''Gunnm '' ( ja, 銃夢, Ganmu, ), also known as ''Battle Angel Alita'' in English, is a
Japanese cyberpunk manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series created by
Yukito Kishiro
is a Japanese manga artist born in Tokyo in 1967 and raised in Chiba. As a teenager he was influenced by the mecha anime ''Armored Trooper Votoms'' and ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', in particular the designs of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, as well as the w ...
and originally published in
Shueisha
(lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
's ''
Business Jump
, was a Japanese seinen manga anthology published by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga of ''Business Jump'' were published under the "Young Jump Comics" line. This magazine's mascot was an anthropomorphic, Western-style mous ...
'' magazine from 1990 to 1995. The second of the comic's nine volumes was adapted in 1993 into a two-part
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
original video animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
titled ''
Battle Angel
''Gunnm '' ( ja, 銃夢, Ganmu, ), also known as ''Battle Angel Alita'' in English, is a Japanese cyberpunk manga series created by Yukito Kishiro and originally published in Shueisha's ''Business Jump'' magazine from 1990 to 1995. The s ...
'' for North American release by
ADV Films
A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...
and the UK and Australian release by
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...
. Manga Entertainment also dubbed ''Battle Angel Alita'' into English. A
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
film adaptation
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
titled ''
Alita: Battle Angel'' was released on February 14, 2019.
The series is set in the
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
future and focuses on
Alita ("Gally" in the original Japanese version, and several other countries), a female
cyborg
A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. who has lost all memories and is found in a junkyard by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds and takes care of her. She discovers that there is one thing she remembers, the legendary cyborg
martial art
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
Panzer Kunst, which leads to her becoming a Hunter Warrior, or
bounty hunter
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
. The story traces Alita's attempts to rediscover her past and the characters whose lives she impacts on her journey. The manga series is continued in ''
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order'' and ''
Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle''.
Plot
''Battle Angel Alita'' tells the story of
Alita, an
amnesia
Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...
c female
cyborg
A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. . Her intact head and chest, in
suspended animation
Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...
, are found by cybermedic expert Daisuke Ido in the local garbage dump. Ido manages to revive her, and finding she has lost her memory, names her Alita after his recently deceased cat. The rebuilt Alita soon discovers that she instinctively remembers the legendary martial art Panzer Kunst, although she does not recall anything else. Alita uses her Panzer Kunst to first become a
bounty hunter
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
, killing cyborg criminals in the Scrapyard, and then as a star player in the brutal gladiator sport of Motorball. While in combat, Alita awakens memories of her earlier life on Mars. She becomes involved with the floating city of Zalem (Tiphares in some older translations) as one of their agents, and is sent to hunt down criminals. Foremost is the mad genius Desty Nova, who has a complex, ever-changing relationship with Alita.
The futuristic
dystopian
A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
world of ''Battle Angel Alita'' revolves around the city of Scrapyard (Kuzutetsu in the Japanese and various other versions), which has grown up around a massive scrap heap that rains down from Zalem. Ground dwellers have no access to Zalem and are forced to make a living in the sprawl below. Many are heavily modified by cybernetics to better cope with their hard life.
Zalem exploits the Scrapyard and surrounding farms, paying bounty hunters (called Hunter-Warriors) to hunt criminals and arranging violent sports to keep the population entertained. Massive tubes connect the Scrapyard to Zalem, and the city uses robots for carrying out errands and providing security on the ground. Occasionally, Zalemites (such as Daisuke Ido and Desty Nova) are exiled and sent to the ground. Aside from the robots and exiles, there is little contact between the two cities.
The story takes place in the former United States. According to a map, printed in the eighth volume, Scrapyard/Zalem is near
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, and the Necropolis is
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
. Radio KAOS is at
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
. Figure's coastal hometown is
Alhambra, California
Alhambra (, , ; from " Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains t ...
. Desty Nova's Granite Inn is built out of a military base—
NORAD
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
at
Cheyenne Mountain Complex
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities o ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
.
''Battle Angel Alita'' is eventually revealed to take place in the 26th century. The sequel ''Battle Angel Alita: Last Order'' introduces a
calendar era
A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one ''epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, it is the year as per the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era (the Coptic ...
called "Era
Sputnik
Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
" which has an
epoch
In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured.
