Project Arms DVD

Ryo Takatsuki thought he lost his right arm in a childhood accident. He thought the scarring and the strange episodes of blacking out were just trauma. He was wrong about all of it. His arm was not replaced — it was rebuilt, using nanomachine technology called ARMS that fuses with organic tissue and transforms into something far beyond any conventional weapon. Ryo is not alone: Hayato Shingu, Takeshi Tomoe, and Kei Kuruma have each been similarly altered since childhood, each by their own apparent accident, each carrying a different ARMS variant. The organization that engineered them — the Egrigori — wants them back. The assassins they send are enhanced, dangerous, and growing stronger. As the four discover each other and begin to understand what they are, they also discover the scale of what they are up against: a secret organization with roots going back decades, a conspiracy involving genetics research and military applications, and a personal connection to their own pasts that none of them have fully unearthed. When Katsumi — Ryo's girlfriend — is taken, the four set out on a journey that will force each of them to confront not just the Egrigori but the limits of the power inside them, which does not always do what they want.

Project ARMS is a 52-episode action series produced by TMS Entertainment, directed by Hajime Kamegaki and Hirotoshi Takaya, and based on the award-winning manga by Kyoichi Nanatsuki and Ryoji Minagawa — winner of the 44th Shogakukan Manga Award in 1999. The series aired on TV Tokyo in two consecutive seasons from April 2001 through March 2002. It draws heavily on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland mythology for its villain names, weapon designations, and thematic framing — the Egrigori operatives include the Jabberwock, the Bandersnatch, and the White Queen — giving its genetic body-horror action story an unusually literary underpinning.

Originally licensed in North America by Viz Media, who released Season 1 on nine individual DVD volumes and Season 2 (The 2nd Chapter) on seven volumes between 2002 and 2004. The complete series was re-licensed and reissued by Discotek Media in 2017 as a complete box set. The English dub was produced by Ocean Productions in Vancouver. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Directors: Hajime Kamegaki (Fushigi Yugi, Cardcaptor Sakura) & Hirotoshi Takaya
Original Manga: Kyoichi Nanatsuki (story) & Ryoji Minagawa (art) — serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday, Shogakukan; winner of 44th Shogakukan Manga Award 1999
Studio: TMS Entertainment (Tokyo Movie Shinsha)
Season 1 Opening Theme: "FreeBird" by New Cinema Tokage
Season 2 Opening Theme: "Time Waits for No One" by Wag
Ending Themes: "Just Wanna Be" by Wag / "Call My Name" by Garnet Crow / "Timeless Sleep" by Garnet Crow

Japanese Cast:
• Makoto Tsumura as Ryo Takatsuki
• Hiroki Takahashi as Hayato Shingu
• Akira Sasanuma as Takeshi Tomoe
• Atsuko Enomoto as Kei Kuruma (Steel Angel Kurumi, Maetel Legend)
• Mikako Takahashi as Katsumi Akagi
• Akio Suyama as Keith (Now and Then Here and There, Sakura Wars The Movie)

English Dub Cast (Ocean Productions — Vancouver):
• Kirby Morrow as Ryo Takatsuki (Dragon Ball Z, Gundam SEED)
• Brian Drummond as Hayato Shingu (Dragon Ball Z, Inuyasha)
• Brad Swaile as Takeshi Tomoe (Gundam SEED, Death Note)
• Nicole Oliver as Kei Kuruma (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
• Cathy Weseluck as Katsumi Akagi (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

DVD Features (Discotek Media Complete Series Box Set)

• All 52 Episodes Across Complete Box Set
• Discotek Media Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ARMS (Āmuzu)
Runtime: ~1,300 Minutes (Complete Series, 52 Episodes)
Directors: Hajime Kamegaki & Hirotoshi Takaya
DVD Release Year: 2002–2004 (Viz Media original volumes); 2017 (Discotek Media Complete Series Box Set)
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): April 7, 2001 – March 30, 2002 (TV Tokyo)
Publisher: Discotek Media (Complete Series reissue)
Rating: 13+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Shonen
Themes: Nanomachine Body Modification, Secret Organization, Alice in Wonderland Villain Mythology, Four Enhanced Teens, Shogakukan Award Winner

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.