Mechanical Arms

A promising anime. Overall Rating: 7.8/10 Story - 9/10: The story takes place in a world where robots and humans co-exist. Since it has only one episode, dwelling deeply with the characters is impossible, which is not necessarily a bad thing given the time constrict. Overall it’s an anime with a lot of potential and hoping for an entire 12 to 24 episodes in the near future. Art - 8/10: Great animation. Art style goes rough from time to time but I wouldn’t call it bad. In fact, it adds to the overall feel of the anime. Sound - 7/10: Nothing to criticize about. The ending songwas pretty enjoyable. Character - 7/10: A lot of great characters with promising potential. I just wish that there were more episodes for us to know them better and know what makes them who they are. Enjoyment - 8/10

Anyone remember Generator Rex from Cartoon Network? Well, this is the anime version with less monsters and more Rex's. – 1. Originality: 7 As I said, the show looks pretty much like a pre-existing American one, but that doesn't mean that it's bad. The idea of ​​users using mechanical arms to fight each other doesn't sound new, it's even like a mini mecha. But that's why I consider that it's not a complete copy or something totally unoriginal, because the mecha genre is already saturated enough, so small changes like this are quite remarkable. 2. Story Development: 7.5 Obviously, you can't expect much from an OVA in this category. That's why thedevelopment of the story is quite acceptable, because it does not leave many "loose ends", it develops as much as it can in those 30 minutes it has. Obviously many questions remain standing anyway, questions that could be answered more clearly in a series format. 3. Characters: 6 The problem with the characters of Mecha-ude is that at the same time that each one represents a known stereotype, the series itself doesn't have enough time to develop them and make them stand out from it. Hikaru is the typical hero by accident, the one who at first didn't want anything to do with the plot, but decides to join anyway once he notices his help is necessary. Aki is the tsundere that only stayed with the protagonist due to external issues, but after he saved her she begins to see him with different eyes. And Kagami is that villain who takes as his main goal to defeat the protagonist, even though it has nothing to do with the plan of his bosses. However, if we ignore that, the dynamic between the characters is fluid and the feelings of certain characters towards others don't feel forced. 4. Enjoyment: 7.5 You enjoy as much as you can in a 30-minute format. It is difficult to enjoy an OVA when you know that it's very likely that there will be unfinished things or that the development is poor, that's why Mecha-ude is okay. Being a simple OVA with a not so complex story, you can enjoy the story without feeling that you are losing some context. Obviously, this is something important when it comes to watching an OVA, nobody likes complicated OVAs. – Mecha-ude is an OVA that is worth seeing. That type of OVA that sustain itself alone in its 30 minutes, from which you get enough, because you didn't expect anything of it from the beginning.

Mechanical Arms (Mecha-Ude) is a single episode ONA that begins a story with the hopes of drawing enough attention/funding to expand into (I suspect) a full length series. According to the studios official website, they successfully collected $65,000 in 2016 from Kickstarter to help fund the project (i.e. the first episode). While I’m not overly impressed with their first offering, it is admirable to see new studios spring up in the age of online piracy. Before every studio and their mother flocks over to Netflix to remain financially solvent. TriF Studio, the creators of Mechanical Arms, produced a show that adheres to thesame basic framework of most Shounen anime. It’s a logical decision for a financially strapped studio that wishes to generate enthusiasm for its premier anime. As such, the entertainment value is quite satisfactory with a smattering of exceptionally animated scenes that are sure to get your blood pumping. The combat oriented portions are quite smooth and the overall color palette gives the show a distinct look. As for the substandard story and the cliche characters, they are just that. Not exceptionally surprising given the brevity of the show itself; nonetheless, it left much to be desired. But if the end goal is to prove yourself as a capable anime studio to secure additional funding for future episodes, then I would say that it met its expectations. Next time, I won’t be so lenient.

Don't under estimate this series from it's cliche synopsis. Yes it follows a lot of the cliche of Shonen but it does so with effort and love. Many bad shonen follow the cliche's of Shonen like marking off points on a checklist. These series fail not becase they followed the tropes of Shonen. But because they did so without understanding them. They were just made by companies who looked at what was popular and said "we can do that". Mecha-ude is nothing like that. It uses the cliche's of Shonen unashamably because the makers clearly love classic shonen and wanted to make their own. The episodedraws a lot of Parallels to another older Shonen called Busou Renkin. It has a similar male lead, female support, and even their weaposn are simialr as the MC's has golden glow when he fights and heroine's weapons come out from her skirt. But again it's not simply copying other shonen or pulling out elements and making a checklist. It really feels like the creators simply loved shonen and as fans of Shonen were influenced by past works. You can see in the final product they knew what makes shonen good and used even the most over used elements to the best effect. IT's the difference between a production made by a buisness out for nothing but easy money and a production made by people who truly love what they are making.