The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...
of AD 1957. The original ''Battle Angel Alita'' series begins in ES 577 (AD 2533) and ends in ES 590 (AD 2546), ''Battle Angel Alita: Last Order'' is mostly set roughly in ES 591 (AD 2547), and ''Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle'' currently alternates between ES 373–374 (AD 2329–2330) and ES 594 (AD 2550).
Characters
''Battle Angel Alita'' features a diverse cast of characters, many of whom shift in and out of focus as the story progresses. Some are never to be seen again following the conclusion of a story arc, while others make recurring appearances. The one character who remains a constant throughout is
Alita, the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
and title character, a young cyborg with amnesia struggling to uncover her forgotten past through the only thing she remembers from it: by fighting. Early on in the story,
Daisuke Ido
The ''Battle Angel Alita'' manga series features a cast of characters designed by Yukito Kishiro. The series takes place around the city of Scrapyard where residents, of whom many are heavily modified by cybernetics to better cope with the hard ...
, a
bounty-hunting cybernetic doctor who finds and revives Alita, plays a major role as well, but midway the focus begins to increasingly shift to
Desty Nova
The ''Battle Angel Alita'' manga series features a cast of characters designed by Yukito Kishiro. The series takes place around the city of Scrapyard where residents, of whom many are heavily modified by cybernetics to better cope with the hard ...
, an eccentric
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
scientist who has fled from Zalem. Desty Nova is the mastermind behind many of the enemies and trials that Alita faces, but does not make an actual appearance until more than two years into the story, although he is alluded to early on. Finally,
Kaos
KaOS is a desktop Linux distribution that features the latest version of the KDE desktop environment, the LibreOffice office suite, and other popular software applications that use the Qt toolkit.
History
The first version of KaOS was released ...
, Desty Nova's son, a frail and troubled radio DJ with
psychometric
Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally refers to specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and ...
powers, also begins to play a crucial role after he comes in contact with Alita. He broadcasts his popular radio show from the wastelands outside the Scrapyard, staying away from the increasing conflict between Zalem and the rebel army
Barjack
The ''Battle Angel Alita'' manga series features a cast of characters designed by Yukito Kishiro. The series takes place around the city of Scrapyard where residents, of whom many are heavily modified by cybernetics to better cope with the hard ...
.
Production
Alita was originally a female cyborg police officer named Gally in an unpublished comic called ''Rainmaker''. Publishers at
Shueisha
(lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
liked her and asked Kishiro to make a new story with her as the main character. After he had come up with the plot for a storyline he was commissioned to make it a long-running series.
Besides renaming ''Gally'' to ''Alita'', older North American versions of the manga also changed the city of ''Zalem'' (meaning ''oppressor'' in Arabic and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
) to ''Tiphares'', after
Tiferet
Tiferet ( he, תִּפְאֶרֶת ''Tip̄ʾereṯ,'' in pausa: תִּפְאָרֶת ''Tip̄ʾāreṯ'', lit. 'beauty, glory, adornment') alternatively Tifaret, Tiphareth, Tifereth or Tiphereth, is the sixth sefira in the kabbalistic Tree of ...
. Since Kishiro also used the name ''Jeru'' for the facility atop ''Zalem'', ''Jeru'' was renamed ''Ketheres'' in the translation, after
Keter
Keter ( he-a, כֶּתֶר, Keter.ogg, link=yes, ''Keṯer'', lit. "crown") also known as Kether, is the topmost of the sephirot of the Tree of Life in Kabbalah. Since its meaning is "crown", it is interpreted as both the "topmost" of the Sep ...
. More recent versions reverted the cities' names back to Zalem and Jeru. To further develop the Biblical theme in the original series, ''Zalem''
's main computer was named ''
Melchizedek
In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...
'', "the king of Salem" and "priest to the Most High God".
Media
Manga
The manga was first published in
Shueisha
(lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
's ''
Business Jump
, was a Japanese seinen manga anthology published by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga of ''Business Jump'' were published under the "Young Jump Comics" line. This magazine's mascot was an anthropomorphic, Western-style mous ...
