Tear Jerker / Parasyte

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

• The Tear Jerker that accompanies several of the saddest moments: "Next to You" is easily one of the most heartwrenching songs from the soundtrack. It plays usually during very tragic moments, such as when Shinichi rushes to fight the Parasyte that killed his mother, or in the Hope Spot before Kana's death. It just sounds like someone wants to bring someone back who had already died and they know it.
• If you are a dog lover, there are 2 particular scenes you might not be able to stomach.
  • The first parasite encountered has a corgi as its host (wearing a sweater that says "I love animals"), and is seen eating another dog. It's kind of worse in the manga, where the two dogs are implied to be strays.
  • Later on, Shinichi finds an injured puppy in the middle of the road. Unfrotunately, Migi says the puppy's wounds are so severe that it will die after around 10 minutes. Shinichi goes to a park bench and cradles the puppy in his arms so it wouldn't die alone.
• Shinichi encountering the Parasite that killed his mother and took her body for the first time. Even though Migi and his own senses tell him otherwise, he can't bring himself to strike the thing wearing the guise of his mother, which almost results in his death. It isn't much better for him when he and Mamoru finally take down the Parasite, either.
  • In fact, he doesn't even realize that it's not really his mother, instead going into full-on denial right up until the moment it spears him through the heart, even though (and perhaps because) the parasite makes no effort at all to pretend to be his mom.
  • Shinichi gains the upper hand during the final fight with Nobuko's parasite but hesitates to deliver the finishing blow when she holds out her hand causing Shinichi to notice the burn scar on her palm (that Nobuko got while protecting him from getting burnt when he was a child) and has flashbacks of Nobuko. It's a sobering reminder of how unjustified and undeserved Nobuko's death was.
• Even after getting revenge for his mother, Shinichi still couldn't talk with his father about it, as his father's pain was too great, and Migi could still pose a threat to his father's safety.
• Kana's pining after Shinichi has strong elements of Stalker with a Crush, though several of his actions can be seen as leading her along. There are several moments where she's not even going out of her way to see him, but crosses paths with him and Satomi Murano. On the last occasion, she's desperately pleading in her own mind, for Shinichi to notice her the way he sees Murano, and to see her the way she sees him.
• Kana truly believes she and Shinichi are soul mates, due to their connection being different in a way completely unexplained by any reasoning, suggesting that their bond is supernatural. And she's not entirely wrong. Kana is a match for the person Shinichi was becoming, while Murano is a match for the person he was and could be again.
• Kana's death, especially since she gets impaled by the Parasite the moment she sees Shinichi coming to her rescue. Only after she dies in Shinichi's arms does he truly realize how much she loved him when he sees his name and the first syllable of hers that she had written on the wall.
  • The following funeral as well, and we see Mitsuo angrily approach Izumi and call him out for being unable to protect her and then proceeding to act emotionless. It upsets him enough that the facade breaks and he throws a punch in grief and busts up Mitsuo's nose.
• Satomi becoming slowly alienated by Shinichi's refusal to let her in on Migi's existence, because Migi threatened to kill her simply because her knowing about him threatens his survival. When Satomi is on the verge of breaking off her friendship with him completely, Shinichi finally resolves to tell her... but Migi can hear his thoughts, and immediately rears up to strike a killing blow on her if he does.
• The deaths of Kuramori's family and his subsequent breakdown.
• Shiro Kuramori's death.
  Youko... Yumi.. I'm going to see you again...
• Tamura Reiko's death. She's a parasyte, but she has slowly became more and more human. Her last act is not to protect herself, but to protect her human baby.
  • Kana's spirit encouraging Murano to run towards the gunfire, to support Shinichi.
  • Shinichi finally breaking down and mourning his mother's and Kana's deaths. It's especially heartbreaking when he flashes back to all of the memories with his mother.
• Migi's belief and acceptance that it will die, weak and alone, after encouraging Shinichi to protect himself.
• Shinichi loses his right arm, as well as Migi, after losing the battle with Goto in the countryside. Very few of Migi's cells remain at Shinichi's right arm stump, but they cannot do anything, except for forming an eye. However, in one of Shinichi's dream, the remaining cells tell him that Migi is alive...
• Migi's metaphorical death in the final episode. Particularly if you remember that he started out as just another parasite like the rest, but slowly developed more and more human characteristics due to having to share Shinichi's body, and gradually becoming more likable! Shinichi's reaction afterward says it all, when he realizes that this alien, who he's bonded with and he can honestly call his friend is now gone.
  • That brief moment when Shinichi believes Satomi fell to her death. He has a full-blown breakdown... until Migi shows up one last time because Shinichi really needed him in that moment and to let him know he helped Shinichi save her, everything is okay, and will always be there to help him in spirit.
  • The last scene, where Shinichi remarks upon the fleeting nature of life, juxtaposed with the end of Parasyte. There is no massive finale beyond Uragami's final rampage. Life goes back to normal, then life goes on. Instead of all the parasites apparently being wiped out, we never know for sure if they all go away... they just stop engaging in carnage and learn to blend in with the rest of society. And Shinchi and Satomi get to live moderately tame lives as a couple. Then, the story just ends.
• From Neo Parasyte, a set of stories set in the Parasyte universe, there is a simple, four-page story following a man cheerfully talking with an orphan about the kid's life.... until the reveal that the orphan is Tamura Reiko's son and the man is Shinichi, who checks on and cares for the boy.
  • Also from Neo Parasyte, the story "The Taste of Palm". Sumire is an Aloof Dark-Haired Girl who her classmates are unnerved by, many people believing her to be a Parasite following the death of her parents. The only ones seeming willing to approach her are her friend Tamami, and popular boy Matsui, but even then she only really responds to Tamimi, only willing to eat the food she makes for her. Two days before the culture festival, Matsui finds Sumire sitting alone after Tamami didn't come to school that day, and starts calling her a parasite that can't function without Tamami, sending her into tears as he goes to kiss her... shortly before revealing that he is a Parasite and killing her. The scene is very reminiscent of someone berating a woman into kissing them before going into sexual assault. To make matters worse, it's revealed he killed Tamami shortly before, and had fully known Sumire would shut down without her, doing all this For the Evulz as he leaves to go massacre the rest of his class.
  • Kazuyuki is suspicious of Shinichi and thinks he knows what happened to his wife, but knows that he'll stay silent. He accepts it and forces himself to stay silent after he finds out his wife was killed by a parasite.