▪	RELEASED BY:		VIZ MEDIA
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		RYOJI MINAGAWA / KYOICHI NANATSUKI
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / BW
		▪	PAGES:		202
		▪	RATING:		OT
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		09/11/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		09/11/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

Ryo, Hayato, Yakeshi and Kei are all ARMS – mere children implanted with nanotech limb enhancements that cause them to transform into grotesquely deformed and out-of-control super weapons. The Arms kids continue their battle deeper into Carillon Tower in volume seventeen in order to reach Alice, a supercomputer intent on wiping out humankind. But now they must confront the Keith Series – mutants with powers equal to their own. And they find that one small error in self-control can cause Arms meltdown, destroying their enemies, their allies, and the entire city around them. On the brink of defeat, Ryo and Takeshi see a vision of Alice encouraging them, but is it for real, or just another trap?

This manga is still a wonderful mess of future technology and people colliding in a way that brings out the most desperate and violent conflict. The story is going strong, but the visuals and the action are what make it really stand out from the rest. Expanses of wires, rubble and pipes span each page, creating a desolate industrial world gone wrong that suffocates the characters. When they fight the forces that oppose and oppress them, they seem almost as motivated to destroy the architecture around them as they are motivated to destroy their enemies. By crumbling the cement enclosures of the tunnels and buildings they must pass through, they’re almost breaking free in a way from the society that has hurt them so much. Project Arms is very much about action, but it’s becoming more and more apparent that it has plenty to allude to and much to say about the chances of a desolate future and what that would mean for humankind.

It can’t be said enough how much the cyber-punk elements in this series are appreciated. There just aren’t enough good cyber-punk genre titles coming out in manga or anime these days, so Project Arms is a diamond in the rough. The complex architecture and technologies in this series are so reminiscent of great works like Akira or Ghost in the Shell, and for those of us that crave more of that after reading the classics, it’s nice to know there’s something out there for us to enjoy. Psychic powers, corrupt police and armies, big business industry running things instead of government, and plenty of uncontrollable destruction are all elements that make Project Arms the exciting series that it is. Fans of Sci-Fi and cyber-punk would be missing out big time if they won’t give this title a chance.

IN SUMMARY:
Project Arms is well drawn and completely chaotic. It’s a fast paced read that knows how to display action and destruction in a very entertaining way. To capture this amount of movement and size on paper is a note worthy achievement in manga creation.