Parasyte: Manga vs. Anime vs. Inspirations

[@4991ukasoy]

I read the Manga will it was coming out, like every day I'd hit the bookstore looking for the next issue Anime isn't bad, but the Manga has a certain feel.. like it sticks with you

[@Martinsville-vv5xt]

I’ve read the first one and just ordered the rest I’m so excited to read them

[@4991ukasoy]

@@Martinsville-vv5xt Dude yeeeeeees

[@XsvruploaderX]

I'd actually recommend the Spectacular Spiderman over the 90's anime, it's the better story imo.

[@sandman45]

I like to watch things in production order, so I was going to get around to that one eventually. Besides it's more of a nostalgia thing really.

[@1995yuda]

Blasphemer!! 👆

[@adityabhattacharyya8727]

i just wanted to add one more thing.... the anatomy of the parasites were very much similar to the aliens in the move titled "The Thing"(1982).

[@sandman45]

That's true and I did mention The Thing in my list of body snatcher inspired movies. The point is that Parasyte may have been influenced more by The Thing then Invasion but almost everything else was inspired by Invasion including The Thing.

[@srnigromante9214]

The spiderman comparison seems more like pure coincidence to me. Theres also a bigger inspiration called Devilman.

[@sandman45]

yea and as it turns out spiderman is what inspired devilman so i got it mixed up, tbf i didn't know much about devilman at the time

[@SAGO1804]

When I saw that animation... the change of the design in the characters and the lack of... let's admit it, blood.

[@KiSm15]

I wish they kept the old style but hey at least the story is out there for everyone to love, I hope they all read the manga

[@ashuea2]

They did a great job adapting the manga and they made it even greater. The character's design, they put it in the modern era, the animations is clean and the musics. The anime version made my tears flow, unlike the manga, which is just great IMO.

[@1995yuda]

This is a perfect video in every way 💙🙏

[@davidgn40]

*SPOILERS FOR PARASYTE* Interesting video. I finished the anime a bit ago and I'm currently reading the manga (currently on Chapter 28) to compare the two. I agree with you in preferring the manga over the anime, but for slightly different reasons (although I'm still reading the manga so my opinion could change over time). I'll be explaining myself in detail below, sorry in advance for the long upcoming sentences. I feel like the manga was a bit more subtle, yet added more relevant scenes in comparison to the anime, and I disagree that the anime adapted the story to modern times that well. First off, I'll start by stating the most obvious difference: Shinichi's portrayal. In the manga, he was more of a typical kid, not a jock but not a nerd either. In the anime, he seemed more wimpy due to being more soft-spoken compared to his manga counterpart and being afraid of spiders, while he wasn't in the manga. I believe the anime made those differences to his character to make his change after getting healed by Migi more obvious to the viewers. The anime included scenes like him no longer needing to wear glasses, but I believe they were irrelevant as his more stoic nature, cold-hearted remarks, and the way he treated the dead dog were more than enough to show his change in the manga. There are also some more minor things in the manga I like, such as having more scenes where we see how the general populace reacts to the Parasyte invasion. In the anime, we only saw their reactions after the Japanese government started making hair-pulling a trend. In the manga, however, the general populace were making up urban legends about a "mouth-head" quite early in the story, and after Shimada's assault on the school we saw reporters crowd the school asking students to make statements on the issue and the average citizens causing an uproar, demanding more info such as images of Shimada's corpse (or his real name, as in the manga the media actually delved into who he was and discovered his name was a front). The anime never included any of these. There's probably more since I'm only on chapter 28 right now, but I think you get my point. Now for the anime adapting it to modern times. I agree with you in the video where you said that if watching the anime was your first time experiencing Parasyte, you wouldn't have known it was an old story. I agree, that happened to me. But that was obvious, we see smartphones used commonly and even Shinichi's dad makes it clear that he lost his smartphone and tablet after he and his wife were attacked. However, this change makes it harder for me to believe some scenes in the anime. For example, Yuko confronting Shimada. I found her actions foolish in both the manga and anime, but especially in the latter. She saw Shimada transform, and instead of doing some further investigating and recording him with her smartphone for video proof that she could've used as further blackmail, she just decided to arrange a meeting with him like her manga counterpart. Or how throughout the anime, basic recording technology that everyone had access to was rarely ever used (except by Kuramori, who used an actual camera, but I'm skeptical of counting this because I think it happens in the actual manga too, just haven't gotten there yet). I find it difficult to believe that a school that had been invaded by an outsider and had multiple people killed (I'm talking about when A attacked Shinichi) did not set up some basic security cameras, especially since many schools in Japan have been implementing security cameras since 2004. For a modern adaption, I'm quite disappointed that they didn't involve something minor that actually would've made the change in time periods significant like someone using their smartphone to record an event (even if they were eaten immediately after) or a brief scene showing people on social media reacting to what's happening. The only relevant thing I think the time-period change did was having Migi learn about Earth by browsing the internet on Shinichi's computer instead of having Shinichi go to the library to borrow books for him. I liked that minor change, and it gave us some golden scenes (like Migi transforming part of his body into a gun). But honestly, if not for the fact that smartphones were seen quite a few times in the anime, I wouldn't have known it was an adaption set in modern times. I would've thought the story was set in the late 90's/early 2000's (solely because of scenes showing Migi browsing the web on Shinichi's desktop). Again, sorry for the long comment, just felt like sharing my opinions. If you made it this far, thank you.

