PARASYTE: THE MAXIM
Collection One Talk to the hand
released 27 June 2014 | 15 | Blu-ray & dvd (dual format) /Blu-ray/dVd Director Kenichi shimizu Cast aya Hirano, nobunaga shimazaki, Kana Hanazawa The recent line of classy horror anime serials continues with Parasyte: The Maxim, in which mysterious worm-like creatures burrow into sleeping humans, take over their bodies (à la Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), then turn those bodies into grotesque head chomping monsters (à la The Thing). The focus, though, is on a schoolboy who ends up co-existing with a supercilious parasite embedded in his hand. The shocked lad starts learning about the nature of the parasites and their agenda, before the invasion turns personal...
Based on a venerable manga first published in the West back in the ’90s, this is still a great story, riffing on familiar horror film staples but giving them an intriguing anime slant. The animation is good if not great, but the story and characters carry the action. We have other gripes, like Tokyo citizens reacting with absurd unconcern to the parasites’ splatter killings, but it’s still a splendid show.
Extras Clean opening/ closing animation. The pricey deluxe dual-format edition comes with a figure of Migi (the parasite), a screen wipe and a tattoo set.
Label Animatsu also recently released a live-action version of the same story (called just Parasyte) in two parts.