Parasyte - the maxim

[Kraco]

Now we have to counter-balance the other way and have Shinichi balance out the other way. He's still driven emotionally, but the whole story about him not being able to cry suggests he's now less emotional and human.

Nah. That doesn't fully indicate one way or another about the human quality of his mentality. The parasytes haven't yet done anything that would make them more monstrous than humans. It's such a cliche, but it's true. Shinichi probably won't easily be able to cry before he has dealt with the parasyte that stole his mother's body. It's quite a natural reaction, and no stranger than crying before doing anything about it, especially when he knows perfectly what's going on, unlike his old man. It also doesn't help that he earlier changed his opinion and blessed his parents' trips.

[MFauli]

That episode was fantastic. At first I wasnt sure if its okay to like it, since I was contemplating if Shinichi´s change in character was reasonable. But then I decided that it was. And man, that final scene when he rushes from the hospital to the beach. The music, the scene where he jumps, how he´s running with his right hand transformed into claws ready to slash away. That was masterfully done.

I dont watch previews, but that person he was about to face didn´t look like his mom from the little we could see (back of the head). Wonder if it really is.

Only complaint: That one girl from school is pretty much confirmed to be his love interest, so it sucks that Makiko-chan is destined to be a side-character. Totally like her, the typical "random strange girl from the countryside"-clichee :> Would prefer Shinichi to start hanging out with her. Instead, I guess she´ll die soon ...

And one final note: I stand by my earlier posting that Shinichi should sit down with Migi and clearly tell it what he really wants. Like, having his dad stay alive. His close friends. Stuff like that. Even if Migi is revealed to them. I feel that could be easily reasoned with, by pure logic.

[Buffalobiian]

That one girl from school is pretty much confirmed to be his love interest, so it sucks that Makiko-chan is destined to be a side-character. Totally like her, the typical "random strange girl from the countryside"-clichee :> Would prefer Shinichi to start hanging out with her.

I call this animal attraction.

[neflight86]

Very good episode and so much got done! Healing, transformation, introducing a new character and objective, the hospital scene... So fast without feeling rushed. More old (complete) manga should be adapted by such capable hands; it would make the world a better place.

[shinta|hikari]

Capable hands are rare.

EDIT: My sig is distracting me too much.

[Archangel]

Again the OP ruins more than a few things regarding the faith of this girl. I'm also a fan of this chemical induced character development, this is shaping out to be the best show of the season and possibly the whole year.

[MFauli]

episode 7 is out
-----------------

Okay, the parasite cells are already influencing his personality. That "yo!" at the end wasn´t the same Shinichi we got to know. I feel kinda conflicted about how to react to that. If Shinichi is actually self-aware of his attitude change, then it´s okay. But if its a case of a true change that happens silently, without our hero being aware of it, it´s basically the same as the original hero being dead. And I dont like that idea.

Also I think Shinichi was too strong. Last episode he could run slightly faster and jump somewhat higher than a normal human being. But I didnt expect him to be fast enough to evade a parasite´s lightning-fast tentacle attacks.

As for Uda-san, I had hoped that his parasite would also fuse with his heart, becoming the same being that Shinichi became then. Oh well.

One complaint for last: Please no harem :/ Wtf was that at the end. First he has clearly conquered the beach town-girl. Then the random sensor-girl got all flustered. And then he was greeted by his "girlfriend". Please dont do this. I like this anime a lot. No harem shit.

[Kraco]

Okay, the parasite cells are already influencing his personality. That "yo!" at the end wasn´t the same Shinichi we got to know. I feel kinda conflicted about how to react to that. If Shinichi is actually self-aware of his attitude change, then it´s okay. But if its a case of a true change that happens silently, without our hero being aware of it, it´s basically the same as the original hero being dead. And I dont like that idea.

He was a wussy in the beginning, so he needed to grow some balls, even if they were parasyte balls. He was also too weak to realistically survive continuous encounters with full parasytes. If it takes a forced personality change to the point of declaring the old Shinichi dead and a new one born, then so be it. It's the price to pay to get us a hero instead of a loser who couldn't even survive.

Managing to fight with the mom-monster wasn't necessarily a stretch. Uda's parasyte also noted her attacks were without inspiration and easy to read. So, basically she was doing half of Shinichi's job for him. This and earlier fights make me think full parasytes are in fact less intelligent, in practice, than failed ones. They have it so easy that they never needed to struggle or try to compensate for anything, making them less resourceful and adaptive in battles. This was apparently Uda's parasyte's first fight (since he was delighted to see how full ones look like), yet he did remarkably well.

It'll be interesting to see if the girlfriend can accept the change in Shinichi. It's like she started to date a semishy nerd, but suddenly finds she's dating a semitough guy, haha.

[MFauli]

He was a wussy in the beginning, so he needed to grow some balls, even if they were parasyte balls. He was also too weak to realistically survive continuous encounters with full parasytes. If it takes a forced personality change to the point of declaring the old Shinichi dead and a new one born, then so be it. It's the price to pay to get us a hero instead of a loser who couldn't even survive.

