3 out of 5

Created by: Hitoshi Iwaaki

Often, “just go with it” is a good mantra for anime and manga; the general premise will be interesting, but lacking in the logic (or forced logic) US stuff tends to require.  For the most part, that mantra serves one well, and you get used to the different classifications of stories in which things are just the way they are.  But it doesn’t always work, and occasionally a show or series like Parasyte -the maxim- will try to come up with its own justification for events – for why alien parasites came to town; why they attach themselves to humans the way they do; why parasite ‘Migi’ bungled his parasite task of taking over a host and only took over Shinichi’s hand instead – and the line of reasoning is just too eyebrow-raisingly shaky.  It’s as though Parasyte’s writers (and I say this without having read the source manga to know if it was adapted as-is or not) weren’t confident enough in going all-in with the premise, so they peppered in pseudo-science and pseudo-logic to smooth it over… which just served to highlight that there was something to smooth over in the first place.  Whenever Migi, or some other parasyte, deigned to exposit explanations to us, I became frustrated, because otherwise, the contemplations on humanity and morality – what makes us us; what is the line between defensive and offensive actions – are rather deft, and smart.  Sprinkled with some badass parasite-on-parasite fight scenes, the show gets into some really good runs or binge-worthy viewing.

…It also chases its own tail on occasion with a girlfriend / boyfriend subplot, Shinichi conflicted forever over how nice to be to his on-again / off-again boo, Satomi, and skips over making it clear just how aware the rest of the world is in regards to these creatures, and take a pretty hilariously sudden swerve toward melodramatic proclamations in order to make its conclusion work…

So, yes, things are imperfect.  Indeed, I’d started the series once before and gotten about seven episodes in before deciding it was spinning its own wheels, and focusing more on alien design than plotting, but some random read-ups convinced me to return, and I’m very glad I did.  Accepting its imperfections from the start, I found myself genuinely fascinated by Shinichi’s and Migi’s discourses on right and wrong and purpose – the script braving some grey waters in which it’s recognized that those are very much “human” concerns – and adoring Mad House’s slick animation and emotive character designs.  Migi’s cold attitude is also (purposefully) funny at points, and the whole warped parasite / host relationship here – Migi doesn’t really care for Shinichi, but needs him – as well as the tricky allegiances parasites form amongst themselves (given that they’re all fighting for the same resources) – offers up a very compelling weaving of character interactions that definitely puts the pep back in the steps lost to the more wandering elements.

A fair enough balance of thoughtful, exciting… and meh elements to make it a worthwhile viewing.