First Impressions / Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu

“Quiescence and Awakening”


「静と醒」 (Sei to Sei)

Migi’s Sacrifice:

When I heard that a main character ‘died’ this episode, I jokingly said it was probably going to Migi. Little did I realise that was actually who was going to ‘die’. I put it in quotation marks because even if the separated Migi reached an untimely end, there is still parts of him within Shinichi’s body; it may be little and insignificant for now, but chances are we’ve not seen the last of our little parasite friend. His bout with Gotou was a damn impressive one to say the least. The use of tactics, incorporating fire into the mix, and causing a diversion to find a chink in his armour – everything looked too good to be true, and it was. But we know now that Gotou isn’t invincible. He can be defeated, and that’s one thing that’s one thing we learned from Migi’s final attempt.

Did I ever think I’d get attached to this little alien? Kind of. He was charming from the beginning, and I very much appreciated his early interactions with Shinichi and how they clashed and eventually crossed over when it came to their moral judgements. Migi’s reflection on death at the very end was powerful; he still had life in him and didn’t want to give up just yet, but felt he had to in order to save Shinichi’s life. There’s no way he would have done that a few months ago, so that goes to show just how far this seemingly emotionless alien parasite has grown. Hopefully he returns in some form soon.

Change of Location, Change of Pace:

We needed something different to look at. I may be biased against the previous arc (which was definitely my least favourite of the series) but a change of scene was much needed. Luring Gotou out to somewhere secluded makes complete sense, and those forest battle scenes are always fun to watch, especially with the animation that we’re getting here. The shift in pacing after the battle was refreshing as well, and Shinichi’s moments with Mitsuyo were nice to watch unfold, from their disruptive first meeting to her eventually looking at him as the nephew she never had. It all went so by so quickly, yet it never felt rushed; we spent just the right amount of time that we needed to, and it was a good to have that breather.

Shinichi’s Decision:

Shinichi’s choice by the end was an important one: he has to go back and fix the problem that he brought here. Without Migi I don’t know what he could possibly do against Gotou, especially now that he is in some new form. No matter if it was a stupid decision, I much appreciated having this personal time with Shinichi like I’ve been asking for these past few weeks. I want him to prove himself as a main character; I’ve felt that especially in the second cour, his direct involvement with the plot has been limited. Sometimes that meant we got great development from other characters, but now is the time to come back to Shinichi as we head towards the conclusion.

Overview – What’s Next?

I feel like next week could be the final battle, or at least wrap up the Gotou story. How Shinichi is going to defeat him, I don’t know, but I can’t see it going on much longer. There’s still Uragami and Murano to be thrown into the mix, but going by the episode preview it seems we might be more focused on an emotional Shinichi and a threatening Gotou.

 

 

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:

  • Gotou defeated Yamagishi before leaving the scene. Shinichi was left emotionally shaken by the ordeal.
  • Shinichi and Murano have a heart to heart, expressing their feelings for one another, inspiring Shinichi to remain strong.

 

Details Digest:

Chapters Covered:

  • Chapters 57 p.30 – 60

Epic Car Collision:

One Armed Shinichi:

  • It was odd seeing Shinichi in his new armless state, but I do wonder how long that’s going to last now.
  • It would be fitting if it stayed and remained a ‘battle wound’ after all he’s gone through with Migi.

Preview

71 Comments

  2. The once emotionless Migi is giving me so much feels. And just when he finally shows emotions, he dies. (╥﹏╥)
    I’ll keep hoping. I won’t believe he’s dead till it’s confirmed next episode.
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2022%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2022%20-%20Large%2019.jpg

    Their fight with Gotou literally got out of hand. Future looks bleak for Shinichi.
    https://randomc.net/image/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu/Kiseijuu%20Sei%20no%20Kakuritsu%20-%2022%20-%20Large%2030.jpg

    Silke
    Reply

      4. ….and here we have a commenter going by the username Trap-sama talking about others thinking about him (or is it her?) fapping…

        Much wow. Really off-topic from the original anime post now is it?

        Techim
        Reply

    3. Migi is so misunderstood it’s painful!!! Even you people!

      He’s emotionless, true, but that doesn’t mean he disregards the inherent value of 1. relationships, and 2. people.

      Him telling Shinichi is ABSOLUTELY what he would do because from the most LOGICAL angle, there was nothing further Shinichi could’ve done, and Migi himself was already a dead parasyte walking at that point. It just shows that Migi’s not selfishly logical, he’s logical even to his own detriment. Standing by his principles to the bitter end.

      DZ
      Reply

      1. My guess is, that she experienced some family hardships in life herself like Shinichi has, thats probably why she understood and supported him at the end of the episode, especially referring to the scene where she prays for her dead husband to protect Shinichi and how she kept him as her “nephew” the days he was staying with her. So her outburst at the table was pretty understandable if I am fully correct. Elders can become this way sometimes.

        Yato
        Reply

  5. Was Migi’s sacrifice truly necessary though? They already had Gotou almost unable to move, so why didnt Migi continue attacking him, slicing him more and more?? It didnt look like Gotou would have been capable of defending himself any longer, if Migi reattached to Shinichi they could have ended it right there or am I totally missing something??

