This is my first review here, I hope you like it, it contains spoilers!

A work brimming with humanity for the better

Through its story, Kiseijuu pushes us to think about the nature of mankind and parasites. Over the course of 24 episodes, rich in twists and turns, the anime tries to make us understand that our species, from an external point of view (that of the aliens) is the most dangerous pest. Migi even goes so far as to call us demons. Rest assured, all is not lost. And it is above all through love that the series proves that we are not as bad as all that, "that there are more things to admire in men than things to despise" wrote Camus in The Plague.

...as well as for the worst

I'd like to go into the final fight to prove the truth of my words.

Gotou was already saying:
"I only know how to fight."

Unlike Reiko, this character couldn't give us a philosophical speech. And this is where all the subtlety of the confrontation comes in: Gotou is the hunter, Shinichi the hunted, allegory of the invasion of the parasites, that "order came from above" said Tamura (that is to say God and/or natural selection). Izumi will be forced (I insist on this word) to kill his tracker, for fear that he will attack his relatives and himself: a death that makes sense.

The law of the strongest is always the best, and the strongest here is Man, but not in the way you think. Our two opponents were fighting to the death in a forest in the middle of the countryside, because Gotou preferred this fresh air to urban pollution. If this predator died, it was because of this factor. There was a landfill nearby and our hero had shoved a rusty, contaminated metal bar into one of the gaps in his opponent's armour. This reminds me of the duel between Netero and the invincible Meruem: An atomic bomb slowly but surely killed the Ant King.

Humanity and its infinite malice, an ironic victory, right?

The laughing parasite

Love is an irrational concept for parasites. Indeed, apart from securing offspring, what is the point of reproducing for them? What is the point of cherishing one's children or partner? Human eaters do not need emotions or sensations to live, as these do not contribute anything to their survival, hence their neutral and lifeless expression. They can't cry or smile...well, that was until a very peculiar character appeared.

The character of Reiko Tamura.

This alien looking for a meaning to her life had a sexual relationship with another parasite before giving birth to a human baby. She who was so distant from this little being will end up loving him. Her maternal instinct will be so strong that she will sacrifice herself under the assault of inspector Hirama and his group. Instead of killing them all, she will create an indestructible cradle around her child. To encourage Shinichi to protect this infant, her face took on the shape and features of Izumi's dead mother, so that his sensitivity would take over this incongruous situation. She managed to reach her goal, and before collapsing to the ground, said:

"The other day I tried to imitate humans by laughing in the mirror. It did me a lot of good."

In 1534, Rabelais had written:

"Laughter is the nature of Man."

The parasite, that horrible and merciless beast, finally appears fallible to us (it must live at the expense of another). They, who continually struggle not to perish, are so different yet so close to us. We also have our weaknesses. One day, a woman under the snow had dropped these few words to a young man who was a bit lost:

"Shinichi, don't bully us. We are so fragile."

She died. And the young man, with a warm baby in his arms, for the first time in a long time saw tears running down his cheeks.

A breathtaking thriller

"Shinichi, a congener has appeared. He is about 300 meters away from us..."

How many times has this sentence made us seriously shudder? Could it be an enemy or an ally? What I loved about Parasyte was this form continuous tension. You always get the feeling that the storm is never far away, and when it finally comes, you're baffled. My biggest fear came at the end of episode 5: parasitic Ms. Izumi facing her son. Our fears were confirmed and we were appalled. We imagined ourselves in the place of the unfortunate Shinichi, unable to open his eyes to this sad reality. The fade to black and the beginning of the ending really comforted us, we couldn't take it anymore.

__Not everything is perfect in this anime, there are obviously some pacing problems at times, especially the aftermath of the confrontation between Shinichi and Gotou, with a rushed last episode. However, my impression remains very positive: Kiseijuu, behind its sordid story, is a work that overflows with a deep and sincere humanity.
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