Gunnm

The utopian metropolis of Zalem soars high in the skies, its presence dominating the horizon. Beneath it is the noxious underbelly known as The Scrapyard, where the city stockpiles all of its waste. Living amongst the vast heaps of garbage are humans and cyborgs, surviving by any means necessary.

Daisuke Ido, a doctor specializing in cyborg repairs, finds the head of a young female cyborg while scavenging a pile of old android parts. Proceeding to build her a new body, he names her Gally. Upon activation, Gally does not seem to remember anything about her past life. Nonetheless, she does not seem to mind as long as she stays by Ido’s side.

However, she soon discovers that Ido has a side job as a hunter-warrior, a bounty hunter working for The Scrapyard’s government. Despite Ido’s warning, she decides to become one herself, awakening her forgotten knowledge of fighting techniques. Equipped with newfound strength, Gally is determined to fight through the alleys of The Scrapyard and beyond, retrieving fragments from her past to rediscover her true identity.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Gunnm was published in English as Battle Angel Alita by VIZ Media in comic book format, with 68 VIZ Select Comics issues split into eight parts from July 1992 to March 1998. It was republished under the VIZ Graphic Novels imprint from July 6, 1995, to December 6, 1998, and again under the VIZ Action imprint from December 31, 2003, to March 1, 2005. Kodansha Comics took over the license and released the series digitally from May 26, 2017, to July 31, 2018. The series was also published in Brazilian Portuguese by Editora JBC; in French by Glénat; in German by Carlsen Verlag; in Finnish by Red Giant; in Spanish by Planeta DeAgostini; in Italian by Panini Comics; in Dutch by Glénat Benelux; and in Polish by Japonica Polonica Fantastica.

Oscar winning director James Cameron was introduced to Gunnm by fellow director Guillermo del Toro, and subsequently purchased the rights to a live-action film adaptation in 2000. Production was halted numerous times due to Cameron's commitment to other projects, until October 2015, when Cameron handed over the director position to Robert Rodriguez. The film premiered on February 14, 2019.

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Characters

Gally

Main

Nova, Desty

Supporting

Jashugan

Supporting

Ido, Daisuke

Supporting

Four, Figure

Supporting

Yugo

Supporting

Den

Supporting

Kaos

Supporting

K, Koyomi

Supporting

Collins, Lou

Supporting

Reviews

Mar 15, 2024

JJMFREAP

Recommended

Gunnm or Battle Angel Alita has got to be one of the best works in the realms of cyberpunk there is. In my humble opinion, this series should be uttered in the same breath as classics like Ghost in the Shell or Akira. It has all the qualities to do this and then some. Somehow, it has flown under the radar for a lot of people it seems and it never even got the honour of having a memorable anime adaptation. Even the fact the Hollywood gave it a shoutout wasn't enough it seems. In any case, if you're reading this, then do yourself a ... favour and read this manga, you will not regret it.

Firstly, it's just amazing how many thing Gunnm does well. It's set within a very fascinating cyberpunk world that touches on all the classics - high tech/low life dichotomy, rampant crime, rogue cyborgs roaming the lands, dilapidated dystopia, consumerism, bounty hunters, etc. All the classics are here. However there are also a lot of elements that are unique to this universe and help it to stand out amongst all other similar works. I mean, Kishiro even invented his own sport just for this story! Finding out the secrets of this world are a key driving force too. Beyond that, this manga just excels at everything. It has fights that are better than a lot of shonen, the gore and maturity of seinen, deeper philosophical implications and romantic subplots better than most. Indeed, among all the battles of giant cyborgs ripping each other to pieces, the moments of love were the ones most touching. And among all the love and war, a beautiful and engaging story is told that will keep you hooked from beginning to end and you can enjoy all of this in only 50 or so chapters.

The sheer quality of the manga is worth noting of course. First and most obvious, the art is nothing short of phenomenal. The characters are well designed, very detailed and extremely expressive in a way that both punctuates powerful moments with pure emotion and provides comic relief when the time is right. The motion is clear and crisp and fights flow incredibly well from panel to panel. Every swing and impact is full of force and speed that you can feel. Every page, regardless if action or not, is full of palpable energy that just keeps you hooked. All the machines, biotechnology and gore are gruesomely detailed and serve to greatly enhance the narrative. And if all of that weren't enough, this manga is also among the best in terms of visual clarity. Kishiro-sensei's line work is simply impeccable and at no point is it difficult to tell what exactly is happening. I am amazed to think that he achieved something this high quality all the way back in the early 90s.

