“Parasyte -The Maxim-” (2014, produced by studio Madhouse) is a heavy hearted science fiction anime that follows an odd teenager trying to find his identity.

This anime’s plot is about a high school student named Shinichi Izumi (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki) nearly being infected by a creature known as a parasite in the middle of the night. However, he is able to isolate the parasite in his right hand and names it Migi (Aya Hirano). After learning of his new abilities, like manipulation and a radar for other parasites, he and Migi are being targeted by other parasites and must keep it a secret from his loved ones.

There is quite a lot of good this show does. One such example is the story beats staying consistent without any filler episodes. The action is also very straightforward, letting the viewer be able to follow it without any hiccups.

This show’s view on human personality is very intriguing, like when later in the series a parasite begins to act very human. Shinichi’s journey through the show, having to quit school due to the increase of parasites and having to run away, could be viewed as the author writing about mental turmoil and grief.

Along with the psychological parts of the show, there are a lot of philosophical parts as well, like what makes a human, human. The viewer watches as Shinichi struggles to come to terms with what parasites are and even talks to them (the parasites) about the subject (when they’re not trying to kill him).

As for the visuals of the show, the backgrounds are very detailed, even life-like. The surroundings are rendered very well, having it and the characters blend in together making this show much more enjoyable to the eyes.

While on the subject of characters, though the design of human characters look very bland, it contrasts well with the parasite’s unique properties. 

However, for as much praise as this show deserves, it also has a couple of notable downsides. One downside is when the show uses computer generated background characters for a 2D landscape, it looks jarring and fails to properly blend together. 

During fight scenes, the sound effects feel like they got an intern from the office to blow into the mic and call it a day. Not even non-fight scenes are safe, while they don’t sound like what the sound department could find around the office, they instead are stock sounds anyone could find online.

Although the sound design may be lacking, the plot of the show makes the audience think about humanity and philosophy much more than one might expect from an anime. If a person is looking for a sci-fi action that delves into the human mind then this is a must watch, if not then they should look elsewhere.