Argento Soma (アルジェント ソーマ, Arujento Sōma, "The Silver Body") (stylized as ΑΠΗΕΝΤΟ ΣΟΜΑ[a]) is a JapaneseanimeTV series produced by Sunrise. It aired on TV Tokyo from October 6, 2000, to March 22, 2001, with the final episode, releasing direct-to-video.
The anime was originally licensed by Bandai Entertainment in North America before going out of print in 2012. Following the 2012 closure of Bandai Entertainment, Sunrise announced at Otakon 2013, that Sentai Filmworks has rescued Argento Soma, along with a handful of other former BEI titles.[1]
Plot
In an effort to learn more about metallic aliens that have been plaguing the planet for several years, Dr. Noguchi and his assistant, Maki Agata, try to bring to life a construct pieced together from several destroyed aliens. They recruit into the project Takuto Kaneshiro, Maki's boyfriend at the college they both attend, because of his talent for metallurgy. While Takuto is unhappy with Maki keeping secrets from him again, he reluctantly helps with the project. In the process of reviving the monster that Dr. Noguchi has aptly called Frank (short for Frankenstein's monster), unidentified soldiers invade the MORGUE facility and cut the power. This causes a power surge that brings Frank to life and causes an explosion that kills everyone in the facility except Takuto.
A mysterious man who calls himself "Mr. X" visits the emotionally and physically scarred Takuto in the hospital with a special offer: Takuto can have a chance at vengeance on the monster he blames for killing Maki and destroying his life if he joins FUNERAL, the organization dealing with the aliens. Takuto accepts the offer; months later, he is "reborn" as military pilot Lieutenant Ryu Soma. In the meantime, FUNERAL eventually recaptures Frank (who escaped after the explosion at MORGUE); the organization soon discovers that Frank is the best weapon FUNERAL has to defend against the aliens. This leaves Ryu torn between revenge for the death of Maki and the desire to protect his comrades and the planet. Further complicating the picture is a young girl named Hattie (Harriet), the only person that can communicate with Frank, who bears a striking resemblance to Maki. As FUNERAL learns that Frank is more than a simple monster, Ryu and his comrades must come to terms with questions of human identity, grief, and loss.
