Parasyte (Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu) has been a provocative series. On a surface level, it weaves together grotesque, hyper-violence with humor and a gentle protagonist, while combining modern anime style with 80’s sensibility. On a deeper level, it also calls forth significant topics – in episode two, we are introduced to a heavy environmentalist theme, as well as something more philosophical.
The Claim
Shinichi, as you’d expect, is having a hard time getting used to alien living on his hand. He calls it all sorts of names (other than the one it gives itself – Migi), including “demon.” But Migi has an interesting response to being called this:
Shinichi, upon researching the concept of demons, I believe that, among all life, humans are the closest thing to it.
The rest of the episode, it seems, does a lot to support Migi’s assertion.
Fact Check
Migi is basically comparing demons to “living things,” which we can divide into humans, this new alien species, and everything else. And his understanding of demons is related, probably, to the Japanese idea of demons. But for our purposes – especially since I believe Christianity to be true – we’ll focus on approaching this quote from a biblical perspective.
Demonology from a “Christian” or western points of view mixes legend and apocrypha with biblical writings. So a lot of what we accept isn’t necessarily true. However, with all the myth and fact that surrounds demons, one thing we can focus on is this – they believe in God and yet oppose Him (James 2:19).
God is love. God is holy. God is just. The demons, and the prince of demons, oppose these ideals. They worship things other than God, believing their way to be higher than His. They choose themselves over God.
Sound familiar?
Not only do humans fail to worship God, following their own ways, they also fail in comparison to creation – another living thing that Migi compares demons to. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, creation does a better job of worshiping God than we do, for it does what it was meant to do, while humans do not.
So, Migi is pretty on track with his claim – although I don’t think his (so far) selfish self is any closer to being angelic than humans are, so perhaps he should count his cannibalistic kind as demonic as well.
The Grade
Migi’s claim receives an 8 out of 10.
Humans choose their own way, which is in opposition to God, very much like demons (and unlike other created things). Migi, though, seems to be just the same way.
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Check out previous post in this series, about Claymore.
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