    Yato
    Reply

    1. Well from my understanding Migi requires quite a lot of energy to separate from Shinichi to begin with. The fact that he dispersed himself around the forest to throw Gotou off and and form a preemptive one hit strike made him all the more weaker. Not to mention Migi was somewhat restraining Gotou after the failed attack making him even more so unable to join back with Shinichi. Let’s not forget that through all this Gotou was still attacking Shinichi nonetheless.

      Nadester
      Reply

      1. I think, they could have handled the fight with Gotou better, if they were prepared enough. They could have thought of any kind of traps. They already stole a car and got it destroyed right? So why not also finally grab the flamethrower and try that out? Maybe thats still to come? In this regard I honestly was anticipating this epsiode to be more about strategies, how to go against Gotou.

        Yato
        Reply

      2. @Yato

        Except they were not given time to truly plan because they were already trying to escape from Gotou when he began quickly pursuing them and, given their current situation, they were lucky that Migi was even able to come up with that much of a plan, especially since it almost worked, in such a short time.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

      3. Half agree. Shinichi/Migi were definitely put on the spot so their lack of preparation isn’t that surprising.

        At the same time, was preparing more than JUST ONE sharp stick so impossible? Would’ve totally pwned Gotou with a second fire spear to disrupt him, not to mention 100% annihilation with 3 or more fire spears.

        DZ
        Reply

      4. ^ Oi oi, now that’s asking for a one in a million chance though, and that’s too much and unrealistic too. It’s as you’ve said, they don’t have much time to put up with such a tactic, so we’ll have to settle for that.

        R_Jaeger
        Reply

    1. Id say, that the parasites themselves are genderless obviously. Hence Shinichi had/has a strong bond with Migi though, ofc would he refer to Migi as “he” and not “it”. Its basically a human thing, same principle as when you refer to a pet you love with “him” or “her” and wild animals you dont know with “it”.

      Yato
      Reply

    1. Yeah, that was like some sort of foreshadowing with the eye that showed over night. If thats the case though, I just hope, that this “new Migi” will have the memories and character of the good ol’ real Migi. *fingers crossed*

      Yato
      Reply

    1. Not entirely sure what there was meant by that though, if this Migi cell meant the 30% left in Shinichi’s body then, well duh, however anything else is uncertain and just space for assumptions.

      Yato
      Reply

    2. We didn’t see Migi disappear, did we? My fear is that [speculation under spoiler space]Show Spoiler ▼

      boingman
      Reply

      1. Nup. Notice the Migi cells still in Shinichi? And how parasyte cells always have an overriding root-command to reunite with each other? Migi’s cells in Gotou will likely use Migi’s cells in Shinichi as a ‘beacon’ to go towards and reform as Migi.

        DZ
        Reply

  12. Migi did good, but Shinichi performed curiously underwhelmingly compared to his previous physical feats. I suppose we could chalk this up to his emotions hindering him, but I’m sure it’s mostly just author fiat at work.

    LoveMigi
    Reply

    3. Doubt this is true because it’d be just cruel… But I’d laugh if Migi turns out to have teamed up with Gotou after witnessing his potential and weighing up his survival chances as a part of Gotou’s body. Then in the finale, fights against Shinichi who has to kill him/Gotou… somehow…

      Goodwill Wright
      Reply

    4. Not just absorbed. I bet Migi deliberately incorporated himself into Gotou and is fighting for control of the main body. That’d explain why Gotou is rampaging around like an animal, instead of being the cold calculating killer he usually is.

      DZ
      Reply

  14. Anybody heard of the announcement that Episode 24 (END) is going to be screened in a local Japanese cinema one day before the TV broadcast?

    It makes me curious what Madhouse could have done to the adaptation to warrant such.
    Anime finale episodes airing in cinemas isn’t exactly a common practice, right?

    Techim
    Reply

      1. Where was it even mentioned that Episode 24, being screened in a local cinema, has to be a 2 hour movie? I think it’s just the usual episode length, only this time they’ll show it on the silver screen. I think it was also treated as such with Attack on Titan’s last episode as well, being the usual action-packed 24 minutes full length episode.

        R_Jaeger
        Reply

      2. Yes, but since anime isn’t over, most manga readers have been holding back. But if even anime-only watchers will be talking about the ending, then I expect them to join in as well.

        liebel
        Reply

    1. That fire doesn’t explain why did he suddenly turn from a calm collected hunter with single goal into a wanna-be vampire from 16th century hunting villagers one by one in the woods, the guy can literally murder hundred fully armed people in couple of minutes, and heres he randomly hunting defenseless villagers.

      Dwarg
      Reply

  20. I haven’t read the manga so I don’t know anything beyond the anime, but my thoughts:

    1. Migi definitely isn’t dead. I’d bet that he managed to incorporate himself onto Gotou’s body and is fighting for control – you notice that Gotou’s head never fully re-attaches in the scenes we see. This explains both how Migi isn’t dead (because he CAN’T BE) and also why Gotou seems to be rampaging around, very differently from the cold calculating character he usually is (e.g. not engaging Shinichi after escaping the initial army/police massacre).

    2. Shinichi is going to use fire. The garbage dump that was mentioned? That the old lady also mentioned almost burnt down the mountain? Yeah, I’m betting that that’ll play a big role in bringing down Gotou since we already know fire’s one of his major weaknesses.

    3. More tenuously – the Migi cells in Shinichi still left over will help the Migi cells in Gotou return to Shinichi after all’s said and done and Gotou’s burning down in flames.

    DZ
    Reply

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