Project Arms - Nice New Rattle (Vol. 2)

Rating:
Summary: Three good episodes that show what the series really is.
Review: The first DVD release of "Project ARMS", "The Claws That Catch", left me impressed and gave me high hopes for the second release, "Nice New Rattle". Upon watching it, however, I learned that the series isn't what I expected to be. Make no mistake, the series is still very enjoyable and is definitely one that'll keep watching; all that happened is that I finally realized what the series is really like and what to expect.

The first three episodes introduced us to three of the main characters: Ryo, Hayato, and Takeshi. The next three episodes present us with their first major challenge. The Egregori, a mysterious organization determined to obtain the "over"-technology found within our heroes' ARMS, has sent in the young yet dangerous Chapel Twins, Al, and Jeff, who command two powerful cyborgs, Plus and Minus, that are virtually indestructible. The twins have decided to stage a deadly game within the boys' very own school, and to up the stakes they've kidnapped Takeshi's younger sister.

First of all, one thing must be made clear: "Project ARMS" is not the next anime classic. Far from it, in fact. Those expecting "Cowboy Bebop" or "Escaflowne" will be very disappointed, and the perfectionists will undoubtedly find plot holes scattered everywhere. But with that in mind, "Project ARMS" can be quite enjoyable. The show is a mindless yet at-the-same-time smart series that uses an almost cliché plot as well as a hint of uniqueness. If you don't set expectations too high (something that arguably killed the credibility of the movie "Spriggan"), you just may find yourself liking this show. I know I did.

With the first three episodes, I believed the show possessed a unique visual style that was something of a polished grittiness. These episodes, however, indicate otherwise. While it wasn't that evident at the start, it's now obvious that the show was on somewhat of a limited budget. Many visual shortcuts are taken everywhere, and character designs can change radically, almost to the point where they're completely different. Even so, the art style suits the down-to-earth feel of the show quite well, so while it may offend serious animation fans, anime fans with an open mind may soon forget about the limits imposed on this show (after all, it worked for "Hellsing").

The audio side of the DVD has something good and something bad. Bad news first: the Japanese audio is out of synch with the visuals, and it's mysteriously inconsistent. Oftentimes it'll by in synch with the visuals, and then moments later it isn't. The first two episodes appear to be the only ones affected by this. The off-synch is only about as much as one third of a second, but it's still very easy to notice and can get annoying. I do not know if it's a problem on all discs, but with mine it is and I've confirmed it on two (admittedly low-end) DVD players.

Strangely enough, the English audio isn't affected by this inconsistency at all, and this is where the good news arrives: the English dub is excellent. I've rarely seen dubs for relatively unknown shows be this good, and that's what makes it good. Done by the Oceans Group, who is famous for dubs that only sound good after several mediocre episodes, the "Project ARMS" dub sounded wonderful from the first episode and it only gets better from there. Truthfully, however, the VAs for the Chapel Twins weren't as dynamic as I had hoped, but they still sounded good enough not to bring down the quality of the dub. I am really enjoying Brian Drummond's performances as Hayato, and Kirby Morrow and Brad Swaile as Ryo and Takeshi, respectively, both give solid performances. Definitely one of the Oceans Group's better performances, one that makes this show that much more enjoyable.

Overall, the Japanese audio glitch is probably the only dark spot on an otherwise solid release. It's not enough for me to retract from the score, but it's definitely something people should be aware of. As I stated earlier, "Project ARMS" is not the next big anime series, nor was it meant to be. All it is and should be is a fun, engaging romp that should grow better as the series progresses. If that's your kind of show, then give "Project ARMS" a try.