I never read the original version of Parasyte manga since it was printed when I wasn't born yet. The tenth volume came out in 1995 and I was about 5 years old then. This publication has been re-released many times, in fact I could go to the local bookstore now and find a few volumes. Not the whole series but at least volumes 1 to 8 if your lucky. I did however watch the anime because of a recommendation from one of my friends. Parasyte: The Maxim was my first real exposure to the Parasyte franchise. It was such a great experience for me and an even better way for people like me who didn't read the Parasyte manga to know the series. Even to this day, I haven't read the manga but I did watch the live action films after seeing the anime. I've now also picked up this spin off manga called Neo Parasyte F.
Neo Parasyte F is a collection of short stories by most popular Shojo(Manga geared toward young women.) creators to ever do the genre. I flipped through the book in the bookstore just to see the art, only to be pleasantly surprised that Yuki Kaori(Godchild, Angel Sanctuary, etc) did an insert story as well. No more pondering was needed after finding out this fact so I made my way to the cashier. The manga has about fifteen stories with each being by a different author. At the end of each story, there's a black page with translator notes, the creators name, works they are known for, and a tiny paragraph telling readers their thoughts on the creative process. I like how humble everyone was to be picked to be included in this project. Some authors seemed very nervous to have the public read their work while others were down right stroked as fans of the original manga.
I came in reading this for a few stories that I liked the art for. I could of skipped most of the stories and only read the ones that I was interested in. It didn't feel right to do that so I read through each story one by one. One story might be one to four pages while others would be longer. The spin each creator put on their stories showed their love for the original but the attempted to bring a new flare to what was already created. What I really enjoyed if how some of the stories tried to expand the storylines of some of Parasyte's characters that was never touched on in the final half of the original story. Such as Shinji's father's view point of his son as he becomes a totally different person before his eyes and a look into what Tamura Reiko's child might have looked like in elementary school. Stories like these were touching enough to leave a lasting impression on the reader while making you want to go back and revisit the original. Besides that, other stories come with original content unique to this book that use the ideas that Parasytes are among us. These stores never end well but with a dark shojo manga creator like Yuki Kaori taking part, what do you expect? She's very dark with her work and makes no apologizes. This manga touches light notes in the course of the read through as well. Migi was the type of character that while cold hearted, had a unknowing sense of humor. A few stories use this characteristic to put side characters and main characters alike in laugh out loud positions thats a breath of fresh air before the storm. Placement of each story was done in consideration of what was coming after each story. The first few stories are pretty lightweight. Except the first story thats short, dark, sweet, and wastes no time setting off the manga as a whole. Then you have some light fun stories followed by some super dark content ending with some heart warming content. The manga gives a little bit of everything for the fans. A manga created for the fans by fans basically.
I'll be a little nit picky and say that I didn't care for all the art that made up a select few stories but the content of the this collect as a whole is very good. I'm will to over look my harsh arts standards just this one time. Don't expect this to happen again. I didn't like the art for the original Parasyte either. Hence why I still haven't taken the time to read it. Probably never will.
Neo Parasyte f is a great read if you just want something to do on an off day or your a fan of the original series. I do recommend you at least check out the anime before hand if you know nothing about the world of Parasyte. You'd be a little more in the know when reading this. There's a lot of references to the original that only a person who knows the story would understand. Of course, you don't have to because Neo Parasyte F has plenty of stories that are not related to the original. Enjoy no matter what you decide to do.
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