Chapter 287: The Depth of "Parasyte"
The plot progression of Parasyte has revitalized the series, propelling it to a deeper level.
Fans exclaimed: "It's back!" The appeal of Edgerunners and Fire Punch has returned.
The plot of Chainsaw Man leans more toward the commercial and extensive form of a manga.
Only in the final arc of Makima in the first series does a hint of deeper meaning emerge.
However, for many, Chainsaw Man is still Ren's most commercial work.
Compared to Edgerunners and Fire Punch, the everyday plot feels more "lighthearted" and "cheerful."
Even the madness in the manga is genuine, and the later scenes, reminiscent of cinematic montages and sudden plot twists, make it hard to conceal the sadness.
The depth of Chainsaw Man lies in the concept of Makima, the truth behind the Gun Devil, and the "human instrumentality" generated by Denji's two rebirths.
That's pretty much it.
Compared to the futuristic capitalist sci-fi cyberpunk world of Edgerunners, which reflects on the violation of life, human rights, and freedom, and its nihilistic exposure of sci-fi's fantastic utopianism, and compared to Fire Punch's exploration of education, civilization, life and death, existence and nothingness, Chainsaw Man simply doesn't reach the depth of these two works.
But now, the recent Parasyte series seems to have recovered that flavor.
That exploration of life, race, and the meaning of human existence has returned!
It's just that everyone is starting to get scared again.
"Oh no, is the old thief Ren relapsing? This Parasyte... why does it feel like it has the flavor of Fire Punch?"
"But... this is clearly the flavor of Edgerunners."
"That's right, compared to the initial lightning strike of Fire Punch, the village destroyed by Doma and Luna being burned to death, Parasyte feels more like Edgerunners."
"Old thief Ren: 'Haha! I'll show you a show with ups and downs!'"
"The early days of Edgerunners were typical passionate youth manga, but after episode 20, it was obviously not right. This time, Parasyte is the same. After the protagonist had Migi, he forcibly carried the small car, became a big shot at school, and even got a pretty girl. But now, it's obviously not right."
"I feel like it's going to be a sad story again in the middle of the series, but it depends on who gets hurt..."
"The protagonist might not get hurt so soon, but the protagonist's friend and parents... I can only say it's very dangerous!"
"I'm mainly worried about the origin of the Parasites. The way they seem to have fallen from the sky, it looks a lot like a biological weapon dropped by aliens."
"Will there be a battle between the protagonist and aliens later on?"
"I don't think so... Ren's style isn't to play with this kind of alien invasion. In Fire Punch, everyone initially thought the Ice Witch was the ultimate villain, and in Chainsaw Man, everyone thought the villain was the Gun Devil. I've always thought... that the existence of the Parasites comes from humans or from Earth itself."
"That's right. In fact, if you think about it from the perspective of alien biological weapons, shouldn't the Parasites be designed with the ability to reproduce? Continuously reproduce the next generation of Parasites and then continuously increase their numbers, so the plan for human extinction can be better completed."
"I think it should be like in Fire Punch. In the end, the real enemy isn't an alien creature or a god, but humanity itself. The Parasites are a species created by humans themselves and have suffered the consequences of their actions."
"Ren's style has always been like this. From Edgerunners to Chainsaw Man, the biggest enemy has always been humanity itself."
"Edgerunners and Fire Punch are fine, but wasn't Makima the villain at the end of Chainsaw Man?"
"The fact that Makima became a villain was actually caused by humans. The power of a devil comes from human fear. Wasn't it because the forces behind Quanxi, motivated by their greed, made a deal with Makima, allowing her to gain nearly invincible abilities, and finally, through the fear that has dominated human history, that she became so powerful?"
"After the Gun Devil's death, weapons continued to flood various countries, and everyone blamed the Gun Devil for everything. This is also obvious. What Amamiya-sensei has always wanted to portray is that humans are their own worst enemies."
"In fact, I think... Parasitic beasts can only survive by hiding from humans. Isn't this simply fear of humans? If the Parasitic Beasts really expose their existence, then the offensive and defensive strategies should be reversed."
"That's exactly what's happening. No matter how powerful the Parasitic Beasts are individually, they are insignificant in the face of the firearms invented by humans."
"Don't overthink it. Parasitic beasts are enemies of humans, so they are villains by nature. Faced with such monsters, it's best to kill them all."
"Frankly, the only bad thing about Parasyte is that there are humans on their menu. Otherwise, in nature, their behavior is simply the law of the jungle..."