'' magazine. It was then serialized from 1990 to 1995 in nine ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
''.
Yukito Kishiro
is a Japanese manga artist born in Tokyo in 1967 and raised in Chiba. As a teenager he was influenced by the mecha anime ''Armored Trooper Votoms'' and ''Mobile Suit Gundam'', in particular the designs of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, as well as the w ...
moved from Shueisha to
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
in August 2010. The company acquired the license rights to ''Battle Angel Alita''. A 6-volume special edition titled ''Gunnm: Complete Edition'' was released in Japan on December 23, 1998. The series was released in
B5 format and contains the original story. Also included are rough sketches, a timeline and the first three ''Battle Angel Alita: Holy Night & Other Stories'' short stories. From October 5 to November 16, 2016,
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
republished ''Gunnm'' in
B5 format. It was later reprinted in
A5 format starting on November 21, 2018.
In North America,
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
originally released the story in a 25-page comic book, after which it followed the same volume format as its Japanese counterpart. Along with the rest of the series, Kishiro's original ''Battle Angel Alita'' manga has been licensed for North American publication through
Kodansha USA
Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and mang ...
,
who republished it the five-volume omnibus format in 2017 and 2018, with the last volume including the ''
Ashen Victor
''Ashen Victor'', known in Japan as , is a futuristic manga by Yukito Kishiro, taking place in the same universe as his ''Battle Angel Alita
''Gunnm '' ( ja, 銃夢, Ganmu, ), also known as ''Battle Angel Alita'' in English, is a Ja ...
'' spin-off series. ''Battle Angel Alita'' was licensed for international release in a number of languages and regions. It was published in Spain by
Planeta DeAgostini
Editorial Planeta-DeAgostini is a Spanish-Italian publisher and a subsidiary of Grupo Planeta and De Agostini specializing in collectable books, sold periodically in pieces through newsstands ( partworks). It has its headquarters in Barcelona.< ...
, in Brazil by
Editora JBC
Editora JBC (also known as "JBC") is a company that publishes books (including manga) and magazines related to Japan in Brazil. It has its headquarters in São Paulo.
This company was established in Tokyo, Japan, in 1992 to publish Portuguese n ...
, in France and Netherlands by
Glenat, in Poland by
JPF JPF may refer to one of the following
*Journeyman Pipefitter
*Japonica Polonica Fantastica
Japonica Polonica Fantastica, also known as JPF, is a Polish manga publisher. It is located in Mierzyn near Szczecin, Poland. The founder of JPF is Shin Y ...
, in Germany by
Carlsen
Carlsen is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Carl". The form Karlsen is cognate. The parallel Swedish forms are Carlsson and Karlsson.
Notable people with the surname include:
* Agnete Carlsen (born 1971), Norwegian footb ...
, in Taiwan by
Tong Li Publishing
Tongli Publishing Co. ( Chinese: 東立出版社, Hanyu Pinyin: ''Dōng Lì Chūbǎnshè''), most known as Tong Li Comics, is a publishing company which distributes a variety of domestic and imported comics in Taiwan.
History
Tong Li was founde ...
and in Argentina by
Editorial Ivrea
Editorial Ivrea is an Argentine manga and comics publisher that publishes in Argentina, Spain and Finland. They also published ''Lazer'', a magazine which was specialized in anime, comics, manga, series and other media. The magazine has an acid ...
.
A spin-off series titled was published in ''
Ultra Jump
is a Japanese monthly seinen manga magazine published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. Originally, the magazine was a special issue of ''Weekly Young Jump'' which was first issued in 1995. On October 19, 1999, the special issue beca ...
'' from September 1995 to July 1996 issues. It was released in a single volume on June 24, 1998.
A spin-off series titled was published in ''
Ultra Jump
is a Japanese monthly seinen manga magazine published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. Originally, the magazine was a special issue of ''Weekly Young Jump'' which was first issued in 1995. On October 19, 1999, the special issue beca ...
'' from January 24, 1997 to December 19, 2006. It was released in a single volume on December 19, 2007. It is composed of four short
side stories
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
: ''Holy Night'', ''Sonic Finger'', ''Hometown'' and ''Barjack Rhapsody''. The series has been licensed by Kodansha USA, who published it digitally on October 30, 2018 and as hardcover on November 20, 2018.
