First Impressions / Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu

“The Sun Also Rises”


「日はまた昇る」 (Hi wa Mata Noboru)

Shot through the heart, and your mother is to blame. I suppose parasites certainly do give love a bad name.

After being dealt the killing blow, Shinichi hits the floor, blood pouring from him. If not for Migi, he would have died there and then. But come on now, we all knew Shinichi was going to make it; it was more how he was gonna get out of this, and I’m quite intrigued with how that happened. Migi comes up with the plan to re-insert himself into the place of Shinichi’s dying heart in order to stop the bleeding and keep him alive. The most noteworthy thing though, is Migi acknowledging the risk of doing just that, yet still going out of his way to save Shinichi. I suppose you could look at is as Migi looking out for his host body, but I’m starting to suspect that there may be more to it than that.

As Shinichi awakens though, he is met with flashbacks of what just went down, and he can’t help but be shaken by the fact that his mother’s killer is within her body. The tragedy only continues from there, but before that: the glasses are off, the shirt is off, and the there’s a cool new scar right in the centre of his chest. The killing blow certainly left a mark, but it’s unlikely that it’s the only damage Shinichi has left from the encounter, be that physically or mentally. After answering the ringing phone however, confirming that his father is alive and in hospital, Shinichi rushes off to see him.

But of course, Murano encounters him at his very weakest. Shinichi has to yet again hide the horrors going on in his life, and step forward with conviction and assurance, instead of balking at the fear of what’s to come. This is undeniably the point in the series where Shinichi’s character is changing. He’s growing, adapting, and accepting with the situation he’s in. He’s fighting back now, and that only makes for some well promised character development. So with that, he travels by boat to reach the island where his dad is at, meeting Makiko in the process, a friendly girl who guides him to the hospital.

The hospital scene was a difficult one to watch; they both know it was a monster that did the killing, but whilst Shinichi has accepted the fact and wishes to deal with it, his father is still in disbelief, seemingly accepting that his wife is in fact still alive despite watching her die in front of his eyes. The truth is on the tip of their tongues, but the excuses are preventing the revelations from coming out. Or at least for now.

Despite the episode being quite a straightforward one overall, we do learn that Migi now has a weakness! After re-entering Shinichi’s body through his heart and keeping him alive, it seems that Migi now requires 4 hours of sleep a day… quite like your average human. But this newfound flaw leaves Shinichi defenceless for those few hours. It’s going to be interesting to see if there are more human aspects to Migi’s nature now, both in body and mind. And while the question of enemies or allies comes up, I think it’s certain at this stage that Shinichi and Migi are going to keep working together, using one another in whatever ways they can to achieve their goals.

Showing actual interest for Shinichi’s opinion on the matter, Migi even asks whether it is okay to fight and kill the parasite now within the body of his mother, and Shinichi confirms that it is. He wants revenge against his mother’s murderer, even if it means killing her over again. Will he be able to do it when the time comes? Who knows… but we may find out next week.

 

 

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:

  • Shinichi and Murano find themselves caught in a conflict with delinquents from another school, encountering the mysterious Kana in the process.
  • After returning home Shinichi then gets a chilling phone call from his father, and then his mother returns home under the control of a parasite, stabbing Shinichi directly through the chest.

 

Details Digest:

Chapters Covered:

  • Chapters 12 p.19 – 14 p.31

Shinichi is Changing:

Preview

102 Comments

  4. I have to give props to the show for the handling of Shinichi’s parents even now the expected tragedy has happened. The grief, the denial, the anger, all the emotions both he and his father experience (I’m actually quite glad his dad lived) don’t feel overblown at all, but instead very human. And it certainly works in getting me engrossed in this show’s characters – a lot of anime could learn things from it.

    The way Migi and Shinichi are changing is pretty interesting as well. Whereas Shinichi is slowly growing more and more inhuman, Migi is going in the opposite direction. From needing sleep to starting to be considerate, our little parasite is changing bit by bit. And him acting as Shinichi’s weirdass caretaker after he got stabbed was actually kind of d’aww inducing (as well as kinda funny).

