Gunnm
Battle Angel Alita

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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!

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 ... ,I couldnt get characters' emotions and feelings through it enough.

Gally had huge potential as a character ,but it was wasted.The way she develops is done in a unnatural and forced way ,which makes it feel straight up stupid.Except for that ,most characters were pretty average and bold.Many of them just disappeared ,because the author just wanted to change the cast ,which is an annoying fact.Jashugan was probably my favourite character in the series ,he was pretty cool and authentic .

Overall ,while I had my problems with Gunnm ,it was fun to read not gonna lie. I would recommend it as a chill read with pretty good art.

Battle Angel Alita – Spoiler Free – Not Recommended

TLDR
Story – 2/10 – 2 x 0.275 = 0,55
Art – 8/10 – 8 x 0.2 = 1,6
Characters – 3/10 – x 0.225 = 0,675
Enjoyment – 1/10 – 1 x 0.3 = 0,3
Total: 3,125

Story – 2/10
... It's such a sadness...
Battle Angel Alita’s story is a mess, a huge mess. It is difficult to describe how such a story can be so flawed. The story doesn't make sense, has many leaps of faith, and is poorly written overall. What started as an interesting premise completely forgot its purpose. This manga is anything but a coherent story, being just a collection of random things happening to Alita.
Romance is also a big part – or at least the prospect of romance – of Battle Angel Alita. Characters know each other in one volume, and they are already falling in love in the same volume. Alita’s main crush – Yogo – appeared out of nowhere, was never developed, but still played a major impact in the story for no absolute reason. Understandably, a story about cyborgs should have a part about love and human feelings, but this is simply not the way to do it. Moreover, she repeats so many times she is human that you completely forget that she is a cyborg.
There are also some time-skips, and although they aren’t poorly executed, they just make up for a case of bad writing: there are things that only make sense IF there is a non-declared time-skip: with one exception right in the beginning (a two-year time-skip), time-skips must be intuited.
But not everything in Battle Angel Alita is downright bad. For once, the world-building is quite interesting, and significant aspects of the lore are mentioned in the manga. In that sense, it is a very lore-rich story.
The ending is also poorly executed.

Art – 8/10
Art is Battle Angel Alitas's main strength – and probably the only one, for that matter. The art is very functional, stylish, impeccable, and a joy to read. The character design is beautiful, making it very easy to recognise characters from one another. There are also good planes, although no awe-inspiring ones. If only the story and characters were better…

Characters – 3/10
With one exception – Ido – the characters of Battle Angel Alita are downright bad. The main character is in fact incredibly annoying, looking like a teenager during its teenage angst phase, changing opinion on a whim; characters appear and disappear out of nowhere. It's just a mess.

Enjoyment – 1/10
Enjoyment must be definitely very low for Battle Angel Alita. This is a Not Recommended without a shadow of a doubt: the story and the characters make for an explosive mixture that renders the manga a painful and frustrating experience. Battle Angel Alita may, according to some criteria, be considered a classic (it says so on the cover of the manga), but quality is not one of them. It is a terrible manga that only has a good world-building and lore. It is also interesting to note that a manga that relies so much of its energy on the human concept of love has such a robotic approach. There is also no reason to read the sequel for the time being since it is based on a non-canonical version of the ending of Battle Angel Alita, and I definitely won’t reread it.