Ex-Arm

High school student Akira Natsume meets a tragic end in a traffic accident in 2014, only to wake up sixteen years later with his consciousness uploaded into a high-tech combat weapon. This living arsenal operates in a dystopian future where the line between soldier and machine has vanished completely. Akira must navigate a world dominated by advanced AI and human augmentation while fighting against police forces and criminal organizations that seek to control such dangerous technology.

Writer HiRock and artist Shinya Komi crafted this cyberpunk narrative as a remake of Komi's earlier work Ex-Vita. The story first appeared in Shueisha's Grand Jump magazine starting February 4, 2015, and ran until December 2017 before moving to the digital platform Shonen Jump+. That run concluded in June 2019 with a total of 14 collected tankōbon volumes. A sequel series titled Ex-Arm EXA began serialization in August 2019 and finished its two-volume run in February 2021.

The franchise gained notoriety for its 2021 anime adaptation produced by Visual Flight. The 12-episode series aired from January to March 2021 on Crunchyroll but faced severe criticism for its low-quality animation and inconsistent pacing. Viewers widely labeled the production a failure due to its poor execution despite the high-profile nature of the release. While the manga itself received praise for its dynamic artwork and unique premise, the anime's reputation now overshadows the source material in most discussions about the franchise. [편집]