First Impressions / Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu

“Crime and Punishment”


「罪と罰」 (Tsumi to Batsu)

Justice and Morality:

What a fitting title. When I saw that this episode shared the name of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s famous novel, I was expecting moral dilemmas to be involved, and is it turns out that’s the biggest thing I took from this episode. This was bloody, gory, and unforgiving. Kiseijuu isn’t something I watch for the fights (though they’re very well animated) but rather for the questions it raises and the character arcs it develops, so when there’s an episode consisting entirely of brutal fighting, it could either be hit or miss, but for the most part this was a hit – not because it was enjoyable to watch, in fact it was the opposite.

You could simplify it down to two ways to look at this parasite annihilation; you could think that the measures used here were necessary to effectively eliminate the threat, or you could think that this was an inhumane act that showed who the true monsters were. And as a whole, I think I agree with the latter. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t make the parasites the good guys in any way, but the massacre we saw here led by the unforgiving Yamagishi was a sick form of justice. The method they’re using here is unreliable and before long fights break out, but the collateral damage is too much to ignore. Obviously this is fictional but when in reality police do kill innocent people for being quick to the trigger, it’s the first thing that comes to my mind. So many innocents shouldn’t have to die to extinguish this threat – it’s understandable that they do it here and now, but when things get so out of hand that you’re relying on gut instinct to decide someone’s fate, it’s too far. Throwing Uragami into the mix makes it even messier. He’s a funny one, allowing a regular human to be killed before saving others later one. I don’t know what goes on his head, but at least he knows when danger stands in front of him.

Gotou is pretty damn impressive. That’s been obvious since his first introduction and from what we’ve seen of him, but he’s clearly something far beyond the other parasites. He’s a seriously intimidating man, and a very fitting villain to the series. I just hope Shinichi deals the finishing blow…

Lack of Shinichi:

Speaking of Shinichi, yet again he doesn’t do much – in fact he does almost nothing. I appreciated that Tamura’s words came to his mind in that moment, but watching him sit in the background is quite painful. I seriously hope he does something next time or I’m going to be quite disappointed.

Overview – What’s Next?

Shinichi’s lack of involvement aside, this episode was just as great as the many before it. I appreciated the moral dilemmas we got along with the bloodbath. For now it seems the humans are winning, but Gotou is a serious threat that need to be taken out as soon as possible. But going by the preview it also looks like Shinichi and Murano’s relationship might go to the next level. I do wonder how that comes about.

 

 

Information Digest:

Synopsis:

  • Parasitic aliens have descended on Earth with a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere – taking hold in the bodies of those unlucky enough to encounter them.
  • Once fused with a host body they can mutate in whatever way they please – except for the case of Izumi Shinichi, whose alien parasite, Migi, is trapped in his right hand.

Previously:

  • After Uragami fails to identify Shinichi as a parasite, he begins to return to a normal life, until the investigators show up at school.
  • A parasite extermination begins, led by Yamagishi, who is focused on what has to be done.

 

Details Digest:

Chapters Covered:

  • Chapters 53 – 55 p.22

Having a Quickie:

  • It was a nice little moment when Uragami and the others find the two office workers having a fling in the back room.
  • This episode was so grim and gory that we needed that insert of humour. Some people just want to get frisky whilst the world crumbles around them.

Preview

102 Comments

  1. https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2023.jpg
    Figuring out how to tell Parasyte from a human? No Problem lets just shoot everyone
    Flawless Logic
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2020%20-%2021.jpg
    He finally makes the move on his coworker and this happens to him. Worse. Luck. Ever.
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2020%20-%2035.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2020%20-%2036.jpg
    “Attention all, You know I’m about to whoop your asses right?”

    Nadester
    Reply

    1. Those two office workers can expect a really nice fine. Totally fair, for attempting what they had in mind, at the probably most inappropriate time possible, causing the SWAT unit unnecessary risks. Disobeying police orders is just like breaking law, other than the fact that sex is prohibited at work anyways…

      Yato
      Reply

  3. So it takes a monster to fight a monster. Yamagishi showed parasytes just how ruthless humans can be.
    In the immortal words of Netero (HxH 2011), “Don’t underestimate the human race.”
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2016.jpg

    Someone picked the wrong time for an office romp.
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2021.jpg

    Next episode title: SEX AND SPIRIT. Is that Shinichi x Murano scene from the OP finally happening? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2020%20-%20Large%20Preview%2003.jpg

    Silke
    Reply

    1. This Episode could be better, sadly.

      I say, it should’ve been more fast-paced. No need to wallow in narrations, Uragami’s quips and Yamagishi’s actions are sufficient for the viewers to see the theme of the episode. Faster pace would also make the SWAT’s action looks more decisive, well-trained, and intelligent – They gawked too much as if they’re some green rookies never in action.

