Parasyte: Part 1

This live-action of Parasyte: Part 1 (Kiseijuu) is very well filmed. I watched the anime version of this movie before I watched the live-action and it was both great. A lot of the live-action movies are worst than the anime version but this film is not. The edition in this film is amazing and all of the things look real, just how I want it to be. The actors are also skilled and they did very well. The storyline is also great. It contains lots of excitement and some parts are a bit scary but that is what makes this movie awesome to watch. In addition, it also provides very good messages to all the audience. It was even greater than my expectation. I do not just like this movie but I love it.

I cannot wait to watch the second part. I feel like it is going to even be better and exciting.

I give this movie a 10 out of 10 rating.

I haven't read the manga this is based on, but I HAVE seen the anime of it which was one of my favourites in the past few years and while the plot in this movie adaptation is very sped up, it is extremely well done! The story is cohesive enough even though plot points had to be edited and the special effects are superb considering what they COULD have been... beat the socks off San Andreas which was nothing BUT one long CGI sequence. Hollywood, take note... sometimes less IS more.

I can understand people who are new or haven't been exposed to the story possibly having a tough time 'getting it', but there really is enough to hang a story on... even with a giant chunk missing here and there. As for the detractors going on about how the original has been butchered, give it a rest would ya?? The anime clocked in at somewhere near 9 hours in it's entirety and yes, it was condensed from the manga, but what the heck do you need to be satisfied with a movie adaptation? Five to six full length movies? a few 3 hour movies?? get real here... there's an old saying that goes 'A movies length should be no longer than the average viewer's bladder capacity'. Get off your fandom, 'purist' snotty attitudes and accept it for what it is... a wholly ORIGINAL and satisfying experience that Hollywood could do FAR worse to emulate!

Okay first things first...

This is an adaptation of a single season anime. The Anime is great. BUT The movie Parasyte (Part 1 and Part 2) is also great.

Don't do what I did. "Oh the series is supposed to be better, I'll watch that first."

The Series is great but the movie holds it's own, especially how they develop the effects. The series takes the plot into intricate detail and kind of wreaks the movie.

I wish I now saw the movie first and then waited a few months and watched the series second.

Because the movies (Part 1 and Part 2) as a whole are great.

I loved Hitoshi Iwaaki's manga and I loved the anime just as much, so after hearing about a Parasyte live action, I got curious and decided to see if it would turn out bad or good. I wasn't disappointed, the story did progress a bit fast for my tastes but not to fast to make me dislike it. The creators really didn't hold back on gore in this movie, everything was clear and visible, from insides to cut open heads.

The CGI wasn't bad either. the way the heads morphed into the blades and eyes looked pretty realistic. I was happy that quite a few original characters were kept in this movie, but I wished it did follow the manga a little more, but it did keep some important points. Overall, it wasn't a bad adaptation, they cut the movie off at a really good part that makes you want a sequel in which I'll be looking forward to.

Despite advocating for the harmonious co-existence between races (a theme that crops up in conversation too many times to be coincidence), Parasyte is a testament to human selfishness, with many characters pursuing their own desires, without thinking of other people, or the potential consequences.

Though friends of mine see me as an 'anime addict' my lacking knowledge of the anime this feature is based upon, did not infringe upon my experience. The beginning of the film sees multiple parasitic organisms finding their way into human society, though their origins remain unexplored. Invading the bodies of potential hosts, the parasites completely take over, and despite having an obscene appetite for human flesh, they also exhibit a dire craving for knowledge, with stereotypical plans for world domination. Imagine a combination of Slither and Supernatural Season Seven, and you're on the right track. Though infected humans like Ryoko (Eri Fukatsu) have an open mind, and attempt to find a way to coexist amongst the human populace, most of her kind do not share such peaceful agendas.

Shinichi (Shota Sometani) is a high-school student, with nerdy hobbies and few friends, though his character's life before the film is rarely touched upon. During the first scene in which we are introduced to his character, a parasitic organism invades his body, taking control of his arm. Later referred to as Migi (voiced by Sadao Abe), the creature quickly acquires great intellect, and knowledge of its surroundings, despite the predicament that it was meant to seize control of Shinichi's brain. Regardless of his situation, Shinichi is seldom seen as a sympathetic character, a certain degree of humor transpiring in regards to both his nightmarish experience, and the banter that takes place between him and Migi.

That being said, his mother (Nobuko Izumi), and love interest Satomi (Ai Hashimoto) are certainly depicted sympathetically, though neither of them is ever provided significant screen time to be truly memorable. Shota's mother is allocated some degree of backstory, and Ms. Izumi's talents heighten her character's motherly affections. Satomi on the other hand, is depicted as either the damsel in distress, or as an object of copulation, and is rarely treated as a mature, young woman.

Other characters, including Detectives Hirama (Jun Kunimura) and Tsuji (Takashi Yamanaka) provide the viewer with information necessary to the plot, though seldom is it explained how they themselves acquired such knowledge, while characters including Goto (Tadanobu Asano) and Yamagishi (Kosuke Toyohara) appear in cameo roles, presumably with the intent to have them portray larger roles in the sequel.

Much like The Thing, a film which would make any viewer paranoid about their surroundings, Parasyte is a film that will occasionally leave you wriggling in your chair at the sight of such violence. Although blood-thirsty, what is most disturbing is watching such disgusting creatures eating human flesh. This is accentuated by the effects, which are truly superb, the creatures looking incredibly imaginative, unique and realistic.

Upon discovery that those around him are being taken over, Shinichi and Migi form an unlikely alliance to combat the villainous creatures. Although Parasyte is unafraid to have characters experience great tragedy, at the same time, the film is very predictable, even for someone who hasn't seen the anime, and though the acting cannot be faulted, the melodrama did take away from some of the experience. This being said, Parasyte provides the viewer with an original experience, which is as tense as it is entertaining, though lacking information and an anti-climatic finish, may leave question marks bobbing above your head.