Parasyte -the maxim- (寄生獣 セイの格率, Kiseijū Sei no Kakuritsu) is a 2014 television anime series based on Hitoshi Iwaaki’s manga series Parasyte. The series was adapted by studio Madhouse, and the staff credits include director Kenichi Shimizu, screenplay writer Shoji Yonemura, character designer Tadashi Hiramatsu and music composer Ken Arai. The series first aired in Japan on October 2014.
Background:
“They’re the perfect killing machines, blending invisibly into human civilization by taking the form of their last victim. For Shinichi Izumi, infected with a deadly parasitic organism that’s determined to devour his brain and turn his body into the Earth’s new apex predator, they’re the ultimate nightmare. But instead of being consumed, Shinichi manages to partially foil the attack, leaving him with the parasyte known as Migi taking the place of his right hand. Now forced to share the same body, the two must become unwilling allies. Because Migi isn’t the only one of his kind, and unless they work together, they’ll both be killed as abominations. Prepare yourself for a horrifying new world where monsters lurk behind every corner and every face as the human race becomes prey in PARASYTE – THE MAXIM!”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, January 2024.
When I got into anime during the early 2010s I was going to University and one of the first things I did was join an anime society and also pick up a subscription to Crunchyroll which was heavily supported by Sentai Filmworks and their catalogue. This was also during the time where simulcasts started to grow and I had more options to watch. 2014 is a pretty interesting era for Sentai as they had the licenses for a lot of intriguing titles.
Parasyte -the maxim- is one of those intriguing titles because it’s a modernised adaptation of the classic late 80s manga series. I remember when the anime was announced that the series was held in some licensing issues so it took a while before both a live-action theatrical adaptation (which was directed by Takashi Yamazaki who worked on Godzilla Minus One and Lupin III: The First) and an anime television series adaptation would be allowed. The anime was also animated by studio Madhouse so there was a lot of anticipation for it.
And it lived up to its reception, as I personally really enjoyed the adaptation as a whole. Madhouse did some clever choices with its first act especially with the main character’s appearance as that was one factor that threw off manga readers when they went into the anime adaptation. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack, which does use the EDM dubstep sound but it works well with the tone of the series (I enjoyed the catching rocks moment). The opening theme song also slaps, though it is such a whiplash listening from the short version to the full version. The anime also adapts the entire manga storyline so there’s no cliffhanger or expectation for a second season.
As mentioned Sentai Filmworks picked up the streaming and home video release for Parasyte -the maxim- for the United States & Canada as well as owning the UK & Ireland rights. For the UK, it was sub-licensed to Animatsu Entertainment, a distributor founded by members of Manga Entertainment UK who didn’t want to be restricted by Starz Entertainment who owned the UK branch at the time. This allowed them to branch out and pick up more titles than before so they got a batch of licenses from Sentai for home video.
Parasyte -the maxim- was released across two-parts with the Sentai limited editions also brought over but they didn’t perform very well. Eventually Animatsu merged back with Manga Entertainment UK once Starz made the distributor independent and the series eventually went out of print. Anime Limited during their MCM London October 2023 panel announced they had rescued Parasyte -the maxim- for the UK & Ireland on home video with a new collector’s release.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Sentai and Animatsu both released a limited edition box set years back for their two-part release of Parasyte -the maxim-, and normally I would have assumed that Anime Limited were likely locked out on a lot of the assets available but in reality the previous release was fairly barebones outside of a free readily available manga volume (with an exclusive cover), a small figurine and the show’s soundtrack. This collector’s edition release is more in line with Anime Limited’s other titles.
This release is presented with a rigid box containing an Amaray case to house the Blu-ray discs, and alongside the case is a 60-page booklet as well as a fold-out poster based on one of the Japanese home video volume covers. The booklet contains character designs and illustrations untranslated from the anime series.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The limited edition Blu-ray has 1000 units printed for an SRP of £79.99, and is expected to receive a standard edition Blu-ray release later down the line.
The series was included as part of their 12 Days of Christmas 2023 Early Bird line-up so I ordered it alongside five others. The set was on offer for £44.99 with the Anime Unlimited membership lowering the cost down to £40.49.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 60-page Booklet
- Fold-out Poster
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 8th January 2024 (AllTheAnime), 29th January 2024 (General retailers)
The collector’s edition release for Parasyte -the maxim- contains all 24 episodes across three Blu-ray discs, with the encode & authoring done by Sentai Filmworks via their complete series collection version from 2019. The audio options include Japanese with English subtitles and the Sentai Studios English dub, with English subtitles for the Hearing Impaired also available.
The yellow subtitles are locked during playback, and the regions are accessible to Blu-ray players set to A & B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English, English HOH |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | 3 BD-50s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 3:
- Clean Opening Animation “Let Me Hear”
- Clean Closing Animations “It’s the Right Time”
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Parasyte -the maxim- is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland. The collector’s edition Blu-ray release can be bought through different retailers including Amazon UK, AllTheAnime Store, and Anime-on-Line.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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