Like so many Japanese horror novels, Parasite Eve has become an industry upon itself. Movies, videogames and comic books have all sprung up but we mustnt forget that Parasite Eve originally came from the mind of horror novelist Hideaki Sena. Sena was originally a science student when he came upon the idea of mitochondria [which contain the genetic material and many enzymes important for cell metabolism] gone wild. Since then hes written many more horror novels and even real science books. Finally after ten years the novel Parasite Eve is being released in English by Vertical Press.
*This interview was conducted through a translator*
Buy the novel Parasite Eve
Daniel Robert Epstein: Why did it take so long for the novel, Parasite Eve, to come out in the US?
Hideaki Sena: I was very concerned about the translation quality. It had to be very high. I had asked translators and editors to prepare an English version of it but they turned out not to be so good and finally there was a translation done by Tyran Grill which I approved and thats why it finally got published.
DRE: What was the original inspiration for Parasite Eve?
HS: When I wrote the novel, I was 26 years old and I was a graduate student in pharmacology studying mitochondria. I liked writing novels ever since I was a child but Parasite Eve was the first time I tried my hand at a science fiction novel. I liked reading US horror novels a lot but I didnt really know how to go about doing it myself. I didnt know how to make it interesting. But then I saw a documentary on television on the theory of mitochondrial symbiosis. The first inspiration was that I was studying the mitochondria and that theory of symbiosis could be used for the novel. The second inspiration was that as a grad student I would often go to the lab at night and conduct experiments on animals by injecting them with syringes filled with drugs. When I told a friend about this he said it was pretty creepy.
DRE: Were the theories that you put forth in Parasite Eve things that could actually happen?
HS: I was studying fatty acids and how mitochondria were able to reduce them. I was testing drugs that would make mitochondria do this more. So I was subjecting cells in rats to these drugs to study these results. But the symbiosis theory was actually outside my course work but after I saw it on TV, I immediately saw its relationship to what I was studying. I had already decided to write a horror novel about mitochondria trying to link those two ideas so things started to fall together.
DRE: I speak to a lot of horror writers and horror film directors and they often tell me that the reason they make these films is because this is what frightens them. Therefore they are using their work to confront those fears. Is that the same with you?
HS: In Parasite Eve there is a story strand about a girl who has an organ transplant operation and she realizes that the kidney received isnt the one that was needed. So there is a different thing in herself and that brings up the question of what makes you function, what makes you move and the essence of what you are. In other words, the question of identity is something that incites some fear in me but also raises a lot of interest. I have written other novels that also deal a lot with the question of identity and how that issue can be tied up with fear.
DRE: I know youve heard that critics call you the Stephen King of Japanese horror. But for the most part, Stephen Kings works are supernatural and not science based. Are you interested in supernatural horror?
HS: I actually like Mr. Kings work and have read many of them. In Mr. Kings novels what happens often is that something is attacking you and it is often a projection of the protagonists own fears. Thats the case in Pet Sematary where the hero projects his own inner fears on something outside of him. I dont write about vampires or the walking dead but instead I write about sciences creation projecting its identity on others or how identity becomes the object of fear. It is similar to Mr. Kings work in that it is the same kind of projective mechanism going on. I actually prefer Dean Koontz over King and other critics in Japan have pointed this out too. In Koontzs works you also have a situation where another is attacking you but that other tends to be not a projection of the protagonists own fears but an absolute radical other that attacks you in an absurd, irrational way. The fear involved in Koontzs novels is how to respond in such a situation. Identity does become an issue in Koontzs novels to the extent that overcoming the weakness in your own identity usually becomes necessary in vanquishing this other.
DRE: Its interesting that you bring up Dean Koontz because he had an extremely difficult childhood and a lot of that anger comes out in his work. Not to say that you had those same problems, but is Parasite Eve autobiographical in any way?
HS: I know that Mr. Koontz was abused by his father and that his novels often seem to tell the story of vanquishing the shadow of an oppressive father figure. I actually had a happy childhood, there were no such incidents of abuse but I was curious child and I always wondered about how humans are supposed to be composed of DNA. In general I was curious about the mechanism of being alive. Sometimes people say DNA determines everything as opposed to nurture. I believe that is half right, but the point here is that only half of your identity is determined by this weird other thing and theres space for fear in that perception. So I might be Koontz-like in that my childhood does influence my writing.
DRE: I know that back when you first wrote Parasite Eve certain scientists didnt like the idea of fictionalizing those ideas but now that it has been ten years, have those scientists come around?
HS: When Parasite Eve came out it was a rare kind of novel in Japan in that it included so much science. Most readers were very excited and welcomed this kind of novel. Some did object but as I have written more novels, people have come to understand my style.
DRE: With Parasite Eve theres been a movie, a comic, a Playstation game and even a sequel to the Playstation game. What do you think about those projects?
