Parasyte -the maxim-

Episodes 8-9

We got two episodes today, and suffice to say, some stuff went down. Shinichi returned from the island a changed man, with shifts in himself and a dangerous new classmate resulting in all kinds of drama at school. That thirty percent of Migi coursing through his blood has shifted his personality in fundamental ways, and the changes in Shinichi are now accompanied by large-scale shifts in the course of the narrative itself. Things are really moving in Parasyte now, and it's likely much blood will spill before we have any hope of seeing peace again.

This week's first episode was largely dedicated to exploring the significant shifts in Shinichi's personality. Though he still values human life and possesses clear empathy for those around him, he's both cracking under the strain of his dangerous existence and clearly far more influenced by Migi than in the past. The current Shinichi is far past any passionate, unsupportable speeches about the beauty of human nature - he's cold and precise, strong and intelligent, upset about his changes, but unable to stay that upset for long. He's an effective animal, essentially, and it's looking like he'll need to be an effective animal to navigate his upcoming hurdles.

That “animal instinct” refrain got all sorts of compelling articulation in this pair of episodes. Though I felt the bits about Shinichi's personality shift were somewhat drawn-out and overtold (does every character need to comment on it? Do we need to be first shown and then told every element of his shift?), the material on how humans and parasites are really just animals at war came across beautifully in the physical drama and aesthetic execution of this week's conflicts. The near-fight with the rival school's gang was a great articulation of this - I loved the very physical, bodily nature of the confrontation between first Shinichi and Shimada, and then Shinichi and the gang leader. And then Shinichi's final standoff with Shimada outside the school was wonderful as well, with Shinichi almost barking a warning at the intruder in “his territory.” As Shinichi's ability to articulate his human differences fails, he's coming more and more to rely on a physicality and presence that seems beneath even Migi. He's becoming an angry predator in a hostile home.

That's not to say these two episodes were one hundred percent tense standoffs, though they were certainly heavy. I also really appreciated the occasional ways these episodes undercut their own intensity, particularly in how Shinichi and Murano's realities seemed to clash, almost like two separate shows butting heads. Murano's romance drama exit from her classroom running into Shinichi's battle-focused rage face, Shinichi's defense of Kana from a hostile predator tripping into a romcom misunderstanding with Murano… the show didn't really make overt jokes, but there was a lot of inherent humor in the vast discrepancies between the worlds its various characters are currently inhabiting. This show needs a little levity from time to time - the tension and claustrophobia are so effective they can verge on uncomfortable, and it actually seems like the direction's getting even better at evoking an effortlessly horrific atmosphere with each passing episode.

It's also great to see how quickly all the various threads of this narrative are now moving forward together. The central conflict of these two episodes was all about the introduction of Shimada, which definitely provided ample excitement and tension by itself (I really like how different each of the parasites are personality-wise - Shimada in particular seems defined by a brash arrogance we haven't seen in any others so far), but we've also got the Tamiya Ryoko thread, the criminal investigation thread, and the various individual dramas of all the different characters in Shinichi's orbit. The show seems to be both gaining speed and growing in complexity, and it's only looking more confident as it enters this gripping second act.

Rating: A-

Parasyte -the maxim- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.