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Merry Christmas from everyone at Madhouse!
There’s a kind of leapfrog going on this season between Kiseijuu and Akatsuki no Yona for the top spot in my non-Mushishi list. One of them will tend to sit there for a week or two, but my tendency is to favour whichever one is freshest in my mind (I think the “Paskin-Blobbins” sign this week alone might have nudged Kiseijuu ahead). Both of them are certainly contenders for the 2015 end-of-year discussions, though a lot can go wrong in a cour. Still – with both series based on manga, and this one a completed manga, there’s no reason to feel too pessimistic.
This episode was textbook, really – a letter-perfect example of how tragedy can be such an effective genre. I’ve spoken often of the difference between tragedy (think Shiki), where you know what’s coming and the drama comes in seeing how it comes to pass, and suspense. This episode of Parasyte (and this is a trend) was certainly a tragedy in every sense, as the ending was no surprise and there was a feeling of impending doom from the opening moments. But it managed to be suspenseful too, which is pretty remarkable. Good writing in every sense, the surest recipe for success there is.
Sci-fi, horror, whatever you want to call this series – it’s often in the realms of so-called “speculative fiction” that we see the most real emotional truth. It’s as if the far-fetched circumstances are liberating for the writer somehow. What’s really remarkable about Parasyte, as I’ve said before, is the way it merges the truth of it’s science fiction storyline with the spot-on realism of its school character drama. They’re woven together seamlessly, and that makes each of them stronger than it would be on its own (kind of like Shinichi and Migi, maybe?).
Speaking of Migi, I think he actually crossed into the realm of moe this week – or kawaii at the very least. Seeing him all genki over the emerging reality of just how diverse his species was becoming was pretty cute, but that doesn’t mask what it means for humanity. Hirokawa Takeshi has been elected mayor, for starters – and I’m not sold on Migi’s suggestion that he might simply have taken an interest in good governance. Migi’s other idea sounds a lot closer to the truth – using inside information to make sure the local parasite population has a steady and safe food source. To be honest, it would explain a lot of my suspicions about Abe Shinzou.
Really, though, this episode was all about Kana. She’s been dancing with the devil for a while now – it was only a matter of time before what happened this week came to pass. This is a perfect example of how Iwaaki-sensei uses his premise as a way to illuminate the human condition, especially as it comes to adolescence. If Shinichi’s merger with Migi is a kind of metaphor for the transition out of childhood, I think in Kana we’re seeing just how poor is the judgement of a teenaged girl in love – and what kind of trouble that can them into. Kana is a classic case, right down to love-love dreams with her hero riding in (naked) on a white horse to save her. The elaborate fiction she created around Shinichi was always going to be her doom – it was just a question of how it was going to find her.
Does Kana’s death mean we’re never going to find out why she was able to sense parasites – and why she even eventually started to emit a signal herself? I can’t imagine the subject won’t be resolved sooner or later. And as terrible as it was to see her killed, I’m glad at least it didn’t come via Migi making good on the threat he made against her (as if to remind Shinichi that genki or not, he was still a danger to be respected). Even after Shinichi spilled the beans about Migi to Kana – and then to Migi about doing so – I don’t think Migi would have followed through on his threat. But not knowing is part of the thrill of Kiseijuu, isn’t it?
The truth was terrible enough – a random parasite in an abandoned building, caught mid-meal. Of course the end comes because Kana’s fantasy about being able to tell Shinichi’s signal apart was just that, a fantasy – life isn’t a storybook. It’s clear that Shinichi shouldn’t blame himself, because he did everything he realistically could to warn her off, up to and including putting himself at risk by telling her the truth (which she professes not to believe). But it’s just as clear that blame himself he will. The Shinichi we saw end the parasite who killed Kana was so frightening that even Migi could only gasp “Impressive!”. But this is the same Shinichi who was unable to shed a tear for her, even as he held her in his arms as she died.