    And Makiko, please don’t die. Hanging around in the vicinity of the parasite gives you a bad case of the deathflags, and we’ve had enough tragedy already.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  5. DAMN!
    is all i can say about this development. it’s getting better and better, makes you wonder why this epic thing didn’t get an anime all those years before, but it’s better late than never

    danes256
    Reply

  6. I’d say that Migi didn’t so much insert himself into Izumi’s heart as temporarily replace it, like a heart-lung machine, but using Izumi’s lungs. The bleeding was a relatively minor problem, since without any blood pressure it stopped immediately.

    Migi best surgeon. Black Jack eat your heart out.

    Rob
    Reply

    1. I guess Migi basically continued circulation of blood as normal until it could repair the wound in Shinichi’s heart. Once the wound was closed and the heart functioning, he then went to repairing the wound in his chest by merging the tissue nearby to close the hole – which is why Shinichi was left with that horrific scar.

      Not sure what Migi was doing with the sugar and water. Didn’t study medicine lol.

      EamonX
      Reply

      1. What else does she approve of? ;P

        Oh and awesome episode, so glad I picked this up. Definitely Top 3 anime this season and most likely (pretty sure thus far) one of the best anime of the year!

        Yato
        Reply

  9. Disagree with the comment on Shinichi’s father, he isn’t in disbelief, he’s actively trying to shield Shinichi from what he knows to be true. Like most fathers he wants to desperately protect his son and keep things “normal”, seeing his son devastated at the loss of his mother would probably push Shinichi’s father over the edge; he wants to keep things together as much for Shinichi as himself, even while currently ignorant that Shinichi does know and why he knows. It’s why Shinichi made the comment about his father’s tears, he knows his father doesn’t believe the words he’s saying, he’s simply doing so to continue to be the wall of strength for Shinichi to fall back upon. Scenes like this always get to me, seeing your father in fear and anguish is one hell of a way to ground a person in reality.

    It’s a pleasant surprise overall just how well handled the character development is in Kiseijuu, this series along with Log Horizon are dominating in terms of character interactions and development.

    Pancakes
    Reply

    1. Energy source, glucose (i.e. sugar) is the primary chemical compound used to generate ATP (energy) in cells. Without a constant source of energy cells will quickly die as ATP is required for the vast majority of cellular functions. It’s a similar situation to how comatose patients often have an IV line attached to them dripping in a nutrient solution, Migi was keeping Shinichi’s body functioning relatively normally until he woke up.

      Pancakes
      Reply

      2. Constant source? Yes, but not that fast. Oxygen: Minutes, Water 2-3 days. Food? Two-Three weeks. Not recommended to go that long, but energy reserves are stocked far more vast than air and water.

        Drasca
        Reply

      4. Except that’s not how food conversion works at all, or nutritional requirement. There is no magic to how much energy is required, and what types of nutrition.

        Replacement water is absolutely needed for everything, and some electrolytes along with it for proper fluid replacement. Pure sugar is not, and processing food takes energy too– away from healing process.

        If anything, he needs meat for the long term building block requirements of protein and fat for flesh (protein), skin (lipids, mostly fat), and blood replacement (Iron + Protein).

        There’s plenty of glycogen for Shinichi’s body– and plenty of fat stores waiting to be converted too.

        As for Migi, we don’t know how he works, so it a bit more of a wash–but it appears he derives energy from his human host. Sugar isn’t magic, and still has to be processed into glycogen, which takes time and energy away from the host. Adding sugar: Wrong move Migi. Throwing it up later just solidified that mistake.

        Drasca
        Reply

      5. You also mistake the sugar found on tables for glucose. They’re actually Sucrose, derived from Sugar Beats & Canes, and actually lower on the glycemic index than white bread, a scale for determining how fast the glucose levels rise within the blood.

        You won’t find glucose products commonly without having a specific need for it (diabetics, hospitals, etc)

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index

        While glucose is always a sugar, and sucrose always a sugar, not all sugars are glucose.

        Drasca
        Reply

  14. No spoilers, but having just finished the manga I highly recommend that none of you drop this anime at any point, it’s an amazing story and it only gets better. Definitely one of my top 5 anime of all time.

    Brock
    Reply

    2. “My wife was killed by a monster”
      You would probably deny that as a hallucination or nightmare as well.

      Or maybe the police are aware of the recent emergence of monsters but were ordered to remain silent to prevent mass panic. Doubt it though; a secret like that needs to be kept confidential at a even higher level. Letting the average policeman know is just asking for information to be leaked. But then again, maybe they weren’t your average policeman…

      Hidari
      Reply

      1. I suggest not looking at the previews until you’ve watched the episode it is for if you want to keep yourself spoiler free…which is hard because the previews are awesome. Probably the most hype previews ever.

