I received this manga from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

So I have heard a lot about this series and was curious about it (even thinking of watching the Netflix show, but then I totally forgot about that, haha). So I am happy that I could read this first volume. I probably won’t be reading on, while I did like this first volume it just didn’t fully click with me.

And that has mostly to do with the silliness. I had expected more horror and while we get several gruesome dismembering or tearing parts, for most I just found it comical how things were drawn. The hand/parasyte that is stuck to Shinichi, the facial expressions of Shinichi. I mean, on the cover it also looks a bit silly, but more threatening. In this one I just couldn’t take that hand serious, only during some rare fights I saw more potential. And then there are several scenes that had me wondering if this one was supposed to be scary or just silly. I just couldn’t take this one serious. And you know, I have read manga that was both silly/horror and that worked, but it is just not working with this one. It is as if the manga itself cannot make up if it wants to go one or another way.

Plus, I had also expected more horror/more scary aliens. So far we meet four others (and a dog), 3 baddies and one undecided. I would have just liked some more aliens. The first page of the manga made it seem like there were tons of these things, but so far not much.

Oh, and there is the alien’s name that is stuck to Shinichi. Hold on to your socks, they call him Migi. Because he is the right hand. Yup. Like a 5-year old would do when they cannot think of a name. Similar to giving a cat a name like Kitty or Cat or a Dog called Woof or Dog.

There is also a dash of romance, though I have to say I didn’t see much of a spark. Shinichi didn’t get any hints which also annoyed me.

But Mehsi is there anything you liked? Sure, I like the cover it looks so cool (Shinichi doesn’t look like a lame dude on here). I do love what the aliens can do and what happens when they reach your brain. How they can take it all over. How they make you hungry. How some seem to stay intelligent and others seem to just go murder hobo on everything (well, OK, all aliens like to go murder hobo but some just do it a bit more hidden). Whereas Shinichi and his right hand alien look quite normal when going battle mode, when the other aliens (those with their aliens in their head) go battle/murder/hungry mode they all go wonky with their heads which lead to both hilarious and WELP nope scenes, I mean, heads are not supposed to just unfold like a flower or an origami piece, haha. Plus, so many teethies! I loved the battles when they happened as they were quite cool. And while my stomach wasn’t always happy, I did like that the manga didn’t shy away from showing gore. I also love that Shinichi tries to figure things out, can humans and these aliens cooperate together? Can they live together. To which I say, maybe, but most just like eating humans a bit much. But still, I like the discussions and seeing Shinichi think about things. The pacing in the manga was good, not too fast and not too slow.

So as you can see, I got plenty of things I did like. And I am still giving this one 3 stars because I did enjoy myself. But I won’t be continuing onwards with the series.