Gunnm

Every so often an anime is released that receives mixed reviews, not because it's good or bad, but simply because the context is ambiguous. Battle Angel Alita is one such example of this. The series began as a manga by Kishiro Yukito in 1990, and after a short time the OVA was produced and released to Japanese and Western markets in 1993. This is where the ambiguity comes in. To many who have read the manga, the story appears to be incomplete at first glance, especially given the numerous changes that have been made in the OVA. To those who haven't read the manga, there seems to be nothing too wrong with the plot, aside from the odd inconsistency that is. Where the ambiguity occurs is in the consideration of the plot - is it good or not? If you've read the manga then you can readily pick faults with the OVA, however there is one important point that is missed from this perspective. Likewise, if you have only seen the OVA, then you may be under the impression that the story doesn't really go anywhere. I should mention before continuing that another source of ambiguity is the fact that the OVA has been released by both ADV and Viz Media (only in the UK, Europe and Australia though), and that both releases feature different nomenclature for certain characters and places. Now here's the important bit. The Battle Angel Alita OVA was never intended to be a standalone tale. It's only purpose was to serve as an introduction to the manga, much like 3x3 Eyes or, more recently, Ga Rei: Zero. The OVA is simply a compressed (and altered), form of the first tow volumes of the manga after all, and when one considers that the whole thing was simply one big marketing tool, then the question becomes "Did it make me want to read the manga?" (which I'll answer in a bit). The OVA is split into two episodes, the first being Rusty Angel, followed by Tears Sign. As stated, these episodes are nothing more than compressed and altered version of the first two volumes of the manga, however, I found that they worked rather well in their own right. The changes that were made actually served to hold the plot together, and whilst purists may argue that it should have stuck firmly to the manga, it's surprising how often playing fast and loose with the original can actually improve the new version. Battle Angel Alita is one of those titles that, whilst having it's own plot problems, is able to hold it's own against the manga. The artwork for the OVA is very good indeed, especially as this is an early 90s anime. There is a penchant for pointy chins, however this can be overlooked given the atmospheric nature of the scrapyard city. Animation is also a big plus for the OVA. The action sequences are very smooth, and character movements are surprisingly well executed on the whole. The character designs tend to stay close to the manga, something which allowed the creators to concentrate on other areas of production. The sound is also good for its time. The music is generally very good throughout the OVA, however there are moments when the action and the music don't mix too well, giving the scenes in question an incomplete feel. The sound effects are well used, but can be a little on the "clunky" side. The voice actors in both the Japanese and English dubs are pretty good on the whole, although I have to say that I prefer the Japanese version nowadays, although this is simply a matter of choice rather than any comment on the quality of the english dub. The characters are well done on the whole, but are also another source of ambiguity. There are characters whose roles have been upscaled or downplayed, who have been removed altogether, combined into one, or who have been brought in as completely new. This is the main reason why I feel the OVA should not be judged on the basis of the manga. Rather, I prefer to view the OVA as an alternate beginning to the manga. The main character, Alita, was originally called Gally in the manga. She is an amnesiac cyborg who whose head and upper torso was found in stasis on a scrap heap by her surrogate "father" Ido Daisuke. Because of her amnesia, her character appears innocent, almost angelic at times, one of the reasons for the title. The other "main" character in the OVA is Yugo, a local boy who is acquainted with Ido. The most interesting aspect of the OVA, and one which was successfully transposed from the manga, was the development and deterioration of both Alita and Yugo respectively. The OVA is effectively a baptism of fire for Alita, however it is quite the opposite for Yugo. It's nice to see that the producers decided to keep the core of the story whole, something which helps to develop both Alita and Yugo during the course of the anime. The other characters only really receive minimal development, however given that this is only a two part OVA, and is nothing more than an introduction to the manga, this can be excused. I found that I enjoyed this immensely. The action was very good, and whilst some of the drama was clearly hammed up,the characters were rather refreshing, especially as I was unfamiliar with the manga when I first viewed the OVA. This is a good effort on the whole. It does have its issues, however given that it is simply an advert for the manga (something which should be kept firmly in mind when judging this show), these are understandable. That said, the producers have made the effort to ensure that the OVA can stand on its own, and what they have produced is a rather charming, quirky, and somewhat violent piece of work. The dystopian future envisioned by Kishiro Yukito has transposed well to anime, and the fact that the producers have decided to be creative rather than staid has helped to produce something which is more than an advert. My hope now is that this OVA, along with 3x3 Eyes, will go the way of Tetsuwan Birdy. Altogether now........... REMAKE!