OVA
A two-episode
OVA
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
was released in 1993, incorporating elements from the second volume of the manga with changes to the characters and storyline. According to Kishiro, only two episodes were originally planned. At the time, he was too busy with the manga "to review the plan coolly" and was not serious about an anime adaptation. It remains the only anime adaptation of ''Battle Angel Alita'' to date and there are no plans to revive it.
A 3-minute 3D-
CGI rendered movie clip is included in volume 6 of the Japanese ''Gunnm: Complete Edition'' (1998). It showcases Alita in a Third League Motorball race with players from two of her races such as "Armor" Togo, Degchalev, and Valdicci, and depicts events from both of those races.
Film
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
and Director
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...
acquired the film rights to ''Battle Angel''.
It was originally brought to Cameron's attention by filmmaker
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and ''The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for Be ...
.
Cameron is said to be a big fan of the manga, and he was waiting until
CGI technology was sufficiently advanced to make a live-action 3D film with effects comparable to ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
''. The film would be a
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
adaptation of the first four volumes of the manga series; "What I’m going to do is take the spine story and use elements from the first four books. So, the Motorball from books three and four, and parts of the story of one and two will all be in the movie."
''Alita'' was originally scheduled to be his next production after the TV series ''
Dark Angel'', which was influenced by ''Battle Angel Alita''. After ''Avatar'', he stated he would work on ''Avatar'' sequels before starting ''Alita''.
Cameron's producer
Jon Landau
Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...
said, "I am sure you will get to see ''Battle Angel''. It is one of my favourite stories, a great story about a young woman's journey to self-discovery. It is a film that asks the question: What does it mean to be human? Are you human if you have a heart, a brain or a soul? I look forward to giving the audience the film." Landau half-jokingly stated that the project may be titled ''Alita: The Battle Angel'', because of Cameron's tradition in naming his films with either an "A" or a "T".
In October 2015, it was reported that
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...
would direct the film with Cameron and Landau producing. On April 26, 2016, both ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' and ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported that
Maika Monroe
Maika Monroe (born Dillon Monroe Buckley; May 29, 1993) is an American actress and professional kiteboarder. She had her breakthrough headlining the horror film '' It Follows'' (2014), which won her several accolades—including an Empire Award ...
,
Rosa Salazar
Rosa Bianca Salazar (; born July 16, 1985) is a Canadian-American actress. She had roles in the NBC series '' Parenthood'' (2011–2012) and the FX anthology series '' American Horror Story: Murder House'' (2011). She made her breakthrough as t ...
,
Zendaya
Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( ; born September 1, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She has received various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the ...
and
Bella Thorne
Annabella Avery Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series ''Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series ...
were in the running for the lead role. Near the end of May 2016, Salazar was cast as Alita, and on February 7, 2017, ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' reported that
Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film ''Once Upon a Time in America''. After having worked as a model for several year ...
would be joining the cast as one of the villains.
On December 8, 2017, the first trailer for ''Battle Angel'' was released to the public, and the film, titled ''
Alita: Battle Angel'' and directed by
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...
, came out in 2019.
Novels
A novelization of the manga by Yasuhisa Kawamura was released on April 4, 1997 by Shueisha's JUMP j-BOOKS label.
In November 2018, Titan Books published ''Alita: Battle Angel—Iron City'', a prequel novel for the film. The novel was written by
Pat Cadigan
Patricia Oren Kearney Cadigan (born September 10, 1953) is a British-American science fiction author, whose work is most often identified with the cyberpunk movement. Her novels and short stories often explore the relationship between the human ...
, a notable science fiction author.
Video game
''
Gunnm: Martian Memory'' is an action
RPG video game for the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
by
Banpresto
(formerly Coreland Technology Inc.) was a Japanese video game developer and publisher headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It had a branch in Hong Kong named Banpresto H.K., which was headquartered in the New Territories. Banpresto was a partly-own ...
