MANGA MANIA: PARASYTE VOL 10 by Hitosi Iwaaki

It's deja vu all over again in Volume 10. 

Volume 9 ended with the death of Reiko Tamura, and we start here with several textless pages of Shin and policemen in the park, exchanging meaningful and enigmatic glances. Then its time for Shin to go back to high school, and for the police to enlist the aid of psycho-killer Urokami in detecting aliens.

There is an elaborate police sting at city hall that has already taken place many volumes back. (I get these from the library, so I don't have back issues handy for fact checking.) It could be with Tokyo Pop taking over publication of the series, they have established a different timeline. And Shin wows his track coach with his parasyte-assisted running abilities, something he has already done many volumes back.

I'm ready for this whole thing to be over.

Gee, he doesn't look dangerous.

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

MANGA MANIA: PARASYTE VOL 8 by Hiroshi Iwaaki

A thoroughly satisfying installment. In fact, it tied up some many loose ends that I assumed the series was over. Turns out to be at least three more volumes. 

I don't know where Iwaaki can take it from here. He must know of a restart button that slipped past me.

Goto: Good looking but very dangerous parasyte infected human

Migi: Alien, fighter, hero, friend

MANGA MADNESS: PARASYTE VOL 6 by HItoshi Iwaaki

After an installment that consisted mostly of one long, cinematic fight sequence, Iwaaki gets back to the plot. In-fighting among the parasytes, plots against family members and humans in the know. Of any of the manga I have read or am currently reading, this series is the only one that has me genuinely hooked on a story, not just its weirdness or wildness.

MANGA MANIA: PARASYTE VOL 5 by Hitoshi Iwaaki

Shinichi's problems continue in a series that shows signs of slowing down. The best part of Vol V is an extended chase and fight sequence with five aliens inhabiting a single body. The storytelling is cinematic, with the characters' parasitic components allowing them to swing through trees and grab hold of speeding trucks.

Satomi, Shinichi's supposed girlfriend, must be trying for the "most-long-suffering-girlfriend-in Japan" award. If I were her I would be more concerned with the dead bodies that turn up in his vicinity.

An interesting linguistic note: When characters are startled they may say either "eep" or "eek." I wonder if there is some subtle difference in Japanese.