"Although I agree with your point of view, as humans, we can feel compassion for other creatures, but we must always put humans first. No animal, not even protected animals, can be above humans."
"It's still a matter of stance. In many things, right or wrong doesn't matter, the stance is the most important thing."
"Think about it carefully, Ren's Parasyte looks much more normal."
"You've overthought it. I think that although Parasyte seems normal now, it's even more insane under its calm appearance. A madman who looks mad isn't scary. Only madmen who look very calm are scarier."
"And how do you know that Parasyte won't beat you up later?"
"Haha! I didn't expect there would still be people who think Ren is a normal person. A rookie, aren't you?"
...
The popularity and debate about Parasyte continued to rise, but the popularity ranking remained stable at seventh place.
I can only say that, although the depth of Parasyte is very good, the work as a whole is a true masterpiece from Ren's previous life.
But it is undoubtedly far from commercial success.
The true masterpieces of commercial manga are still in the category of Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, Dragon Ball, and Death Note.
After all, it's common for a critical success not to achieve commercial success, or for a commercial success not to achieve critical acclaim.
A work that succeeds with both critics and the public only appears every few years.
Attack on Titan, for example, had a solid initial release but ultimately failed. But Ren wasn't thinking about Attack on Titan yet, nor was he worried about Parasyte's current popularity.
Because...
Chainsaw Man has been a huge sales success in recent months, and is currently on a national book signing tour.
Although the first Chainsaw Man book was finished long ago, more and more people are diving into the series.
After all, the reputation is there, the word of mouth among fans, and a "finished" work with a good reputation, naturally, makes people feel comfortable diving into it.
However, those who dive in feel incredibly frustrated. Chainsaw Man is certainly good, but the man wielding the knife is also a true man wielding the knife.
Although manga fans cried after reading Chainsaw Man and cursed Ren as a psychopath, they couldn't help but praise it as an exceptionally good manga.
Consequently, the single volume sales of Chainsaw Man have continued to rise. Taking advantage of the vast territory and population of the Republic, the huge market created by Chainsaw Man has boosted individual sales to over 5 million copies.
However, this is not even the highest single volume sales record in the Republic's manga industry.
The true bestseller is Fenghuangyuan's Purple Air Coming from the East; after all, a One Piece of this parallel world.
Fenghuangyuan's Purple Air Coming from the East has already surpassed 53 million copies sold in a single volume, a record far beyond what Chainsaw Man can currently reach.
But... there is still a long way to go.
Ren's popularity is already quite strong; he just needs time to mature.
With single volume sales already exceeding 5 million copies and on their way to 7 million, the manga industry has hosted numerous book signings.
These sales are no longer limited to the Tokyo area but have also reached other regions.
For example, Ren will be traveling to the Kanto region for a book signing soon.
So this time, he needs to take a flight alone to Kanto for the signing, which can be considered a vacation.
The three assistants and Ayumi will not participate at this time; after all, they have their own work.
The key is that the serialization of Parasyte cannot be interrupted. This time, Ren will draw the characters and briefly explain the plot himself, and then hand over the rest to Akutami Yuta and the other three.
Then he will hand it over to Ayumi.
It will be published in the magazine without any problems on the weekend.
So Ren can leave, but the three assistants and Ayumi cannot.
It's just that... Sakura was free, so she accompanied Ren to Kanto for the book signing.
...
Kanto.
Kenji Fujimoto rested on the bed for a while, turned on his phone, and saw the news that Ren was coming to Kanto for a book signing from the QQ group.
He immediately sat up excitedly, grabbed the Edgerunners book from the nearby bookshelf, and exclaimed: "Wow! Amamiya-sensei is coming to sign books!"
Kenji Fujimoto really wanted to attend the Edgerunners book signing in Tokyo.
Over the years, his mother had taken him on trips all over the country.
However, she was not available to travel with him and his health was not suitable, so he did not attend the Edgerunners book signing.
Since then, Ren has been busy with the serialization of Chainsaw Man, and the length of Edgerunners has limited its sales.
Therefore, book signings have become infrequent.
Now, there is news that Ren will be coming to Kanto for a book signing, not far from Kenji Fujimoto's city.
Kenji Fujimoto was instantly tempted.
"No matter what... I want to get Amamiya-sensei's autograph," Kenji Fujimoto said with excitement and determination.
Being able to meet the author of his favorite game, Cyberpunk 2077, and its original work, Edgerunners, is undoubtedly something that makes him very happy.
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