This 2 episode anime OVA is not great. In fact, it could use a lot of work. Why? Well let's start with the good. Well, I do like the themes and the concept of the story. It's a post-apocalyptic world where the poor are literally forced to live in the garbage dumps of the rich. While the aristocrats live in a rich, floating city, the poor are forced to live in a brutal, criminal ridden underworld where murderers, assassins, and bounty hunters thrive. The art and animation are definately great. The character designs seem to have heart and soul in them, unlike many of the newer animes today, in my opinion... There's just something about these earlier animes, where the imperfections and flaws don't really seem to detract from the style. Certain liberties that artists are given visibly contribute to an intimately crafted feel. For example, when Galley screams, the details in her face evoke a more rigid, less manufactured expression of emotion than many other animes. However, what I don't like, is how rushed the story is, and how underdeveloped the world and characters are. Many scenes could be added to develop the characters. Characters are introduced, and then minutes later, you are supposed to care about them. Also, this 2 episode OVA is nowhere near long enough to tell the entire story from the manga. Like Berserk, this anime is unfinished. The music sounds very 80's and is mostly ambient droning to add to the mood of the scenes, much like Vampire Hunter D (1985). So the effectiveness of the music will most likely be a matter of opinion. Personally, I kinda like it. The best thing about this anime is the concept. The sci-fi world that the anime is set in is so unique, original and amazing that it could have had so much more potential. While the anime is ultimately a dissapointment, it's still a decently entertaining action movie. You can watch my video review of Battle Angel HERE on Youtube.

In my honest opinion the anime and the manga are a masterpiece, reflecting many people's lives. Yugo's dream of reaching Tiphares (which may represent one's goals in life) swiftly coming to an end and after risking his life, and eventually lose it, in order to obtain what he dreamt for, he realised that what he really needed was at arm's reach. However he ended up losing even that - something which happens often nowadays. On the other hand, Alita, who had nothing in life (she was raised from the actual scrapyard) learnt to appreciate life and those things she experienced everyday. This can be seen clearly when she asks Yugo why does he really want to visit Tiphares. Her question is full of pity, somehow knowing that he would lose everything on his road to obtain his dream. This feeling can be seen even better in the manga where Alita risks her life for Koyomi in her battle against Makaku. The cyberpunk era is strongly depicted with metal, scrap and cybernetic implants dominating the world. The atmosphere of broken dreams, mortals using unnatural enhancements to try and improve their lives and alienation roam throughout the whole OVA. Although the OVA seems to be as if it was cut short, and I guess many would have wished for further sequels, it was carefully done as not to ruin the mood of the story. It was this particular ending which made me buy alll the manga.