      MADHOUSE also could’ve got Hirokawa’s encounter and revelation to this episode rather than in the next episode

      kittyraider
      Reply

      2. That’s not the problem. When the parasytes are disguised, it is understandable that they don’t know what to do. But, when the parasytes are revealed, they should shoot it right away. The fact that the SWAT guys just stand there and do nothing is just plot convenience. At least portray them doing something more than standing there, even if they’re going to get killed, otherwise they just look stupid.

        Apa
        Reply

      3. @Apa

        It is obvious they shot every parasite on sight as fast as possible and pretty much killed them all (even when civilians where in the line of fire or used as meat shields), the only parasyte that they hesitated to shoot was Gotou, so i don’t know where that complain is coming from.

        Hunter-Wolf
        Reply

      4. @Hunter-Wolf

        That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Doesn’t matter if they do the logical thing to other parasytes. When it comes to the fight against Gotoh, the fact that they do barely anything is just plot convenience. And that’s the problem. A lot of the things that happen in this anime are just plot convenience.

        Apa
        Reply

  5. Darn, that was an impressive episode. It was surprising at first how easily the parasytes were killed, but if a rock can do the job, so can a shotgun. The police definitely could have done a better job at avoiding things going utterly FUBAR, but I find it hard to condemn them too much or feel any sympathy for the parasytes given how many people they’ve killed and would continue to kill if let roam. I actually liked Shinichi’s inaction a lot; once the authorities get involved it’s so easy to sit back and unload all responsibility on them. Felt like the Shounen protagonist taking the sensible route for once… though not necessarily the right one.

    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2020%20-%2030.jpg
    If a blatantly suspicious man asks you to follow him, don’t! Shoot, and then keep shooting! Nothing that can’t be solved by moar Dakka!

    Hochmeister
    Reply

    4. I made the same comment on my twitter. Didn’t know there was an actual word for this phobia but I seriously hate holes. Especially holes in the ground… and on the walls… on PEOPLE, is the absolute worst *shivers >_<

      Cherrie
      Reply

    1. “in extremis exterminatus”
      “suffer not xenos to live”
      Actually I think Japan has probably relatively organized and civilized approach, consider vigilantes taking upon themselves to cleanse parasites in thirld world countries, or good old USA where anyone can posses military grade rifle… or all kind of dictatorships where secret police finally gets ultimate carte blanche to kill anyone.

      ewok40k
      Reply

      1. Heh, as hilarious & fun as it might have been to have some of W40k’s over-the-topness here, the fact that it doesn’t provides no easy answers here, making the show more interesting 😛

        MgMaster
        Reply

    1. Both would be a simple answer, with the SWAT forces sacrificing normal civilians in order to kill off the parasytes and the parasytes using those civilians as shields to survive. Thing is, monsters or not, both have legitimate reasons for doing what they’re doing, in which case I wonder if calling them monsters is still fair.

      MgMaster
      Reply

      2. It’s possible that either Tamura Reiko is the rare ones who could live without human meat, the other parastye didn’t know about this or a combination of these two. You need to remember Tamura Reiko is special and you can’t just use what she can do as what the other parastye can do.

        ofislacker
        Reply

      3. @ofislacker

        Except Tamura pointed out that all parasytes could live off normal food, the only thing different between her and other parasytes is that she started empathizing with humanity and her relation with the baby is probably the source of that along with Shinichi’s relation with Migi, i guess the other parasytes don’t care much about normal food and are more interested in hunting and eating humans even if they knew, that or Tamura chose for some reason to not share that info with them.

        Hunter-Wolf
        Reply

      4. To me the real issue is Yamagishi, the guy is real monster in this scenario, he didn´t blink when he realized he killed an inncent person. Even Uragami, the convicted serial killer acts more human than him; guys I really hope Yamagishi doesn´t leave the City alive because that´s one monster that scare much more than the parasytes.

        haseo0408
        Reply

      1. The words of Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing come to mind:

        “Seras: where am I?

