Japanese cyberpunk manga series and its adaptations
Battle Angel Alita
, known in Japan as
Gunnm
(
銃夢
,
Ganmu
,
lit.
'
gun dream
'
)
,
[a]
is a
Japanese cyberpunk
manga
series created by
Yukito Kishiro
and originally published in
Shueisha
's
Business Jump
magazine from 1990 to 1995. The second of the comic's nine volumes was adapted in 1993 into a two-part
anime
original video animation
titled
Battle Angel
for North American release by
ADV Films
and the UK and Australian release by
Manga Entertainment
. Manga Entertainment also dubbed
Battle Angel Alita
into English. A
live-action
film adaptation
titled
Alita: Battle Angel
was released on February 14, 2019.
The series is set in the
post-apocalyptic
future and focuses on
Alita
("Gally" in the original Japanese version, and several other countries), a female
cyborg
who has lost all memories and is found in a junkyard by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds and takes care of her. She discovers that there is one thing she remembers, the legendary cyborg
martial art
Panzer Kunst, which leads to her becoming a Hunter Warrior, or
bounty hunter
. The story traces Alita's attempts to rediscover her past and the characters whose lives she impacts on her journey. The manga series is continued in
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order
and
Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle
.
Plot
[
edit
]
Battle Angel Alita
tells the story of
Alita
, an
amnesiac
female
cyborg
. Her intact head and chest, in
suspended animation
, are found by cybermedic expert Daisuke Ido in the local garbage dump. Ido manages to revive her, and finding she has lost her memory, names her Alita after his recently deceased cat. The rebuilt Alita soon discovers that she instinctively remembers the legendary martial art Panzer Kunst, although she does not recall anything else. Alita uses her Panzer Kunst to first become a
bounty hunter
, killing cyborg criminals in the Scrapyard, and then as a star player in the brutal gladiator sport of Motorball. While in combat, Alita awakens memories of her earlier life on Mars. She becomes involved with the floating city of Zalem (Tiphares in some older translations) as one of their agents, and is sent to hunt down criminals. Foremost is the mad genius Desty Nova, who has a complex, ever-changing relationship with Alita.
[5]
The futuristic
dystopian
world of
Battle Angel Alita
revolves around the city of Scrapyard (Kuzutetsu in the Japanese and various other versions), which has grown up around a massive scrap heap that rains down from Zalem. Ground dwellers have no access to Zalem and are forced to make a living in the sprawl below. Many are heavily modified by cybernetics to better cope with their hard life.
Zalem exploits the Scrapyard and surrounding farms, paying bounty hunters (called Hunter-Warriors) to hunt criminals and arranging violent sports to keep the population entertained. Massive tubes connect the Scrapyard to Zalem, and the city uses robots for carrying out errands and providing security on the ground. Occasionally, Zalemites (such as Daisuke Ido and Desty Nova) are exiled and sent to the ground. Aside from the robots and exiles, there is little contact between the two cities.
The story takes place in the former United States. According to a map, printed in the eighth volume, Scrapyard/Zalem is near
Kansas City, Missouri
, and the Necropolis is
Colorado Springs, Colorado
. Radio KAOS is at
Dallas, Texas
. Figure's coastal hometown is
Alhambra, California
. Desty Nova's Granite Inn is built out of a military base?
NORAD
at
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
,
Colorado
.
[6]
Battle Angel Alita
is eventually revealed to take place in the 26th century. The sequel
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order
introduces a
calendar era
called "Era
Sputnik
" which has an
epoch
of AD 1957. The original
Battle Angel Alita
series begins in ES 577 (AD 2533) and ends in ES 590 (AD 2546),
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order
is mostly set roughly in ES 591 (AD 2547), and
Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle
currently alternates between ES 373?374 (AD 2329?2330) and ES 594 (AD 2550).
