The series follows Shinichi Izumi, a high school senior who is the victim of a failed attempt by a parasitic organism to take over his brain.

An anime television series adaptation produced by Madhouse, titled Parasyte -the maxim-[a], aired in Japan between October 2014 and March 2015.

The English-language dub aired on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block in the United States between October 2015 and April 2016.

Parasyte centers on a 17-year-old male high school student named Shinichi Izumi, who lives with his mother and father in a quiet neighborhood in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan.

One night, tiny worm-like aliens with drill-like heads called Parasites arrive on Earth, taking over the brains of their hosts by entering through their ears or noses.

As the duo encounters other Parasites, they capitalize on their strange situation and gradually form a strong bond, working together to survive.

[18] Daily pages from the Tokyopop version ran in the Japanimation Station, a service accessible to users of America Online.

[22] The list of collaborators includes Akira Hiramoto,[23] Yukari Takinami,[24] Yasushi Nirasawa,[25] Hiroki Endo,[26] Riichi Ueshiba,[27][28] Ryōji Minagawa,[29] Takatoshi Kumakura,[30] Peach-Pit,[31] Hiro Mashima,[32] Moare Ohta [ja],[33] Takayuki Takeya and Moto Hagio.

[37] The list of collaborators includes MikiMaki, Miki Rinno,[37] Ema Tōyama, Hikaru Suruga,[38] Asumiko Nakamura, Kaori Yuki, Yuri Narushima, Yui Kuroe,[39] Renjuro Kindaichi, Banko Kuze, Kashio,[40] Yūki Obata, Asia Watanabe, Lalako Kojima and Hajime Shinjō.

[44] A spin-off manga, titled Parasyte Reversi (寄生獣リバーシ, Kiseijū Ribāshi), started on Kodansha's Comic Days app on March 2, 2018.

[49][50] An anime television series adaptation titled Parasyte -the maxim-[a] (寄生獣 セイの格率, Kiseijū Sei no Kakuritsu) aired in Japan on Nippon TV between October 9, 2014, and March 26, 2015.

[51][52] It was produced by Madhouse, Nippon Television, VAP and Forecast Communications and directed by Kenichi Shimizu, with Shōji Yonemura handling series composition, Tadashi Hiramatsu designing the characters and Ken Arai composing the music.

It is directed by Yeon Sang-ho and produced by Climax Studio and Wow Point, with Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan and Lee Jung-hyun in leading roles.

[76] The manga series has been praised and recommended by Waseda University professor and literary critic Norihiro Kato [ja],[77] and by philosopher Shunsuke Tsurumi.

[78] The manga artist Machiko Satonaka praised the work and described it as "a masterpiece that makes you think about fundamental problems that raises the awareness of identity establishment".

Zhang wrote that the series' main focus is the dynamic relationship between Shinichi and Migi and their discussions about human nature.