Parasyte – 21
Finally touching
Parasyte is closing in on the end of the series, and there was another end that this episode got to right away.
The End of Hirokawa
They’re not a very good audience
I don’t know if there was much that was surprising as Hirokawa decided to take the opportunity to make a big speech. He said the same kinds of things that we’ve heard from him throughout. The big twist is from when he actually died. But the big message that he tried to get across was that humanity is ruining the planet, and for “our own good” we should be welcoming the opportunity to get rid of people. Personally, I find this viewpoint pretty abhorrent, but it’s also an odd message to be saying to Japanese, who are one of the countries on the world where the population is actually falling. I wonder if there’s a tinge of that classic Japanese xenophobia in the message that ‘humans’ need to be culled, since that would probably come from elsewhere, although all we’ve seen is Japanese being attacked by parasites. And I find that the fact that he turns out to not be an actual parasite is irrelevant. He was still supporting, and even identifying with, the parasites.
Ranting and Raving
Personally, I’m a very “pro-people” kind of person. I think that human population will probably start decreasing in about the next century (growth rate has been declining since 2003), and current projections for when humanity will pass the next billion mark each increase, with 12 years from 6 to 7 billion (which happened in 2011), 14 years from 7 to 8, 18 from 8 to 9, but then falling dramatically to 40 years from 9 to 10 billion. It may never get to 11 billion. I also am not a Malthusian, as I think that the ability for humans to sustain humanity will continue to increase. I’m also not particularly worried about climate change. It will happen, but I don’t think that it will make the earth unlivable, which is really what I consider a binary state. People will figure out how to live on the earth. People will reduce pollution from where it is now. That’s what they do. So I have to say that I am in complete disagreement with what Hirokawa says.
Gotou plays with Yamagishi
Enemies and Partners
“Ah, so you’re with them, huh?”
I guess that the show ends up satisfying my need to have a reason for Shinichi and Gotou to fight, even if it is a bit simplistic on his part. Gotou’s idea that he lives only to fight is kind of a give up, I think. He’s definitely impressive at it, but he’s also smarter than pretty much everyone else. I don’t really know what else he could want to do, but it would be nice if he was more like Reiko. The showdown with Yamagishi was a bit sad, like watching a pod of killer whales toy with seals as they kill them. But the aftermath affects Shinichi quite hard. I’m sure it’s hard knowing that someone who is unstoppable is after you. The difference between Shinichi and Migi does come out as Migi isn’t worried about who else dies to help them beat Gotou, but Shinichi won’t allow others to be used that way.
A very scared Shinichi
The two encounters with Satomi also bring a bit of satisfaction. One, that he’d be so scared as to do something desperate like embrace Satomi like that, against all decorum and politeness. And two that Satomi would still seek him out, able to see the pain that he’s in. I think it’s interesting that she doesn’t feel nearly as scared by him as she did before the encounter with Reiko. Perhaps it’s even that fear that brings her closer, since he seems to have gotten his emotional expressions back. But her intentions seem clear: inviting him back to her house, saying that her parents weren’t there. Was the driving force to be able to tell him that they are a team, that she’ll help him through anything that happens? She didn’t extract any promises or require him to say that he loves her before they did it, but he does at the end, which surprises her quite a bit, I think.
Indulgence
I tend not to put a lot of extra pictures in, but I liked this scene so much, so here you go. I don’t even have more comments to make on the pictures.
I liked the love scene that the show put in. Well, duh, who doesn’t like love scenes? But I thought it was well done after the panic that Shinichi had had before, the calming effect of Satomi both when he embraced her on the street and then to maybe pull him more towards humanity, something that she’s been doing the entire series, as these other forces pull him away from it. The scene did a very good job showing feeling sexy without needing to be too graphic, feeling like there was love between the two of them, even though maybe neither one of them had said it to the other. I’ll say that I would need time to get used to Satomi’s hair like that, tho. It was kind of a weird dissonance that all of a sudden she looked so different, at least to me. But I’m glad the show went that far.
