Yes, it’s the 100th “female characters in anime” discussion.
Summary:
- A lot of fans consider Murano a boring character.
- Murano is just a normal person.
- She’s a very realistic portrayal of a teenage girl.
Although there are at least a couple dozen great things in Parasyte: The Maxim (Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu), female characters of the series are far from the first one to come to your mind.
There are two possible love interests for Shinichi in the series: Kana and Murano. A lot of fans thought that Kana was always the more interesting one, and her death scene will haunt many viewers forever. But we’d love to give Murano some appreciation, too.
Cliché That Works
While speaking about Murano, words like “boring” or “underwhelming” come to mind, and there’s some truth to that. Murano is an example of the overused “childhood friend becomes a lover” cliché, but that doesn’t make her a bad character.
Murano is a very realistic and relatable take on women in the series. She’s simple and just a genuinely normal girl. She’s not a trophy girlfriend, she’s not sexualized, she’s not a superhuman warrior, nor a sexy icon. Murano has a good heart and a crush on Shinichi.
Her reactions seem natural and believable. Murano understands that something dark is happening to Shinichi, and she’s scared and disappointed because of that. But she cares about him a lot and tries to understand and help him resolve his issues.
Perfect Real Life Girlfriend
Fans tend to call her uninteresting because of how normal she is, but admit that Murano’s qualities are very appealing in real life. She is exactly the woman and girlfriend that some people want to have by their side.
Unlike Kana, Murano doesn’t have any obsessive tendencies, she just likes Shinichi for who he is and is trying hard to make their relationship work. Yes, it might make her rather underwhelming as an anime character, but very realistic as a person.
There’s also just the normal amount of strength in Murano. It’s clear that she was never meant to be the hero of the story, but when it’s needed she can collect herself and even try to protect Shinichi. Just like any reasonable person would.
Murano also stays very consistent throughout the story. She doesn’t lose her mind and sticks to her ideals. The girl understands that something is happening to Shinichi and cares about his state deeply.
A lot of fans want characters (and not only female ones) to be grandiose and outstanding, and Murano fails at that. Still, this is exactly what makes her so relatable. Sometimes we just need a regular girl who would act like a normal person instead of a troubled eccentric character.