This Parasyte is Getting Infectious...
Is the second volume of Parasyte as earth-shattering as the first? No. However, it does something that many high-school horror titles don't dare to do, and that is to grow and evolve, and for that reason Parasyte 2 is in some ways (Jeezus, am I really going to use this reference?) an "Empire Strikes Back" to Volume 1's "A New Hope". The reason I say this is that the first volume is as much about the situation as it is about the characters, where the second volume is all about the main dude, Shin, and his "growth" and changes. Shin goes through some personally horrific situations, yet the way he deals with them begins to "mature". The reader catches on just a little quicker than the characters around him that something is happening to Shin. Is it "good"? Is it "bad" (Dark Side/Jedi...which is sexier?)...These are questions that are up to the reader to decide. Shin and Migi's forced alliance, like intergalactic Siamese-twins, is the root of the story, and despite the reduction in splatter scenes, the way they work together (or don't) gives a new angle on the horror. 
Parasyte
Volume 2
by Hitoshi Iwaaki
***POSSIBLE SPOILERS if you haven't read PARASYTE 1***
I described Parasyte's first volume as a skilled mix of horror, comedy and sci-fi spread on the familiar genre of teenage turmoils mirroring worldwide turmoils...in this case an alien invasion. I really enjoyed the first volume as it took familiar ground from several places and mashed it brilliantly. 
This kind of brilliance can carry a first volume, but can't often carry a series, and we have seen examples (which I won't go into here) where good series go bad when a good idea is sucked of all it's lifeforce, but is forced to carry on.
Is the second volume of Parasyte as earth-shattering as the first? No. However, it does something that many high-school horror titles don't dare to do, and that is to grow and evolve, and for that reason Parasyte 2 is in some ways (Jeezus, am I really going to use this reference?) an "Empire Strikes Back" to Volume 1's "A New Hope". The reason I say this is that the first volume is as much about the situation as it is about the characters, where the second volume is all about the main dude, Shin, and his "growth" and changes. Shin goes through some personally horrific situations, yet the way he deals with them begins to "mature". The reader catches on just a little quicker than the characters around him that something is happening to Shin. Is it "good"? Is it "bad" (Dark Side/Jedi...which is sexier?)...These are questions that are up to the reader to decide. Shin and Migi's forced alliance, like intergalactic Siamese-twins, is the root of the story, and despite the reduction in splatter scenes, the way they work together (or don't) gives a new angle on the horror. 
The early-90s stylings of the fashions and hairstyles title add a positive nostalgic and reversely ominous tone, as the past always seems more innocent. We can imagine a Blue Hearts and Boowy soundtrack as Shin is beat up by bullies from a neighboring school. I would like to say this volume focuses on the family, and it does, but more in a reverse-Norman Bates sort of way. It is the way the main characters change (with hints from the author in Q&A essays) that makes Parasyte more than a high-school horror title and very much worth reading.
posted by John T at
12/21/2007 12:30:00 AM
1 Comments:
From one who has read the Tokyopop version and is now collecting the new releases, trust me, Parasyte is an awesome series. Keep reading; you won't be disappointed.
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Anonymous, at Sunday, July 06, 2008
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