Manga Review: Parasyte

Seinen: Parasyte
Mangaka: Iwaaki Hitoshi
Genres: Action, Drama, Horror, Mature, Psychological, Romance, Sci-fi, Seinen
Rating: 10/10

Summary [from mangaupdates.com]: They arrive in silence and darkness. They descend from the skies. They have a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere. They are parasites, alien creatures who must invade - and take control of - a human host to survive. And once they have infected their victims, they can assume any deadly form they choose: monsters with giant teeth, winged demons, creatures with blades for hands. But most have chosen to conceal their lethal purpose behind ordinary human faces. So no one knows their secret - except an ordinary high school student. Shin is battling for control of his own body against an alien parasite, but can he find a way to warn humanity of the horrors to come?

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There are perhaps only 2 or 3 horror mangas I've read since I started my obsession with manga, and I never finished them because I'm not a big fan of horror mangas. However, this one is something everybody should read. The art wasn't thrilling at first, but I got used to it as I read into the deep plot and interesting turn of events. The art is suitable for the story itself - it's not all that perfect nor realistic in some scenes, but it gets better during the really horrific scenes where the action and killings happen.

The character development is pretty amazing, and the relationship between the two main characters progresses as the story goes on. The pace is quick, it gets right to the point. The parasite idea is something I've encountered in books and such, so it's not surprisingly creative. But the author does take the suspense and character expression to the next level. Even thought it's really all about the horror and tragedy, it gets really comedic at parts and opens your mind to how you view things.

The way the parasites transform is kind of disgusting, then again, you'll encounter a lot of disgusting and pretty awful things as you read on, but you won't be able to put it down for some reason. I really like this manga.

By: Eli
Edited By: Annie