Parasyte

[DesertSpada]

Hello there. Recently, on a trip to another state I came into contact with a manga that I had never seen before. I picked it up, scanned through and started to read it. This manga was called Parasyte, and it got me pretty interested.

The basic storyline of it is that alien life forms have landed on Earth and started to take over people's bodies. To do this, they bore into the heads of people and take over the function of the brain. Soon, the person is effectively killed because of this, but the alien creature keeps the body as it's own(much like in the movie, The Thing). These parasites look like normal humans on the outside, and try to behave like them too. However, they have no emotions like humans and no facial expressions.

(This woman is a very important and interesting parasite. All parasites have these dull expressions.)

As the new "brain" of the body, they can push the human body to it's limits and also can change themselves into different shapes, and can effortlessly kill humans which they need as a food source.

For one guy name Izumi though, a parasite accidently bored into his arm thus leaving him still alive. The parasite has it's own personality, and doesn't desire to eat humans. However, now Izumi must find out what to do with his life as he comes into contact with other parasites, and find himself changing dramatically…physically, and emotionally.....

So yeah, it's from the 1990s but it's getting a reprint with better translations and such. I bought vol. 3 & 4 and wanted to know if other knew about it, or were interested.

[Tizoc]

Looks interesting but…don't think it could appeal to me cuz of the whole 'survive the passage of time thing' :/

[DesertSpada]

First, I find your sig hilarious.

Now, as for what you said, what do you mean exactly? I may have worded something a bit wrong.

[Tizoc]

You worded nothing wrong. What I mean is that seeing as it is an old series, at its day it would've been very interesting and fun to read, but now it might not get the same impression from others. I for example have seen enough freaky shit in my comics (including mangas) that this series may not interest me much. Still if I feel like it I might give it a read.

[DesertSpada]

Hehe, OK I understand. It is a bit old and one can see that, but the parasites themselves are drawn in very interestingly and the story moves along nicely. Well, from the two vol. I've read. Now I have to see if my area caries the first two vol.

[Moria]

I read this a long time ago I think (a year, I believe). I enjoyed it a lot. Good series. Although it can be finished somewhat quickly (isn't it only like 100 chapters), its definitely worth the read.

[Zkaiser]

Parasyte is the shit!! I read it all one sitting (I had nothing better to do) and absolutly loved it. I love the moral issues brought up by Iggy. This manga is a good read.

[Jedi Master]

I read the first volume a long time ago. I knew for some reason that I might like it for some few reasons…kind of remind of Spider-man, my fav. comicbook hero, but in a really creepy way

oh, I forgot to say I read up to chapter 10, heres one place you can find it: http://www.cuppajoescoffee.com/manga/parasyte.html?ch=Volume+02&page=59

[Tizoc]

I did a search and this came up, does this have all volumes of the manga scanlated-

http://megadownload.net/file/mu/pwiw14rb/volume-1.zip

[Captain Kuro]

I remember liking this series a lot when it was in MixxZine (sometime in the 90s). I need to finish reading it someday.

[captain usopp]

ya. i got a couple of those magazines for birthdays in the day. Paracite has a really interesting story tizoc. I'd give it a read. I'd like to read it someday. I only saw 2 chapters. It's quite unique in my opinion.

[Blamsft1]

Iwaaki's other series Historie and oneshot Look Me in the Eyes When You Talk (both scanlated by Kotonoha) are also very good. You can easily recognize his work by its slightly awkward and distinctive art style. I had a little trouble getting into Parasyte because of it but it grows on you quickly.

[DemonX]

@Moria:

I read this a long time ago I think (a year, I believe). I enjoyed it a lot. Good series. Although it can be finished somewhat quickly (isn't it only like 100 chapters), its definitely worth the read.

you sure?on onemanga there are only 64 chapters and it says complete…
could you please check if the last chapter is really the last one?
Cuz I wouldn´t read it if it ain´t complete…

[Crossword]

That is the last chapter. It says so on the last page.

[DemonX]

Ok good.I might have checked myself but whatever xD
So I have finished DN now and I´ll probably start reading Parasyte ^^

I finished Parasyte now and I must say it´s a very good read - I can recommend it to everybody.

[DesertSpada]

Glad you enjoyed it! I think here in the states there was just a release of the fifth volume. I'll be getting that as soon as I can…..need money though...

(Woah.....)

[Zkaiser]

This thread should contain the penis-hand in the first post to attract readers.

[Sander]

I dunno if it's alright to bump such an old thread,but I finished reading Parasyte yesterday and I loved it.My only real complaint is that

! Migi going into a long hibernation
semed to be just a way to create suspense and a feeling of danger in the last chapter.

I'm not at all bothered by the fact that the origin of the parasytes was never really clarified,because I feel that nitty gritty sci-fi aspect was never a true concern for the series,centering instead on the characters and their development.Plus,if one connects all the dots from dialogue and such,I think the implication is that the parasytes were

! created by man.Yes,some scientific genius or an organization that was concerned with the environmental issues a tad too much and created a new species as a natural predator to humans that is above them in the food chain,thus taking them down a notch and contolling human numbers.

