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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Background

Gunnm was first published in English as Battle Angel Alita by VIZ Media in comic book format, with 68 VIZ Select Comics issues split into 8 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 has been releasing the series digitally, and physically in hardcover deluxe editions since November 21, 2017. The series was also published in Brazilian Portuguese by Jbc from May 2003 to November 2014, as well as in a number of other languages, including French, German, Finnish, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Polish.

Oscar winning director James Cameron was introduced to Gunnm by fellow director Guillermo del Toro, and subsequently purchased the rights to a 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.

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Related Manga

Side story:	Haisha, Gunnm Gaiden
Sequel:	Gunnm: Last Order
Adaptation:	Gunnm

More characters
Characters

Gally

Main

Nova, Desty

Supporting

Jashugan

Supporting

Ido, Daisuke

Supporting

Four, Figure

Supporting

Yugo

Supporting

Kaos

Supporting

Den

Supporting

K, Koyomi

Supporting

Collins, Lou

Supporting

Reviews

Apr 5, 2008

lonestar6969

Recommended

What a great original story this was. The art is very detailed and clear in the sense that you can actually understand whats going on in the fight scenes. For some fighting manga's it was very difficult to imagine what went on during a fight scene but Alita didnt lose me. I got a sense of excitment following Alita's develpment from innocent cyborg to bounty hunter to elite sportwomen to warrior as there was not a single boring moment. It was a thrill to see what new weapons or body she would get and how she would defeat or catch her enemies.

Not only was the ...

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Jan 29, 2018

comiclove

Mixed Feelings

Battle Angel Alita (or Gunnm) was intriguing in the sense that it somewhat defied expectations. I knew virtually nothing about this franchise besides when I watched the OVA + saw the trailer for that weird live-action adaptation, so I'm coming into this like a baby. Ultimately, it's not as great as some people have claimed, but it has redemptive factors that are hopefully expanded upon in the sequel 'Last Order'.

[Story - 6]

Our story follows the adventures of a cyborg named Alita (or Gally) in the post-apocalyptic United States; Specifically, we follow her 'coming of age' as she goes from a cloudcuckoolander amnesiac to a hardened ... wasteland warrior. Along the way, we see her as a bounty hunter, athlete, and a mercenary for the 'elite' citizens of the U.S. (or rather, an atmospheric colony hovering above the industrial sector + scrapyard where the story starts).

While I have issues with the characterization, this story alone is pretty intriguing. It certainly helps that the world-building is exquisite, with details both minute and major being part of the current arc or the much-speculated-about backstories of various events + characters. The characters (well, really Alita and Ido) receive a lot of monologuing; Regardless of my opinions of them, they are well-timed and definitely reflect their growth.

The pacing is pretty solid; 9 volumes might seem a bit short for a story of this magnitude, but it manages to give each arc enough breathing room for adequate plot AND character development. However, the ending is rather infamous for how rushed it is: between a huge infodump, sudden twists primarily for shock value, very little introspective dialogue, and a pointless time-skip of an epilogue, it's no wonder that the mangaka had to retcon it for Last Order to happen. This is what dragged the score for 'Story' down from an '8', unfortunately.

[Art - 7]

The artwork's an interesting aspect. While the settings/backgrounds are grimly realized, with details of destruction and decay rampant all around, some of the character design leans more towards a 'cartoony' aesthetic. The humans/cyborgs are typically a bit 'fluffier' than if they would be rendered more realistically; in other words, they look like Castle in the Sky rejects. Alita, in particular, is noteworthy in that she resembles a doll; This was obviously done for symbolism, but it adds an unsettling factor when you see her in action (especially in the back half of the manga). Even some of the non-human characters (i.e. the various factory bots) look rather goofy, with somewhat-exaggerated facial features.

However, other characters have designs much more suited for the cyberpunk dystopia (for better or worse) - most of the antagonists (Jashugan, Zapan, etc.) have bulky bodies, both natural and modified, with stony expressions and great displays of power. The robots look a bit more menacing than these characters, but they mostly have a stereotypical feel to them. Desty Nova's probably my favourite character in terms of design; While he's definitely human, his design just SCREAMS 'total creep' (which he lives up to rather spectacularly).

The action is pretty well-rendered; Especially during the Motorball arc, it was very clear as to what was happening, along with being visually engaging thanks to the gritty style of the setting. I'm not particularly keen on some of the designs (if that wasn't obvious enough), but the action setpieces and backgrounds saved this aspect.

[Character - 5]

This is where the title failed me, surprisingly. There is definitely substantial development, but it feels WAY too drawn out (like, characters having Big Life Lessons several chapters past when they should have realized (coughDAISUKEIDOANDHISPOSSESSIVENESScough) ); Certain character actions and choices feel really stupid (Den is notorious for this), and not just because of genuine character flaws; Other characters are just way too campy/goofy for their own good sometimes (Desty Nova is the epitome of a mad scientist); And of course, some people are just simply underdeveloped despite an expectation for us to care about them (Makaku, Hugo, Zapan, for example). This is as short as I'll keep it, because otherwise I'll just be whining about how much I loathed Alita up until the very last volume due to her sustained immaturity in the form of brattiness and arrogance.

[Enjoyment/Overall - 6]

To sum it up; it's not as amazing as some people have made it out to be, but it has enough positives that I can see why people feel that way. I'm interested to see how Last Order builds upon this title, both in continuing and changing various elements. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a cyberpunk title with substantial action and intriguing worldbuilding, despite a lack of appealing AND well-rounded characters.

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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: Gunnm Chapter 11 Discussion joe_g7 - Sep 14, 2017	5 replies	by mistercb »» Mar 25, 12:39 AM
Poll: Battle Angel Alita Chapter 53 Discussion TuzoAnime - Jan 23, 2010	34 replies	by FedeMetal »» Dec 13, 2023 7:12 PM
Poll: Gunnm Chapter 50 Discussion joe_g7 - Oct 19, 2017	3 replies	by FedeMetal »» Dec 13, 2023 9:10 AM
Poll: Gunnm Chapter 49 Discussion joe_g7 - Oct 19, 2017	2 replies	by FedeMetal »» Dec 13, 2023 8:09 AM
Poll: Gunnm Chapter 48 Discussion Farabeuf - Aug 20, 2016	4 replies	by FedeMetal »» Dec 12, 2023 7:04 PM

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