Characters
[
edit
]
Battle Angel Alita
features a diverse cast of characters, many of whom shift in and out of focus as the story progresses. Some are never to be seen again following the conclusion of a story arc, while others make recurring appearances. The one character who remains a constant throughout is
Alita
, the
protagonist
and title character, a young cyborg with amnesia struggling to uncover her forgotten past through the only thing she remembers from it: by fighting. Early on in the story,
Daisuke Ido
, a
bounty-hunting
cybernetic doctor who finds and revives Alita, plays a major role as well, but midway the focus begins to increasingly shift to
Desty Nova
, an eccentric
nanotechnology
scientist who has fled from Zalem. Desty Nova is the mastermind behind many of the enemies and trials that Alita faces, but does not make an actual appearance until more than two years into the story, although he is alluded to early on. Finally,
Kaos
, Desty Nova's son, a frail and troubled radio DJ with
psychometric
powers, also begins to play a crucial role after he comes in contact with Alita. He broadcasts his popular radio show from the wastelands outside the Scrapyard, staying away from the increasing conflict between Zalem and the rebel army
Barjack
.
Production
[
edit
]
Alita was originally a female cyborg police officer named Gally in an unpublished comic called
Rainmaker
.
[7]
Publishers at
Shueisha
liked her and asked Kishiro to make a new story with her as the main character. After he had come up with the plot for a storyline he was commissioned to make it a long-running series.
[8]
Besides renaming
Gally
to
Alita
, older North American versions of the manga also changed the city of
Zalem
(meaning
oppressor
in Arabic and
Persian
) to
Tiphares
, after
Tiferet
. Since Kishiro also used the name
Jeru
for the facility atop
Zalem
,
Jeru
was renamed
Ketheres
in the translation, after
Keter
. More recent versions reverted the cities' names back to Zalem and Jeru. To further develop the Biblical theme in the original series,
Zalem
's main computer was named
Melchizedek
, "the king of Salem" and "priest to the Most High God".
[9]
Media
[
edit
]
Manga
[
edit
]
The manga was first published in
Shueisha
's
Business Jump
magazine. It was then serialized from 1990 to 1995 in nine
tank?bon
.
Yukito Kishiro
moved from Shueisha to
Kodansha
in August 2010. The company acquired the license rights to
Battle Angel Alita
.
[10]
[11]
A 6-volume special edition titled
Gunnm: Complete Edition
was released in Japan on December 23, 1998. The series was released in
B5
format and contains the original story. Also included are rough sketches, a timeline and the first three
Battle Angel Alita: Holy Night & Other Stories
short stories. From October 5 to November 16, 2016,
Kodansha
republished
Gunnm
in
B5 format
.
[12]
It was later reprinted in
A5 format
starting on November 21, 2018.
[13]
A spin-off series titled
Ashen Victor
(
灰者
,
Haisha
)
was published in
Ultra Jump
from September 1995 to July 1996 issues. It was released in a single volume on June 24, 1998.
A spin-off series titled
Battle Angel Alita: Holy Night & Other Stories
(
銃夢外?
,
Ganmu Gaiden
)
was published in
Ultra Jump
from January 24, 1997 to December 19, 2006. It was released in a single volume on December 19, 2007. It is composed of four short
side stories
: "Holy Night", "Sonic Finger", "Hometown" and "Barjack Rhapsody".
In North America,
Viz Media
originally released the story in a 25-page comic book, after which it followed the same volume format as its Japanese counterpart. Viz also released the
Ashen Victor
spin-off series. Along with the rest of the series, Kishiro's original
Battle Angel Alita
manga has been licensed for North American publication through
Kodansha USA
,
[14]
who republished it the five-volume omnibus format in 2017 and 2018, with the last volume including
Ashen Victor
.
[15]
Holy Night & Other Stories
has also been licensed by Kodansha USA, who published it digitally on October 30, 2018 and as hardcover on November 20, 2018.
[16]
Battle Angel Alita
has also been licensed for international release in a number of languages and regions. It was published in Spain by
Planeta DeAgostini
,
[17]
in Brazil by
Editora JBC
,
[18]
in France and Netherlands by
Glenat
,
[19]
[20]
in Poland by
JPF
,
[21]
in Germany by
Carlsen
,
[22]
in Taiwan by
Tong Li Publishing
,
[23]
in Argentina by
Editorial Ivrea
[24]
and in Russia by Xl Media.
[25]
A two-episode
OVA
was released in 1993, incorporating elements from the second volume of the manga with changes to the characters and storyline. According to Kishiro, only two episodes were originally planned. At the time, he was too busy with the manga "to review the plan coolly" and was not serious about an anime adaptation. It remains the only anime adaptation of
Battle Angel Alita
to date and there are no plans to revive it.