Beyond the art, the writing is just as sharp. This is a very character driven story with Gally/Alita firmly in the center. She is an absolutely amazing multi-layered protagonist and will keep your attention all throughout. She's an incredible fighter and is extremely powerful, holding her own against all kinds of threats, she's determined, steadfast and strong willed. But, she's also kind, caring and emotional. She retains her femininity and manages to still be cute and lovely while also being an absolute badass. Hey, Hollywood wankers, pull out a notebook or something and pay attention - THIS is how you're supposed to write a strong female character! Gally/Alita's strength is well explained and it makes perfect sense within the constraints of the universe why she can go toe-to-toe with much larger opponents than herself. Despite that, she's still often overpowered and needs to use clever tactics and quick wits to make it. And throughout all the blood and guts she splatters all over the place, she never stops acting like a real woman and never loses the caring and empathetic nature (and poor, emotionally driven decision making) that befits a woman. A balance of multiple layers of personality, great strength balanced by believable flaws, with a very intriguing mysterious past to boot, she confidently carries this story on her back.

If all that weren't enough, all the other characters are thoroughly engaging too. Almost every single side character is given significant depth. They are these morally grey people trying to make it in a harsh world and they have both positive and negative traits. Nobody in this story, even Gally/Alita herself, is purely good or evil and that makes this story feel so real and believable. These are people with goals and ambitions, with strengths and weaknesses and they just want to survive in a very harsh world. The world itself is both an excellent backdrop to these very human struggles in amongst the machines, and it's a great driving force that informs all the character's decisions and is the main reason the plot is even happening. It's a grand adventure full of intrigue and excitement and it's also a deep emotional journey of personal growth. The only criticism that can be made is that the ending is a bit odd, but with some research I found that this was due to publisher meddling, so it can be forgiven somewhat. Nonetheless, almost all loose ends are tied up by the end, but it will also leave you wanting more! Thankfully, you can get that with the next manga in the series.

To conclude, this is one of the greatest cyberpunk stories I've ever experienced and even beyond that, one of the most well-made and enjoyable manga you could read. I hope all my gushing convinced you of how good it is. If you love cyberpunk artistry as much as I do, then this is a must read, but even if this genre isn't your cup of tea, the amazing story, excellent action and phenomenal art will still make this worthwhile for you. So don't hesitate and give it a read!

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Dec 18, 2021

CrystalMountain

Mixed Feelings

Gunnm is considered a classic , I can see why ,I guess . It has a very interesting setting and intriguing world,but that's it.

The story was not bad,it was not good either.First of all ,there was not an antagonistic force to push the narrative.In each arc ,Gally(Alita) had different goals and things to fight for ,while that's not necessary a bad thing ,not having a final destination is a minus for me, especially in a story that focuses on battles .

The art is pretty damn good ,honestly it's the manga's best aspect .It was pretty enjoyable and really easy to read.Movement was nice and clean.Nonetheless ...

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Aug 14, 2023

PixelB

Not Recommended

Preliminary (24/53 eps)

Alita Battle Angel...it's an awfully underwhelming manga. The entire story hinges on the foundations of a scientific dystopia, but rather than doing any worldbuilding or exploration, only the bare minimum is given for the story to progress. There's a mysterious structure floating above that everyone believes to be heaven: filled with riches, glory, and happiness. Other than that, it's just generic bounty hunter missions--akin to the adventure guild missions in medieval litRPGs. There's no sense of cyberpunk-like activities despite it being heavily hinted at; it feels like the sci-fi aspect was only to enable Alita to become a cyborg.

Alita herself is a reasonably unimpressive character. ...

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Poll: Battle Angel Alita Chapter 53 Discussion TuzoAnime - Jan 23, 2010	35 replies	by Kitsu-nee »» 3 hours ago
Poll: Gunnm Chapter 23 Discussion joe_g7 - Oct 7, 2017	5 replies	by XlME »» Jul 24, 5:30 AM
Poll: Gunnm Chapter 35 Discussion joe_g7 - Oct 10, 2017	4 replies	by worldsfuckk »» Jun 20, 4:49 AM
Poll: Gunnm Chapter 43 Discussion Farabeuf - Aug 14, 2016	8 replies	by Spo0ky-chan »» May 4, 5:14 PM
Poll: Gunnm Chapter 11 Discussion joe_g7 - Sep 14, 2017	5 replies	by mistercb »» Mar 25, 12:39 AM

Gunnm
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