[@davidgn40]

Oh wow, I forgot about this comment. Finished the manga soon after typing all this, can confirm that Kuramori using a camera was in the manga too. My opinion didn't change, I still prefer the manga due to the minor differences mentioned above.

[@SJHinds]

Wow I’m really enjoying the anime so far can’t wait to buy the full colour hardcover manga this fall !!!

[@kakkadasekazvam3968]

thanks for the spoilers alert in the actual video :)

[@sylviajones191]

Parasyte is still better than spiderman for me...

[@Aerosplinter]

The amazing spiderman...

[@JohnSmithsu2006]

@@Aerosplinter as in Andrew Garfield?!

[@1995yuda]

You should DEFINITELY watch Spiderman TAS

[@DekaNovelist]

I don't know if anyone will agree with me, but the 2014 anime sucked as an adaptation of a great manga. Even Japanese fans hated the anime because of the modernization and character design changes. Not only that, the anime's sole purpose was to promote the live-action films. And I also hated what the maxim writers did to Satomi Murano. Poor girl was a victim of Flanderization and how I grew to dislike hating the 2014 anime adaptation.

[@johannliebert2870]

Oh wow, I had no idea the anime was primarily promotional material for the films (though I guess that explains why it looked kinda cheap at times). The anime seems to be the most commonly referenced version of the story nowadays, which sucks cause the manga is better imo.

[@benjaminfenn3700]

Some of the Spider-Man connections seem forced. Also, whether intentional on your part or not, the "most of the time they admitted taking inspiration" and "he never admitted taking inspiration" stuff comes across as a bit smug and like you're calling the writer's integrity into question, which seems unwarranted when making these broad, unverifiable yet oddly definitive claims. Do you really think the majority of the mangaka who took inspiration from something from the west (or wherever) "admitted to it?" Would you bet on that? The modernization thing is an interesting topic. Some of the changes, while superficial, were still jarring. But, while I get that the story and its execution feel like the 90s, I was a little disappointed when you didn't really elaborate on the "bad directing" claims. Did they try to hard to make it slick and hip? Did they create plot holes via their blundering anachronisms? Was it the dubstep?

[@sandman45]

all i was saying about the spider-man thing is that it lies on the border of Inspired and Coincidence. There's enough stuff in there to say it's inspired but at the sametime it could be a coincidence, and I couldn't find any sources to say otherwise. Looking back i guess didn't explain it that well. Samething with the modernization if i really wanted to go into detail on why it seemed off i would have to go episode by episode, so i guess i just ended it a "bad directing" also, while i can see it as distracting; i actually really enjoyed the OST (dubstep's a guilty pleasure)

[@TyCollage]

I have yet to meet one person who saw the anime who didn't like it, and I promise you these aren't even persons in my circle more likely to share the same interests. So I'm wondering 2 things in particular: 1) Is it because we've never read the manga and 2) Could it be that because of the Horror aspect (we are prone to give horrors a lot more slack generally) we were more lenient with our expectations? Because man I iWill be the first to admit, the fear more or less left as soon as Shinichi was able to fight back... But when Goto stepped up it came back and I thought it was cool. I'll try to read the manga and see if that changes my perspective too to be sure. Thanks though, enjoyed the vid and points.

[@sandman45]

Basically the anime doesn't change much it just adds stuff, I think the additions are pretty ponitless but it's still a good story. If you want to read it, it's more stream line and less stylised. But pacing is better imo

[@LegoManiac_101]

Fun Fact: Beastars was Still a manga back in 2016

[@randomwatcher8673]

Exactly! I thought I was the only one complaining about the anime. The anime of Parasyte did nothing for me. I didn't like it at all. In comparison to the original manga, it's just....not good. The manga was stellar.

[@Moi_81]

This reminds me a lot about a WEBTOON called Home Sweet Home.

[@mihirkamat504]

oh man another sweet home fan. that things an absolute work of art. straight up masterpiece.

[@demontiming3234]

Is that home by any chance in Alabama?

[@mymindbecomesacomicworld9969]

when you expose an anime from another super human movie lol. but I still Wish they continue the manga more some how.

[@karankhurana4]

1:00 Anime name plz.........

[@sandman45]

Ushio and Tora; i credited it at the end

[@guitargangster66]

The anime was more toned down and had a more Shounen-esque feel *to me* It was good. Not the big-brain best of all time as I've seen it praised as, but not bad either. Just kinda in the middle. The last half of the anime felt rushed. And that Deus Ex Machina at the end just... It kills it for me. It felt lazy.

[@breakdown2218]

The story is nothing like Spider-man, your plot comparisons are forced. Yes it absolutely "feels" like Spider-Man, but that's cause it's the typical super hero story. The similarities end there.

[@hadi8236]

Source ?

[@sandman45]

End credits

[@Antbuf]

Great

[@Antbuf]

Not really good

[@XsvruploaderX]

I found that Parasyte's anime was an incredibly mediocre adaptation, so I'd agree the manga is better

[@GoldenDoodlez]

Haven't read the manga after watching this video I might. Watched the anime and some of the seems seemed really abnormal and forced to pad run time.

[@frogglen6350]

I'll take the anime over Spiderman and the manga

[@SureshBabu-rk9mp]

Oh I guess everyone has their own opinion ( I like manga better )

[@cousin._.nxiety4073]

It depends... And as for me, i prefer anime over manga/LNs. Although i feel a bit jealous of not being able to enjoy manga/LN the way other's do.