I was recommended this title by a good friend of mine and decided to purchase this along with Voices of a Distant Star after trading in some anime DVDs I didn't want anymore, and am really, really glad to have seen Battle Angel. My only regret is that I didn't pick that title up in my early years of anime fandom since I clearly remember seeing a VHS display for this at the local Hollywood Video back in the day. STORY Battle Angel takes place in a hellhole known as Scrap Iron City. Above Scrap Iron City is a much fantasized floating paradise named Zalem. Scrap Iron City is seething with vile criminals, and the most vile ones attack people and take their organs to sell in the black market (particularly spines, which are the most valuable). Due to a lack of police, an organization simply known as “The Factory” hires SIC citizens as bounty hunters, who literally bring in the heads of criminals for cash. Cyber Doctor Ido rebuilds a broken female cyborg and names her Gally. Gally eventually finds a talent for hunting, and falls in love with a boy named Yugo, who on the outside looks like a mechanical repairman. However, things start to look dour when Ido's former partner, Dr. Chiren, tries to “outdo” Dr. Ido in cyborg combat and when crime boss Mr. Vector lures Yugo into a life of crime for the promise of getting to Zalem. CHARACTERS One of Battle Angel's best traits is its characters. The development of them is really well-thought out and they behave in complex, realistic fashions. Gally is a great character because of her intrigue due to the loss of her original memories. However, as the anime goes along, Gally gains awareness of her surroundings and becomes a fully fleshed out character. Yugo is also great because his actions blur the line between good and evil. This is so because Yugo, in desperation to fulfill his lifelong dream to earn enough credits to get to Zalem, resorts to spine-thieving, under Mr. Vector's orders, to earn credits quicker. Even though he resorts to these heinous actions, he's not necessarily a bad person because he's desperate to get a better life and escape from Scrap Iron City. Even some of the “bad” characters like Dr. Chiren are interesting because they don't act in such one-sided, cartoonish manners. We see Dr. Chiren as a villain at first, but as we see her more, she does the bad things she does under the promise for a better life (along with Yugo). On a humorous note, I think Mr. Vector looks like the anime version of jazz and film legend Scatman Crothers. SETTING Aside from the great characters, Battle Angel gives the audience a setting that perfectly matches the mood it sets out to make. Scrap Iron City is a cyberpunk hellhole; seething with crime and an all around ugly appearance, which is appropriate since it is after all, built out of the garbage dumped from Zalem. Scrap Iron City itself is quite unique because unlike most Blade Runner-influenced cyberpunk anime where it often takes place in an overpopulated high-tech metropolis, Scrap Iron City looks like what would happen if a city was built in the wastelands from The Road Warrior (heck, even one of the cyborg criminals bears a small visual resemblance to Wez) with everyday life integrated with Blade Runner-like technology (computers and cyborgs, etc.). The fact that Battle Angel was a low budget production from 1993 also gives it sort of a grainy picture to it as well, enhancing the unnerving mood the unpleasant visuals present. CYBORG TECHNOLOGY What I really like about the cyborgs in Battle Angel is that they don't look perfectly “human,” you can immediately tell that they're machines, and it shows the grittiness of Scrap Iron City since they don't have fancy parts to make the cyborgs look like sexual eye candy. Even Gally's body doesn't have the “perfect” look to it since only her head looks “human,” and everything else below looks entirely mechanical. There's even robots shown throughout Battle Angel that look like they were thrown together by random scrap, particularly the robots that work for “The Factory.” THEMES Battle Angel also has several themes going for it, and all of them are incorporated very well into the anime. The most noticeable one is the love theme, which takes place between Gally and Yugo, and the romance itself is pretty sad. There's also themes of freedom, obsession, and following one's dreams all accentuated in Yugo's fixation on leaving Scrap Iron City and getting to Zalem. This is also pretty sad because Yugo is so fixated on his lifelong dream, that he's blind to the good things he already has in life. ACTION SCENES Battle Angel has some great, bloody action scenes that add to the overall story and don't seem tacked on to grab the viewer's attention. For an anime with a limited budget, the fight scenes between Gally and several cyborg criminals are well done since I don't really recall much, if any cels being reused during these scenes. The most notable fight scene is between Gally and Grewcica (main cyborg criminal). Grewcica uses crazy things like extending fingers that can slash and destroy just about anything, while Gally relies only on her agility and strong body to fight the fiend. When Ido confronts Grewcica and one of his minions towards the beginning, it was pretty awesome to see him fight the mechanical monsters because it's not everyday that you see a guy in a black trench-coat use a rocket-powered hammer (with a sharp end, nonetheless) to destroy his foes. MATURE CONTENT This certainly isnt' an anime I'd let the kids see because while not a constant bloodbath, there's some moments that are pretty gruesome. The most notable example would be prior to the previously mentioned duel, the upgraded Grewcica uses his sharp, extending fingers to slice a helpless dog to death, with blood and entrails being shed in decent detail. There's fleeting nude and sex scenes involving Dr. Chiren and Mr. Vector, though it's only Chiren's body that's portrayed in the nude. APPEARANCE The animation for this is pretty standard for a low budget anime from the early 90's, but I don't have any gripes with this whatsoever because the minor imperfections that exist within the animation give it a charm that anime today horribly lacks. The only real noticeable “cel recycle” is when towards the beginning, when a young woman runs from two cyborg criminals, you see her running and the background looks like its being repeated as she runs. However, I think they partially covered that up by designing that corridor with a semi-repeating structural pattern. The artwork for Battle Angel is quite good since the backgrounds are painted in great detail and accentuate the grittiness of Scrap Iron City. The character art is also well done and makes them very distinct. Another quality product from Japan's greatest animation studio, Madhouse!! FINAL WORD My only gripe with Battle Angel is that they could have made it a little longer since all together, this OVA only runs at about 50 minutes. However, what they achieved in that little time is certainly more impressive than most anime titles that have over ten times the running length but pad most of it out with pointless filler (I'm looking at you, Witchblade). If you want some gritty cyberpunk anime that's intelligent and touching, all while being short yet to the point, then Battle Angel will be a great addition to your anime collection.

