Ex-Arm
Ex-Arm (stylized as EX-ARM) is a Japanese science fiction manga series written by HiRock and illustrated by Shinya Komi. The series is a remake of Komi's earlier manga "Ex-Vita". It was serialized in Shueisha's "seinen" manga magazine "Grand Jump" from February 2015 to December 2017, and later on Shueisha's "Shōnen Jump+" website from December 2017 to June 2019. Shueisha compiled its chapters into fourteen "tankōbon" volumes. A sequel manga titled "Ex-Arm EXA" began in "Grand Jump Mucha" in August 2019. An anime television series adaptation by Visual Flight aired from January  to March 2021. Plot. In 2014, a high school student named Akira Natsume endures a phobia of electrical devices while also being very good at diagnosing them. He leads an average, unfulfilling life, and resolves to change himself for the better and get a girlfriend after being motivated by his older brother. Soon after, he suddenly dies in an accident. 16 years later, a young policewoman named Minami Uenozono and her android partner Alma retrieve and activate a highly advanced AI superweapon known as an "EX-ARM" and put it into full control of their ship as a last resort . The AI turns out to be Akira's brain, now in a digital form. The series revolves around the police force's attempts to suppress and defeat adversaries using EX-ARMs for their own purposes. Media. Manga. "Ex-Arm" is written by HiRock and illustrated by Shinya Komi. A first series, written and illustrated by Shinya Komi, titled "Ex-Vita", was published in Shueisha's "Miracle Jump" from December 13, 2011 to April 30, 2013. Shueisha collected is chapters into two "tankōbon" volumes, published on August 17, 2012 and June 19, 2013. "Ex-Arm" was published in Shueisha's "Grand  Jump" from February 18, 2015 to December 6, 2017. The series was then transferred to the "Shōnen Jump+" website and app, and ran from December 20, 2017 to June 26, 2019. Shueisha collected its chapters into fourteen individual "tankōbon" volumes, released from June 19, 2015 to August 19, 2019. A sequel series, titled "Ex-Arm EXA", was serialized in "Grand Jump Mucha" from August 28, 2019 to February 27, 2021. The first collected "tankōbon" volume was released on December 18, 2020. The second volume was released on March 18, 2021. A manga adaptation of the novel "EX-ARM the Novel  Deus Ex Machina", titled "Ex-Arm Another Code", was serialized in Shueisha's "Ultra Jump" from February 19 to November 19, 2020. The two collected "tankōbon" volumes were released on December 18, 2020 and January 19, 2021. Novel. A novel titled "EX-ARM the Novel Deus Ex Machina", written by Atarō Kumo, was published by Shueisha under its Jump J-Books imprint on December 19, 2018. Anime. An anime television series adaptation was announced on the release of the manga's 12th volume on December 18, 2018. The series is produced by Visual Flight and directed by Yoshikatsu Kimura, with  Tommy Morton in charge of the scripts and Sō Kimura as composer. The main staff of the series have no previous experience with working on anime. Originally set for a July 2020 release, the series aired from January 11 to March 29, 2021 on Tokyo MX, SUN, and BS Fuji due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The opening theme is "Rise Again" performed by AIRFLIP, while the ending theme is "Diamonds Shine" performed by Dizzy Sunfist. Reception. The first trailer of the anime was instantly met with heavy online backlash due to the poor quality of the computer-generated imagery (CGI ) animation. The anime's animation continued to gain criticism as it aired, with some citing the anime staff's lack of experience in working in the industry as a likely culprit.