Migi is also made very sinister when the roles within the relationship are defined and he becomes a Parasyte, at least in this volume, while it is Shinichi who is losing. Indeed Migi and Shinichi are a great double act, and are especially funny at the beginning of the manga where Migi is adjusting to Japanese society’s cultural ‘norms’ and roles. However what Iwaaki crafts is a story that allows for great character development. Or perhaps he is being deliberately irresolute in regards to an answer after all Iwaaki is writing a manga that is certain very good and this added layer of the philosophy of human definition adds to texture to what could be an aimless story. It seems as if Iwaaki is trying to work it out throughout the course of the manga exactly what humanity is. Iwaaki will contrast this sort of constant altruism in the next volume. It is not explicitly explored within this first volume but it is implied through Shinichi’s altruism, for example saving a cat from being seriously injured when he, himself could be injured. Iwaaki is asking just what exactly humanity is using Shinichi as puppet to explore the topic. This produces the very interesting philosophical undertones of the series. This is because Migi is an alien and his own morality is colliding with Shinichi’s human morality. For example Shinichi’s relationship with Murano, a fellow student in his class, of which his relationship with fluctuates with his addition of Migi.

The drama in this manga involves a lot about how Shinichi’s personality changes with the addition of Migi and how his relationships change with his personality. The great thing about this manga is Iwaaki’s ability to balance both drama, and all the suspense and characterisation needed in order to deploy it, with action. Shinichi and Migi get involved many predicaments precipitated by the two’s agglomeration as Migi’s alien race is the very antithesis of humanity very mechanical, logical beings, governed by their instincts and needs rather than by any duty to others or morality. The two then merge creating the a dual protagonist: two persons in one body. The two protagonists are brought together by chance when Migi, trying to invade Shinichi’s mind and take it over fails, resorts to taking over Shinichi’s hand. Hitoshi Iwaaki’s story follows the journey of protagonist Shinichi as he deals with the problem that will change his life forever: The Parasyte Migi. ‘Parasyte’ is a reasonably well realised synthesis of drama, action and philosophy.

Parasyte 01 hitoshi iwaaki