Horrible mutilation of an amazing manga. They completely destroy one of the most incredible story arcs in the first installment, and the second arc is just a shell of what it was. Top it off with blatantly rushed animation, and poor voice acting on both the japanese and english audio tracks and it leaves you with an adaption that is so bad its inexcusable. Do yourself a favor, if you're interested in BAA, read the manga. Its one of the best. Don't waste your time on this.

Battle Angel is an action anime with sci-fi elements that manages to be a lot more than a bloody spectacle. It examines many themes: love, hope, freedom, obsession, and the thin line between good and evil. The anime succeeds in meshing all of these together with a coherent storyline, character development, and action without making anything seem artificial. What makes it so impressive is that it's pulled off in a mere two episodes with a 25 minute run time each; while you have many anime with 12 times the episodes completely incapable of doing this. Despite everything it does right though, there is so much room left for improvement. Beginning with its setting; the world this story takes place in is very interesting. Scrap Iron City is a cesspool of a community. It's filthy, dangerous, and depressing, in other words it's hell. Floating above it is the city called Zalem. Not much information is given on this supposed heaven, but one thing for sure is that some people are desperate to get there in hopes of living the good life. They're so driven by ambition they become consumed by it, and they're willing to do anything to make the dream a reality. The characters are very well used in pushing this segment of the story. Their personalities reflect the misery in the city. When viewing things from their perspective it's easy to relate to their plight. Especially, one character whom apparently tasted the life on Zalem at one point. I feel this was a good call on the writers part. Simply because this allows the viewer to understand that life on Zalem isn't exactly a pipe dream. Therefore, story development is definitely a strong point. Gally is by far the most interesting of the characters though, due to her carefree personality and mean streak when called for. Battle Angel seems to be more aimed at the thinking person to me, but action fans will get something out of it as well. The battles are very good, and even very brutal at times with some imaginative and well planned out scenes. The animation definitely brings out the best in the fights. They're very fluid without the slightest bit of jumpiness. For a 1993 OVA, the visuals are impressive. The artwork ranges from average to great. Special attention was paid to Gally when displaying all of her emotions. Many times her face told her story without the use of dialogue. The soundtrack is decent with the right music for the right moods. I will mention that the ending theme Cyborg Mermaid performed by Kaori Akima has a very nice melody with some nice vocals. As far as the sub and dubs are concerned. I don't have a problem with neither. The anime isn't without its flaws. The biggest problem with the series is the length. Although some things are wrapped up, questions are still left hanging and the viewer will be left wanting more. This is one of those titles that deserved better treatment but never got it. This is definitely a title that should be remade. Overall, Battle Angel is a very good watch. It has characters that bring out the story and nice action scenes. There's a bit of nudity and sexual content yet nothing too graphic despite knowing something went on or is going on. I only recommend this title to the most die hard anime fans. Highs: Very good action scenes, nice animation and artwork, well developed story Lows: Too short, unanswered questions