HS: Lets start with the Manga, the person who did the Parasite Eve Manga was a new artist and I believe it was very well done. As for the movie I know the director [Masayuki OchiaiVertical Press] and the actors put in a lot of effort into the project and I am grateful for that but the second half of the novel was very hard to cinematize so it was turned into a love story in the movie. Perhaps it would have worked better if they had figured out a way to keep it as horror. As for the Playstation games I am actually impressed by how well the game makers translated the novel and actually came up with a sequel to Parasite Eve. I think the games are pretty good, most of the creators were American and they seemed to have had a hard time trying to turn Japanese people and places into images so thats one of the reasons that the videogame was set in New York.
DRE: I got to speak to Masayuki Ochiai about his new movie, Infection. He had no idea that Parasite Eve was so popular here in the US, when did you first find out that it was so popular here?
HS: I wasnt aware that it was so popular. I do know that theres a DVD out but I havent heard that the movie was so popular in America. Masayuki Ochiai seems to be pretty obsessed with hospital horror. In the movie, Parasite Eve, I definitely thought that the shots that took place in the hospital settings were pretty creepy and well done.
DRE: I read that you wrote a real science book called Living with Mitochondria.
HS: Yes and I have also done interviews with scientists on various topics and there is also a book on robotics I wrote called Tomorrows Robot. Its a collection of linked short stories.
DRE: Was there a resistance from scientists to look at the scientific mitochondria book after Parasite Eve?
HS: The mitochondria book was actually co-written with a professor. I think if I had written it alone it would have been one thing but since it was co-written it was more easily accepted by the academic community. I feel that science, sci-fi and horror are linked. For many people who arent interested in science Parasite Eve was an entryway for them. Vice versa, scientists who dont usually read novels might read that co-written book about mitochondria and say Hey this guy seems to have written a novel about it too. Why dont I read that one? So I hope this will be a bridge going both ways between those two volumes.
DRE: Is it true that Parasite Eve was optioned by Madonna to make an English language version?
HS: When I heard that rumor, I was shocked and surprised but I dont believe it to be true.
DRE: Do you have any desire to write screenplays?
HS: There have been suggestions or proposals for me to do screenplays but I have a lot of work to do all the time. Though someday I certainly would like to create a story that is suited to the cinematic screen.
DRE: If there was an American version of Parasite Eve how involved would you want to be?
HS: I would probably ask another person to do the screenplay because I am always interested in how my novel would be changed by another writer. This was true with the Playstation game. I was fascinated by how that was done. Theres one screenwriter named William Goldman that I think very highly of. Hes very good at doing adaptations of other peoples novels and of historical material. I would love for someone like that to do a screenplay.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
*This interview was conducted through a translator*
Buy the novel Parasite Eve
Daniel Robert Epstein: Why did it take so long for the novel, Parasite Eve, to come out in the US?
Hideaki Sena: I was very concerned about the translation quality. It had to be very high. I had asked translators and editors to prepare an English version of it but they turned out not to be so good and finally there was a translation done by Tyran Grill which I approved and thats why it finally got published.
DRE: What was the original inspiration for Parasite Eve?
HS: When I wrote the novel, I was 26 years old and I was a graduate student in pharmacology studying mitochondria. I liked writing novels ever since I was a child but Parasite Eve was the first time I tried my hand at a science fiction novel. I liked reading US horror novels a lot but I didnt really know how to go about doing it myself. I didnt know how to make it interesting. But then I saw a documentary on television on the theory of mitochondrial symbiosis. The first inspiration was that I was studying the mitochondria and that theory of symbiosis could be used for the novel. The second inspiration was that as a grad student I would often go to the lab at night and conduct experiments on animals by injecting them with syringes filled with drugs. When I told a friend about this he said it was pretty creepy.
DRE: Were the theories that you put forth in Parasite Eve things that could actually happen?
HS: I was studying fatty acids and how mitochondria were able to reduce them. I was testing drugs that would make mitochondria do this more. So I was subjecting cells in rats to these drugs to study these results. But the symbiosis theory was actually outside my course work but after I saw it on TV, I immediately saw its relationship to what I was studying. I had already decided to write a horror novel about mitochondria trying to link those two ideas so things started to fall together.
DRE: I speak to a lot of horror writers and horror film directors and they often tell me that the reason they make these films is because this is what frightens them. Therefore they are using their work to confront those fears. Is that the same with you?
HS: In Parasite Eve there is a story strand about a girl who has an organ transplant operation and she realizes that the kidney received isnt the one that was needed. So there is a different thing in herself and that brings up the question of what makes you function, what makes you move and the essence of what you are. In other words, the question of identity is something that incites some fear in me but also raises a lot of interest. I have written other novels that also deal a lot with the question of identity and how that issue can be tied up with fear.
DRE: I know youve heard that critics call you the Stephen King of Japanese horror. But for the most part, Stephen Kings works are supernatural and not science based. Are you interested in supernatural horror?