Increasingly, this is the core of Parasyte’s story – Shinichi’s humanity, or lack of it. Even among the freaks in this story he’s unique, and no one – not he, not Migi – can really answer the question of just what he now is. Yes, he’s the cold fish who dumped a dead puppy in a trash bin – but he’s also the kid who collected it so that it wouldn’t die alone. And even if he didn’t cry at Kana’s death, it didn’t seem to me as if the absence of tears reflected an absence of grief. “My blood is still red… for now” is an ominous but fittingly ambiguous way to end the first cour, a reflection of just how uncharted the waters into which Shinichi is sailing are. The second cour should be a hell of a ride – and right now, it looks more like a mystery than a tragedy.
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ED Sequence:
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Ngai-Han Liu
December 25, 2014 at 12:58 pmPoor Kana =( Sweet girl. I'd totally forgive her for the weird stalkerish following and hair round the finger haha …
Gary Cochran
December 25, 2014 at 1:33 pmCuriosity killed the cat…
sonicsenryaku
December 25, 2014 at 2:07 pmThe moment you realize you see everything coming and you're on the edge of your seat because you dont want it to come to pass. Kana wanted to be accepted by shinichi so badly (whether because of her rough past or just because she was attracted to him), she was willing to delude herself that she could sense him and only him. Ultimately, it came to a point that after what she saw with Satomi and shinichi, she felt like the one thing that gave her comfort in still feeling that she had a chance with the boy she loved was being taken to take away from her by Shinichi himself in the form of a "lie". Im sure that to Kana, that was like Shinichi telling her that "Sorry babe, but me and you are not gonna be a thing".
I believe deep down, she knew Shinichi was telling her the truth, but she just couldnt handle the fact that the last tie that she had to this guy that she felt could liberate her from her old world was nothing more than this peculiar ability to sense these disturbing-like creatures, a complete contrast to the knight in shining armor
sonicsenryaku
December 25, 2014 at 2:16 pmAnd merry christmas to enzo and the readers of Lia. As a christmas present for you enzo, since i know how much you regard Shinichiro Miki as a seiyuu, you should watch pokemon the series XY ep 52 (in the japanese dub of course) and start watching around the 14.20 min mark. There is a scene where Team Rocket do their motto and my god, shinichiro's comedic delivery is absolutely hilarious..you'd love it
admin
December 25, 2014 at 2:24 pmYou sure it's 52? I don't see any Team Rocket stuff anywhere near 14:20.
BTW – Kaji Yuki is in Pokemon now?
sonicsenryaku
December 25, 2014 at 2:45 pmoh…i might have needed to mention the little episode numbering confusion going on due to the episode that got temporarily delayed because of the cruise ship sinking incident. But yes, Kaji Yuki is in pokemon now…took me by surprise…Aoi yuuki was also in pokemon along with Miyano Mamoru in best wishes and you tend to here some really great seiyuu guest star from time to time….oh the joys of the japanese dub. Anywho the title for the ep is Ninja art showdown: gegokashira vs gamenodes (damn these long titles)..you should be able to find it that way
Del
December 25, 2014 at 2:49 pmEven though I wasn't part of the huge fan following that Kana seemingly established in the anime community, I still feel like her death was a bit of a cop out. There's no denying that she was marked for death for a while now, but the way it came to be rang sort of hollow to me. A while back I mentioned my concern about Kana and her curious supoerpower, and whether or not it was just a plot device or if there was a bigger purpose behind it. Hopefully it'll all come into play in the second cour.
Otherwise this episode was perfect. The ending sequence, with the music and the fight, and credits rolling really grabbed me.
Also, Merry Christmas Enzo and all the other blog followers! Hope you're all having an excellent day.
Zeta Zero
December 26, 2014 at 7:24 amYes. I never quite understood the fascination with Kana, people forget that she and her posse were essentially victimising Shinichi and Satomi earlier in the series (and god those stupid earmuffs). Would she have given two shits about Shinichi if he hadn't leveled up thanks to his transfusion with Migi?
grm_rules
December 26, 2014 at 7:46 pmOther things aside you can hardly blame any girl for not getting interested in the old Shinichi. If anything, whats surprising is that Murano came to like him (romantically) the way he was.