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
After Gotou showed up in front of Shinichi, I finally understood why Migi was so insistent on leaving the grounds. Though he’d unlikely admit it, he had to have been intimidated just as much as Shinichi was.
Hirokawa turning out to be human caught me off guard since the entire time, I was under the impression he was just another parasite. When I inquire the reasoning behind his words, it makes me come to the conclusion he’s repulsed by humanity’s varying grotesqueries and find they heavily outweigh the good qualities. If any, as far as he’s concerned. How the guy survived this long surrounded by parasites is beyond me.
The show made good on the first part of the episode’s title and Satomi finally was able to have Shinichi all to herself. Good for her. Though he’s found a new reason to live, I wonder how things will develop after their “embracing”. I mean, if she gets pregnant, what kind of child will be produced? Considering Shinichi still has Migi’s cells dispersed throughout his body.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t know if Migi gets ‘intimidated’, but he certainly knows that Gotou is not to be taken lightly, and would probably kill them. But he also isn’t going to give up if faced with the situation.
The parasites are eminently pragmatic. If Reiko had made plans around Hirokawa, then I can see why the other parasites would have gone along with it. The show has made clear they don’t just kill every human they come in contact with.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Let’s make a small topic out of this. Which does a better love scene, this or White Album 2?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I thought about comparing them, and felt that it wasn’t really a comparable thing either way. Now, Parasyte could have gone for a similar one to WA2, with that feeling of desperation, especially with what Shinichi was saying. But I think that it was good to see that it wasn’t desperate or rough or frantic. It was showing that despite Shinichi’s worries about being inhuman, he could still be caring and tender.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’m wondering if Hirokawa’s rant was entirely Straw Man on the part of the writers.
And thanks for bringing up Malthus, one of my least favorite people in the history of the social sciences. He wasn’t so much pro-people as he was anti-Irish for all his rants.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t know. It was certainly hyperbolic, but I don’t know if it was intended to represent anyone in particular.
Speaking of anti-irish, I felt that Hirokawa’s complaint was very Swiftian in its message.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, anti-Irish is the least of the Malthusian sloppy pool think fest; and this saying quite a bit. Mistaking correlation for causation is the big no-no.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
..for a quick lesson in Malthusian thought….
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Satomi’s appearance during the love scene was really weird. You know when there is this womanizer guy who just got up with a random girl sleeping by his side, and he’s like “yeah, whatever. another day in my life.” She seemed like that random girl.
But besides that, the love scene was pretty and had the effect intended.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Maybe it’s weird because the entire time she’s shown with her hair tied with an accessory, which we’ve been accustomed to seeing and during the love scene, it was let down.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
I know but… Usually when a girl let her hair down in anime, it’s not supposed to make her look… I don’t know how to put it .-. Sex-prone? Idk, that’s what she seemed like to me.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
That’s not just anime. There’s an expression ‘let your hair down’ for a reason. Usually it’s a sign of someone letting loose of their inhibitions or their control a bit. I don’t really know if I’d characterize Satomi as losing her inhibitions or control here, since she pretty obviously to me invited Shinichi over to make love to him, but the hair is still a bit of a symbolic gesture.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Even if she had it clipped up before, it would have come loose….
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I take it as her way of showing another side to herself. One she always wanted to show Shinichi but never could due to various circumstances.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Well, in moments like that, sex appeal should be at its peak. Especially when one is about to have a roll in the hay. If you catch my drift.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It did take me a while to get used to Satomi’s appearance, but there’s also a ‘special’ quality to it. Everyone else sees her usual look, but for Shinichi she shows him a more complete image of her.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Did it really take a while to get used to her other look? It took me about… what… two minutes… maybe more. Surely her appearance here isn’t that out of the norm.
POWUH: iLurker with 13 comments
The love scene is kinda of a surprise, though it did accomplish what it intended, yeah, and they did a good job of showing us they did make love, but without looking too graphic at the same time.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hmmm… there wasn’t any need for it to be graphic, if you ask me.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The incidental music the show brings out during action has been bugging me for quite some time. It sounds like Blade Runner.