Title: Parasyte Vol 6
Author: Hitoshi Iwaaki
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 9780345500342
May Contain Spoilers
The parasytes are making their move against Shinichi and Kuramori, deciding that they are both far to dangerous to continue to live. Both assassination attempts go awry, leaving Reiko fuming at Kusano’s ineptness. All they have managed to do is earn themselves an enemy who is now very determined to avenge the murder of his family. As parasyte turns against parasyte, and Kuramori plots his revenge, can Shinichi keep his father safe, and keep himself out of harm’s way?
This series just keeps getting better! After Kuramori’s family is butchered by parasytes, he suddenly has a very compelling reason to divulge everything he knows to the police. He has also decided that he is going to get his pound of flesh, to pay back the monsters for what they did to his wife and daughter. He snaps, and who can blame the guy? His family was turned into mincemeat and there wasn’t anything he could do to protect them.
Shinichi has a hard time convincing his dad to go into hiding. When he learns about the murder of Kuramori’s family, he realizes how much danger both he and his father are in. His father won’t listen to him at first, but Shinichi’s frantic pleas finally get through to him. This was great stuff. Shinichi was worked up into an absolute panic over the thought of losing his father to the same monsters that murdered his mother, but he doesn’t want to tell his father everything he knows. Both his terror and his desire to fill his father in on everything that is happening are clearly revealed through tense, emotional close-ups as Shinichi argues with his father on the phone. His panic is obvious, and you can’t help getting caught up in his emotions – will his father listen, or is he going to be another casualty of the aliens?
Reiko really surprised me in this volume. The parasyte, who was previously as bloodthirsty and murderous as the rest of the aliens, is starting to have a change of heart. Questioning the reason for her existence, you can’t help but wonder what other thoughts are going through her alien mind. The more she attempts to understand human behavior, the more confused she becomes. Caring for the baby has also caused a huge change to come over her, and when Kuramori abducts the infant, Reiko’s mothering instinct, if you can call it that, rages to the surface. She wants the baby back, unharmed, and she’ll do anything to ensure the baby’s safety.
With a thrilling climax at a park, this volume of Parasyte offers a ride filled with suspense and non-stop excitement. The changes in the aliens are subtle and fascinating. Their exposure to humans is causing them to change, though the transformation is more obvious in some than others. This story ties you up in knots, knocking the wind out of you with every new plot twist. There is the fear that anyone can become monster fodder, at any time, and that, along with the breathless anticipation that something terrible is going to happen, keeps the pages flipping in rapid succession.
Chock full of things that go bump in the night, Parasyte delivers an unparalleled journey through the nightmare of an alien invasion. Humans are food, the aliens can be anyone, and when they strike, only one thing is certain – death is going to be painful, and very, very messy.
Grade: A
Review copy provided by Del Rey