. It is an adaptation of the manga, following Alita (Gally) from her discovery in the Zalem dump heap by Daisuke Ido up through and beyond her career as a TUNED agent. The story includes additional elements that Kishiro had conceived when he ended the original manga in 1995, but was unable to implement at the time, which involved Alita going into outer space. He then expanded the story, which formed the basis for the manga ''
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order''.
Related works
* ''
Ashen Victor
''Ashen Victor'', known in Japan as , is a futuristic manga by Yukito Kishiro, taking place in the same universe as his ''Battle Angel Alita
''Gunnm '' ( ja, 銃夢, Ganmu, ), also known as ''Battle Angel Alita'' in English, is a Ja ...
'', a story set six years before the beginning of ''Battle Angel Alita''. It primarily tells the story of a Motorball player and it sets the evolution of the game into what it becomes in the ''Battle Angel Alita'' series.
* ''
Last Order'', a continuation of ''Battle Angel Alita'', published monthly in ''
Ultra Jump
is a Japanese monthly seinen manga magazine published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. Originally, the magazine was a special issue of ''Weekly Young Jump'' which was first issued in 1995. On October 19, 1999, the special issue beca ...
'' and later in ''
Evening
Evening is the period of a day that starts at the end of the afternoon and overlaps with the beginning of night. The exact times when evening begins and ends depend on location, time of year, and culture, but it is generally regarded as beginn ...
''.
* ''
Mars Chronicle'', a continuation of ''Last Order'', published in ''
Evening
Evening is the period of a day that starts at the end of the afternoon and overlaps with the beginning of night. The exact times when evening begins and ends depend on location, time of year, and culture, but it is generally regarded as beginn ...
''.
Reception
During ''Gunnm''s initial run in ''
Business Jump
, was a Japanese seinen manga anthology published by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. The manga of ''Business Jump'' were published under the "Young Jump Comics" line. This magazine's mascot was an anthropomorphic, Western-style mous ...
''
manga magazine
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...
between 1990 and 1995,
the magazine's circulation reached a record 760,000 monthly sales, the highest in its history.
Between 1990 and 1995, ''Business Jump'' magazine had a total circulation of over 50million copies, with a total estimated revenue of approximately ().
See also
* ''
Aelita
''Aelita'' (russian: Аэли́та, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent film, silent science fiction film directed by Yakov Protazanov and produced at the Gorky Film Studio, Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio. It was b ...
'', also known as ''Aelita, or The Decline of Mars''
* ''
Armitage III
is a 1995 cyberpunk original video animation series. It centers on Naomi Armitage, a highly advanced "Type-III" android. In 1996, the series was edited into a film called .
The series was followed up in 2002 with a sequel, set some years ...
''
* ''
Genocyber
is a 1992 Japanese manga series by Tony Takezaki. One volume of the manga was published, and the story remains unfinished. It was adapted by Koichi Ohata into a five-part original video animation (OVA) series in 1994. The plot of the anime d ...
''
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Official website at Kodansha
*
{{Portalbar, Film, Science Fiction, 1990s
Transhumanism
Transhumanism in fiction
Cyberpunk
Biopunk
Nanopunk
Artificial intelligence in fiction
Artificial wormholes in fiction
Cyborgs in fiction
Prosthetics in fiction
Fiction about robots
Biorobotics in fiction
Brain–computer interfacing in fiction
Genetic engineering in fiction
Nanotechnology in fiction
Fiction about consciousness transfer
Fiction about the Solar System
Fiction about immortality
Dystopian fiction
Fictional bounty hunters
Post-apocalyptic fiction
Battle Angel
''Gunnm '' ( ja, 銃夢, Ganmu, ), also known as ''Battle Angel Alita'' in English, is a Japanese cyberpunk manga series created by Yukito Kishiro and originally published in Shueisha's ''Business Jump'' magazine from 1990 to 1995. The s ...
1990 manga
1990s science fiction novels
Action anime and manga
Cyberpunk anime and manga
Cyborgs in anime and manga
Jump J-Books
Manga adapted into films
Post-apocalyptic anime and manga
Seinen manga
Shueisha manga
Shueisha franchises
Transhumanism in anime and manga
Viz Media manga
Fiction about megastructures
Exploratory engineering
Terraforming