Battle Angel is set in a dystopian world in the distant future. Earth has become a wasteland, and Scrap Iron City is the dumping grounds that lie beneath the teasingly out of reach city of Zalem that floats above.
The story starts off seemingly in the middle of things. Ido, the best cyber doctor in town, rummages through the scrap yards looking for usable supplies. He stumbles across the mangled cybernetic torso and head of a girl that is still intact. He pairs her head with a berserker body. The origins of the berserker are not fully explained in the 2 anime series, but are explained in the manga comics (I’ll go into detail about this later).
It is instantly revealed that Gally has no memory of her past. She quickly becomes accustomed to her new body and falls in love with Yugo; a hard working boy who is obsessed with earning enough chips to pay his way into Zalem (one way or the other). What Yugo doesn’t know is that citizens of Zalem are marked with branded symbols on their foreheads; a non-citizen may never enter.
Life moves along for Gally, until one night when she is awakened by Ido’s late night “walks.” She follows him out of curiosity only to learn that he is what is called a “hunter-warrior.” Police are long gone, and “The Factory” places bounties on the heads of dangerous criminals (i.e. spine thieves and brain eating mutants) as a means of controlling the peace. The craziest of the crazies are then stamped on their brains so as to be identified as hunter-warriors.
A spark ignites within Gallys untapped memory, causing her to “berserk” or lose control and ultimately demolish the enemy Ido had set out to hunt. Surprised by her performance, Gally whirls around in delight to greet Ido. To make a long story short, she becomes a hunter-warrior against Ido’s wishes.
Although “The Factory” seems to be the center of control, its shipping and receiving department is run by Vector, a sleazy business man who deals in the cyborg arenas and is secretly an organs broker. Monthly orders for body parts come from Zalem through the factory, which Vector fills, and in turn, the factory puts bounties on the heads of the organ collectors/spine thieves that work for them in the first place.….
There is an ongoing theme within Battle Angel; Girl desperately loves boy, boy obsesses over dreams to where he neglects the girl, girl becomes jealous and sets out to destroy his dream… or life. The story of Battle Angel unfolds beautifully in the stunningly gritty landscapes of Scrap Iron City. Unfortunately, only 2 of the manga series were converted to anime and ends on a cliff hanger. Many answers and details are chopped up or spit out… but that’s where the manga comics come in. Either way, this treat for the eyes is still worth the watch.
Manga review coming soon
*Anime:
1. Rusty Angel
2. Tears Sign.
*Manga, 2 sets:
Battle Angel Alita (9 volumes):
1. Rusty Angel
2. Tears of An Angel
3. Killing Angel
4. Angel of Victory
5. Angel of Redemption
6. Angel of Death
7. Angel of Chaos
8. Fallen Angel
9. Angel’s Ascension
Battle Angel Alita Last Order (9 volumes. 10th volume out this summer… maybe):
1. Angel Reborn
2. Angel of the Innocents
3. Angel Eternal
4. Angel of Protest
5. Haunted Angel
6. The Angel and the Vampire
7. Guilty Angel
8. Angel’s Vision
9. Angel’s Duty
*James Cameron movie version release date: June, 2009. IMDB PAGE!
(My Tattoo)
I know this is hard to find so I added this for you guys! There seem to be clips on youtube so check it out there if you can.
March 10th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Nice I never heard of this anime. Although the robot girl loves boy/boy loves robot girl theme. Reminds me of Metropolis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv-oNw9VfbI
March 10th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Thanx Orionsaint! That vid was pretty much pure awesomeness.
I think you’ll really like Battle Angel…. I purposefully left out 1 major plot point in my review to leave some magic for when you see it!
March 10th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I am so pissed that ADV has not released this since it was put on dvd in 1999. The hold up only sucks more since it is out of print. Buying a copy can run you anywhere from $25 (if you are lucky) to $60.
The anime is great. Don’t get me wrong. But that is why I am mad. Such a good anime, but so limited in availability.