[26]
A 3-minute 3D-
CGI
rendered movie clip is included in volume 6 of the Japanese
Gunnm: Complete Edition
(1998?2000). It showcases Alita in a Third League Motorball race with players from two of her races such as "Armor" Togo, Degchalev, and Valdicci, and depicts events from both of those races.
Film
[
edit
]
20th Century Fox
and Director
James Cameron
acquired the film rights to
Battle Angel
.
[27]
It was originally brought to Cameron's attention by filmmaker
Guillermo del Toro
.
[28]
Cameron is said to be a big fan of the manga, and he was waiting until
CGI technology
was sufficiently advanced to make a live-action 3D film with effects comparable to
Avatar
.
[29]
The film would be a
live-action
adaptation of the first four volumes of the manga series; "What I’m going to do is take the spine story and use elements from the first four books. So, the Motorball from books three and four, and parts of the story of one and two will all be in the movie."
[30]
Alita
was originally scheduled to be his next production after the TV series
Dark Angel
,
[31]
which was influenced by
Battle Angel Alita
.
[32]
After
Avatar
, he stated he would work on
Avatar
sequels before starting
Alita
.
[33]
Cameron's producer
Jon Landau
said, "I am sure you will get to see
Battle Angel
. It is one of my favourite stories, a great story about a young woman's journey to self-discovery. It is a film that asks the question: What does it mean to be human? Are you human if you have a heart, a brain or a soul? I look forward to giving the audience the film."
[34]
Landau half-jokingly stated that the project may be titled
Alita: The Battle Angel
, because of Cameron's tradition in naming his films with either an "A" or a "T".
[33]
In October 2015, it was reported that
Robert Rodriguez
would direct the film with Cameron and Landau producing.
[35]
On April 26, 2016, both
The Hollywood Reporter
and
Variety
reported that
Maika Monroe
,
Rosa Salazar
,
Zendaya
and
Bella Thorne
were in the running for the lead role.
[36]
[37]
Near the end of May 2016, Salazar was cast as Alita,
[38]
and on February 7, 2017,
The Hollywood Reporter
reported that
Jennifer Connelly
would be joining the cast as one of the villains.
[39]
On December 8, 2017, the first trailer for
Battle Angel
was released to the public,
[40]
and the film, titled
Alita: Battle Angel
and directed by
Robert Rodriguez
, came out in 2019.
Novels
[
edit
]
A novelization of the manga by Yasuhisa Kawamura was released on April 4, 1997 by Shueisha's JUMP j-BOOKS label.
In November 2018, Titan Books published
Alita: Battle Angel?Iron City
, a prequel novel for the film. The novel was written by
Pat Cadigan
, a notable science fiction author.
[41]
Video game
[
edit
]
Gunnm: Martian Memory
is an action
RPG
video game for the
PlayStation
by
Banpresto
. It is an adaptation of the manga, following Alita (Gally) from her discovery in the Zalem dump heap by Daisuke Ido up through and beyond her career as a TUNED agent. The story includes additional elements that Kishiro had conceived when he ended the original manga in 1995, but was unable to implement at the time, which involved Alita going into outer space. He then expanded the story, which formed the basis for the manga
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order
.
[42]
Related works
[
edit
]
- Ashen Victor
, a story set six years before the beginning of
Battle Angel Alita
. It primarily tells the story of a Motorball player and it sets the evolution of the game into what it becomes in the
Battle Angel Alita
series.
- Last Order
, a continuation of
Battle Angel Alita
, published monthly in
Ultra Jump
and later in
Evening
.
- Mars Chronicle
, a continuation of
Last Order
, published in
Evening
.
[43]
Reception
[
edit
]
During
Gunnm
'
s initial run in
Business Jump
manga magazine
between 1990 and 1995,
[14]
the magazine's circulation reached a record 760,000 monthly sales, the highest in its history.
[44]
Between 1990 and 1995,
Business Jump
magazine had a total circulation of over 50
million copies, with a total estimated revenue of approximately
¥10.74 billion
(
$135 million
).
