MANGA MANIA: PARASYTE VOL 9 by Hiroshi Iwaaki

The Mysterious Reiko Tamura

I am still not convinced that this series should not have ended with Volume 8. There were loose ends, which I figured were better than whatever resolution could be cooked up to tie them together. And I thought Migi, the parasyte living in Shin's right hand, had died. It was sad. But some part of him seems to have survived in Shin, although in a weakened condition. He sleeps through more and more of the action.

This new installment returns to the mysterious Reiko Tamura, the parasyte with an interest in how human and parasyte might learn to coexist. Much of which boils down to whether or not parasytes can control their taste for human flesh. Several installments ago, Reiko stole a human baby -- I think it belonged to the human she possessed. It is now her bargaining chip with Shin and the detective that are on to her. This episode ends up with most of the main characters meeting up in a park where the requisite amount of blodshed and weird body transformations ensue. 

Starting with Vol 9, the copies I am getting from the library come from Tokyo Pop. They have westernized the layouts, which causes some awkwardness with Migi's name. Migi is Japanese for "righty," since he lives in Shin's right hand. Now with the panel reversed, he lives in Sihn's left hand and goes by the name "lefty."

The question left hanging at the end of Vol 9 is, is Shin ready to be a single parent. He still has to finish high school and fight parasytes.

Parasyte like to have fun

Parasytes play rough