Un thriller inquietante... Shinichu Izumi debe aprender a convivir con su nuevo habitante. Mientras, otros parásitos depredadores acechan a inocentes por toda la ciudad. ( )

Guys...okay guys this series was part of my introduction into manga waaaaay back in 1997 when Mixxzine was a thing. When you have something like this wedged in between Sailor Moon and Magic Knight Rayearth it kind of makes you go 'whhhhaaa?' but I was so hooked.

Migi was, to be blunt, my hero. In this first volume he kind of like 'I could give a fuck' to Shinichi's horrified reactions. From a purely objective viewpoint Migi has a point--human beings are hypocritical. We see (or the vast majority of us see) no problem with killing other species to survive. How is that any different from Migi's species? Yeah they went about killing indiscriminately at first, but they were, for all intents and purposes, BABIES. Newly formed, newly arrived, newly conscious. They had no other guiding force except what their instincts were telling them and their instincts were like 'Eat humans!' (or dogs, or whatever their host species turns out to be).

I'll tell ya all a secret though - a 13 year old girl running around in junior high questioning the hypocrisy of humans based on a foreign comic with lots and lots of violence and foul language? Not the best way to make friends or be considered normal.

Anyhow this new version published by Del Rey is uber-slick. TokyoPop put the series out in 10 volumes, while Del Rey skimmed it down to 8 volumes by adding more chapters per book. Its a good presentation overall and looks very clean.

As the first volume is a set up in all respects--the aliens' arrival, Migi and Shinichi's bonding, adjustments and so forth--Shinichi can be a bit of a pain in the ass with his constant nagging at Migi to be more considerate. Granted it does make Migi think outside the box, but it also just makes a muddle of things that should have been straight forward. Also there's one too many gags as Migi tries to learn about human culture (and what makes Shinichi tick) and does something embarrassing (like turning Shinichi's entire right arm into a giant male member to see what human mating is like....which I can't remember if that was shown in the TokyoPop version or not, it may have been censored since the magazine wasn't technically slated at 16 and older at first).

Things came back to me also from when I originally read the series. I remember something ends up happening to Shinichi's mother and Murano (a classmate and a girl Shinichi is interested in) ends up learning about Migi at some point and they spend a lot of time joining forces to poke at Shinichi. That's all in the future. I can't remember if I read to the end of the series, but I don't think I did as it stopped being serialized in 2000 and at the time the graphic novels (which was $15 or so each--yeah once upon a time manga was really expensive guys) were too expensive to keep up with (as I had a lot of other interests).

I do plan on re-reading the entire series though--I miss Migi!! ( )

This is a classic. I wanted to try it and see if this manga might find a loving home in my collection . . . the answer is no.

It is still funny, gory and - weird in a good way, but this is not for me. Others will enjoy this story with a hint of body snatching, aliens and sci-fi.

'Parasites' come to earth with a mission. They have to invade the humans, so they have to enter the brain. Unfortunately, for one, he entered by the hand and matured before reaching the brain.

A lot of chaotic moments surrounding the mc and the parasite with awkward moments, but nothing screaming 'continue to read.'

3- stars for a classic and okay story. ( )

This has to be one of the weirdest manga series I’ve read to date. What starts as an alien invasion / body snatcher story evolves into a combination urban horror fantasy and a examination of various ecological issues.

The art work is a bit simplified for my tastes and the pacing a little inconsistent, but it’s an engaging premise that raises some interesting issues. ( )

The manga has held up really well over the last few decades and is still enjoyable today. ( )