        Integra: The Holy Order of Protestan Knights, also known as the Hellsing Organization, a plce full of monsters that hunt down other monsters.”

        haseo0408
        Reply

    4. Is it just me or is there a similarity to the Chimera Ant arc from Hunter x Hunter? This arc seems to focus on two species fighting one another over territory. And the humans aren’t portrayed as being all good.

      chibi-killua
      Reply

    1. I think there is a possibility he might surrender and ask for negotiations with the authorities using his political position for leverage (like how he shouted at the soldiers not to aim weapons at the civilians), that would really surprise everyone who won’t see that reaction coming and would explain why he is so calm, of course he would have other ulterior motives but him choosing to surrender after all that messy killing would really throw everyone in a loop and make the human side look really bad.

      Hunter-Wolf
      Reply

      1. To be honest i think i’m enjoying this more because i read the manga.

        1. It’s a danm good story
        2. It s damn good adaption

        So it’s a double win 🙂 (unlike my Akame ga kill experience… )

        .Mero
        Reply

  10. I’m not trying to defend Uragami’s actions, but I don’t think he technically “let” a regular human die the first time. He did overreact, but at the same time he was right; there were two parasites lined up together of those three, it’s just that the regular human was the one who tried to run away. Not that Uragami cares, but still.

    I don’t think we’ve ever seen exactly how well or how quickly he can distinguish humans from parasites, but it does take him a little time. Even Gotoh took a couple seconds, before he realized he should be running.

    What strikes me as odd is the completely cell-shaded crowd shot in the first 3-ish minutes. It looks completely weird and out of place, and I was all “WHUT.”

    Blue
    Reply

  12. I actually find Uragami the most fascinating character of the bunch. Before Reiko died, I used to think she was quite interesting too but she’s a parasite and it was hard to tell what she was really thinking. Uragami is a great example of why I like watching crime shows and that’s for the criminal profiling that they do to analyze and catch criminals. Uragami was unlucky because he was caught for a crime he didn’t actually commit, but what I would love to see them actually define his character more and do more flashbacks or something. I understand how he can determine who is a parasite and who isn’t, but what are his motives for killing women (I assume they were always women?) and eating them? What makes him a serial killer and what drives him to insanity? I think by understanding him more, it’d be clear that he’s obviously in this for himself and if given the chance, he’s just going to try and run to escape. He wouldn’t lie to the police about who is what, but that’s why he tries to save himself first when he saw Gotou and also why he’s not intentionally trying to kill humans when the police shot the wrong guy. I think he’s trying to help but lying wouldn’t help his cause, and he’s still only looking out for number one. Uragami is probably the only one that I’m watching closely now to see what he does and how it impacts Shinichi… I wonder if he’ll start doubting himself once he finds out that Shinichi IS a parasite and his judgment was wrong.

    Cherrie
    Reply

    1. Likely, he learnt how to tell fake personalities from real ones. Parasytes don’t feel much emotion and have a lack of empathy, so they have to put in effort to emulate human emotion and personality.

      Yamagishi listened to that man speak then had to make a judgement call on whether the man was acting or was for real. Meaning, he doesn’t know for sure, but he can somewhat tell.

      EamonX
      Reply

    2. I think he has an instinct similar to Uragami’s, he is used to seeing humans in their most weak or intense moments so when can feel when someone is acting abnormally, after all Parasites could trick people easily in normal situations but when the situation would cause real humans to panic or show emotions the parasites usually fail at imitating and they can be obvious and easy to spot if you have the eye for it.

      Hunter-Wolf
      Reply

      1. Uragami is a bit different. At first I thought he was like Kana and had an ability to detect parasite signals. Also, unlike Kana, he has to visually observe them in order to tell. Kana could detect parasites from afar. Instead he actually is a sort of psychic where he can tell a killer from a non-killer. It isn’t just a binary decision too as Uragami can sort of “measure” them too. That’s why he had a crazy reaction when he saw Gotou since he probably measured a multitude of “killers” inside Gotou.

        EamonX
        Reply

  16. In this specific situation it’s really hard to blame the soldiers for their actions even if they seem gruesome (and there has to be an investigation to determine the necessity of such measures), they are dealing with an alien threat that can easily disguise itself as perfectly normal and harmless humans and in a fraction of a sec they spout bladed tentacles and slice everyone to minced meat, of course the soldiers will act aggressive, suspicious and swif.