Oh, if only all anime titles could be as magnificent as this little gem. Sure there may be little flaws here and there and it's an incomplete story but it's definitely a gem nonetheless. Battle Angel is a vintage classic that any true anime connoisseur worth his or her grain of salt should already have as part of their collection. If you have never seen or heard of Battle Angel Alita and you are into anime, sci-fi or both...then this comes highly recommended. This show came out in the early 90's [I want to say...1992?] and yet the art still looks fabulous, even by today's standards and very few anime has that kind of bragging rights. Plus there is no CG in this one, it's just straight-up quality hand drawn stuff. I absolutely love the ending song [Cyborg Mermaid]. It's both very desperate and very sad at the same time just like the anime. I've watched this OAV both in Japanese and English, either way is watchable since it's the story and the artwork that makes this show so compelling. Battle Angel Alita is a masterpiece beyond a shadow of a doubt. It is a timeless and somewhat painful story about the hopelessness in pursuing dreams that are more like unattainable fantasies than those of a more realistic and practical nature. It is about succumbing with reckless abandon to lust, greed and vice...all of which serves as a means to a terrible end. It's about those in pursuit of the ever elusive paradise [in this case, the forbidding [and foreboding] city of Zalem] it's a risk worth everything, including the corruption and subsequent destruction of their very limited and fragile human souls. The style of early 90's character design had a very distinct look to it and I think it was from this era of anime that really set Japanese animation apart from American cartoons. They were at the same time: beautiful and grotesque. It's hard to put into words unless you see shows like these from this time period. I think when you look at Gally, you see the tiny, frail looking body and her beautiful doll-like face and you would not process that image with being a beast. Normally she would be perceived as some dainty, airhead Disney-like princess, but in reality she's more tiger than princess; her tiny frame is a mass of metallic sinews capable of withstanding high impact and harsh,violent battles. She moves with a speed and ferocity that enables her to take down opponents 3x her size! She is by far my most favorite character. Yugo is a tragic mess, he is just one example of what I mean by allowing oneself to be swayed by wild fantasies fueled by illogical and irrepressible emotions. As I said before, this is a masterpiece. Worth whatever money you spent on it and since it's only 1 hour, it's totally re-watchable! This is the perfect kind of show you could use to show to people who like to ask the irritatingly stupid question “Why do you always watch cartoons?” and try to downplay the intelligence of Japanese art and the power of anime.

Imo it wasn't that good. I know it came before but Alita is just a robot Sailor Saturn. I also didn't like the romance in this show since Hugo's a criminal but that doesn't seem to bother Gally at all. That makes me think she's a bitch. I don't have any sympathy for her. Hugo also seemed like a dick when he kissed Gally and said they're partners in crime now. Imo it's really tone deaf since he's a guy who rips peoples spines out to sell. And I was really disappointed with the world. I thought it would be darker and more sci-fi but the world of BAA is more like Samurai Jack. It's very cartoony and the robot stuff is just a mish-mash. I thought I'd read the manga but I doubt it. It's not my kind of story. I prefer a more serious one. Was interesting to see though how this inspired Texhnolyze with the privileged city above the dark one made of junk. If Hugo was the OVA original character I probably would've read the manga but since Chiren was, who I thought was actually decent/compelling, there's no way I'd like the manga if the author can come up with a guy like Hugo. I'm surprised this is seinen. It's probably just another one of those shounen with x-rated violence and gore kind of seinen, like Tokyo Ghoul. I hate that type.

Battle Angel seems very cliche on the surface. I know what you're thinking a story about a cyborg mercenary in a post-apocalyptic future, cliche? Well, yes. Even when the manga came out in 1990 the post-apocalyptic future involving cyborgs was cliche and had many examples including Appleseed and Bubblegum Crisis being two examples. However, Battle Angel stays original in many ways. It opens with the protagonist, Gally, being found broken in a junkyard by Doctor Ido. He takes her to his laboratory and repairs her. She has no memory, yet another cliche but it works so I won't say too much about it. She sees him sneak out one night and return bandaged. So she follows him the next night and discovers that he's a mercenary. She promptly decides to become one herself. That's only one aspect of the story. There are two major areas in this world. The floating city, Zalem, where the privileged people live and the surface, where the poor live and the only law is bounty hunters. A young man named Hugo is trying to reach Zalem by earning money through various means. At the same time, a mysterious group is stealing spinal cords. The main problem with the story in Battle Angel is that it's incomplete. Like many OVAs, Battle Angel only goes through the first part of the manga. As a result they stop at a point that's fairly complete, but not entirely complete. The characters are well done and complex. The action scenes are good, although they have an unrealistic amount of blood for no good reason. I guess having cybernetic parts makes you produce extra blood or something. The art is dated, but well done. The voice acting is good. Itou Miki does a very nice job as does Inoue Kazuhiko. There is no yuri in Battle Angel. There aren't even hints or female characters who interact enough to have potential. Earning it a yuri factor of 1/10. My final rating for Battle Angel is a 7/10. It's a good OVA and it certainly does a good job of getting people interested in the Manga. Really the best reason to watch this OVA is to see if you'd be interested in the manga so if you've read the manga already you can skip it. If you haven't read the manga go ahead and give it a try.

