Parasite Eve (series)
Parasite Eve is the name of a Japanese novel by Hideaki Sena, first published in Kadokawa Horror Bunko, which has been adapted into a 1997 film and a 1998 video game for the Sony PlayStation by Squaresoft. A sequel to the game was released in 2000, also for the PlayStation. Template:Spoiler
The story of the novel and movie revolve around a genetic scientist whose research in mitochondria causes him to take extreme measures to revive his wife, and eventually leads to the creation of a new threat to all mankind.
Book
It was Paraiste Eve, along with Koji Suzuki’s Ring series, that began the J-Horror boom. A pageturner about the rebellion of mitochondria, it became the Japan Horror Novel Award’s first winner and the inspiration for a videogame that has sold close to a million copies throughout the world. In Japan, the film version of Parasite Eve was so popular that in one study, when asked what color they thought mitochondria were, most people responded, “green” (which is how they were represented in the film, but obviously not how they actually look).
Eve is a parasitic mitochondria reproducing itself at alarming speed. Her goal? To take over human evolution. Two manifestations of Eve will work independently to a wild, scientific and absurdly sexual end. The one Eve in a lab is mutating into the form of a perfect woman, the other is growing inside the kidney of an unhappy teenage girl, waiting to be impregnated by her lab-sample counterpart. In her path are doctors whose fascination with Eve may ultimately lead to her victory. Hideaki Sena holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology and has given numerous lectures on the subject of cell biology as well as the future of the sci-fi genre. He lives in Japan.
Plans are underway to localize the novel for U.S. readers; Vertical Inc. estimates a September 2005 release date (Amazon suggests November 25, 2005).
Film
Tagline: It's not a virus... IT'S EVOLUTION
Toshiaki Nagashima is a biologist who is doing major research on mitochondria. When his beautiful young wife is tragically involved in a car accident which leaves her brain dead, in desperation he steals her liver from her body in order to recieve the mitochondria from it to resurrect his wife from the dead. The killer mitochondria takes the form of his assistant who then uses the biologist for the host of a terrifying new species that is threatening to take over the world.
Rumors in early 1999 stated that Madonna bought the rights to a US adaption and would star as Aya. Nothing happened, and the rumors appear to be false.
In 2001, ADV Films released the original Japanese movie on DVD in the United States. The movie does not contain an English dub track and its subtitles are hardsubs, unusually for an American release.
Video games
Parasite Eve
| Parasite Eve | |
|---|---|
| Parasite Eve | |
| Developer(s) | Square Co., Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) | Square Co., Ltd. (Japan), Square Electronic Arts (U.S.) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release | March 29, 1998 (Japan) September 8, 1998 (U.S.) |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game, Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
The story of the game takes place in Manhattan after the events of the novel/movie and revolves around police detective Aya Brea and opera singer Melissa Pearce, who mutates into a powerful monster known as Eve as a result of her highly advanced mitochondria. The presentation of mitochondria in the game varies from reality, but this is mostly artistic license. The basis of the plot revolves around the mutated mitochondria in Pearce's body, which have attained a sufficient level of evolution to become self-aware. They then take over her body, and manipulate it on a cellular level, allowing the body to change shape and perform supernatural feats, such as flying. The new being is then referred to as Eve. The mutated mitochondria spread out from Eve and infect hundreds of other people and animals, mutating them into monsters which spread terror and havoc. One characteristic of the mutant mitochondria is that they can produce extreme amounts of heat energy, much like spontaneous human combustion. For reasons revealed later in the story (i.e. Aya received awakened mitochondria), NYPD Detective Aya Brea is immune to the powers of Eve, and actively fights against her. There is a side story that takes place in the Chrysler Building the second time you play the game, in which Aya's sister Maya, who also received awakened mitochondria is the final boss.
Parasite Eve II
| Parasite Eve II | |
|---|---|
| Parasite Eve II | |
| Developer(s) | Square Co., Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) | Square Co., Ltd. (Japan), Square Electronic Arts (U.S.) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release | December 16, 1999 (Japan) September 12, 2000 (U.S.) |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game, Survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
In 1999, Square released Parasite Eve II. This game followed the traditional survival horror mold, and bears little resemblance to the original game. This installment is set several years after the events in the original game. Aya is now based out of Los Angeles, working for an FBI division named M.I.S.T. (Mitochondrion Investigation and Suppression Team) that suppresses and neutralizes Neo-Mitochondrion Creatures (NMCs) in the various regions of L.A. The story eventually leads to an underground bunker in the Nevada desert and the discovery of a vast conspiracy. This game was much less popular than the original - many criticized the fact it was no longer a role-playing game but instead a survival horror game, which (while possessing many RPG elements) played very similar to the Resident Evil series.
External links
- Parasite Eve website
- Parasite Eve II website
- Parasite Eve (1997 film) at IMDb
- Parasite Eve (1998 VG) at IMDb
- Parasite Eve II (1999 VG) at IMDb
- IGN: Parasite Eve
- IGN: Parasite Eve II