[b]
Reviews and criticism
[
edit
]
The fantasy world created by Yukito Kishiro has received positive reviews from many websites. '
MangaLife.com
reviewer Adam Volk calls the Gunnm universe "complex and stunningly compelling". He writes that after reading the first volume, it becomes clear why the author of the manga is known as a master of the genre. The work combines a large amount of action with believable and independent characters, which the reviewer said is rare in films, comics and TV shows. In the end, the reviewer called the original manga a classic example of a beautiful story about life.
[45]
Patrick King, a reviewer for the online anime and manga magazine,
Animefringe
, praises the "magnificence of Kishiro's creation" and "a living, breathing, frightening, incredibly plausible, perhaps even prophetic look at the future of mankind." He considered that the main themes that Kishiro touches on in his work are human nature and sincerity. King also noted that, unlike Kishiro's other work, Aqua Knight, the style of the original work is more realistic. The violence present in the manga, according to the reviewer, makes the work unsuitable for children, but helps the reader understand what exactly the main character is fighting.
[46]
Raphael See of
THEM Anime Reviews
, opined that Battle Angel is "probably the best cyborg anime" he has seen. And although it does not stand out with something special, due to its high quality it leaves an overall positive viewing experience. He's writing: "A nice feature of this work is the display of cybernetics and technology in the context of the surrounding world, without focusing on the plot itself." The only downside, according to critics, is the brevity of the series, giving the impression that the anime is part of something bigger.
[47]
Anime News Network
critic, Theron Martin praises the author's meticulous background work and emphasizes that Kishiro has not lost his artistic skills over time.
[48]
The reviewer also noted that "the reader will always be able to understand what is happening, even in moments of stunning action".
[49]
JapanVisitor.com notes the influence on Kishiro of writers such as
Philip Dick
("
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
" ) and
Isaac Asimov
("
I, Robot
")
[50]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Battle Angel Alita: Deluxe Edition - The Fall 2017 Manga Guide"
.
Anime News Network
. November 9, 2017.
Archived
from the original on June 4, 2019
. Retrieved
June 4,
2019
.
- ^
Volk, Adam.
"Battle Angel Alita v1: Rusty Angel"
.
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. Archived from
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. Retrieved
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2021
.
- ^
"Announcing an All New Translation of the Iconic Battle Angel Alita Manga from Kodansha Comics and ComiXology Originals"
.
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. May 25, 2017.
Archived
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. Retrieved
May 29,
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.
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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.
- ^
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on 22 February 2019
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
Genesis 14:18
; Melchizedek was renamed "
David
" in the first North American release of
Battle Angel Alita
. Subsequent releases retain the original name.
- ^
Loo, Egan (August 18, 2010).
"Battle Angel Alita/Gunnm: LO Manga's Return Planned"
.
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- ^
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.
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- ^
"銃夢 ?びた天使"
.
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- ^
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.
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- ^
a
b
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.
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- ^
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.
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- ^
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.
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- ^
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- ^
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xlm.ru
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- ^
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. Anime News Service.
Archived
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- ^
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. Yahoo!. Archived from
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- ^
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"
'Avatar' Producer Says 'Battle Angel Alita' Has A New Name, Will Follow 'Avatar 2'
"
.
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Archived
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2016
.
- ^
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"
'Avatar' Director Offers Update on Battle Angel Alita Adaptation"
.
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.
- ^
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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"
.
Screen Rant
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Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
a
b
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. ICv2. 2010-02-19.
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.
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.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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- ^
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.
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- ^
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"Also hearing Bella Thorne as a finalist for BATTLE ANGEL"
.
- ^
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"
.
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.
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.
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Alita: Battle Angel - Iron City
. Titan Books (US, CA).
ISBN
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.
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"
"GUNNM Last Order" notice by Yukito Kishiro"
.
Jajatom.moo.jp (English version of Yukito Kishiro's official website)
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.
- ^
木城ゆきと『銃夢』サ?ガ最終章となる『銃夢火星?記』、本日??のイブニング22?より?頭カラ?で開幕! さらに14年ぶりとなる新作?み切りも?載!
.
evening.moae.jp
(in Japanese). October 28, 2014. Archived from
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on April 15, 2022
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2015
.
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.
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.
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Martin, Theron (September 19, 2007).
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.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]