The story of Tokyo Ghoul follows Ken Kaneki, who begins turning into a bloodthirsty monster after playing host to a foreign body that begins changing him both physically and mentally, becoming more monstrous over time. Likewise, Parasyte follows Shinichi Izumi, who begins turning into a bloodthirsty monster after playing host to a foreign body that begins changing him both physically and mentally, becoming more monstrous over time.

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Although Parasyte was released in the late 80s and Tokyo Ghoul came out much more recently, both series share many similarities with one another, most notably the general set up for the overarching story. However, there are enough differences between the two series to make them stand on their own merits, as both anime are well worth the watch if viewers can get past the gore.

10 IDENTICAL: Cannibalism Is A Major Theme

toyko ghoul cannibalism

The ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul have the unfortunate necessity to consume human flesh to survive, as consuming anything else will cause them to become violently ill, though they are still able to drink coffee for some reason. Parasytes function in much the same way, having to consume the same species of creature as the animal they are playing host to, though this means they aren't limited to human flesh. For example, the parasyte that infects a dog early in the series is forced to feed on other dogs to survive, though it doesn't last long after Migi discovers its existence.

9 DIFFERENT: Sympathy For The Monsters

parasyte

Although Shinichi has some sympathy for the parasytes, it's nowhere near as prevalent as in Tokyo Ghoul, where the ghouls are shown either to be the worst variety of monsters or as innocent men, women, and children who are just trying to survive in a world that wants them dead. Unlike the parasytes, the ghouls didn't choose to exist the way they do and many characters are shown wishing they didn't have to feed on human flesh to survive.

8 IDENTICAL: The Main Character Being Infected By A Foreign Body To Turn Them Into A Monster

kaneki ken tokyo ghoul

Both Ken and Shinichi start their respective series as a regular human, though that quickly changes after they become infected by a foreign body. Although the method is vastly different, with Ken being transplanted with ghoul organs and Shinichi managing to prevent Migi from taking over his brain, the end result is largely the same.

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There are several other anime series that follows a similar premise to this, such as Bio-Booster Armor Guyver, though none so fundamentally change the personality of the main characters as much as Tokyo Ghoul and Parasyte, as both Ken and Shinichi undergo major personality changes over the course of the series.

7 DIFFERENT: Public Knowledge Of The Monsters

Parayste The Maxim: And Example Of The Body Horror

Parastye begins with running conspiracy theories among some of the more paranoid people in the world of an impending invasion by alien forces, which turns out to be the parasites, though the public knowledge of their existence is fairly minimal until the very end of the series, as most of the information surrounding them is known only to a select few government bodies. In Tokyo Ghoul, the existence of ghouls is kept a secret from the public, but government bodies such as the CCG already know of their existence at the beginning of the series.

6 IDENTICAL: The Main Character Becomes More Monstrous Over Time

Ken Kaneki wallpaper of looking into the camera.

Both Ken and Shinichi start out as relatively mild-mannered people who don't want to cause trouble, though this changes rapidly for both men as Ken's ghoul physiology and Migi begin to take more control over their lives. As their respective series progress, both men are more willing to kill in order to survive, though Shinichi is distinct for essentially swapping personalities with Migi, as he becomes more of a monster, Migi becomes more human until his indefinite hibernation at the end of the series.

5 DIFFERENT: Their Publishers, Shonen Jump & Kodansha

Goku and Eren Jaeger

Tokyo Ghoul and Parasyte have a lot of things in common, including their general premise, target audience, and gore factor. One thing that sets both series apart is which company published their manga. Tokyo Ghoul is a Shonen Jump series, which shows in its focus on more action scenes than Parasyte has, though it isn't lacking in its own action scenes either. Parasyte, on the other hand, was published under Kodansha, who is most notable at the moment for being behind Attack on Titan, yet another series about a man who becomes corrupted by a monstrous force.

4 IDENTICAL: Banned In China In 2015

Lucy from Elfen Lied, Light and Ryuk from Death Note, and the Colossal Titan from Attack on Titan

China is notorious for banning all sorts of media, including various manga, films, TV series, and video games due to their subject matter or violent content. While they have somewhat loosened their grip on foreign media lately, in June 2015, they still banned a large amount of manga and anime series from being sold in their country, including both Tokyo Ghoul and Parasyte.

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Although Tokyo Ghoul was released not long before this ban, the Parasyte manga was around many years before this and seems to have only fallen into this category due to its anime adaptation being created in the late 2000s. Other notable series that have been banned were Blood-CElfen Lied, and Death Note, among many other series known for being bloody or violent.

3 DIFFERENT: The Creature Specific Powers

Parasyte eyeball on hand

While both series surround a man who can perform some sort of shapeshifting powers, the execution of these powers is vastly different between the two despite boiling down to them turning their bodies into living weapons. Shinichi, initially, was limited to only being the driver while Migi did all the fighting and transforming his arm into various sharp objects, though later gains superhuman strength and speed once Migi infects his heart. Ken, on the other hand, has full control over his kagune, though he seems to fall into bloodlust whenever he is forced to use it.

2 IDENTICAL: The Emergence Of Hybrids

tokyo ghoul hybrid

Ken and Shinichi are both halfway points between their respective monsters, with Ken being a human-ghoul hybrid after having ghoul organs transplanted into him, while Shinichi and Migi become a hybrid of sorts, as both beings share a body while keeping their individual minds intact. Different varieties of hybrids also occur in both series, as natural-born human-ghouls are seen later in Tokyo Ghoul as well as ghouls with multiple kagune, while Parasyte sees the creation of Gotou, five parasytes that each control one aspect of a man's body to create a much more powerful being.

1 DIFFERENT: The Age of The Protagonist

parasyte shinichi

Although there isn't much age difference between the two protagonists, with Shinichi being 17 and in high school and Ken being 19 and in university, this two-year gap is enough to change multiple aspects of the series. For one, Parasyte's early episodes are centered around Shinichi's high school being assaulted by parasytes and his life living with his mother and father, while Ken is largely independent as a university student, and as a result, is shown creating something of a surrogate family with Yoshimura and Touka.

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