 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | DEL REY | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | HITOSHI IWAAKI | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 304 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | OT | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 07/29/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 09/29/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
Not enough good things could be said about Parasyte. It is an extremely captivating book for a number of reasons – it’s one of those manga you can’t possibly put down and end up reading the whole volume in one sitting. The story of Parasyte revolves around a 16 year old boy named Shin and the alien life form that falls from the sky one day to make Shin its host. This “parasyte” is just one of many that have suddenly dropped down to earth. They arrive in silence and darkness – descending from the sky. They have a hunger for the flesh of whatever they latch onto – those hosts usually being humans. Basically they are parasites, alien creatures who to survive must invade – and take control of – a human host. Once they have infected their victims, they can assume any deadly form they choose – monsters with giant teeth, winged demons, or creatures with blades for hands. But most of these parasites have chosen to conceal their lethal purpose behind ordinary human faces. No one knows their secret – except for Shin of course. Shin is battling for control of his own body against an alien parasite – but you’ll come to ask yourself whether he should, or should he try to coexist. In volume four, the dangers of knowing the secret of the alien invasion grow tremendously for our hero. Shinichi, an ordinary high school student, is the only one who knows that aliens have invaded Earth and are controlling the minds of thousands of unwitting victims. It’s a secret too dangerous to share… but too big to cover up. Then Shinichi meets Kana, a brave young girl with a strange gift that may allow her to detect the alien parasites. Has Shinichi at last found an ally to combat these creatures? If he can persuade her to be careful and understand what is going on, perhaps he can keep her alive in a world growing dark with unexplained murders and seemingly random violence. One of the main things that makes this series so good is that it isn’t too unbelievable. It constantly begs you to ask yourself the question: “What would I do? What if this was me?” Sure the whole alien thing is pushing reality a bit – but if such a thing were to happen, it’s very interesting to contemplate what would happen behind the scenes, and how the people that knew about it would react. Shin is just a regular guy, but he has a lot of really difficult decisions he has to make due to his situation. The big one in this volume is about the new found friend he has in Kana, and what she means to him. In a way, the most important thing for him is to try to explain to her why her power could be dangerous to her well-being, because her power allows her to sense who is an alien, and who is just a regular person. Such a power will lead her into danger sooner than later, and he knows she needs to control it. And yet still, he needs to continue to hide his secret relating to Migi, so it’s a big mess as usual. Shin often has a moral struggle to overcome, and it’s honestly more involving and interesting than a review can make it sound. This story has always been tense and “edge of your seat,” and it continues to be such – Shin’s struggles are both captivating and involving. The visuals continue to keep pace as well – in no way does the art change for the worst or become non-proficient as the series moves along. It’s nice to get used to a uniformed proficiency in a visual style – Parasyte is comfortable in this way, and therefore made more enjoyable to read. This all-around great series continues to impress – it’s such a good story, so you really shouldn’t miss out!
IN SUMMARY:
Parasyte is one of those older “sleeper hits” that many people may unintentionally overlook unless someone informs them of just how good it is. Well here you’ve heard it: Parasyte is awesome and engrossing – go read it! |
