Parasyte, Volume 5

Parasyte (8 Volumes Edition) #5

by Hitoshi Iwaaki

MONSTER

Shinichi was just an ordinary high school student, until his body was invaded by a parasite, a horrifying alien being. Now Shinichi is a monster with a human face...and a human conscience. He is unlike anything else in the world - part man, part alien, and caught in a desperate struggle to save his own soul.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Comics, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Seinen, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 1992

About the author

Hitoshi Iwaaki (Japanese: 岩明均 Hepburn: Iwaaki Hitoshi, born July 28, 1960) is a Japanese manga artist, whose works include the science-fiction/horror series Parasyte. The Mixx editions of Parasyte romanize his name as "Hitosi Iwaaki", while the Del Rey Manga editions use "Hitoshi Iwaaki".

In 1993, he received the Kodansha Manga Award for Parasyte. He was a finalist for the 2005 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize for Historie. In 2010 Historie took the grand prize in the manga division of the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is someone following Chi? What do they want, and more importantly who are they working for. And when everyone's cards are on the table, along comes a new type of Parasyte, far deadlier than the rest. The series is improving as expected and I feel one of the good things about it is the underuse of the monstrous content, as that what makes the horrific scenes so good when they arrive. A Three Star , 7 out of 12, I'm going to binge this read :)

2025 read

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been 9 months since I last read the previous volume. Sometimes, I don't realize how long I put a series on hold. 😅

In this case, though, the break worked out well. It allowed me to come back with a fresh perspective, which only made me enjoy this volume even more.

This one had more action than I remembered. Things are really heating up as Shinichi begins to confront the parasitic aliens head-on.

I definitely won’t let another 9 months pass before diving into the next one!

[Paloma orejuda (Pevima) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pues... jo, con Kana ha pasado lo que se veía que iba a pasar, pero ha sido un poco precipitado. Y sigue con lo mismo, que si Shinji es humano, que sí no... Empiezo a entrever como va a terminar la cosa y creo que no me va a gustar.
La ex-profe me sigue poniendo los pelos de punta, es la más peligrosa de todos y tengo miedo de que se salga con la suya. Eso me disgustaría.

Me he quejado mucho del dibujo, pero tengo que reconocer que lo que más me fascina y me inquieta son los ojos. Molan y horrorizan jajajja

En fin, 3 estrellas sobre 5 y esperando a que llegue al clímax de una vez por todas.

[Nərmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found out what I hate in this manga: teeth! How ugly their teeth are drawn! They seem like a monster when they show their goddamn awfully big teeth!
I wanted Murano and even Kana have some big parts in the story or some solid personalities. Still the story is about Shinichi and Migi, so I guess I have to roll with it.
Now another person near to Shinichi died. I didn't feel sad or anything, so it is a minus for the story. Still I am curious what will happen to all these parasites on earth. What are they planning? Are they going to coexist with humans? I doubt so.
Despite not liking manga art, I like the animation. In anime Shinichi and other characters are more modern. Hate oldie hairstyles and clothes!
PS: Kana's death in anime was more emotional.

[MarinaLawliett · Rating 3 out of 5]

*7*
Tomo llenísimo de acción y aunque odie las peleas eternas y básicamente la mitad del tomo sea una persecución más batalla han soltado tal cantidad de información que me ha parecido una maravilla, he podido aprender los movimientos y técnicas de Miggy y me he quedado con mil ganas del sexto tomo para ver cómo piensan enfrentarse a la que está por venir! 😍

[Made by Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid Volume but felt like a lot of padding. Especially with the detective. Interesting (and has a hell of a payoff) but it felt a little long and didn't really give any sort of excitement. So that part of the volume (Which is a good portion) felt a little poor.

On the flip-side the whole being chased by a new type of Parasyte it was engaging (kind of funny) and scary. I really loved the whole chase and the fight itself was both entertaining and horrifying. Overall it's a solid volume that could have been "GREAT" without the detective line.

