Just the way it usually happens in India (or even worldwide maybe), I also came across the ‘Dragon Ball’ franchise as a kid, and found it to be my first ever encounter with the world of anime. It was so early in life, that I never considered it more than a ‘cartoon show’, since bewilderment always felt heavier than my curiosity. It wasn’t until watching ‘Death Note’, that I became aware of the term ‘anime’, and began to develop more interest in this form of entertainment. I’ve watched a handsome amount of anime in all these years, and I can say, that it is a form of storytelling that is way different than films.
An anime usually adapts from a ‘manga’ (which is its origin text cum graphic novel), but sometimes the animation studios take the creative liberty, and after consulting with the ‘mangaka’ (creator of the manga), they may also add certain additions to the original chapters of the manga.
Anime are obviously animated, but there also have been some attempts to recreate them in the form of live-action. From what I remember, one of the first attempts to make a live-action based on an anime was ‘Dragon Ball: Evolution’, and it is still hated worldwide. Then came a live-action version of ‘Death Note’, where the makers took creative liberty to the next level, and twisted the whole concept of the anime, as and how they wanted.
Ever since these failed attempts, anime fans around the globe felt hopeless, but still wished to have a good live-action adaptation. Last year, Netflix brought the anime fans a new live-action iteration, which was associated with a globally loved anime ‘One Piece’. The critic, as well as viewer ratings suggest that it was a success, and did justice to the expectations of the anime fans to a certain level. This year, Netflix brings another live-action adaptation to the audience, which belongs to a Sci-Fi/Horror anime called ‘Parasyte: The Maxim’, however the live-action is called ‘Parasyte: The Grey’. Let’s discuss, as well as compare the two shows today.
Story:
The story of ‘Parasyte: The Maxim’ starts with the arrival of the extra-terrestrial organisms (known as Parasytes) on Earth, and their attempts to find hosts for either survival, or domination. Most of the parasytes are inclined towards using humans as their hosts to eliminate entire humankind, and reproduce exponentially. Meanwhile, one of the parasytes has found its host in a teenager, and with time, they become a team that decides to eliminate the parasytes who are hell-bent on wiping away the humans.
The story remains almost the same in ‘Parasyte: The Grey’, which is a good attempt to keep the original’s reputation intact. The show however dives deeper into the protagonist’s past life, where the writers have chosen to let Jeong Su-In talk about her relationship with her abusive father. The story does not have much of a change to offer, but the perspectives and the worlds are different than the anime for sure.
Characters:
In Maxim, the good Parasyte finds a host in Shinichi, a clueless teenager, and helps him in enhancing his vitals, and awareness, meanwhile in Grey, the parasyte finds an injured, near-to-death Su-in and adopts her as its host. Jeong Su-in is a 29-year-old cashier at a supermarket, and just like Shinichi, she is polite, clueless, and easily intimidated.
The anime had some characters that left a lasting impact on the audience, no matter if they were good, or evil. I personally loved an evil parasyte that takes over the body of Tamiya Ryoko/Tamura Reiko, a school teacher, and was functioning just the way other evil parasytes do, until it met Shinichi and his parasyte Migi. After some deadly encounters with them, the parasyte realized that humankind is more empathetic, and sensitive when it comes to helping others survive.
The parasyte inside Tamiya/Tamura rebels against the parasyte union to save Shinichi, and sacrifices itself to save her newborn baby. When I watched the anime in 2018, I was hooked on the action it offered, but the essence of emotions it had in it’s course of storytelling, instantly made the anime one of my favorites.
The live-action tries to build a humane connection with the audience by making Officer Kim a guardian angel for Su-in, which works very well for all the episodes he’s in, but the show is so military-heavy that you often cannot stick to the dynamics of such relationships.
Emotions
The show is inspired by the anime, but it would be safe to say that it is not essentially influenced by it. What I mean here, is that the show uses some of the basic plotlines that the anime ran on, but it manages to alter the stakes, and scale of the story. In the anime, we see how Shinichi came in contact with a parasyte, that made him strong, and protected him, while not causing any harm to its own strength. Meanwhile, in the show, it’s told that Heidi, the parasyte that uses Jeong Su-in as a host, came into contact with her when she was on the verge of death. It had no other option than to give stability to Su-in in the first place since her death would result in Heidi’s perishing as well.
Secondly, the show capitalises on the emotional crux by using a fierce Captain Choi, and basing her decision to fight against parasytes on the anguish she felt when her own husband was consumed by a parasyte.
Ending
The endings of both the anime, and the live-action were pretty much the ‘Good defeats Evil’ concept. By the end of the both, the audience had bargained with the sacrifices and tough decisions of the characters, which makes it easier to accept a very humble manner of finishing a story.
In both the shows, ‘What happens to the good parasyte?’ remains a question that everyone wants answered. The anime ends when Migi and Shinichi defeat the evil parasytes, and Migi gifts the lasting effects of its powers to Shinichi, but the live-action has changed the ending a bit, and it would be tough to decide whether Heidi permanently leaves Su-in or not.
Conclusion
‘Parasyte: The Maxim’ is very close to me, and even after watching so many anime shows with characters wielding otherworldly powers, it still feels so real, and unique. The live-action may have taken some different roads down the line, but it definitely brings you a similar experience than what was provided by the anime.
The storyline is inspired, but still different. Some of the characters have a good arc. I feel that the impact that Tamiya Ryoko had on the story is somehow missing in the show. And finally, the pacing of events is not draggy, which keeps the intensity maintained.
I still feel that the anime lands superior in comparison to the live-action, but it is worth appreciating that Yeon Sang-ho loved the anime so much, that he decided to adapt it into a live-action. It feels so nice when people, who have resources, try to bring the unheard, or unpopular stories to the mainstream audience, and give their tribute to the original creators.
You can stream ‘Parasyte: The Grey’ on Netflix.
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