Alright. Parasyte is back, and order has since been restored to the soon-to-be over winter season.

— Shinichi seems to think that wannabe mayor will eventually “show his true colors.” In that sense, he still views the parasytes as nothing more than beasts unable to control their nature. I know he has strong feelings about them. After all, one of them did kill his mother and nearly his father. Nevertheless, Migi is like living proof that parasytes can not only control their urges, they’re actually quite rational creatures. I mean, has it ever occurred to him that our alien friends have attacked humans because they view us as nothing more than livestock? That they see us as beasts? I guess Shinichi should count his lucky stars that Migi is never offended for his kind’s behalf.

— Migi throws out two possibilities: maybe Hirokawa Takeshi will be a good mayor… or maybe he just wants to secure a food source for himself and other parasytes. How would that work? People can’t just disappear without arousing suspicion. Eventually, someone’s going to go snooping around, wondering why a city just happens to be full of missing person cases.

— But here’s another thought: have we confirmed his identity as a parasyte? Or is he just surrounded by them? I mean, Ryoko was last seen talking to some dude who thinks that humans are a danger to this planet. If I can recall, a commenter so lovingly questioned my assumption that the guy was a parasyte, so y’know… maybe he’s some weirdo parasyte lover.

— It’s just too bad that other than Migi, we’ve only really met one cool parasyte and that was the one attached to that guy’s jaw. It’ll be difficult to change Shinichi’s opinion of our alien friends at this rate. Why do I want Shinichi to be less… discriminatory? Shrug. Why can’t we just learn to live together? It’s not such a wild idea.

— I wonder if this is a look of guilt. After all, he did just snap at Migi for asking him what he was thinking.

— I guess our hero’s in a bit of a tricky situation. He keeps warning Kana to stay away from the parasytes, but he can’t exactly tell her why she should stay away without outing himself and Migi. I don’t know, I think I would’ve made something up. Something like, “I have the same power as you, and I know how dangerous they can be.” I mean, how can she doubt you? Just do the hair test, and she’ll be none the wiser.

— Animation is kinda meh so far in this episode. Just inconsistencies with the characters’ faces and such.

— Migi: “But we will never develop what humans call ‘sympathy.'” How can he be so sure? He doesn’t even know where he and his kind came from. But of course, if Migi really wants to be technical about it, then he can just as easily rational that Shinichi’s “sympathy” for Kana is just an extension of his own self-preservation. In other words, maintaining the safety of humanity in general is beneficial to Shinichi’s longterm survival. If Migi’s so logical, he should understand that, and as a result, he should understand where Shinichi is (subconsciously) possibly coming from.

— Against Migi’s advice, Shinichi tells Kana everything. Eh, I wouldn’t have done it. I wouldn’t have trusted Kana. It’s not like she’s a childhood friend or anything. And that’s another thing. I know his intention is to save Kana’s life, but still, he confesses everything to her before Satomi.

— Luckily for Migi, Kana doesn’t believe a single word from Shinichi’s mouth. Well, isn’t that cliche?

— We skip ahead a bit, and Hirokawa has been elected mayor. But how much time have we skipped? A little later in the episode, Shinichi will hang out with Satomi, so she’s covered. But how have things been going with his father? He’s just lost his wife, after all. How has he been coping? Are we ever going to meet Mamoru again? It just seems a bit odd that these characters have suddenly been pushed to the side when they have previously been so important to Shinichi. Well, maybe not Mamoru, but you get what I mean. Hell, I even want to know how Yuko has been coping. It’s not everyday that you have a face-to-face encounter with a parasyte and nearly die because of it. But ever since Shimada was taken out, she’s also disappeared from the story. I’m just a bit disappointed that the narrative doesn’t seem as cohesive and complete as it should be.

— Shinichi: “They’re as intelligent as humans….” As intelligent? I think they’re more intelligent, buddy.

— Kana seems kind of stalkerish. Yeah, she’s the only one who can sense Shinichi’s presence. Yeah, Satomi can’t make that same claim. But y’know, a relationship isn’t built off of some weird tracking ability. I guess this just comes with the territory, though.

Kana’s young, and young people have certainly made bold declarations of love despite having far less to work with. I mean, who hasn’t heard someone say, “We like the same music! We’re soul mates!” Anyway, my point is, I just can’t sympathize with Kana all that much, because she has some weird infatuation and nothing more. She doesn’t really know Shinichi, and who’s to say she won’t grow to dislike him if she actually does get to know him? Having dreams about someone and having a sustainable relationship are two very different things, so it’s hard not to chalk her feelings up to nothing more than just childish fancies.

— I guess Mitsuo’s just as stalkerish.

— My face when they both accuse each other of being a stalker…

— Apparently, Kana is now emitting a signal that alerts parasytes of her presence. How does that work? Or is Migi even telling Shinichi the truth? I’m inclined to think that he is. According to our alien buddy, Kana’s only emitting a signal when she’s focusing intensely. This would coincide with Kana’s desire to be noticed by Shinichi.

— Shinichi confesses that he had told Kana about Migi. He also wants Migi to prove his existence to the girl. I’m surprised the parasyte went along with it.

— Despite Shinichi’s warning, Kana decides to go looking for the guy… and leaves her phone at home. Man, I’d never leave anywhere without my phone. If she wants to prove that she can detect our hero, she still could’ve taken her phone with her. Just put it on silent, man.

— So the girl ends up detecting the above instead. Whoops.

— Shinichi arrives just a few seconds too late to save Kana. Bet you Mitsuo will get mad at Shinichi. But hey, he took the bad parasyte out in one grisly, heart-wrenching move. Even Migi couldn’t help but admire his host’s handiwork.

— Gotta say… this part was a little cornball, though.

— It looks like the authorities are now suspecting the protagonist.

— Yep, just as expected.

— Anyway, I’m not sure how I feel about Kana’s story. It just didn’t seem to go anywhere interesting. The girl herself wasn’t that interesting. Oh well. At least it was short-lived, and maybe we can now move onto bigger and better things… like that mayor and Ryoko.