Parasyte - the maxim

[shinta|hikari]

People being illogical? That's the truism of the millennium. I hate it too, but it doesn't make it any less real.

[Buffalobiian]

People being illogical? That's the truism of the millennium. I hate it too, but it doesn't make it any less real.

It's rather strange. We tend to pride ourselves for being "logical", but somewhere down the line we complain about people being too logical.

[shinta|hikari]

I recently got that complaint. I don't think there is such a thing as too logical, personally. I'd have a blast with Migi and these creatures.

Wait, they will eat me, so I guess I won't.

[Buffalobiian]

You're right. There's no such thing as being "too logical", your actions are either logical or not. What people are actually complaining about are morals (or the lack there of), which our actions are based off (logical or not).

[Xelbair]

Morals are not based on logic.

[shinta|hikari]

That's why Buff said "logical or not."

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 04


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Nooooooo! The mother's going to be turned.

[Kraco]

Nooooooo! The mother's going to be turned.

That would mean the old man would be eaten. Shinichi would become an orphan. It seems statistically quite unlikely in any case. Would there even be free parasytes anymore? How long would they survive in the wilds without a host? Some critters or ants would eat them or they would starve.

This ep had a few jolly scenes, like Shinichi waking up without an arm at all and the dad's suggestion for explaining Shinichi yelling to the mom.

[Buffalobiian]

That would mean the old man would be eaten.

The parasyte could be more like Ryouko and decide to camouflage, or it might decide to change heads, since we just talked about it.

The mix between comedy and seriousness is great.

[MFauli]

Regarding Shinichi´s fear for his parents: Couldn´t he tell Migi straight-faced that any scenario in which his parents die, would be followed up by Shinichi killing himself, thus Migi dying, too? Im trying to put myself in his shows, and if I knew some monster was about to murder my family, Id make that overly clear: My parents being killed is not an option. If you kill them, I will reveal the truth to society/the government. I dont care if you threaten to kill or mutilate me. My parents dying = Myself dying. So DO NOT DO IT.

Surely, that should work as a statement against a monster that acts purely on logic.

[Buffalobiian]

Regarding Shinichi´s fear for his parents: Couldn´t he tell Migi straight-faced that any scenario in which his parents die, would be followed up by Shinichi killing himself, thus Migi dying, too? Im trying to put myself in his shows, and if I knew some monster was about to murder my family, Id make that overly clear: My parents being killed is not an option. If you kill them, I will reveal the truth to society/the government. I dont care if you threaten to kill or mutilate me. My parents dying = Myself dying. So DO NOT DO IT.

Surely, that should work as a statement against a monster that acts purely on logic.

Migi has already said that he's more than capable of controlling Shinichi's actions and stopping him from going to authorities or killing himself. Making Shinichi physically mute (and probably a cripple as well) is not an issue for him. Granted, now that they're being attacked by other parasytes as well may change things up a bit, but it still stands that Migi will take such drastic measures if given an equally drastic threat.

Going with logic, he also understands that Shinichi may be trusted because their cooperation keeps him alive. However, the parents have no real reason to keep their secret on the basis of self preservation.

[MFauli]

i dont see how migi could control shinishi´s action. as long as shinichi has another arm and a functioning brain, he could either kill himself or make contact with other people. even if he fails to do that, his parents and then other people would notice his absence and ultimately his horrible physical state. migi has no chance to keep itself a secret if shinichi doesnt want it to be.

[Kraco]

migi has no chance to keep itself a secret if shinichi doesnt want it to be.

Sure it has if getting revealed and turned into a test subject is the worst choice. Self-destruction might happen first. These things haven't exactly been afraid of death so far. Migi would simply kill Shinichi is nothing else helps and make itself scarce. Besides, Shinichi would still have the girl even if he happened to lose his parents. I'm sure Migi would use that to persuade him.

[Buffalobiian]

i dont see how migi could control shinishi´s action. as long as shinichi has another arm and a functioning brain, he could either kill himself or make contact with other people. even if he fails to do that, his parents and then other people would notice his absence and ultimately his horrible physical state. migi has no chance to keep itself a secret if shinichi doesnt want it to be.

He already said that he can make Shinichi blind, deaf and mute. I'm sure crippling him is also an option. Having Shinichi in a coma or just plain alive is enough for Migi to get by. He's not after quality of life, he's just after survival.

[MFauli]

He already said that he can make Shinichi blind, deaf and mute. I'm sure crippling him is also an option. Having Shinichi in a coma or just plain alive is enough for Migi to get by. He's not after quality of life, he's just after survival.

sure, and doctors examining his body wouldnt find out about mii?

[Buffalobiian]

sure, and doctors examining his body wouldnt find out about mii?

That part wasn't explored, but Migi already said that he could wire up the arm to obey Shinichi's neural input while he slept. That means functionally it's not all that different. A doctor would expose Shinichi to look at his entire body, and perhaps Xray him given he'd like like he suffered from trauma, but I don't expect them to find anything particularly wrong if Migi can at least imitate normal arm structures. If the xray was normal they probably wouldn't CT the arm given that it'd look fine.

[Ryllharu]

At least the scar was explained. His mother is a well-developed character. She's not the perfect anime mother archetype, permanently trusting. Instead, she legitimately parents her son, and she has her own level of assertiveness.

Ryoko should have stuck it out a little longer and studied Shinichi's mother during a "Home Visit." She genuinely seems intrigued about what their kind are, she's far more patient than any others we've seen, including Migi. Especially after her body's own mother appeared and spotted her instantly. With Shinichi's mother posing the same kind of question, Ryoko could have learned a lot more about blending in.

In the end, I guess Shinichi is right. The parasites are completely lacking in any level of compassion. They are purely logical beings. Ryoko is interested in study as opposed to a singular focus on, "the directive." I wonder if the host's body has more to do with it than the parasites believe. The most aggressive ones we've seen are all male or animals.

I wonder if another female parasite would be more patient and inquisitive rather than aggressive. Perhaps it is the host body's hormones having an impact on them. Migi is fed by Shinichi's blood, his panic affects them both and makes Migi's offensive abilities suffer. Perhaps Ryoko's host hormones are making her more patient than aggressive? She noticed the baby kicking with an unusual awe instead of her usual cold logic. I wonder how much she will be affected as her pregnancy progresses.

[Buffalobiian]

For something so logical, Ryoko should have came to the conclusion right away that mannerism was what gave away her identity, since her voice and looks are identical.

"Remove what is impossible and what is left must be true, however improbable."

[MFauli]

"Remove what is impossible and what is left must be true, however improbable."

The drones are acting on their own!

[MFauli]

episode 5 is out
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That was brutal. Didnt expect his parents to die, not so soon anyway. What I hate is how it happened coincidentially. These parasites arent that widespread from what we´ve seen, so they want me to believe that of all the people, it happened to be Shinichi´s parents who encountered another one? Meh.

And I wonder how the dad escaped from the parasite. Even when it wasnt in perfect control of the body, it´s parasite-tentacles seemed to work fine.

And FUCK the black haired girl. Feeling all high and mighty, happily watching how other guys are ganging up on one guy. Real brave, real mature. And then she has the nerve to approach Shinichi for a casual talk. Would have loved to see Shinichi just punching her pretty face. Uargh.

What Im currently looking forward to most is if Shinichi learns to fight. He´s too ... normal right now, relying entirely on Migi. At best he can cause some diversion, but that´s it.

Of course, all of this demands that he survives lol. Although I guess this will be how we´ll find out about his "change".