I went into this expecting robots, examination of the robot condition and a predictable plot. I did not get that. I therefore did not appreciate it until I was told that what this OVA is about is the setting. The setting is visually striking - the rich are living in a city called Zalem high above Scrap Iron City (which is basically Zalem's dumping ground). This is set in Scrap Iron City. This story is about the effect that Zalem has on the people of this policeless city. Look out for the hints people give about what they think of the people around them, because not only is this central to the plot, but it's central to their characterisation. The characterisation here is phenomenal for a 55 minute OVA. Utterly phenomenal. Many characters get an unpredictable arc, almost as if they're actual people! They have conflicting motivations, etc, etc, etc. It's great. Apart from the odd character who is all about violence, this is incredibly done. It's the whole point of the OVA. The vulnerability of the characters is amazing. The determination of them is so believable. I also love how this is set in a place where cyborgs are incredibly common - robotic body parts are the norm. If you love cyberpunk, as I do, this is a very neat touch and permeates the entire OVA. There is also romance in this, sort of. I appreciate that it tries to do it realistically and consistently with the characters. Whatever. The action is also fine. Plenty of fun gore. With all this in mind, you should have a blast watching this. Enjoy! THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN WATCHING BECAUSE IF YOU'RE NOT AWARE OF THEM YOU COULD VERY VERY VERY EASILY MISS THEM - Remember it when they warn of someone going around stealing girl's brains and people's spines. I kinda missed it the first two times I watched this, but they do totally come back to that. And it's totally relevant. - Gally is a human/cyborg. All humanoid beings in this OVA appear to have human brains. - At one point they show a gladiator announcer on tv mention the name of a top fighter who has disappeared. Remember that name. (please do let me know yours feelings about this review via private message!)

Hmmm, a half decent action anime that consists of 2 parts. It's a bit short, but it's not too bad. The animation is ok... the face of the doctor is longer than that of a horse, but apart from that there isn't anything seriously out of place. "Battle Angel Alita" had nice background music going for it, which lent it some good atmosphere. The story had some good ideas, but is somewhat incomplete. Heh, that's the main trouble with "Battle Angel Alita" actually. It felt like a chunk was missing between the two parts that it comprises, with the relationship between the characters suddenly taking a giant leap forward going from one episode to the other. Although it's probably meant to be that way, the result is that it simply felt like they were too lazy to actually flesh out the character interactions properly and just took a short cut. The characters were somewhat interesting at first, but due to the lack of polishing, the potential went to waste and they ended up as the weakest aspect of the anime. "Battle Angel Alita" felt slightly rushed in general, maybe because the anime was made to fit into 2 episodes, and the character development suffered the most because of this. I like the idea behind it, although it's definitely been done before.

Quick Review: I haven't saw this for ages but what I remember of it, I thought The story was quite diffrent and nice, I really enjoyed this OVA, I heard there was a manga, and this only covers the first 2 chapters, I haven't read the manga, but after watching this, I want to read it. Give it a try, if you want the infomation at the top of the page sounds good to you, check it out!

This is the first anime I have ever seen. My lackluster review will be because of the fact that it was so long ago, yet I can say with certainty that it started me on a love affair with anime that has not slowed down. The bounty hunter concept was new to me at the time, I must admit, just as the sheer horror and shock of it all was a refreshing dose of novel imagination. The story is lacking, yet I believe you will feel the same when you watch it and think it was something exceptional and worthwhile. Maybe I'm just a fool or like to go against the grain and put my support behind a obscure anime that probably only retains popularity by it's cult following. Or maybe, I am you. Wandering around aimlessly though life with an anime on your mind that still makes you tingle when you think about it. That makes you realize the enigma that is the human imagination in creating a production that will last for centuries or maybe just a decade, but, oh, even if only one day, that day would rule. Although this anime is not the best I've seen it remains my first kiss that started my lasting lust with anime.

