Parasyte (Japanese:寄生獣,Hepburn:Kiseijū;lit.'Parasitic Beasts') is a Japanesescience fictionhorrormanga series written and illustrated byHitoshi Iwaaki. It was published inKodansha'sMorning Open Zōkan (1989) andMonthly Afternoon (1989 to 1994). The manga was published in North America first byTokyopop, thenDel Rey, and finallyKodansha USA. The series follows Shinichi Izumi, a high school senior who is the victim of a failed attempt by a parasitic organism to take over his brain. The parasite, Migi, instead infects and takes over his arm, and both are forced in a peculiar partnership to fight other parasites.
The manga has been adapted into twolive-action films in Japan, in 2014 and 2015. Ananime television series adaptation produced byMadhouse, titledParasyte -the maxim-[a], aired in Japan between October 2014 and March 2015. The English-language dub aired onAdult Swim'sToonami programming block in the United States between October 2015 and April 2016. A South-Korean live-action seriesspin-off, titledParasyte: The Grey, premiered onNetflix in April 2024.
A manga panel showing a Parasite getting ready to attack a human being.
Parasyte centers on a 17-year-old male high school student named Shinichi Izumi, who lives with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood inFukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. One night, tiny worm-like aliens with drill-like heads called Parasites arrive on Earth, taking over the brains of their hosts by entering through their ears or noses. One Parasite attempts to crawl into Shinichi's nose while he sleeps, but fails as Shinichi wakes up, and enters his body by burrowing into his arm instead. In the Japanese version, it takes over his right hand and is named Migi (ミギー), after the Japanese word for "right".
Because Shinichi was able to prevent Migi from traveling further up into his brain, both beings retain their separate intellects and personalities. As the duo encounters other Parasites, they capitalize on their strange situation and gradually form a strong bond, working together to survive. This gives them an edge in battling other Parasites who frequently attack the pair upon realization that Shinichi's human brain is still intact. Shinichi feels compelled to fight other Parasites, who devour other members of the species they infect as food, while enlisting Migi's help.
The series explores philosophical and psychological questions such as the meaning of humanity, humans' relationship to the environment and other species, the role of instinct and love, and the inherent anthropocentrism of morality. Shinichi's experience with Migi causes him to question if humanity has any right to claim moral superiority to the Parasites, while Migi and Reiko Tamura's experiences with humans cause them to take on more human traits, such as love and sacrifice.[5][6]
Iwaaki chose a high school setting due to a scene he had thought of. When considering a scene where Migi turns his shape into a penis in front of Satomi Murano, Iwaaki believed that the scene would work best in that setting.[7]
Written and illustrated byHitoshi Iwaaki,Parasyte was first published for three chapters in the special issue ofKodansha'sMorning,Morning Open Zōkan, from theF toH issues (August 1–October 3, 1989, issues).[8][9][10][11] The series was later transferred to the publisher'sMonthly Afternoon on November 25, 1989,[b] and finished on December 24, 1994.[c] Kodansha collected its 64 chapters in tentankōbon volumes, released from July 23, 1990,[14] to March 23, 1995.[15] It was later republished in eightkanzenban volumes from January 23 to June 23, 2003.[16][17]
It was originally licensed for English translation and North American distribution byTokyopop, which published the series over 12 volumes from 1998 to 2002. The Tokyopop version ran inMixxzine.[18] Daily pages from the Tokyopop version ran in the Japanimation Station, a service accessible to users ofAmerica Online.[19] The Tokyopop English-language manga wentout of print on May 2, 2005.[20]Del Rey Manga later acquired the rights to the series,[21] and published eight volumes following thekanzenban release between 2007 and 2009.Kodansha USA republished the volumes in North America between 2011 and 2012. In March 2025, Kodansha USA announced a new black-and-white paperback edition, featuring an updated translation, restored original art, updated interior design, and new covers, with the first volume scheduled for release on December 16 of the same year.[22][23]
Another tribute project, titledNeo Parasyte f (ネオ寄生獣ｆ,Neo Kiseijū f), began in Kodansha'sAria on September 27, 2014.[39] The list of collaborators includes MikiMaki, Miki Rinno,[39]Ema Tōyama, Hikaru Suruga,[40]Asumiko Nakamura,Kaori Yuki,Yuri Narushima, Yui Kuroe,[41] Renjuro Kindaichi, Banko Kuze, Kashio,[42]Yūki Obata, Asia Watanabe, Lalako Kojima and Hajime Shinjō.[43] Kodansha compiled the stories into two volumes, published digitally on April 24, 2015.[44][45] Kodansha USA published the stories in a single volume, released on October 25, 2016.[46]
