consequences for rapists? This whole segment just seemed questionable.

S’okay though: Shinichi & Murano’s whole class show up and, presumably, beat the life out of Mutou’s gang. It’s also implied that Kana was the one that lead them there.

I guess she’s trying to figure out Shinichi and, juggling her thoughts about him already having a girlfriend, trying to figure out what to do with him?

Then Shinichi’s mom gets her head cut off by the nameless Parasyte that was crawling around after the car wreck. Apparently they can only control one gender after their initial blending so it needed a fresh lady and Shinichi’s mom just happened to be on a near by oceanside cliff and bang: plot convenience!

Before coming, Mommasyte gives Shinichi some time with his two ladies. First up was Murano, who confirms that Shinichi is no longer really human — he’s too nice and goes too far to protect others. He basically asks if she wants to have sex tonight but she smiles and goes home.

Second is Kana, who wants to apologize and also get a closer look at Shinichi. Not much happens beyond a hand shake and a glum face. Migi says she’s dangerous and should be avoided if possible. I assume she’ll just become a Parasyte soon, get killed, or both mere minutes after having sex with him.

May as well just get that over with…

Then Shinichi’s dad calls to tell him about the murder monster, then probably dies in a public phone booth. Then Mommasyte shows up and Shinichi loses his shit and she kills him with her stabby-blade-head.

He’s obviously not dead but next week will take some explanational back-bending to tell us how it didn’t happen.

At it’s heart, Parasyte is a discussion about what makes a human human. Is it our culture? is it our individual behavior? A-chan looked like a man, and could even make human babies, but he is a murderous beast.

Not too different from a lot of selfish people we’ve seen in Shinichi’s world, really.

Questions and philosophy aside, this week was a little bumpy, flow-wise. I really did find Shinichi’s mom’s murder a little eye-rolling and Shinichi’s rather constant whimpering about being human or not got a little tiresome. (In all fairness, he is a teenager)

Regardless, the action was good, the people are weird, and the character development is obvious. All good things, creepy and brutal, and it has my attention all the way.

Lets just hope none of the female characters get bitten by a snake any time soon!

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu – 04

Our fourth taste of Parasyte starts off tense and gross, with A-san and Migi initiating a furious battle of fleshy, sharp-pointed protuberances as Shinichi struggles to see what’s going on. But Migi is only defending; it’s up to Shinichi to take that sharp chair leg and attack A-san.

That means walking through a constantly-moving forest of limbs and trusting that Migi won’t mess up and let him get torn to shreds. Once again, Shinichi, welcome to your new life: constantly in mortal danger, and having to make decisions you never thought you’d be faced with, like “It’s him or us.”

Migi’s plan works perfectly, exploting A-san’s arrogant assumption that Shinichi won’t participate in the battle. This is a guy who had sex, and yet still doesn’t understand that two are stronger than one; he’s a lost cause. Oh, and the blood spout Shinichi makes is super-gross!

It doesn’t kill him, though. Fortunately, Shinichi can walk away from this not only alive, but knowing he did not take a life. He just made that easier for Tamiya-sensei, who senses A-san coming for her, fills a lab with oxygen, and jumps out the window. The explosion finishes A-san off.

Then…things kinda settle down, though unfortunately, there’s no interaction between Shinichi and Satomi this week after he was very brusque with her last week. And funnily enough, Tamiya-sensei’s “quiet, normal life” experiment isn’t blown by her role in destroying A-san (though you’d think arson experts would have noticed organic remains in the destroyed lab). Nope, it’s blown by the fact she’s an unmarried pregnant woman!

Tamiya-sensei isn’t interested in trying to fix this mess; it’s easier to simply start over with a new host and “life.” To that end, she essentially tells Shinichi and Migi that the truce is over, and even reveals her weapon form, in another super-creepy transformation. It doesn’t look like our hero and his hand will get out of this one, but at the last second Tamiya reconsiders and spares their lives. Why? Not clear yet.

Then, one morning Shinichi wakes up missing his whole arm, and learns of a fresh terror: Migi can detach from him for a maximum of three minutes. Having a sentient hand is disconcerting enough, but knowing it can hop off whenever it wants for a morning walk? Even more unnerving. Stay attached to me, dammit!

Meanwhile, Tamiya-sensei’s mother visits her, worried sick, and almost instantly realizes that she’s not her Ryouko, but an impostor. When Mom tries to call the police, Tamiya is forced to kill her, but she’s surprised and vexed to no end: how did the old woman know?

See? The internet corrupts everyone! Anyway, Satomi first hinted at it by asking Shinichi if he was really Shinichi, then later switching hands with him, and then further reinforced by Shinichi’s mother’s increasing unease. It would seem people with strong emotional bonds, like love, in both Satomi and Shinichi’s mom’s case, seem to be able to sense their loved one isn’t themselves. Of course, Shinichi is still mostly himself, but still enough of something else that both of the main women in his life notice.

With circumstances being what they’ve been, Shinichi owes Migi his life several times over (even if in most cases Migi is the cause of the mortal peril to begin with); his alliance with the parasite in his hand hasn’t really been that big of an issue. The issue, besides not getting killed by other parasites, is a much heavier weight than Migi will ever be, and that’s the truth.