[Joshua Jonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing to love Shinichi and Migi’s partnership and watching him evolve as not only a man but as a hero, his relationship with his girlfriend did get sidelined big time and we didn’t see much development from her, but she’s still here and her scenes help flesh her out a tiny tiny bit.

[Paige Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad we see more of the dad, girlfriend and fat parasite guy though he gives nobody any context. If you don’t read the last book a day beforehand it’s hard to remember what’s going on when this one starts—that some investigator snapped a pic of Migi.

The college scene is done well to parallel and explain the female parasite’s motives from a scientific/social setting. Good tension throughout and varied violence. The change in the MC is good without being too fast—though the thing with him telling his too platonic GF not even an excuse is stupid and repetitive.

[Ignacio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iwaaki continúa mostrando sus limitaciones a la hora de representar la acción, pero consigue mantener la tensión ahora que la amenaza comienza a desarbolar al protagonista. Es llamativo cómo un argumento que era una simple elaboración de La Cosa no se ha estancado y progresa.

[cynne★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

omg i need a breather

[Morgan Brandenburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

it just gets better and better. not sure if i can emotionally handle the direction shin/migi are going though… man i love their relationship

[Z książką po mojemu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo dobra manag. Fakt, ten tom może nie należy do moich ulubionych. Zabrakło mi czegoś. Ale niezmiennie, jestem bardzo ciekawy dalszego rozwoju fabuły i co wydarzy się w finale. Do końca już tylko tezy tomy.

[Kat Galvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are developing quickly and have more stealth to them and their devious activities. They are becoming a lot more human than they think as they need to adapt in order to survive. Can’t wait to see how this story progresses

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Parasyte continues to whip along at a great clip as we follow the ongoing adventures of Shinichi and his parasitic partner named Migi who has taken over his right hand. In previous volumes, the threat of the cannibalistic, sociopathic Parasites is an ever evolving threat as they continue to infiltrate all layers of society and Shinichi must navigate his own complex role in this new world. Though Shinichi wants to stop the other Parasites from killing more, he fears his own involvement will result in him being the target of clandestine government studies and Migi's destruction. At the same time, Shinichi fears that Migi's homicidal tendencies will one day overrule his own morality. Here, Shinichi takes the biggest step forward in terms of his role as a Parasite powered vigilante, going toe-to-toe with multiple, powerful opponents in an action-packed and bloody romp. However, when compared to the previous few volumes, this one does feel a bit more stagnant in terms of the driving forward the central narrative. It is quite action heavy here which does make for an engaging read, but the story beats in the second half here feel quite repetitive and drawn out.

Hitoshi Iwaaki continues to excel in drawing some truly unhinged anatomical designs that really feel like top tier body horror in the medium. Given how violence heavy this volume was it works as one of the better showcases of Iwaaki's creative genius. No sequence feels unearned simply due to Iwaaki's ability to draft some spectacular bits of violence. And the added colors here continue to incorporate some heaviness to the gore that heightens the overall experience.

[Beatriz · Rating 4 out of 5]

“No creo que sirva de mucho argumentar casos vistos en otras especies... Pero por ejemplo ¿No se puede decir que los humanos coexisten con los animales de granja? Obviamente, no en plano de igualdad. Porque, para un cerdo, un humano es un monstruo devoracerdos que no atiende a razones.”

Simplemente fantástico y con mucha más acción que el 4º (para mi el más flojo). Empiezo ahora mismo el 6º porque yo necesito saber jajaja así no me puedo quedar.

[Valerie Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

"if we progress without moderation, we will not have a future"

while the majority of this one followed a character I didn't really like and I was frustrated with all the actions surrounding getting them involved, it still made for an interesting progression in the story and things are only getting darker, I have no idea how this will end but I'm excited to find out

[Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eeeeek! Showdowns, face-offs and fights aplenty.

