Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Based on the science fiction horror manga series written and illustrated by Iwaaki Hitoshi, Parasyte: The Maxim follows the once average high school student Izumi Shinichi, whose right hand becomes infected by an alien parasite. Calling itself “Migi” (right), the parasite, which failed to take over Shinichi’s entire body, instead becomes the first alien to develop a symbiotic relationship with its host body, and Migi and Shinichi begrudgingly develop a friendship and partnership in an effort to fight off other parasitic aliens that mean to harm them and take over all of humanity. In fact, Shinichi slowly begins to think, or realize that the survival of humanity may well depend on him and his ability to harness his newfound strength, thanks to his emotionless parasitic right arm, and kill the alien parasites taking over human bodies all over. But his new condition is coming at a cost. After a particularly tough battle against one of these aliens, Migi is forced to save Shinichi’s life by sending small bits of himself throughout Shinichi’s bloodstream. The cost is Shinichi’s emotions may be lost. The first to notice this is his girlfriend Murano Satomi.
Parayste can be horrifyingly grotesque in its animation, the way people morph into monstrous alien creatures, often times popping right out of their heads. Migi takes on multiple forms from Shinichi’s hand, and talks to him in anthropomorphized form throughout the series, and it’s very surreal. The animation from Madhouse is stupendous, completely beautiful even as it can work its way into your nightmares.
What was initially released by Sentai as “Collection 2,” in episodes 13-24, picks up with Shinichi at first seeming a bit more balanced and comfortable in his body, but it doesn’t take too long for things to start to go horribly wrong as he finds himself the target of a seemingly unstoppable parasite whose powers Migi’s are no match for. One of the stranger turns in the second half of this series is the evolution of the parasitic character Tamura Reiko. Reiko started out as one of Shinichi’s teachers, an undercover observer, as viewers of the series will recall, and she seems to have always been set apart from most of the other parasites as more of a thinking character. She killed Shinichi’s parents, and even though offered him and Migi a free pass, if you will, simply so she could observe them, she has always seemed somewhat of a threat. Now, having given birth to Mr. A’s baby, she starts to actually grow attached to the human child beyond merely an observational capacity.
Without giving too much away for those who may not have seen the entire series, Parasyte succeeds on multiple levels because it explores on a psychological level the definition of being human. Are the parasites human or not? Does it require having emotions to be human? Because you have other biological entities residing in you and perhaps controlling some of your thoughts, does it make you less human? Shinichi goes through a crisis in these episodes – a crisis of self-doubt, of what it would mean to live without Migi, after so long wishing he could. Is Shinichi fully human, half-human, or not human at all?
Parayste can be horrifyingly grotesque in its animation, the way people morph into monstrous alien creatures, often times popping right out of their heads. Migi takes on multiple forms from Shinichi’s hand, and talks to him in anthropomorphized form throughout the series, and it’s very surreal. The animation from Madhouse is stupendous, completely beautiful even as it can work its way into your nightmares.
While the violence of the series doesn’t necessarily rise to the level of series such as Corpse Party: Tortured Souls or Hellsing Ultimate, there is definitely some, but it is more of a fantasy, sci-fi nature, than the visceral, bloody, realistic violence of those series. Those looking for a slasher type series won’t get their fix here, but for anyone else, Parasyte: The Maxim is a cleverly done and wonderfully animated horror series.
Purchase Parasyte: The Maxim — Limited Edition SteelBook on Amazon.com
The Video
The eye-popping digital animation for Parasyte is presented in a very satisfying AVC 1080p encodement on Blu-ray that is sharp, vivid, and free from any major flaws. There may be only the slightest hint of some color banding in some of the color fills, but that is minimal at worst. This reissues in steelbook of the complete series does not seem to be a remaster of any sort, just a repackaging, so unless you really want the new steelbook artwork as a collector, then there is no need from a quality perspective to upgrade.
The Audio
This is one of the rare releases from Sentai Filmworks that comes with an English Dub that is mixed in 5.1, and while I still prefer the performance of the Japanese cast, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is very good. The often pulsating electronic score courses through each channel and engulfs you in lush, atmospheric sounds. The dialogue is full and clear, and there’s a good amount of low end. But the Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track is no slouch either. As is often the case with Sentai releases, the dynamic range is excellent and we get a good bit of stereo spread plus clean dialogue as well.
The Supplements
This new release comes in a beautiful new steelbook package Clean opening and closing animations and Sentai Filmworks trailers are all that are included on this release.
The Final Assessment
Science fiction horror anime series can be really good, or just average. Parasyte: The Maxim is an inventive series that brings together all the best aspects of anime, from the great graphics to the weird storytelling for an exciting experience. This new limited edition comes packaged in a beautifully designed SteelBook package for collectors.
Parasyte: The Maxim (Limited Edition SteelBook) is out on Blu-ray November 26, 2024 from Sentai Filmworks
Purchase Parasyte: The Maxim — Limited Edition SteelBook on Amazon.com
- Rating Certificate: TV-MA (VL)
- Animation Studio: Madhouse
- Distributor: Sentai Filmworks
- Director: Shimizu Kenichi
- Written By: Yonemura Shōji
- Run Time: 600 Mins.
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Format: AVC 1080p
- Primary Audio: Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo
- Secondary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
- Subtitles: English
- Street Date: 26 November 2024