Hangman
December 26, 2014 at 10:52 pmThis feels more and more like a tragic harem anime. Problem is, I don't like ANY of the female contenders in this show.
Also I feel like Kana's end should have come before the Mother's demise. The latter's has far greater weight and implications from a story stand point.
admin
December 27, 2014 at 12:09 amIs it so hard to believe a girl could come to like a guy because he's a nice fellow? It does happen occasionally.
sonicsenryaku
December 27, 2014 at 12:58 am@hangman
Interesting, but i would actually argue that his mother's death having more weight shouldnt necessitate her death coming after Kana's. The whole point of his mother's death was to set him on his path of change and therein lies the impact; His mother's death has more meaning being his first true loss in that it is the very reason why he has become emotionless and has almost PTSD like symptoms(i dont think migi's influence has much to do with his new attitude more than it is shinichi's sense of rationale reflecting that of Migi;s because he is so emotionally wounded).
Kana's death represents that fact that as strong as shinichi has become, he cannot protect everyone he loves even if he actively tries to, especially if that person in question kept knocking at deaths door. it's like migi said: if kana's behavior had continued the way it did (and we are shown how her actions continued to escalate), she would have got herself killed whether Shinichi called her out or not.
Zeta Zero
December 28, 2014 at 11:23 amExcept Kana came to like him not because he was a "nice guy", but because she thought it was some sort of "destiny" thing.
ILikePopCans
December 25, 2014 at 2:49 pmHello, happy holidays and all, and Im here to say I did not like this. Kana is the best thing this series has going for it. Cause for me, the interactions between Migi and Shinichi is kindof dry at this point.Same old, Migi only looks out for himself and Shinichi has to try and do good for humanity, but less so each week. Shinichi real girlfriend is boring as fuck, with her really only existing to be a love interest to Shinichi, and having NO OTHER CHARACTER TRAITS WHAT SO EVER. Maybe her liking romance movies? And Kana was the most interesting character to me. At the least she spice things up with the romance, and the 3 way romance thing would of been better then what will now happen. It just feels like throw away potential for the sake of cheap drama. To me, if your mother died less then 5 episodes ago, its not that shocking when some classmate you barely know dies, even if you somewhat feels it was your fault. Then there is the mayor plot that I think wont lead to anything interesting. I think the best plot thread they could go through is either getting his father involved and helping him take down the parasytes, or have Shinichi join the police/forces fighting the parasytes. But it will probably end up being him getting wrap up in the mayor stuff and then they will kidnap the real girlfriend and Shinichi will have to rescue her or something (complete guesses). It just sucks cause this was one of my favorite series at the start of the season, but since the mother death, it just feels like they are rushing everything now
Zeta Zero
December 26, 2014 at 7:25 amThat being said I do agree that Satomi is boring.
Ronbb
December 27, 2014 at 5:20 amThis is a sad episode for me — for not because of Kana but Shinichi. I'm not so much into Kana, and we all foresee her death. I was worried that Shinichi would go berserk and lose himself. He didn't — he still remained human despite the inhuman fighting power that stunned Migi. It's just sad to see Shinichi's internal turmoil — struggling to accept the new him, worrying when he will lose himself to a species that killed his mom, and yet putting up a face as if he's normal. This is just sad. Migi, on the other hand, is getting more and more kawaii and chatty.
Looks like Tamiya Ryouko will re-enter the scene next week…I can't wait. I always find her more interesting than Kana and Satomi, and I'm curious to see how she will transform — will she stay true to a parasite or will she become more human, behaving like a human mother?
Zeta Zero
December 28, 2014 at 11:18 amYes Ryouko is definitely the most interesting female character, and more relevant to the core of what this series is about. Probably since she is dealing with similar existential questions Shinichi is having to deal with. Kana's a dead end.