Aspin-off manga, titledParasyte Reversi (寄生獣リバーシ,Kiseijū Ribāshi), started on Kodansha'sComic Days app on March 2, 2018. It was written and illustrated by Moare Ohta.[47] The series finished on May 7, 2021,[48][49] and was collected into eight volumes. Kodansha published the series in English on its K Manga digital service.[50] Kodansha USA has licensed the manga for digital release and the first volume was released on October 8, 2024.[51][52]
An anime television series adaptation titledParasyte -the maxim-[a] (寄生獣 セイの格率,Kiseijū Sei no Kakuritsu) aired onNippon TV from October 9, 2014, to March 26, 2015.[53][54] It was produced byMadhouse, Nippon Television,VAP, and Forecast Communications, and directed by Kenichi Shimizu, withShōji Yonemura handling series composition, Tadashi Hiramatsu designing the characters and Ken Arai composing the music.[55] The opening theme song is "Let Me Hear" performed byFear, and loathing in Las Vegas. The ending theme is "It's the Right Time" performed byDaichi Miura. AtAnime Expo 2015, Sentai Filmworks announced that the anime would run onAdult Swim'sToonami programming block on October 4, 2015.[56][57]
The series wassimulcast byCrunchyroll outside of Asia and byAnimax Asia inSoutheast Asia andSouth Asia.[58][59][60]Sentai Filmworks has licensed the anime for North America, South America, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand release.[61] UK DistributorAnimatsu Entertainment released the series in the UK and Ireland.[62] In Australia and New Zealand, Hanabee acquired the series and released it within the region.[63] The English dub, provided and distributed by Sentai Filmworks, was released on DVD and Blu-ray in two parts in 2016, with part 1 (episodes 1–12) on April 5,[64] and part 2 (episodes 13–24) on July 5.[65]Anime Limited will release the series in a "Collector's Blu-ray" edition in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[66]
Hollywood'sNew Line Cinema had acquired the film rights toParasyte in 2005,[67] and a film adaptation was reported to be in the works, withJim Henson Studios andDon Murphy allegedly in charge of production.[68] New Line Cinema's option expired in 2013, prompting a bidding war in Japan. Film studio and distributorToho won the rights, and decided to adapt the manga into a two-part live-action film series directed byTakashi Yamazaki. The first part,Parasyte: Part 1, was released in November 2014 and the second part,Parasyte: Part 2, was released in April 2015.[69]
Parasyte won the 17thKodansha Manga Award for the general category in 1993.[73] It also won the 27thSeiun Award for being the best manga of the year in 1996.[74] OnTV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series,Parasyte ranked 60th.[75]
By November 2013, the manga had over 11 million copies in circulation.[76] By December 2020, the manga had more than 24 million copies in circulation;[77] it had over 25 million copies in circulation by August 2022.[78]
The manga series has been praised and recommended byWaseda University professor and literary criticNorihiro Kato [ja],[79] and by philosopherShunsuke Tsurumi.[80] The manga artistMachiko Satonaka praised the work and described it as "a masterpiece that makes you think about fundamental problems that raises the awareness of identity establishment".[81] Connie Zhang ofMania.com ranked the first volume ofParasyte as A−. Zhang wrote that the series' main focus is the dynamic relationship between Shinichi and Migi and their discussions abouthuman nature. Zhang stated: "It is this casual philosophical pandering that makesParasyte a cerebral manga. As the parasytes gradually adapt to human life and become cleverer at disguising their true identities, Shinichi finds himself in more and more danger". She concluded: "Parasyte is not just about a teenager saving the world. It is about a teenager at the cusp of adulthood and his cynical, mutinous right hand...saving the world. Highly recommended".[5]
The anime adaptation byMadhouse was well received by critics and fans alike, getting praise for the animation, characterization, pacing and the soundtrack of the anime.[82] In November 2019,Crunchyroll listedParasyte -the maxim- in their "Top 100 best anime of the 2010s".[83]IGN listed it among the best anime series of the 2010s.[84]
On June 12, 2015, theChinese Ministry of Culture listedParasyte among 38 anime and manga titles banned inmainland China.[85] Nonetheless, the live-action version ofParasyte managed to be released in nationwide cinemas across mainland China, using a 125-minute special cut which condensed part 1 and part 2.[86]
^"Contents".Monthly Afternoon (in Japanese). No. November 1989 issue.Kodansha. Table of contents.Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. RetrievedJanuary 13, 2024.[…] 当選者の発表は, アフタヌーン1月号(11月25日発売) 誌上にて行います。
^"Contents".Monthly Afternoon (in Japanese). No. December 1994 issue.Kodansha. Table of contents.Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. RetrievedJanuary 13, 2024.[…] アフタヌーン2月号 (12月24日発売)誌上にて。
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