[Zik]

This was a really good manga. Pretty sure I put it in my manga recommendation list. It being made in the 90s didn't affect it's entertainment value or interest I had in it imo. Although I feel most works in many mediums from the 90s that are praised stand the test of time to the present.
@Sander:

I'm not at all bothered by the fact that the origin of the parasytes was never really clarified,because I feel that nitty gritty sci-fi aspect was never a true concern for the series,centering instead on the characters and their development.Plus,if one connects all the dots from dialogue and such,I think the implication is that the parasytes were

! created by man.Yes,some scientific genius or an organization that was concerned with the environmental issues a tad too much and created a new species as a natural predator to humans that is above them in the food chain,thus taking them down a notch and contolling human numbers.

Doubt it was created by man. If I remember from the first chapter it was laid pretty clearly that over time on Earth new predators arise to prey on the other animals on the planet and some stuff about humanity ruining the planet and it retaliating or something about a cosmic balance and a higher power dropping a new life form, the parasites, on Earth to decrease the population but in the end they adapted instead and learned to like eating cheeseburgers and what not.

If it was you said though then they failed, since the parasites were smarter than humans and never shown to be controlled by other humans and in the end the humans they killed and bodies they took over eventually had them changing their minds about carrying on as beings that eat humans.

[Sander]

It was stated along the lines of "someone once thought,what would happen if the human population decreased 99%.Would the pollution decrease 99% as well"?

That combined with Ryoko Tamiya's line of "Parasytes are the children of humans" definately makes it seem like they were man-made.

plus,there' this:

If I have one regret about Parasyte it's that Iwaaki leaves some big unanswered questions about the aliens: mainly, he never tells us where they came from. (Or how they breed, if they do breed; it's kind of a weak invasion if there's no way to replace them when they die off.) (SPOILERS) Only the author's notes in the Del Rey edition really explain the truth: the Parasytes aren't actually aliens, they're some new kind of species from Earth. "If you actually read the narration, they were intended to have been created somewhere on Earth," writes Iwaaki in volume 5. "Since they did fall out of the sky, I can see why people thought that…but they were just being carried by the wind." Looking back, the opening narration, which seemed like rhetorical questions the first time I read it, pretty much confirms that the Parasytes are artificial life forms specifically created by who-knows-what to reduce the human population. ("Somewhere on Earth, someone was thinking…if half of humanity disappeared, would half of the forests be saved? If 99% of humanity disappeared, would pollution be reduced 99%?") But Iwaaki never actually explains this, just like he never shows us Migi having some kind of weird alien egg-fertilizing orgy at the end of Shinichi's arm (or penis, as the case may be).

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/house-of-1000-manga/2012-07-05

And if we consider the mayor who actually turned out to be

! a human helping parasytes,it's not that far-fetched that someone out there could be that crazy.

Plus while they weren't fully controlled by whatever created them,"should feed on tasty humans" was pretty much programmed in by someone.Remember when Shinichi asked Ryoko why she has to eat humans when parasytes can survive on human blood and ordinary food and she replies with a crazy grin that "it's as if someone ordered her to eradicate his species"?

So either that or they really were created by a higher cosmic force like God.At any rate,it's clear that they aren't aliens.

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Zik:

It being made in the 90s didn't affect it's entertainment value or interest I had in it imo. Although I feel most works in many mediums from the 90s that are praised stand the test of time to the present.

90's aren't that old to begin with,anyway.I mean,we are all posting in a forum dedicated to a series that started in late 90's.

[Aohige_AP]

If they were a creation of a deity, it was quite a stupid one.

Even Ryoko quickly realized how futile their existence was, if the intention was to eradicate or even thin the herd of human race.
Not having a reproductive system pretty much doomed that goal from the start.

[Zik]

Maybe that deity just wanted to see some humans die in gruesome ways. I mean give the futility of their existence doesn't really matter anyway. Not like they'll be on the planet a billion years later and that amount of time would be nothing to a deity.

As for the truth, given those quotes it does seem to lean more to it being a man made species but w/e.

[Sander]

@Aohige_AP:

Not having a reproductive system pretty much doomed that goal from the start.

Yeah and even when parasytes try to get it on,they only end up producing moar humans.:ninja:

–- Update From New Post Merge ---

@Zik:

Maybe that deity just wanted to see some humans die in gruesome ways.

You don't need parasytes for that to happen.I mean,with all the gruesome acts of violence in this manga,the most disturbing ones where when they showed the serial killer Kabuto's flashback and how he went about doing his disgusting deeds.

[Zik]

@Sander:

You don't need parasytes for that to happen.I mean,with all the gruesome acts of violence in this manga,the most disturbing ones where when they showed the serial killer Kabuto's flashback and how he went about doing his disgusting deeds.

Maybe that deity specifically wanted to see humans die in gruesome ways by a different species and the animals around currently weren't cutting it.

[Sander]

That deity definately has some weird hobbies then.:ninja:

Should've made a bunch of Kaijus and unleashed them upon the cities,because that would've been way cooler as far as human extermination goes.