Just to be clear: Im not opposed to characters developing and changing themselves. It´s a common element of most adventure stories. However, if you take a hero, have an outside source change his character, and then have this "hero" go on as if nothing happened to him, that´s the same as killing of the hero and replacing him by a whole other character.

If all you happen to care is action, Kraco, then I can understand your point. But I watch these shows for their story and their atmosphere, I like to fully immerse myself as if I was part of the story. Thus, this episode made me feel as if I was killed. :/ There´s no more Shinichi as I knew him. I doesnt matter if the new Shinichi is "better". What matters is that the old one seems to be (partially?) gone.

[Kraco]

I guess I can get your point if you honestly liked the old Shinichi. However, from my point of view all those eps before now were like an introduction with a pre-hero, and the real hero, the real Shinichi, is what we finally have now. This is the real Shinichi, not the dolt in the first episodes. Kind of like in some movies where we first have a happy main character, then get a time jump, and finally get the real asskicking main character (for example Conan the Barbarian). The time skip just didn't really happen in this show.

[MFauli]

I doesnt matter if I liked the old Shinichi or not, that´s the point. I like proper continuity, and I like for a hero to stay the same person. Imagine it like this: For five episodes, your hero is Shinji. Then a parasite enters his body and he becomes Naruto. Would that be fun to watch? Maybe. But it would absolutely suck in terms of atmosphere and continuity. It´s like the author suddenly became bored of his creation and hit the reset button ... exclusively for the hero.

Edit: GODDAM, Shinta, I think ill have to change my sig pic. It´s too hot :>

[shinta|hikari]

Don't think of it as Shinichi dying. He had so much crap happening to him in such a short period of time. Such things change people. The parasite cells just aided in that transformation. I'm pretty sure his core remains the same, otherwise this story would lose its protagonist.

I think the term harem is misused. A number of girls liking a guy is actually quite normal if the guy is actually likable. I doubt those 3 girls will start hanging around him at the same time, so it should be fine.

@EDIT: I'm having the same problem with my waki set right now.

[Buffalobiian]

I have my fingers crossed that he doesn't turn into some asshole. "Yo" is not a good start but I'll wait and see. Shinichi being capable was good to see however, and he really needs to be if he is to stand a chance against Ryouko. Thing is, now that parasytes are much less of a threat now with a powered up Shinichi, we'll need something else to keep this suspenseful.

[NeoCybercoin]

Earlier on it was mentioned by A that the two parasites could share the body. So I'm sure we'll see more of those types soon.

[Kraco]

It doesn't take anything fancier than two full parasytes cooperating to make things considerably harder for Shinichi. We have already seen the parasytes don't have anything in particular against other parasytes in normal control of the host. They also do have intelligence, even if they aren't pushed as far as Migi to use it.

[Buffalobiian]

But parasytes are selfish in their nature and will only look out for their own self interest (and that of the host if it also aligns). For a body with two parasytes, the increased ability would be accompanied by increased doubt between itself, especially when the situation calls for one being sacrificed.

[Kraco]

They don't need to share a body. We have already seen two parasytes can cooperate to the point of trying to reproduce. Shinichi doesn't fortunately have much of a reputation, even if he has left a single loose end hanging around in the female teacher's parasyte. However, if two parasytes get interested in Migi's signal at the same time, something as simple as that could lead to a situation where he would need to fight two enemies simultaneously.

[Ryllharu]

I doesnt matter if I liked the old Shinichi or not, that´s the point. I like proper continuity, and I like for a hero to stay the same person. Imagine it like this: For five episodes, your hero is Shinji. Then a parasite enters his body and he becomes Naruto. Would that be fun to watch? Maybe. But it would absolutely suck in terms of atmosphere and continuity. It´s like the author suddenly became bored of his creation and hit the reset button ... exclusively for the hero.

Because being an active participant in murdering Mr. A, finding out your mother was killed by a parasite, then killing that parasite doesn't change a person in any way...

It wouldn't matter if he became super-human or was still using a sharpened metal pipe like before.

His would-be girlfriend has been asking if he's the same person for a long time. The experiences Shinichi has gone through have changed him. Make him a more confident person, tortured him, broken him, and brought him closure on his mother's untimely death. He's changed. People change.

That's what I love about this show. Humans are shaped by their experiences. No one ever stays static.

[MFauli]

You´re completely ignoring that his blood is running parasite-dna and influencing him. And that his casual behavior has completely changed, too, according to that "yo!" at the episode´s end.

[Ryllharu]

A) That's a huge assumption. It's also just a fear of his. There's no proof one way or the other.
B) That's a huge assumption based on a single casual phrase. Does a character's personality change just because they say "Hey," instead of "Hello..."?

You're completely discounting the changes throughout the series. Would the Shinichi we know from episode 1 defend a classmate he doesn't really like who has been a total asshole to him? Would he get the shit kicked out of him to protect Murano from probably getting raped? Would he be confident enough to talk to girls? Would he stab another parasite in the heart to save his own life?

Nah...there's no way he would have done any of that before Migi put 30% of his cells into Shinichi's body.

Give me a break.