Reaction of the episode (Paraphrased): “Blink. Blink. BLINK! Blink already, you soulless Barbie Doll!”
So, for this episode, we’ve decided to
record live reactions. Fair warning, it’s mostly just screaming
about how horrible the CGI is, even though it’s actually moved up in
the world since Episode 1. Video after the cut, watch it if you want
the ranting, otherwise just scroll on for the meat.
So, for Episode 2 we’re told a little
more about the Ex-Arms. They’re likened to Ooparts (Out-of-place
artifacts, theoretically items found in historical sites that
shouldn’t belong to that part of history) and are essentially,
including #00 (our main character) ultra-tech/magic items that
threaten the stability of the world. All of them were involved in
the 2020 event that blew up much of Tokyo (Ah, yes, I remember that
one. Apocalypse bingo and all), and have now been scattered and
largely ended up in the possession of criminals. Our main police
squad has the task of finding, containing, and ultimately eliminating
the Ex-Arms that threaten the balance of the world. This would
include our lead, but as he’s a thinking person I guess he gets a
stay of execution.
The Ex-Arm of the episode then shows,
in the form of a terrorist preacher able to turn his cult members
into living bombs with which to hold the city ransom. The police
have trouble hunting down the suicide bombers and their ringleader,
but main character helps by being plugged into Tokyo’s surveillance
system, giving him eyes and ears everywhere with which to find them.
Ultimately, the leader is ferreted out by MC noticing a connection to
a destitute little girl JPEG met earlier, leading to a helicopter
battle and the defeat of the preacher and his Ex-Arm.
With the situation defused, and our
lead largely to thank for limiting the deaths to the bad guys
(largely shot up by the cops and their unsatisfying airsoft guns),
Ex-Arm #00 is officially enrolled as part of the anti-Ex-Arm squad.
As the plot goes, it’s… moderately
effective? It’s not particularly good but it is serviceable. If the
visuals weren’t so terrible, Ex-Arm would so far be nothing
particularly special in any direction. It’s just the staggeringly
terrible animation that makes this stand out in the least.