Oh yay my favorite yule event of watching Parasytes take over the earth, what, isn’t that what everyone wants for the Holidays? What do you mean it’s not, well you’re getting it and you’re liking it so here’s a review of episode 12 of Parasyte -The Maxim-.
So this time we start again with Kana’s dream of Shinichi saving her and being naked, lady, I have really bad news for you. HE’S NOT THAT INTO YOU. I know it’s a hard pill to swallow but you need to calm those hormones.
So yeah, this is an episode mostly dedicated to her…with good reason, but still. She wants to prove that she’s special, that she can sense him above all the other monsters out there. That she’s better for him then Murano. You’re not, even your friend/wanna be boyfriend from that gang you used to hang around thinks you’re acting like a stalker.
I swear, wasn’t there a movie or something called “She’s not that into you” or something like that? We need to show her this, it’s getting creepy, she TIES THE STRAND OF HIS HAIR SHE TOOK AROUND HER FINGER AND KISSES IT.
Gah, so anyway….away from that. Shinichi tells her about the parasites and about Migi while Migi is sleeping one day. Then convinces him to show himself to her… Also we find out this episode that the parasite that was running for mayor got elected into office. Wait, wait, where’s my bag of jokes from last time?
AH HA, no seriously it’s a huge issue. Now they have a safe base and a food supply and someone to cover things up in a place of power. I think that whole hair pulling thing should be a requirement for being elected. You know, like a drug test but for alien lifeforms.I would implement it as a job requirement not just for Government but for like, law enforcement or any other job of considerable power. I mean, if they’re running for mayor now, what’s to say they won’t run for Prime Minister next? Become the chief of police and shut down any investigations into Parasites. We’ve known for a while that they are evolving intellectually and to me, these seem like the logical places to go from here.
Enough about the political ramifications of a Parasite getting into office and where it could go, let’s go back to talking about Kana and her strange obsession. About mid-episode I found myself thinking, “MOTHER OF GOD, she’s so annoying. I wish she would die.” Be careful what you wish for. This series has been riddled with sad moments but I was just crushed when this occured. So confident that it’s him that she’s sensing she runs to the old warehouse where they discussed the entire idea of Parasites before and instead of meeting Shinichi runs into a guy who was trying to enjoy his meal.
Well, witnesses are sort of a issue so…he goes after her. For a breif moment, the show tricks you into thinking that Shinichi got there in time. That he’ll save her just like in her dreams…and then she’s stabbed straight through the back. I was crushed, maybe it was guilt for thinking that she should die, maybe because the way it was executed was really sad. You know it hurts him, you could tell the minute it happened and he ran in and tore the heart straight out of the chest of the other Parasite. Shinichi with his inability to cry and his own thoughts that his brain may of been taken over without him noticing. The crippling guilt that he is suffering through.You can really feel every moment of it, I think that’s one of the best things about this series. He’s showing next to no emotion but that in and of itself can be taken as an emotion, the hallow feeling of no longer being able to feel.
As the credits roll we see him slamming his own head against a tree and looking at it commenting that it’s still red, for now. I’ve compared the idea of what he’s going through to an extreme version of puberty. I still think of it something like that, but instead of becoming MORE emotional he’s becoming less and less emotional as time goes on. Shinichi may not be crying, but i was. The music score, the emotions you knew he wanted to feel. The emotions her old gang friend felt.
I know there is a lot of debate about the quality of this show, a lot of people are turned off by the change in character designs or the way certain things are being executed. I feel that we should be grateful it’s getting an anime at all, it’s been a long time since the manga finished. I was reading this story about ten years ago, maybe it’s because my memory of the manga is so bad or maybe it’s because i’m rather easy going. I’m glad it’s getting an anime and i’m happy with the way it’s going. Thank you Madhouse.
Can’t wait for episode 13.
~Midnight