Migi

Migi (ミギー Migī, "Righty"), (pronounced mee-gee) is the name chosen by the parasite that infested Shinichi Izumi's right hand. Migi is unlike most other parasites in the series. Due to not consuming the brain of the host (which also allowed Shinichi to retain his individuality), he did not develop the urge to eat humans. He is one of the main protagonists along with Shinichi.

Appearance
Migi is usually shaped like a right hand in order to blend in with Shinichi's body. However, he can change his forms depending on the situation. He can shapeshift into weapons, such as bladed tentacles, or create human-like eyes and a mouth to communicate. As parasites are limited to only being able to mutate the area in the body they merged with, Migi is only able to transform the right arm of Shinichi. He originally infested all the way to his shoulder, but after losing 30% of his body, now only controls slightly past the elbow.

When not hiding, he has hazel eyes and a humanlike mouth and lips.

Personality
Migi is a parasite and as such lacks the emotions of a human being. His main purpose is to keep him and his host (Shinichi) alive, even if that means killing his own kind, valuing self-preservation above all else. He also isn't above threatening Shinichi at times, such as when he threatened to gouge out his eyes and ears. Migi often thinks of Shinichi as a threat because he is always getting into fights to save others, and he once threatened to harm him to stop him from getting them in any danger.

Due to his curious nature and the reading it leads to, it can be argued that Migi is quite intelligent. This is further solidified by the fact he learned Japanese in "one day." Shinichi also stated that his right hand was more intelligent than his brain. He is also a capable strategist and can easily think of ways to combat Parasites. Despite, or perhaps because of, his lack of emotions, Migi is very logical and fully capable of listening to reason, and is in fact that one who proposes that he and Shinichi work together in order to survive. He can also be manipulative, such as when he convinces Shirou Kuramori to keep their situation secret by telling him about Shinichi's hardships and appealing to his emotions.

Migi is shown frequently to have a low opinion of humanity. He claims that, out of all life on Earth, humans are the closest things to demons, since humans eat many different kinds of lifeforms in order to survive, while his kind only eats one or two. He also expresses disdain for humanity's egocentricity in claiming they are helping the Earth. As such, Migi refuses to co-operate with Shinichi to take down Parasites, saying he is an ally to no-one but himself. Due to this cynical nature, Migi frequently warns Shinichi that he will kill his friends if they find out about him.

Despite his lack of feeling for either parasite or human, he has been frequently impressed with other parasites' intelligence and capabilities as well as curious towards his own species and the way they develop.

After fusing himself with Shinichi to save his life, Migi slowly starts to gain more human-like aspects, sometimes even showing respect towards others, while Shinichi becomes more like him. Migi is also interested in how humans reproduce, asking Shinichi if he can cause an erection in his sexual organ, and even becoming disappointed when Shinichi doesn't have sex with Murano.

Although Migi usually has no qualms for killing either human or parasite, after being absorbed by Gotou he refuses to kill the other parasite. He states it would be equivalent to a human's concept of murder for him to kill Gotou, though he is perfectly willing to leave the decision to Shinichi. At the same time, the merge opened up new perspectives for him and he soon decides to go dormant indefinitely in order to analyze the experience.

Migi considers Shinichi to be his friend and states that he's "glad [he] failed to take over his brain." When Migi visits Shinichi in his dream, before going to sleep for an indefinite amount of time, he thanks Shinichi for all their experiences together and that he was fortunate enough to make a friend. In the end, Migi's final judgement of humanity is that they are wonderful for having time to spare for others.

He has been called "polite" due to his "proper way of speaking".

Plot
Migi is first seen as a parasite larva, crawling into Shinichi's window and onto his bed. However, the parasite is unable to enter Shinichi's ear due to some earbuds and instead tries to enter his nostril, causing him to sneeze and wake up. Migi burrows himself into Shinichi's arm, taking the artery pathway towards the brain, but is blocked when Shinichi wraps his earbud cord around his upper arm. When the commotion wakes his parents, Shinichi discovers the hole where Migi burrowed through is gone and asks himself if it was a dream.

The day after, Migi begins to act up without revealing himself. He moves unnaturally or touches other people without Shinichi realizing, causing his host to get in trouble several times. After Migi defends Shinichi from a group of irritated older students, he runs home and forces Migi to show himself by pointing a knife at his hand. Migi appears, expresses his disappointment in having not taken Shinichi's head, and goes back to sleep.

During daytime, Migi continues to wreak havoc on Shinichi's social life, causing awkward situations with Satomi and embarrassing Shinichi.

