freys2 Reviews

Parasyte: The Maxim (2014–2015)

Amazing Series

[9/10 · 16 October 2015]

The plot of Parasyte is essentially a much more violent version of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.' Parasitic aliens (we assume, the audience never gets a definitive origin story) covertly arrive on earth and begin taking over human bodies and eating humans indiscriminately. They accomplish this by "eating" the humans' heads and replacing them with their own bodies. However, some humans manage to stop the parasites from taking over their brains. But as a result, the parasites eat and fuse with a different part of the body in order to survive. The Main Character, Izumi, is one of these people. The parasite was only able to take over his right arm.

Because of his unlikely situation, Izumi ends up between a rock and a hard place. Since the only people who discover the parasites' existence are subsequently eaten, Izumi is the only living human who knows of their existence (at least in the beginning). However, Izumi's parasite, known as Migi (right), threatens to kill anyone who he attempts to inform. Nonetheless, the duo eventually grow to be allies as their number of mutual interests increase.

I have only one complaint about this series, regarding its pace. In my opinion, the series "crescendos" too early. The most emotional events of the series take place in episodes 5 and 12 (out of 24: less than halfway through the series), rendering the remaining half of the series a little deadpan and slow-paced. If I had to quantify the difference, I'd say that the first half of the series is a 10 but the second half is a 7. But when compared to other horror series, 'Parasyte' is still rather amazing.

Parasyte is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror series; but more than that, its very philosophically and emotionally stimulating. This series delves into the issue of the existence/purpose of altruism, which is left rather open-ended. I took the larger meaning to be that altruism, while pointless in-and-of-itself, is an unavoidable side effect of happiness, because comprehending happiness requires empathy. But every viewer will draw their own individual conclusions.

Gate (2015–2016)

Best Anime of 2015

[10/10 · 22 September 2015]

If I had to liken Gate to another television show, it'd be Stargate SG-1/Atlantis. Of course, Gate is (besides being an anime) more fantasy than sci-fi, but Gate has the same sort of character dynamics and plot. The leader/main character has a very cavalier attitude and acts like he really couldn't care less about his work, but in reality he's a do-gooder at heart. The fantasy land is plagued by the Empire which doesn't think twice about sacrificing its plebeians, and the people of the fantasy land are of a medieval era and think that the earthlings' technology is magic. The main character(s) go around rescuing the common people and expect nothing in return, but their superiors are more interested in the gains that an unexplored and easily conquered territory can offer. Of course, Gate is an anime, so the main character has his own little harem conveniently drop into his lap (I'm not complaining; that's 90% of what makes anime awesome).

The specifics of the plot: Tokyo suffers a surprise attack by forces of the "special region," who arrive via a suddenly opened gateway that links Earth to their world. Although the invaders have tamed dragons, their weapons are of the medieval era, and their forces are easily defeated by the JGSDF. However, the sneak attack results in massive civilian casualties. In order to prevent this from happening again in the future (with some obvious ulterior motives), the JGSDF sends troops to the other world to occupy the other side of the gate. In order to get the lay-of-the-land, the JGSDF sends Lt. Itami and his squad to make contact and initiate negotiations with the locals on the other side of the gate.

I'd say that the animation is 9/10, and the plot is, while somewhat unoriginal, also a 9/10. The characters (or at least the main character) are a 10/10, as they're easy to relate to and like. The action, while not being of the typical anime mecha or superpower clichés, is a 10/10. Just my personal opinion, but there's something about medieval action sequences that's just awesome, and this anime has the added bonus of exploring what a battle between medieval weaponry and modern weaponry might have to offer. The result: a very subtle, unique, and almost philosophical juxtaposition regarding how very efficient we as a species have become at the art of killing (with a lot of anime charm thrown in).

Overall, in my opinion, this is the best anime of 2015.

Teen Wolf (2011–2017)

Great Plots and Characters but Seldom Simultaneously

[9/10 · 21 February 2015]

I give 'Teen Wolf' 8 stars simply because I like this genre, and the writers made it as non- twilighty as they possibly could without detrimentally abandoning the teen-girl-dominated target demographic.

The plots for seasons one and two were good, and season one was great all around. But during season two most of the ancillary characters (Lydia, Allison, and Jackson) started declining in quality.

Season three Part one had an okay plot, but the writers killed off some 'good guy' characters and replaced them with only 'bad guys.' Additionally, the show paved the way for some out-of-left-field romantic connections, for the sole purpose of… actually, I don't know what purpose that served. All I know is that it was unexpected.

Season three Part two introduced some great new ancillary characters, but simultaneously ruined the quality of the main ancillary character (Stiles) by involving him directly with the supernatural, which for me ruined the show, as Stiles was supposed to represent Scott's link to humanity. However, except for that mistake the plot of Season three Part two was probably the best of the series.

Season four was just a train wreck. The new characters from Season three were great additions, but nothing would have been enough to save the show from that plot line.

Overall, the show's worth a watch as long as you don't go into it expecting a supernatural masterpiece.