He chose not to reveal it to his parents, because let’s face it, as kind and loving as they are, they could very likely recoil and disown Shinichi on the spot. His mom is already suspicious of whether he’s even the same Shinichi she got burned with hot oil protecting. He can only conceal the truths for so long before the weight crushes him; it must be shared. Will Satomi be a different story?

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu – 03

I love that Shinichi Izumi-kun’s dad is more invested in the news about the next fantasy writer award winner being handed out than the 84th murder. To be fair, I can see how murder news in this quantity could get boring, but as a ‘Murican, I can’t imagine 84 serial murders achieving anything less than total, insane, frothy mouth panic in all my fellow countrymen (and ladies)!

However, Izumi-kun has more specific worries, in that he may be the only human to know the true nature of the murders. Worse, he may be the only human in a position to stop them…and he’s not in a position to stop them, what with being a teenager and all!

Worse worse, at least at first, is Izumi’s new school reality: his new math teacher Tamiya-sensei is clearly another Parasyte. This puts him on total edge, as she is also his love interest’s homeroom teacher and bloody antics could soon be afoot!

Fortunately, at least for now, Tamiya intends to blend into human society and maintain her host’s place in society. Migi thinks very highly of her for this. Rather, he thinks she is very gifted, to be able to control her host and maintain the status quo so effectively.

Unfortunately, A-san, a male Parasyte who seems incapable (or unwilling?) of even the most basic human fitting-in is not far off. According to Tamiya, she and A-san had sex and now she is pregnant with a completely normal human child.

This is not to say A-san is targeting her. Quite the opposite! He finds Migi and Izumi-kun dangerous and, as a base animal, he quickly loses it and launches an attack on the school.

A-san is not even his name. He doesn’t have one, since he see’s no point in even trying to blend into Human society…

After a lengthy, brutal, but low body count attack, A-san corners Migi and Izumi-kun on an upper floor. Except they aren’t exactly cornered. They’ve identified that the ture difference between them and him is not anything highfalutin.

It’s simply that they are two beings, and that as two beings, they can fight together, overwhelming a single one, no matter how strong he is alone.

We’ll just have to wait until next week to put that to the test…

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu gave us another solid creep-fest this week. Migi is, as always, equal parts disgusting to look at and super-cute. Not only that, his self-centered detached reasoning reminds me of my old P.E. teacher. (talk about nightmares layered on nightmares!)

A whole new character will obviously outlive A-san here and now we have so many questions we didn’t even know we had to ask as of last week. Will Parasyte-sensei continue to observe Izumi-kun or attack him when the time is right? Does she really have an urge to blend in? Will she eat her own baby (Gross! – Ed.)? Will she even bring it to term? I can’t wait to find out!

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu – 01

This is how you design an original, shocking, and completely screwed up super natural/scifi high school slice of life story! The world? As it is today! The danger? That people may not be who they seem, and if they are not, they will eat you. Even if you aren’t human anymore either!

Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte – the maxim-) starts us off right by having a husband eat his wife’s head for breakfast. No warning. No real explanation. We only get bits and pieces from what protagonist Shinichi Izumi thought was a dream and, later, through the conversations he has with his hand.

So what’s going on? Shinichi narrowly escapes being carved out by an alien parasite by tying off his arm with his headphone cord (his head phones preventing the parasite from entering his ear the normal way)

After a few weird moments the following day, where his hand appears to be up to its own business without his input, Shinichi learns that his hand now has an eyeball, talks to him, and can stop a speeding car. Stopping the car was good for the little girl it was about to flatten, but I imagine splat or save would have given him equal trauma.

Later, after the hand has read many books and improved its speaking skills, the situation is laid out between them: they’re gonna need to coexist or at least one of them will be dead and the other won’t have an arm anymore.

Also, lots of strange murders going down around Japan but that’s probably just a coincidence…

Parasyte is very well drawn, in that the characters are of average design and style, but the creepy hand monster is extraordinarily dynamic and fluidly animated. So far, we’ve only seen a short fight with an overrun dog but I’m sure, when the stakes are high enough, we’re in for an animated treat.

Hand is gross and funny and creepy and adorable all wrapped up in one. I found myself missing subtitles just because I wanted to see him stretch and waggle his eyeball stalks around.

Parasyte culminates in a showdown with another ‘failed’ alien (they only want to eat their host’s brains). Dog, as he is given no name, does not trust protagonist because, unlike all the other aliens, Shinichi is partially still human.

The fight is short and sweet and there’s nothing to complain about: a small dog sprouted organ-looking wings out of its face to chase a high schooler around a park. Unique!

I have no idea where this is going to be honest and I love it. I assume Shinichi’s family and 2 school friends will bite it or get infected or become his enemies, at least for an episode.

However, there’s no sense of the aliens’ goals, reasons, or what we’ll see beyond people getting eaten. You have my attention, Parasyte! (and my nightmares!)

Moving forward, Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu reviews will be shared by Oigakkosan and MagicalChurlSukui.