YUKITOPIA!! Welcome to the stupendous and imaginary world of Kishiro Yukito-sensei! GUNNM (Battle Angel Alita) proves to be a deep and breath-taking work, brimming with charming and intrinsic characters, a powerful and driving story, and a cosmogony as beautiful as it is gloomy, being, after a fashion, a dystopia of a fallen world, once one has delved into it. In Gally (or Alita) we found the drive and valour of a cyborg girl searching for her lost memories, the gore and goose bumps across the skin amongst extraordinary battles as she becomes a Hunter Warrior. Moreover, the nascent, ambiguous and poetic love between man and machine; the inhabitants and life, much blight, of Scrap Iron City; the reverie to attain a higher order of living above the floating, looming and cryptic Zalum; a parent’s care and affection; vendetta, lasciviousness and betrayal; the labyrinthine path of blood and fortitude, and the shadowing scam hidden in the characters that rain life into this perplexing journey. Though left unfinished, this OVA is a stellar constellation of beauteous, bleak light piercing through the darkness of a post-apocalyptic future. An electrifying romance and an aspiring, floating dream. A very unique cosmogony; a mysterious and beautifully grotesque relic of the 90’s.

Not for the fainthearted!!! This short anime ova from 1993 is one of the BEST short story i´ve ever seen for a cyberpunk anime. And more of it that most of the ppl in the story are shrouded in mystery by past and the survival of the fittest sci/fi genre.Even more so is that the main charachter Alita(Gumnn in japan) is almost totally unknown in the anime by past, and present, Tiphares the mystery city, cyborg-enhanced criminals, doctors with a sort of ápproval'mark on their forehead... too bad that are no further animeplans to continue it but the manga is satisfying!

Ok, who is the person that decided to give her a name like ‘Gally’? Someone really didn’t have any idea how to create a name. Gally isn’t like a normal girl, she just laughs when someone says she weighs a ton. It’s interesting how she is extremely strong and yet the only thing that was found was her head and part of her chest. She also seems to sweat which I really don’t think that cyborgs need to do so. There are a lot of inconsistencies that make this feel a bit off. Ido is a freaken jurk. Pretty much when Gally asks to be a Bounty Hunter, he tells her that all she needs to do is stand there and look pretty. It seems that all he really wants her to be is just eye candy at his medical business. And then, he just accepts her as a bounty hunter without any question. The artwork is vintage and actually rather good though I’m not sure about the design of a couple of the characters. There is one rather large squashed man who I can’t see the eyes of. His face is extremely wrinkled and hard to make out. Backgrounds are a bit Ido has a really odd flat head and looks pretty much like Vash from Trigun. Seriously, you look at him and then you look at Vash and they seem similar. Mouths barely open when people talk and sometimes you don’t see their mouths at all. Well, the voices are alright in English, but sadly, this seems rather old. Some don’t seem to be even trying. Gally sounds rather off when she tries to laugh, almost forced and Yugo sounds way to hyper for points that he really should be rather gentle on. When the characters shout, all it sounds like is someone reading lines as they shout. The whole argument between them is full of inconsistent highs and lows. The fight scenes are just screams and shouts with no real reason. Gally is rather vocal were every little jump that she does, she has to say something. A lot of characters, Chiren the worst, sound like they are laughing when they are crying.

