Ex-Arm

After being hit by a truck in the year 2014, Akira Natsume awakes to find himself inside a machine following a 16-year-long coma. As he adjusts to the new interface, he is greeted by police officer Minami Uezono and her android partner Alma. The pair shows Akira that his brain is contained inside a device called an EX-ARM—a weapon of mass destruction. Aboard an enemy smuggler ship, the three must escape using nothing but their ingenuity and combat skills.

While initially reluctant to fight, Akira soon recalls his brother's words from before the accident. The memory inspires him to take action, possessing Alma's body to fight his opponents using martial arts. Once Alma plugs him into one of the ship's ports, he discovers the devastating potential of his EX-ARM by effortlessly hacking and assuming control of the vessel.

Upon safely arriving back on land, Akira meets the other members of the EX-ARM Countermeasure Prevention Team, a police division working to mitigate the effects of EX-ARMs. Witnessing the atrocities committed by those who seek the power of EX-ARMs, he resolves to join the team and put an end to the terror caused by these weapons.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Alma Main

Kitou, Akari Japanese

Natsume, Akira Main

Saitou, Souma Japanese

Uezono, Minami Main

Komatsu, Mikako Japanese

Kondou Supporting

Zouza, Shoumaru Japanese

Through Hand Supporting

Kuroda, Takaya Japanese

Yggdrasil Supporting

Tomita, Miyu Japanese

Kimura Supporting

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Shiga, Soushi Supporting

Namikawa, Daisuke Japanese

Himegami, Alisa Supporting

Ishikawa, Yui Japanese

Souma Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu Japanese

Oomori, Shinji Producer

Usui, Hisato Producer

Yoshida, Kento Producer

Taniguchi, Hiroyasu Producer

Reviews

Aug 20, 2024

big_shot_spamton

Recommended

Funny

Ex-Arm is a masterpiece on par with literary works such as Skibidi Toilet and Monster School. The plot and setting is richly developed, and features extensive critique on what it means to be human, that puts Frankenstein to shame. The animation is flawless, and has finally hushed all the anti-CGI anime critics, who believe the medium is doomed to failure. The soundtrack is masterfully crafted and the choreography of the fight scenes is beautiful. I could not imagine how any show - nay, any literature - could possibly outdo Ex-Arm.

Yeah nah this show is hot ass 10/10 made me laugh harder than any recent comedy

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Nov 23, 2021

grr_mal

Mixed Feelings

A lot of people bash the CGI animation, but while it is somewhat bad I don't think it deserves as much flak as it's getting.
There are obvious traces that the animators at least tried. There are cool and well animated movements or whole action scenes, there are well done facial expressions, and so on. But they just couldn't keep up for all 24 minutes of every episode. There are fair amount of stiff movements and faces too. Still, I think the animation deserves at worst a 4, with some moments even double that. It wasn't the kind of lazy CGI I've seen in ... other shows that deserves getting angry about. There are by far worse CGI examples - the most recent that comes to mind for example is "So I'm a spider, so what?".

Similarly, story wise it's not as bad as some people make it out to be. "Not great, not terrible" is a good way to put it. It falls in many annoying tropes, but depending on how accustomed and thus accepting of them you are it may get a score of 6 or 7. I think most of them are bearable, however, two annoyed me personally too much so I bring my score down to 4 on this front as well. First, the trope of hacking scenes as physical battles or programs as CGI creatures in cyberspace. Second, unexplained and unfinished aspects left as if on purpose, either for a potential continuation, read-the-manga lure, or maybe just because the author gave up.

I bump up my overall score to 5 to spite all the 1s it is getting just from people following a blind hate trend.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Mar 14, 2023

MICK92

Not Recommended

If you're looking for an anime that makes you feel like you're playing a free-to-play smartphone game, then "Ex-Arm" might be the perfect choice for you! This anime takes you to a world where characters seem to have been intentionally drawn and animated poorly. Don't worry if you can't understand the plot, because even the characters don't seem to know it. Additionally, you can appreciate the lack of shadows and nuances that make objects and characters even more beautiful with that veil of perfection, angles, close-ups always and in any case with the same basic expression. In short, if you want an anime that makes ... you say "wow, it looks like they drew and animated it in an hour", then "Ex-Arm" is the option for you!

But don't worry, because even though the animators seem to have used advanced technology only to create visual chaos, there is still something to appreciate in "Ex-Arm". For example, the fast-paced action will make you forget that the characters seem to have the same facial expressions in every scene, and the soundtrack will make you forget the lack of emotion from the characters. If you need a break from the visual confusion, you can always have fun laughing at the grotesque details of the backgrounds and animation, which are so evident that they seem to have been made specifically to become memes on the Internet. In short, if you're looking for a visual experience that leaves you feeling like you wasted your time, then "Ex-Arm" is the anime for you!

On a serious note, this anime is a clear example of how advanced technology is not enough to compensate for a confusing plot and flat characters (in the literal sense of the word). But if you want to see how an anime series can fall apart, then "Ex-Arm" is the anime to watch! In summary, if you want to see an anime that has the potential to become a classic of the "so bad it's good" genre, then "Ex-Arm" is the anime I recommend you watch. Otherwise, you could save your time and watch something else.

It really hurts the eyes to watch it!

The anime cannot be watched, so I give it a rating of 1, but if you want to have a laugh, watch a few clips.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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Anime with Body Swapped & Body Shared (MC)

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16 Entries · 3 Restacks

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Winter 2021 Simulcast List [Update 2/25]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime acquired for simulcast release during the Winter 2021 season. Anime series licensed for home video rel...read more

Dec 30, 2020 1:22 PM by Snow | Discuss (54 comments)

Q1 2021 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 3/24]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime and manga licensed in the second quarter (Jan-Mar) of 2021. Winter 2021 anime which were licensed befo...read more

Dec 30, 2020 1:22 PM by Snow | Discuss (9 comments)

	Poll: Ex-Arm Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) KANLen09 - Mar 28, 2021	68 replies	by Denjii_H »» Nov 17, 10:55 PM
	Poll: Ex-Arm Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) KANLen09 - Jan 10, 2021	307 replies	by Fishb0i »» Oct 26, 2:36 PM
	So this is it... Sir_Zedmore - Jul 15	4 replies	by Hime_Takamura »» Jul 25, 10:43 PM
	Poll: Ex-Arm Episode 11 Discussion KANLen09 - Mar 21, 2021	22 replies	by ionelHeredia »» May 17, 8:11 PM
	Poll: Ex-Arm Episode 10 Discussion KANLen09 - Mar 14, 2021	26 replies	by ionelHeredia »» May 14, 8:23 PM