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From the director of “Train to Busan,” Yeon Sang-ho, comes the live-action Korean drama adaptation of Parasyte, a Japanese science fiction horror manga, titled Parasyte: The Grey.
For those unfamiliar with Parasyte, it is a manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki and the story follows Shinichi Izumi, a high school senior student who is the victim of a failed attempt by a parasitic organism to take over his brain. Instead, the parasite now infects and takes over his right arm.
In the original story, Shinichi learns to coexist with the parasite, now named Migi, to survive as they fight other parasites who devour humans. An anime adaptation that follows the same story titled Parasyte: The Maxim by Madhouse was also made in 2014.
This new Korean drama titled Parasyte: The Grey is a new story set in the same universe as the manga, but with a focus on how the alien invasion impacted South Korea. The 6-episode series will be released on Netflix on April 5th.
The original manga is hailed as a classic by fans of anime worldwide, but how does the Korean drama fare against the source material?
I watched the first three episodes of Parasyte: The Grey, and while I was initially worried that the 6-episode run would not have enough time to explore all the themes and the characters (each episode being around 1 hour, the average length of a typical K-drama), it is safe to say that it has definitely captured the intense grotesque moments that the source material was known for.
The story starts with the parasites invading South Korea and taking over human bodies, causing a chaotic situation as they kill any humans they meet.
We are then introduced to our main character, Jung Soo-in, who works as a cashier at the local supermarket. She gets into a situation where she is almost killed but is saved by the parasite within her.
We are also introduced to two more key characters: Seol Kang-woo and Choi Jun-Kyung. Seol Kang-woo is driven by a personal tragedy causing him to relentlessly hunt the parasites to find his missing sister. Meanwhile, Choi Jun-Kyung is the leader of a special task force dedicated to combating the parasite threat known as Team Grey, fueled by a personal loss to the parasites.
Image Credit: Netflix
Image Credit: Netflix
Image Credit: NetflixJung Soo-in’s relationship with the parasite is similar to that of Shinichi Izumi and Migi from the original manga, which happens to also focus on the theme of humans and parasites coexisting with each other. The main difference in the relationship is that while Shinichi and Migi can coexist and stay awake at the same time in the original Parasyte, only either Jung Soo-in or the parasite can be awake at a time, adding a new twist to the original host and parasite relationship.
The soundtrack for Parasyte: The Grey is done by Chai Min-joo and Kim Dong-Wook, both of whom have worked on other projects such as Badland Hunters, The Bequeathed, Single in Seoul, If You Wish Upon Me and many more. The soundtrack is what you would expect from an action thriller K-drama, with most tracks leaning more towards electronic and rock music, reminiscent of the EDM soundtrack from the anime adaptation.
The CGI featured in the K-drama is honestly, really well made and holds up pretty well for a real-life adaptation of the show, although there are some minor parts where the CGI does not look the best, such as the scene where some parasites delve into an uncanny alley, and especially certain scenes with Jung Soo-in and the parasite.
Parasyte: The Grey takes the core concept of Parasyte and reimagines it in a Korean setting. Personally, I like the decision to stray away from adapting the original story and instead build further on the world or events that fans of the source material are familiar with, which in turn offers a fresh perspective for both long-time fans and newcomers to the Parasyte universe.
However, what made the original Parasyte so special for me was the relationship between Shinichi and Migi, with the dynamic between the two characters truly showing how parasites and humans can feasibly coexist with one another. So I’m hoping that we get to see more of that later in the series, as the first three episodes did not really explore the synergy between Jung-Soo-in and her parasite.
But one part of the original that the live-action adaptation did touch on is the humanity that the parasites gain throughout the story and how the parasites start learning about humans.
Overall, the direction that the live-action adaptation explores in the first three episodes has me worried, but I am still cautiously optimistic about the series as it is being directed by the director of ‘Train to Busan’.
While both the manga and K-drama share the unsettling elements of body horror and the fight for survival – the specific stories, characters, and presentation will be what make or break the series, especially for long-time fans of the Parasyte series.
