Parasyte – 16
Oops, that didn’t work as well as Migi hoped
We’re at that time of the season where things can start to go from bad to worse, especially in a 2-cour show. So is that what’s going to happen in Parasyte? We were seeing a threat to Shinichi last week, so what happened?
Fight, Item, or Run?
This is the end for Miki
Shinichi is in a bad fight with Miki, and it takes a while to figure out exactly what Miki is. While he thinks that he might just be a head and two arms, Miki’s nature finally reveals itself as he is completely a parasite, or a group of parasites. And while Miki is powerful, he’s not that coordinated, with the falling over and the slow running. And finally, Migi comes up with a strategy to beat Miki which works… for a second.
Gotou’s a whole other story, tho
And then the true nature of Miki is found, or should we say of Gotou. Five parasites fused into one body (and you get one guess who was involved in that little experiment). And while Shinichi and Migi had a definite advantage over clumsy Miki, Gotou is in much better control of his whole body, and immediately starts showing just how much of a shift in reality he is. Freed from the restrictions of a human body, Gotou is at home in any environment, reconfiguring his body to jump through trees or run over flat ground. Shinichi and Migi finally get clear of him, but it’s a close thing, and who knows what will happen next time.
Revenge and Fear
Pushed past his breaking point
PI Kuramori finally has the chickens come home to roost from his meddling in the affairs with, or at least alongside, Reiko Tamura. But the two people who are after him make a big mistake, because they don’t actually kill Kuramori, but do kill his wife and daughter. If this was “We need to keep this guy alive but scared” like in a mob movie, that would be mission accomplished. But in this case they actually wanted to kill the guy, and now that’s gotten a lot harder. He now gives the police a bit more information, but in his addled mental state, he’s hell bent on visiting his own vengeance on Reiko. That’s not really a fight he’ll win, and he should know it.
Things are starting to go bad for Reiko
But Reiko’s in her own spot of trouble. And this is where the parasites are making a huge mistake. I’m surprised that the one who was smart enough to be mayor isn’t smarter than this, but Reiko is the one who understands humanity more than any of them. Her observation about humans being one large organism is as good an analogy as any. If humans were after the parasites, the parasites would lose. And as soon as they make the whole aware of them, that’s when things will start to go bad for the parasites. But they don’t want to hear about how they could possibly lose to humans. How did Reiko come up with this insight? She hasn’t changed like Migi and Shinichi. But she’s definitely been more observant. Not that that matters to the ones who think she’s a threat.
A close call for Shinichi, and who knows when he’ll encounter Gotou again. It’s certain that they won’t send anyone else out after him, because there’s no point. The only one with the combat power to take Shinichi is Gotou. And how is Reiko going to get out of her trouble? The parasites are making a huge mistake, maybe through hubris, maybe through ignorance. She really is the only one who perceives the true threat to them: Screwing up and making humans deal with them. In a sense, they’re cutting off their nose to spite their face.
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
What Shinichi and Migi faced off against was the most grotesque thing I’ve seen in a while. Plus the whole 5 in 1 deal is a huge overcompensation. Going by what’s shown, the only parts of the body that’s actually human would the chest and torso.
Eliminating Reiko will be a severe detriment to the parasites. Their problem is that they’re too full of themselves, not acknowledging their actions are far too conspicuous and not heeding her words. Out of all that are there, she has a more hands on experience with humans, though she’s still learning. Especially her past interactions with Shinichi that are the biggest contributors next to steadily taking on a motherly role with acceptance.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Who knows even if any of Gotou is human.
I think that Reiko’s probably done a lot more with humans besides Shinichi. She’s interested in him because of his rare status, but she’s also been very interested in all things about humans. Her difference is that when something new comes along, she pays attention to it and tries to learn about it, where the other parasites try not to encounter anything new, and when they do, they seem to dismiss it as unimportant.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
One should assume somewhere in that body is human otherwise the parasites wouldn’t be able to hold themselves together.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
No, Migi pointed out that the parasites in the arms arent’t only in the arms. Gotou/Miki has less human parts than we think.
Reiko clearly has been the most integrated into human society from all the parasites and she’s learning from them. Unless the other parasites learn about humans the way she is, they are going to learn that they are dangerous to them the bad way.
Would she really be able to survive that 3-on-1 assault? In my head, her most prominent combat ability was the capacity of using two different patterns, but I’m not sure that’s enough to beat three of them. And damn, how they were cautious trying to hide. Maybe she has something else…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Shinichi/Migi have plot armor to keep them safe, at least until the final episode if this show takes an utterly dark turn. I do worry about Reiko, though. I’m pretty sure she’ll survive the present assassination attempt upon her, but not sure about her future. After Migi she’s the most interesting of the parasites and it’d be a real shame to kill her off now. However, killing her later, even a few episodes before the end, is another matter.
Her death could come in a final confrontation with Shinichi/Migi or she could be killed by her fellow parasites. If it’s the latter it’d be poetic justice for them to realize as humans as a whole wake to their presence and begin exterminating them that she was right and they should have listened to her.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, I think that Shinichi, his dad, Satomi, and Reiko all have plot armor.
I wonder if Reiko is the most infuriating to Shinichi not because she is a threat or actually did anything to him but more because she’s the most human of the parasites, and yet still so alien. She’s able to push his buttons in a way that the others don’t. This might be the same thing with the other parasites as well. She shows them something of themselves that they don’t want to face.
I’d actually be surprised if Shinichi fought Reiko. She’s too smart to let that happen.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I think people are expecting Shinichi/Migi and Reiko to fight as a final showdown between the two of them and the parasites, but I have to agree with you that she probably won’t let it come to that. She could have fought him earlier and almost did, but passed it up. I think she realized he could be an asset for her.
It’s possible she’ll team up with him (however much he might resist the idea) in order to survive the other parasites deciding to kill her. She probably knows enough about humans by now to realize she can use her baby to get him on her side. “You wouldn’t want to leave the baby motherless, now would you?”
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I can’t see that kind of play working on Shinichi, to be honest. It’s too nakedly cynical. Shinichi has been an asset for Reiko, and whether he knows it or not, she’s been running interference for him. I don’t know if bringing that up would help either.
The thing I see saving Reiko from Shinichi is Migi. Far more calculatingly rational, she can appeal to it far more easily, and Migi is the key to getting Shinichi to agree. I can see where Reiko proposes something that will mutually benefit the two of them, and Shinichi is convinced to go along by Migi.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I think it would work on Shinichi. Sure, he’d know he was being played, but he wouldn’t be able to resist. He’s trying to hold onto his humanity as much as he can, and what’s more human than protecting a baby and it’s mother?
OTOH, I agree with you that Migi would urge Shinichi to team up with Reiko. Migi would see her as a valuable ally that would greatly increase their chances of surviving the other parasites.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Item! Grab as many RPG’s as the backpack will allow you to fit. Well, I cheated on RE 4, carried three. But that chainsaw guy never got me! Well, never got me after the one time…