Some time after they get into a routine of uneasy cooperation, Migi alerts Shinichi to the presence of his species and demands they go investigate. He refuses to allow Shinichi to run away and cites both his and Shinichi's curiosity. They encounter what appears to be a dog in an alleyway eating another dog, and it reveals itself to be a parasite as it turns to face them. It concludes that both Migi and itself are failures, one having failed to take the brain and the other having failed to take a human.

Migi then tells Shinichi to run, and explains while they flee that the dog parasite wanted to kill them because of Shinichi's human brain. The dog's head morphs into wings and flies after them. Migi stretches out and stabs the flying parasite in the torso, gouging out its heart. It immediately falls to the ground and struggles in its death throes.

Migi muses on how little it had learned, and his lack of feeling for the parasite killed scares Shinichi. He washes the blood off his hand, causing Migi to complain of the cold.

Later, Shinichi and Migi have a conversation about letting the authorities study Migi. In response, Migi threatens to leave Shinichi in a helpless state without speech or senses should he do anything to risk harming Migi.

Eventually Migi detects another B|parasite, but this time Migi wishes to leave while Shinichi wants to meet him. They travel to a secluded area while the parasite follows them and discuss killing him with Migi's help. Once he meets them, he offers to let Migi migrate over to his arm, even cutting it off in advance. When Migi hesitates, he attempts to force the matter by attacking Shinichi and is killed by Migi in retaliation, who decapitates him and pins down his parasite portion as he withers away, reaching for his destroyed human host body. Shinichi thanks Migi for saving him, but Migi claims he only did it because he was uncertain he could be transplanted at all.

Over time Migi is seen studying information, though he disparages school study because he deems it not useful.

Soon after, as Shinichi is walking to school, Migi warns Shinichi that he senses another of his species nearby, indicating that it is in Shinichi's school. Shinichi frantically attempts to single it out, but Migi warns him not to meet its gaze or it would notice him as well. They determine that it must be a teacher and as Shinichi hears that a new substitute teacher has joined their school, Migi determines she is the parasite. Upon realizing that she would be homeroom teacher for Satomi Murano's class, Shinichi looks up despite Migi's frantic warnings not to, and meets the eyes of Ryoko Tamiya.

A flashback depicts Shinichi and Migi arguing about her presence and likelihood of killing people in the school, with Migi praising her for her ability to stay hidden and Shinichi wary of her existence. Shinichi is then jolted out of his musings when she calls on him to answer a question. When he is unable to answer, Ryoko requests he go to the teacher's lounge after class to speak with her.

In the lounge, she confirms that he knows what she is and that she knows of Migi's presence and location. She requests they meet her after school at the Herald Coffee Shop, and while Shinichi is again reluctant, expecting a trap, Migi readily agrees. Ryoko disparages Shinichi's human irrationality, claiming that if she had wanted to kill him he would already be dead, and instead she only wishes to exchange information.

At the coffee shop, Migi is surprised by the presence of a second parasite and tells Shinichi to pull his sleeve back in preparation, with Shinichi again expecting a trap. Ryoko walks in and introduces a nameless parasite she then dubs A. A is threatened by Shinichi's existence, claiming Shinichi and Migi aren't "one of us", and begins unspooling his head to attack while Migi sharpens Shinichi's fingers into claws. Ryoko interrupts and tells them to stop.

Ryoko then asks Shinichi various questions about how he perceives them and then reveals that she's pregnant with a human child. A leaves, stating he has no interest in anything beyond eating food and killing threats. Ryoko warns Shinichi not to make trouble for her or she will kill her homeroom class, Satomi included. After she leaves, Migi once again praises her and Shinichi pours cold water on him.

The next day, while Shinichi is in school Migi detects A approaching and emitting killing intent. Elsewhere, A is seen attacking teachers who attempt to get in his way and killing one. The others announce an evacuation and Migi tells Shinichi to follow the class, claiming to have a plan. While evacuating, Migi reveals that his plan is for them to hide in the crowd and attack A while A is attacking the students in front of them. Shinichi immediately leaves the throng of people, angered that Migi only cares for his own life and not of the people around them. Migi remarks that he recalls humans being the only animal to commit suicide.

Once in a corridor away from the other students, Shinichi begins building a barricade of desks around himself. He asks if Migi is mad at him, and Migi replies that he doesn't have time to be mad; he has to think up a new plan. He realizes that they outnumber A two-to-one if Shinichi joins the fight, and hands him a pointed pipe made of the remains of a desk leg as a weapon.

Migi then detects A in the floor beneath them, and A crashes through a window, taunting that Shinichi has only barricaded his escape. He then launches an attack that Migi defends, and the two of them clash blades evenly while Shinichi recalls Migi's updated plan. He approaches slowly, trusting Migi to defend him, and once in reach stabs the pointed pipe Migi made into A's chest.