Rumors have persisted for years that James Cameron is making the first three volumes of the manga into a film, possibly a trilogy, but nothing has really materialized yet.
I do wish they would release this on dvd as my video copy was destroyed years ago.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
*second time this has happened*
I love this anime. It is so well done. My only complaint is not with the anime, but rather the company that distributes the anime in the US.
ADV has not released this on dvd since 1999, and that copy is out of print. It is so hard to get your hands on a nice affordable copy now a days. Though I have heard of some people getting lucky and finding it for 20 or less. But most places have the dvd for as much as 60.
The manga is really good too. 9 volumes. And there have been rumors that James Cameron has been wanting to make this into a feature film and possible trilogy for years.
A great anime there, Traycee. I just wish it was more readily available.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Oh man! I agree with you there! It’s like a ghost!!! I was able to find the DVD on ebay for less than $20.00!!! Keep an eye out for it there!
I’ve seen the physical break down for casting on this. They’re supposedly in pre-production for it now.
I’m curious as to who they’ll pick to play Gally… I’ve heard that she’ll be 100% CG… but I’ve also heard that they may cast Jessica Alba or Ellen Page… hmmmmm.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Very well written, I am sure GEN is delighted to have you on board. Can’t wait for the next review.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Glad ya liked it Traycee.
I’ll check out Battle Angel for sure!
March 11th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I totally agree, the Manga is also very cool. The second series is ongoing (Last Order) etc. I think it’s confirmed that James Cameron is already making a live-action version of Battle Angel Alita with CGI, rjac1978. They decided not to cast a real person even though I know a couple of cosplayers who have really nice versions of that costume - Butterfly Knife and all…
March 11th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Oh wow… I have never seen a good version of this costume! Do you know where I can see pics?
Lemme know, I’d love to see them!!
March 12th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Traycee, that’s a serious Tattoo!!! Awesome details too!
Here are 2 amazing cosplayers’ Gally…
http://www.cosplay.com/gallery/16405/
http://www.cosplay.com/costume/77186/
A friend of mine on the east coast is actually going to be doing one soon as well with a more accurate blade I think.
March 13th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Ha ha.. that’s my girl Saxxy in the first set. She’as AWESOME! She was actually an original GEN girl when we were the GIG Squad!
March 13th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Ghinto: you’re right, those are good…the girls even look like cartoons! Hahahaha!
March 13th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Oh sweet. That is an awesome tattoo. How long did it take to do? Was it all in just one session or did you have to do a couple for the shading and all the line work?
March 13th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
It took 7 hours!!! I did it for that show LA Ink… I was supposed to be in the first season, but they never aired it…. so I did it all in one session.
Hannah did it… actually I asked for her to do it because I love her work. She’s really down to earth too so it was nice! The cool thing is, I brought in an outline of that picture and Hannah designed everything else!!! She added all the detail, smoke, and city scape!!
March 13th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Wow, she did a great job on it. It is one of the best anime inspired tattoos that I have ever seen.
Haha, wish I had the stones to sit through and get a tattoo on myself.
March 13th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Hahaha, awe… it’s not so bad (the needle). I recommend getting a small one to start you off (if you want one that is). Something meaningful… that way it won’t get in the way of anything and you can build from there. Thats what I did.
… and thank you!
March 13th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Well, I am thinking of getting one for my 30th birthday later this year. We’ll see how things go from there. If that works out, I want the command seals from the series Fate: Stay/Night on one of my arms.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:09 am
You should definitely do it!! You only live once…
May 13th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I love Battle Angel. It’s my all-time favorite anime. I mean, how can you not love lines like “My mouth tingles, as if I kissed a battery”?
That’s a great tattoo!
May 15th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Thanks cdpeck! BTW, you have good taste (obviously)!
June 17th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I love Battle Angel Alita/Gunnm!! Loved it since i was in high school. Was actually planning on blogging about it myself since its being used in a live action movie. I even loved the manga (not a big manga reader, would rather watch it), both series.
PS: Nice tat Traycee!!!