HS: I actually like Mr. Kings work and have read many of them. In Mr. Kings novels what happens often is that something is attacking you and it is often a projection of the protagonists own fears. Thats the case in Pet Sematary where the hero projects his own inner fears on something outside of him. I dont write about vampires or the walking dead but instead I write about sciences creation projecting its identity on others or how identity becomes the object of fear. It is similar to Mr. Kings work in that it is the same kind of projective mechanism going on. I actually prefer Dean Koontz over King and other critics in Japan have pointed this out too. In Koontzs works you also have a situation where another is attacking you but that other tends to be not a projection of the protagonists own fears but an absolute radical other that attacks you in an absurd, irrational way. The fear involved in Koontzs novels is how to respond in such a situation. Identity does become an issue in Koontzs novels to the extent that overcoming the weakness in your own identity usually becomes necessary in vanquishing this other.
DRE: Its interesting that you bring up Dean Koontz because he had an extremely difficult childhood and a lot of that anger comes out in his work. Not to say that you had those same problems, but is Parasite Eve autobiographical in any way?
HS: I know that Mr. Koontz was abused by his father and that his novels often seem to tell the story of vanquishing the shadow of an oppressive father figure. I actually had a happy childhood, there were no such incidents of abuse but I was curious child and I always wondered about how humans are supposed to be composed of DNA. In general I was curious about the mechanism of being alive. Sometimes people say DNA determines everything as opposed to nurture. I believe that is half right, but the point here is that only half of your identity is determined by this weird other thing and theres space for fear in that perception. So I might be Koontz-like in that my childhood does influence my writing.
DRE: I know that back when you first wrote Parasite Eve certain scientists didnt like the idea of fictionalizing those ideas but now that it has been ten years, have those scientists come around?
HS: When Parasite Eve came out it was a rare kind of novel in Japan in that it included so much science. Most readers were very excited and welcomed this kind of novel. Some did object but as I have written more novels, people have come to understand my style.
DRE: With Parasite Eve theres been a movie, a comic, a Playstation game and even a sequel to the Playstation game. What do you think about those projects?
HS: Lets start with the Manga, the person who did the Parasite Eve Manga was a new artist and I believe it was very well done. As for the movie I know the director [Masayuki OchiaiVertical Press] and the actors put in a lot of effort into the project and I am grateful for that but the second half of the novel was very hard to cinematize so it was turned into a love story in the movie. Perhaps it would have worked better if they had figured out a way to keep it as horror. As for the Playstation games I am actually impressed by how well the game makers translated the novel and actually came up with a sequel to Parasite Eve. I think the games are pretty good, most of the creators were American and they seemed to have had a hard time trying to turn Japanese people and places into images so thats one of the reasons that the videogame was set in New York.
DRE: I got to speak to Masayuki Ochiai about his new movie, Infection. He had no idea that Parasite Eve was so popular here in the US, when did you first find out that it was so popular here?
HS: I wasnt aware that it was so popular. I do know that theres a DVD out but I havent heard that the movie was so popular in America. Masayuki Ochiai seems to be pretty obsessed with hospital horror. In the movie, Parasite Eve, I definitely thought that the shots that took place in the hospital settings were pretty creepy and well done.
DRE: I read that you wrote a real science book called Living with Mitochondria.
HS: Yes and I have also done interviews with scientists on various topics and there is also a book on robotics I wrote called Tomorrows Robot. Its a collection of linked short stories.
DRE: Was there a resistance from scientists to look at the scientific mitochondria book after Parasite Eve?
HS: The mitochondria book was actually co-written with a professor. I think if I had written it alone it would have been one thing but since it was co-written it was more easily accepted by the academic community. I feel that science, sci-fi and horror are linked. For many people who arent interested in science Parasite Eve was an entryway for them. Vice versa, scientists who dont usually read novels might read that co-written book about mitochondria and say Hey this guy seems to have written a novel about it too. Why dont I read that one? So I hope this will be a bridge going both ways between those two volumes.
DRE: Is it true that Parasite Eve was optioned by Madonna to make an English language version?
HS: When I heard that rumor, I was shocked and surprised but I dont believe it to be true.
DRE: Do you have any desire to write screenplays?
HS: There have been suggestions or proposals for me to do screenplays but I have a lot of work to do all the time. Though someday I certainly would like to create a story that is suited to the cinematic screen.
DRE: If there was an American version of Parasite Eve how involved would you want to be?
HS: I would probably ask another person to do the screenplay because I am always interested in how my novel would be changed by another writer. This was true with the Playstation game. I was fascinated by how that was done. Theres one screenwriter named William Goldman that I think very highly of. Hes very good at doing adaptations of other peoples novels and of historical material. I would love for someone like that to do a screenplay.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
I'd love to see more parasite eve and less resident evil !