As you may know already or not, it is based on the manga written by Yukito Kishiro, about a cyborg that lost all her memories and is taken care by cybernetics expert Daisuke Ido and he names the cyborg Alita (or Gally by the original Japanese translation), after his dead cat. Now I would talk about the many adventures that she has throughout but I am only covering the anime, which is only 2 episodes. Keep in mind that I don’t usually read much manga and I do want to acknowledge both versions and know the differences between them and hopefully not sound like an ignorant jackass. The plot summary in first episode called “Rusty Angel” is pretty much the beginning of the story like in the manga, only it seemed kind of rushed with the discovery of Gally being over less than a 3 minutes but I wasn’t expecting an overly-long explanation of it and also she notices her powerful strength and fighting skills and decides she wants to be a Hunter-Warrior. Also, she has a close bittersweet relationship with Hugo (or Yugo) who happens to the part of the main focus of the second episode, “Tears Sign”, where he gets into deep s**t with his bosses. Usually by day, he performs maintenance work for Ido but by night, he collects cyborg spinal columns for Vector, a Scrapyard businessman in selling illegal human body parts and organs in Zalem, the floating city Hugo someday wants to live. But unfortunately after a botched mission, now every Hunter-Warrior is hunting Hugo down. Any other characters worth mentioning are completely nonexistent or completely unimportant to the story. While Chiren may have a minor-major part in both episodes, she is not much of a character that I would consider to be “threatening” or “their mind screw on tight”. Alita (Gally) is actually a favorite among myself, Ido is somebody I can respect (except that sorry explanation why Gally shouldn’t be a Hunter-Warrior), and Hugo, while being the unfortunate character but he still kind of irked me. But then again, I look back at the English voice actor who dubbed him and it turns out it’s the same guy (Spike Spencer) who voiced Shinji Ikari on Neon Genesis Evangelion and I did detect some whininess in Yugo and the woman who voiced Gally (Amanda Winn-Lee) also voiced Rei, but this time her voice requires her to show emotion and she did…….although Gally could be less shrilly but she did do a great job. The animation done by studios KSS, MOVIC & Madhouse, despite showing its age, manages to hold its ground and it shows. The music……it’s like an old ‘80s score showcase, even though it is made in the ‘90s but I really starting to like the end song, “Cyborg Mermaid”, and could be added to my growing list of anime songs. But before my final verdict, I do know about the James Cameron live-action adaptation coming in about 4 years and my opinion of that is that even though many anime live-action movie adaptations always manages to suck (including one anime-inspired show live-action movie adaptation) but with Cameron, it’s about 50/50. True. Avatar was a visual marvel to look at but I am not exactly the people who loved Avatar, just thought it was okay, but I think Cameron could break that cycle……….only time could tell. FINAL VERDICT: You know what, I actually love this anime. I just wished it would have been longer but like FLCL longer (about 4-5 more episodes would have been nice), not Bleach or Inuyasha longer. I like that feel it had on me after watching this and I can look past its problems and I did appreciate the old-school frame to it. I can see myself watching this over and over again. I would recommend this for people who haven’t read the manga but I suggest you know a bit of the manga before watching this.

This was one of the first anime I ever watched, so I'll also have a soft spot for it, but the bleak post-apocalyptic technological world is a perfect dystopia is excellent and indicative of the paths Japanese animation would take in the future as well as the influence that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had on the country and the animation industry in particular. The music and animation style has dated somewhat but is 'classic' anime as in at the beginning of its infiltration of the Western world. It doesn't take away from the series at all.

This is what I imagine Battle Angel visually should be, rather than what the live action movie delivered. That is not to say that one is better than the other, but both adaptations had elements going for it. For instance, I would rather have Christoph Waltz's performance from the live action movie because of his more fatherly portrayal of Ido. The rest, this anime nailed it. What the anime lacked was for time for its story to breathe. The anime was rushed with its 45-minute run time. It really needed some character moments to build on the relationships. For a more than 30-year-old anime, it is still better animated than 60% of the seasonal anime running for the Winter 2026 season. That is crazy Madhouse quality.

The only existing animated adaptation of the Battle Angel Alita manga, Gunnm is a 2-episode OVA from the early 90s. It covers pretty much the same ground as the Hollywood movie, minus some future arcs that the movie rushed in earlier. It's not terribly interesting, but it's also not a significant time investment. To fans of the genre or the manga, this will be time well spent. For what it's worth, as opposed to the movie, the city (Iron City, I think it's called?) can clearly be seen for the post-apocalyptic desiccated hellhole that it is, not the relatively poor, but vibrant and bustling hipster paradise from the Hollywood production. In keeping with the ethic of being appropriately dark, the dog death scene is way more explicit here, as well. Be warned. Also, just as I recently found him in Genocyber, Ryuuzaburou Ootomo, the voice actor of Crocodile from One Piece, is here, as well. He seems to be part of an old guard of voice actors more likely to be found in old school shows.