[Evey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as much as the previous volumes, but it had its moments.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 Shinichi becomes involved with a private detective that Reiko has put on his trail. Together they find a “Dining Room”, a feeding place of the parasytes. Shinichi confronts one and is forced to kill it.

Now the Parasyte group is aware of him and sends a peculiar Parasyte individual, Goto, to hunt down Shinichi and kill him. An entertaining game of cat & mouse ensues followed by a battle.

EyeBall Head Parasyte on the cover of volume 5.

Read 5/9/2023

[Δανάη Ιμπραχήμ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's just...okay.

[Ciel Dahlberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the overt messaging in this volume about what makes something human. the side canversations, classes, and little comments all add so much to the story and really tie it together.

[Ryan Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

the villains in this collection are very compelling and I am curious to see how the overall story arc plays out. seeing the variety of parasites and how they affect humans is always a crazy surprise

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, more of this story please! I am still hoping for more politics or anthropology. There are some good flashes of interesting topics, but then the story goes back to being just action-packed.

[HJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I’m loving Shinichi’s ongoing conflict with himself and the ending of this volume has hopefully set up for a really interesting next volume if I’m guessing correctly… 😱

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my least favorite volume in the series so far. Although it was just as thick as the others, it just didn't feel like much happened in the book. It also took me the longest to read this one. I still look forward to finishing out the series, but I think volume 5 was definitely more of a filler book than anything.

[Luna's Little Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series Rating: 4 Stars

Firstly a warning, Parasyte is horror – not the fluffy kind.
It’s violent and the artwork backs this up.

I personally prefer creepy over violent horror but Parasyte didn’t bother me, because it’s not just about gore and death – there is plenty of plot. Shin’s parasite didn’t succeed in taking him over, instead he’s trapped in Shin’s hand and the two of them develop and odd (and sometimes rather amusing) relationship. Meanwhile, around them the bodies count is going up.

There were some parts of this story that have some serious emotional punch (you’ll know the ones I mean when you read Parasyte) and I was impressed by how much the first few volumes in this series got to me. Shin’s character slowly begins to change as the story progresses, is it because of what’s happening or because of the parasite?

Parasyte has an overall story arc of why they aliens have come, which brings up another set of questions for you to ponder. As does the conclusion to the series.

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the highest it's ever been, "Parasyte" falls to the lowest. The first three volumes of this series were pleasant introductions that were obviously flawed but kept the tale going. In volume 4 all the best aspects of the story came together for a truly good installment that finally gave us some meat and potatoes and kept all the various levels of the plot active. But in volume 5 "Parasyte" seems to have lost its way. The whole seems chaotic and aimless, and the worst thing that could happen with a b-movie concept like this- an alien parasite invasion- happens. There are superficial confrontations and action sequences with nothing behind them. A story of identity, political allegory and ethics turns into a simplistic battle manga.

It's all still executed with style, but you can hear the hollow echo of the volume on every page. Hitoshi Iwaaki better level up his game. With only three volumes remaining, we need to see something substantial again soon.

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Izumi'z problems continue in a series that shows signs of slowing down. The best part of Vol V is an extended chase and fight sequence with five aliens inhabiting a single body; The storytelling is cinematic, with the characters' parasitic components allowing them to swing through trees and grab hold of speeding trucks.

Izumi's supposed girlfriend must be trying for the "most-long-suffering-girlfriend-in Japan" award. If I were her I would be more concerned with the dead bodies that turn up in his vicinity.

When characters are startled they may say either "eep" or "eek." I wonder if there is some subtle difference in Japanese.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume starts off with some cool philosophy, seeing a parasite at a college lecture about animal survival habits. There's a growing theme that the parasites are human, just like humans they are self-serving but are coming together in a group to better strategize how to survive. Towards the end it breaks down into a fight which is honestly really cool. The enemy parasite here transforms different limbs for different reasons- I love the scene of them fighting from the treetops as they don't swing on branches but instead turn their limbs into blades that hook into the trees and keep them alift.