        SA! SA! Me La dee doosh so lay noosh! SA! SA!

        kondee
        Reply

      1. Because Migi is sexless, you could refer to him as her, or it, they, or whatever pronoun you’d like – unless it is confirmed at some point, but I doubt that. I tend to just go for he, but if I’m referring to any other parasite within a host body, I’ll just call them by the gender of that particular human. But really, it doesn’t matter all that much.

        Samu
        Reply

      2. You could also say they acquire a gender the moment they come into a host body. Only because this new enemy couldn’t handle a male body, having been “used to” a female one. So the enemy is a “female” parasyte. (shrugs)

        Sissy
        Reply

  23. This show is so amazing and is being handled so perfectly.
    This and Akatsuki no Yona are my favorites of the season so far.
    We need more brilliant shows like this. Well of course F/S UBW is a fave too.

    Kabble
    Reply

  25. I don’t exactly understand why Shinichi became a superhero all of a sudden? Improved vision, heightened senses, and he can also jump extremely high now. What the hell. All Migi did was fuse with his heart for a short while, and then he went right back. So, why the sudden change?

    Mormegil
    Reply

    2. I have two theories about that:

      1 – Migi managed somehow to tune up his body and rearrange is cells in someway, that he now has superhuman strength.

      or

      2 – Migi has managed to fuse himself with him a bit more, therefore the enhancement…

      Anyhow, i’m sure Migi will explain it all next episode 🙂

      Jim Dean
      Reply

  26. Once again, these episodes are way too short!

    Just another great episode, from the explanation of Migi healing him, to the complex emotional display of his father and himself, it’s all done really well that it feels natural and not forced in any way.

    I think I will start letting these episodes stack up since it’s really such a compelling story.

    Impel Down Hippo
    Reply

    1. It could be any number of things. Perhaps the parasytes are bilogical weapons sent by another alien race? Perhaps the parasytes migrated through space to Earth in search of hosts to join? Perhaps their landing on Earth is an accident? Personally, I’d rather the story keeps that secret or just drops small hints here and there. It keeps the whole mystery vibe fresh.

      EamonX
      Reply

  30. So it seems the symbiosis is expanding between the two.

    Shinichi’s body is getting enhanced the more Migi changes things or even just stays attached while Migi seems to be learning more about human feelings. Notice that Migi even stops Shinichi and asks him if he’s (Shinichi) okay with him (Migi) killing his mother when, previously, Migi wouldn’t have cared one way or another and simply do things based on what’s most logical and best for his own survival. It’s small, but the fact that Migi even asked in consideration of Shinichi’s feelings (even if it was possibly more for his own survival in that Shinichi becoming too emotional and hesitant could get them killed) is definitely a step forward.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

    1. “Notice that Migi even stops Shinichi and asks him if he’s (Shinichi) okay with him (Migi) killing his mother when, previously, Migi wouldn’t have cared one way or another and simply do things based on what’s most logical and best for his own survival.”

      Perhaps. But it also could be Migi trying to make sure Shinichi is in a stable state of mind since it could be disastrous for both if he gets killed again due to hastiness.

      EamonX
      Reply

  33. I think you forgot to talk about one more important thing in this episode. How it is so not normal for Shinji to jump up a one story high wall. Something seems to have changed in him too, besides being able to see without glasses now…

    Djalaal
    Reply

    1. I did! I touched on Shinichi’s new upgrades in the Details Digest part of the review at the bottom right hand side. I’m definitely interested to see if he’s got any other super-human abilities still to show. And also if Migi will become more human as Shinichi becomes more inhuman.

      Samu
      Reply

      1. My bad, I read this post on my phone, and apparently it was zoomed in to the point that I couldn’t see the right part.

        On a different note, Shinji’s “upgrades” are what I find most exciting in this anime. Things finally get real 🙂

        Djalaal
        Reply

  36. Now we just Migi to evaluate power levels the next time the hooligans show up.
    “That guy is a 11, the other one is a 13 and the main thug is a 14”
    “At your current level you are OVER 9000!!!!”

    bknight
    Reply

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