Some anime series debut and receive instant acclaim, sometimes lasting for decades onward. However, countless others fail to make a lasting impact for each series that becomes a beloved classic. Others happen to eventually reach “cult classic” status. Parasyte: The Maxim, also known as Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu, may find itself in any of these categories depending on who you ask. The series still has an 8.24 out of 10 on My Anime List, the anime equivalent of Rotten Tomatoes, based on audience reviews.
While some viewers appreciate the dark tone and philosophical themes, others find the series boring or lacking in its exploration of the weighty themes it introduced. However, it can’t be denied that the anime series got some things wrong, so let’s take a look at these flaws that kept it from being an indisputable seinen classic.
Adaptation Woes
As is usually the case with manga-to-anime adaptations, some of the issues can be traced to changes made in the adaptation process. It’s easy to imagine how difficult it must be for show creators to fit a whole manga series or a small portion of the story into an anime series with a limited set of episodes. Often, a production committee of sorts plays a big role in determining how many episodes can be feasibly created. Sadly, this tends to leave a large part of the source material on the cutting floor.
In the case of Parasyte: The Maxim, the excluded source material included scenes and story threads that affected character development, general characterization, and character dynamics. Perhaps two of the biggest issues were Kana’s character in the anime series compared to the manga and the relationship between Shinichi and his main love interest, Murano.
Kana was a fellow high schooler who took an interest in Shinichi after seeing him refuse to run away from a fight he knew he couldn’t win. She eventually gains the ability to sense parasites and tell them apart from humans, although she doesn’t know why. In the anime, she becomes attached to Shinichi rather quickly and develops a belief that they’re fated to be together. In the manga, it takes far longer for her romantic feelings to grow, and she even finds it amusing at first that she’d be especially drawn to him. The manga gives readers a more realistic, less Shinichi-centric portrayal of her character. It also builds further on the relationship between Kana and her relationship with Mitsuo, a student with unreciprocated feelings for her.
As Shinichi’s main love interest, Murano falls for him both in the anime and the manga. However, the manga takes more time to build their relationship and shows how they’ve grown closer over time. Consequently, the manga shows a stronger, more interesting dynamic between the two of them. Not to mention, the manga features less fan service. Surely, anyone who’s viewed the series can recall Murano’s introduction in the anime and Shinichi’s right hand, Migi, nonchalantly groping her. While it’s a detail viewers have come to expect in anime, it does wonders for the story and tone when it’s absent, especially in this case.
Pacing
When a show fails to keep viewers engaged throughout a season, the pacing is typically the first to blame. Overall, Parasyte: The Maxim wasn’t paced too poorly, especially in certain arcs like the introductory arc where viewers are introduced to the world and Migi. There were several other arcs that were also paced well or at least satisfactorily. However, the “mother”/ "hospital” arc was not one of them.
In this arc, Shinichi vows to protect his father from the parasite who killed his mother, and he essentially watches over the hospital where his father is staying. While this arc was really only a couple of episodes, it felt longer than other arcs in the series. After Shinichi’s violent encounter with the parasite who killed his mother and Migi merging into his body to seal the resulting hole, this mini-arc derailed the pacing just as it seemed it was ramping up.
Certain Story Decisions
Despite the differences between the original manga and the anime adaptation, there are also certain events or concepts that remained the same between them. Some of these were great, like Shinichi’s internal conflict of losing his humanity or Ryouko, a parasite who gave birth to a human child and grew more human over time. However, some story components hurt Parasyte: The Maxim and should’ve stayed in the source material.
Murano’s repetitive question “Are You Really Shinichi?” became rather tiresome to hear after the third time, if not earlier. The concept of Murano questioning Shinichi’s identity as he grew less human was an interesting one, but like other elements in the series, it was left unexplored and scratched at the surface. This problem was just indicative of one of the series’ biggest issues, failing to really delve into the heavier themes it posited.
Another glaring issue was how characters often made decisions that either didn’t make sense or felt relatively half-baked. Yuko, whose brother was a police officer, was a friend of Shinichi and Murano. Her brother’s exposure to the police cases regarding parasites made her more aware of their existence, and she was quick to catch on to Hideo's true nature as a parasite. Instead of letting her brother know, she decided to confront him herself, which almost proved fatal for her and resulted in a massacre at the high school.
Unlike Yuko, Kana’s bad decision to follow her inherent parasite radar, thinking it would lead to Shinichi, did prove fatal for her. Although, the problems with her character began long before then and started with her being unreasonably fixated on Shinichi. She may not have been a fan favorite, but her death came across as unnecessary and poorly planned.
Even with this show’s flaws, it still has plenty of fans ready to defend it, and for good reason. Compared to typical seinen series or ones adapted from manga series, Parasyte: The Maxim was still done well in several regards. Not to mention, the original manga debuted in the late 80s and ended in the mid-90s, compared to when the anime adaptation was released in 2014 by Madhouse. With such a long stretch between releases, it’s a miracle most of the story wasn’t changed and that many of the changes improved it. Regardless, the anime series could have been far greater and fans will always wistfully imagine what could’ve been.