A catches Migi and throws Shinichi away in response, but is weakened due to the blood loss of the pipe hitting an artery. He manages to shove it far enough through that it stops further bleeding. Migi commands Shinichi to follow and finish him off, but Shinichi refuses, not wanting to kill a person. A limps away, barely able to support his body, and tries to find Ryoko to be transplanted to her body and survive.

He finds her alone in a room, but she jumps out a window and the room explodes with him in it, killing him once and for all.

Much later, Shinichi and Migi are seen discussing Ryoko again, with Migi claiming that he would be unlikely to be able to beat her, and bringing up the human child she has in her. Soon after, when Ryoko is harangued for her pregnancy as a single mother and she decides to quit, she meets up with Shinichi and Migi one last time before leaving. She reveals to them her instinct to kill and eat humans, then begins morphing in preparation to kill Shinichi. However, she hesitates upon noticing that Shinichi seems to have a little of Migi blending into him, and lets them go without a fight.

Powers & Abilities
Being two separate entities gives Migi and Shinichi a two-on-one advantage in most fights and can allow them to confer with each other to strategize. Migi is shown to be tactical in battle, a characteristic even Shinichi acknowledges. In battle, he tends to measure the strength of the opponent and is shown to be merciless. Migi, like most parasites, is fully capable of transforming into a weapon to fight off other parasites and feels no emotions or remorse in killing his own kind to survive. Migi can harden his body and become muscular, resulting in increased strength and precision of Shinichi's right arm. Through unknown means, Migi has stated that at times, he is able to see, or at the very least feel, the emotions of Shinichi's dreams. Throughout the series Migi has been shown to shape-shift into various objects and forms. The main combat forms include:


 * A bladed whip-like appendage. He can create and control mutliple of these at a time.
 * A sword, used by Shinichi whilst Migi was sleeping, as well as by Migi to cut off the head of Miki.
 * A muscular arm, accomplished by adding his own strength to Shinichi's. This form allows Migi and Shinichi to throw a rock around 300 meters with enough power and accuracy to punch a hole in another parasite's chest.

Migi can use his abilities for other purposes as well. Some of these purposes include:

After becoming dormant inside Gotou, Migi gained the ability to think about multiple subjects in various parallel lines of thought. He also revealed that upon his desire, he can become dormant on his own, but is unaware when he'll wake back up.
 * Healing Shinichi's heart and wounds.
 * Visual demonstration, i.e. morphing into a gun or flamethrower. It is unlikely that either is functional, as they require outside entities to fire.migun.gif
 * Detaching from Shinichi's body to move independently. Both mental and physical capabilities are shown to be diminished, and time of separation is limited unless there is a source of nourishment.
 * Being able to fuse with another parasite's host, and given the chance, rebelling against the controlling parasite and returning to Shinichi.
 * Migi has shown that he can pick locks, and morph into a key to start a car engine.

Unlike other parasites, Migi has no hair and easily avoids detection from the hair-plucking method.

Weaknesses
Being a parasite, Migi requires nourishment from the host's body. Unlike others who've taken over the brain, he acquires sustenance completely from Shinichi's bloodstream. If Migi detaches from Shinichi's body, he starts shriveling up and would soon die. Like all parasites, Migi is weak against fire, causing his surface cells to react in ways that cause functions to fail. Although it is unknown if an actual weakness, it should be noted that Migi has shown discomfort when covered with cold water.

After Migi fused himself with Shinichi's heart, in order to save both their lives, he lost 30% of his original body. This was due to cell loss while making his way back to Shinichi's stump via the blood stream, and thus being unable to recall them due to cells being too small to respond. It's unknown if this caused Migi to become weaker, but it forced him to take on the habit of sleeping suddenly for about 4 hours a day. While asleep, Migi cannot sense anything from the outside world and won't wake up until he has the proper amount of sleep. Once asleep, the signal he emits is weaker than normal, something multiple parasites have made note of. He can, however, shapeshift into an object, such as a blade, which will keep its shape even while Migi sleeps.

Trivia

 * Migi makes a hidden appearance in the anime Hunter x Hunter where somebody is reading a manga with Migi on the back.
 * Migi's possession of Shinichi's arm may have been inspired by alien hand syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes hand movement without the person having control over their hand or being aware of what it is doing.
 * Due to Japanese grammar and sentence structure, Migi's gender is likely never addressed in the original untranslated work. His personal pronoun, "Watashi", is considered gender neutral.
 * In the Tokyopop westernized release mirrored to read left-to-right, Migi is instead named "Lefty".
 * Migi is the only parasite modeled off a person the author knew (his own mirrored left hand).