    The two people who died acted unreasonably, the first started running and didn’t respond when they told him to stop, and the second tried to play the hero and got up when told explicitly to stay down or they will be killed, in a situation where the military is dealing with an extreme threat like that there is no room for allowing this kind of behavior, you let your guard down for a sec and that innocent looking civilian could turn into a parasyte and slice you in half, IMO the only innocents who didn’t deserve to die are the ones who got forcefully hauled by the parasytes and used as meat shields, they really didn’t do anything to deserve that.

    Also, what they choose between here is little collateral damage or massive collateral damage, there is no choice that doesn’t involve civilians falling, the parasites don’t give a fuck and would use every opportunity to but something between them and the soldiers regardless of how many people die in the process.

    Hunter-Wolf
    Reply

    2. To sort of play Devil’s Advocate, I feel they could’ve avoided this blood bath altogether with a different plan. They perhaps could’ve waited outside the building staking out the place with their scanning bus so they could identify as many parasytes as they could over the course of a few days or even weeks. Then they could begin recording their patterns of movement so they could plan the best way to keep them separated and kill them with minimal risk and as covertly as possibly in smaller groups simultaneously (divide and conquer).

      Sure, planning it out would take time and result in more people dying in the meantime, but it surely wouldn’t have been as deadly as what they did, which was force a confrontation amongst a crowd of people in a closed off space, since there was no way they were not going to have heavy collateral damage. Though you wonder why they didn’t use snipers once they got them out into the open as backup/support.

      Though the authorities were pretty much in a damned if you do or damned if you don’t situation. In any case, whatever direction the story felt like going in I’m confident would’ve been just as compelling and entertaining.

      Impel Down Hippo
      Reply

    2. The parasites didn’t expect the humans to be ruthlessly efficient and fast with their investigation. They thought the status quo would continue but they were severely wrong when they decided to kill that private investigator’s family. It started a chain reaction that led to their exposure and now extermination.

      EamonX
      Reply

    3. So many parasyte sympathizers here. They are the true monsters. Just because they didn’t kill as many people doesn’t change the fact that they’re the predator and humans are the prey.

      Kaye
      Reply

      1. Well, true, but predators aren’t evil.

        The only problem with the parasites is that even though they can live off just human food, they still devour other human beings anyway. I guess all parasites have a strong instinct to devour anything alive. It’s in their nature to consume and combine with everything. It was only Tamura Reiko that managed to overcome this instinct. And Migi and the neck parasite don’t eat humans because their hosts will never allow them to.

        EamonX
        Reply

  21. This episode was so grim and gory that we needed that insert of humour. Some people just want to get frisky whilst the world crumbles around them.

    Fear is a powerful thing, you know…It could probably have been the suspension bridge effect driven to maximum overload. XD

    Techim
    Reply

  25. You could always say they can find a better way but for every day they try to find that more people are becoming prey to these parasyte. So in the end it’s a question of whenever doing the unforgivable now and save those who would die in the future, or wait to find a possible better way while more die while doing so. In the end, it’s hard to say which will result in less death count, but it’s just a matter of views and ignorance.

    Also, you couldn’t blame those on site carrying the plan out. Those parasyte would kill them the moment they hesitated, so for them it’s kill or be killed. Of course you could blame those who planned this but honestly, how else are you gonna do about this now? Look at their previous way of pull out hairs, those who pull the hair is guaranteed to die while this plan would have cause lesser causalities. Of course they could wait to fins better alternatives, but people still die that way.

    ofislacker
    Reply

  29. I think it’s safe to say it can be both. That humans have to do what they must to protect themselves, but by doing so become monsters themselves, and sadly that’s just the consequence to preserving the species. There’s always a duality to this sort of action, and it speaks volumes when any show attempts to tackle this with depth as opposed to highlighting just one side superficially.

    Impel Down Hippo
    Reply

  30. I don’t really follow this series, I’ve seen one episode from the first season and this episode on TV. I couldn’t wait for the next episode so I read the manga from this part till the end, and I kinda wish I didn’t lol.

    Catallena
    Reply

  31. Well, The ANN guy doesn’t like the episode. He’s right though.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    shensu3
    Reply

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