Parasite: The Maxim may be one of the most underrated anime of the past decade. Based on the manga series of the same name from the 90s, the anime series follows a young man named Shinichi as he finds his right forearm replaced by an alien parasite. This parasite would’ve killed Shinichi if he hadn’t woken in the middle of the night to stop it.
Fortunately, the two begin to bond to some degree, with Shinichi naming the creature Migi. Shinichi then learns that Migi is part of a species that is currently invading Earth and the series revolves around this overarching plot.
10 Shinichi: Classic Anime Protagonist
There are certain characteristics to the typical male anime lead and Shinichi certainly falls in with these characteristics. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it helps draw in audiences and maintain what people love about anime.
This isn’t to suggest that Migi would’ve been destined to fail as the main character in Parasyte, but it would have been incredibly difficult to actually pull off with a degree of success.
9 Migi: More Action
Parasyte has some incredible action sequences during its one-season run. The unique concept of the shape-shifting alien allows for some high octane fights that constantly keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
However, if Migi was the main character, this could have potentially resulted in more action. Shinichi was always holding Migi back and if Shinichi was no longer the main character this may not have been the case.
8 Shinichi: Heartbreak
While Shinichi’s character changes a lot with Migi’s influence, his change in outlook cannot be solely attributed to the arm eating, shape-shifting alien. During the course of the season, Shinichi has to endure some of the most tragic heartbreaks in anime history.
The audience sees Shinichi struggling with this and sees how Shinichi is able to carry on fighting, build a friendship with Migi, and ultimately save the world from the alien invasion.
7 Migi: Nuanced Character Development
One of the best things about Parasyte was how the creators introduced this creepy, violent alien creature, showed that it had eaten Shinichi’s arm, and yet still made the alien creature an endearing and loveable character.
When the audience is first introduced to Migi, the character is a violent creature that is still operating on its base desires. While we see the character change throughout the season, having Migi as a main character would allow for a more subtle character development.
6 Shinichi: Comedy
One of the best elements of Parasyte is its use of comedy. This helps break up the action and mystery, showing the audience a new side to the characters and helping the audience to bond with the characters.
Shinichi’s experience of losing his right hand to an alien life form isn’t a natural ground for comedy, yet the show pulls this off incredibly well and is one of the most endearing elements of the show.
5 Migi: Learn More Of Migi’s Species
While the show reveals a great deal about Migi’s species, it doesn’t delve too far into the history of the species. In a way, this is a good thing as it allows for an element of mystery to continue long after the conclusion of the series.
However, it would also be interesting to see Migi’s thoughts on his kind from a main character’s perspective. Giving the audience more of an insight into his own view on this propagation.
4 Shinichi: Human Concerns
Having the main character of any series remain as human, or at least humanoid in either form or mind, is standard to story-telling. It allows an understanding to develop far easier between the audience and the character.
The human concerns make Shinichi more relatable as a character, showing the audience his human values such as love and family.
3 Migi: More Of Migi’s Thoughts
Shinichi is the main character of Parasyte and as such the audience mainly sees the plot through his eyes, showing his thoughts on the events of the story. While this is interesting, it is only one side of the story.
It would be very interesting to see more of Migi’s thoughts, both about his own kind and about Shinichi in general. This could add more to his character, showing his thoughts without the lens of Shinichi directly behind them.
2 Shinichi: Audience Connection
This has been hinted at in this list, but the importance of having a human protagonist relates to the ability to connect to the audience. This allows the audience to see themselves in Shinichi’s shoes, showing how a normal person would adapt to these extraordinary situations.
While having an alien with non-human motivations would be interesting if done well, it could also lead to a disconnect between audience and character.
1 Migi: Outsider Perspective
Some of the most interesting stories concern the outsider perspective. In Harry Potter, for instance, the audience is introduced to the wizarding world through the eyes of someone who was unaware of it.
Having Migi as a main character would reverse this, showing an outsider perspective to a world the audience is already familiar with. This could lead to far more comedy and even more social observations.