Project ARMS
Project ARMS, simply known in Japan as ARMS, is a Japanese manga series written by Kyoichi Nanatsuki and illustrated by Ryoji Minagawa. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from March 1997 to April 2002, with its chapters collected in 22 volumes. The story follows Ryo Takatsuki, Hayato Shingu, Takeshi Tomoe and Kei Kuruma, four teens who discover that their bodies have been genetically engineered. Despite their differences, they team up and search for answers, leading them to confront an organization called the Egrigori, responsible for the nanomachine technology implanted in their bodies.
It was adapted into a 52-episode anime television series produced by TMS Entertainment and broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 2001 to March 2002. In North America, both the manga and the anime series were licensed by Viz Media. The anime was re-licensed by Discotek Media in 2017.
The manga has had over 15 million copies in circulation. In 1999, Project ARMS received the 44th Shogakukan Manga Award for the [shōnen manga|] category.
Plot
The story follows a young man named Ryo Takatsuki, who at the beginning of the series believes that he was in an accident causing his right arm to be severed from his body. However, as the story progresses, it is revealed that he was actually a test subject for experiments involving genetics and an "ARMS" nanomachine implant, along with three other youths: Hayato Shingu, Takeshi Tomoe and Kei Kuruma. They all meet under strange circumstances and after many battles they set off on a journey to rescue Ryo's girlfriend Katsumi Akagi, who is kidnapped by the Egrigori, an immense organization founded by Keith White and Doctor Samuel Tillinghast, that operates in the shadows and has bases, research facilities, and agents all over the world, and are the creators of the ARMS technology.Characters
ARMS
;Alice;Jabberwocky
;White Knight
;White Rabbit
;Queen of Hearts
;Bandersnatch
Media
Manga
Project ARMS, written by Kyoichi Nanatsuki and illustrated by Ryōji Minagawa, was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from March 16, 1997, to April 17, 2002. Shogakukan collected its chapters in 22 volumes, published between October 18, 1997, and June 18, 2002.In North America, Viz Media licensed the manga in 2002, and published the 22 volumes from May 1, 2003, to May 12, 2009.
Anime
A 52-episode anime television series adaptation produced by TMS Entertainment was broadcast on TV Tokyo. The first season was broadcast from April 7 to September 29, 2001; the second season, known as The 2nd Chapter, was broadcast from October 6, 2001, to March 30, 2002. The first two opening themes are "FreeBird" and "Breath on Me" performed by New Cinema Tokage, and the two ending themes "Just Wanna Be" by Wag and "Call my Name" by Garnet Crow. The second season openingtheme is "Time Waits for No One" by Wag, while the first ending theme is "Timeless Sleep" by Garnet Crow, and the second ending theme is "Owaranai Yume no Nakade" by Project Arms.
In North American Viz Media licensed the series in 2002. The first season was released on nine DVD volumes from October 8, 2002, to May 4, 2004; The 2nd Chapter was released on seven DVD volumes from August 24, 2004, to November 15, 2005. Discotek Media announced during their Otakon 2017 panel that they had acquired the series.