While most of my manga library right now consists of titles I haven't heard of in my life, there are a few exceptions. BACKGROUND:
The main reason I know of this is because of the live-action movie that made some waves a few waves back. I haven't read the manga or seen the movie, so the most I know going into this is the synopsis. Nevertheless, I know this is a well-recognized title, so I'm excited to see what it's about. SUMMARY: Battle Angel Alita is set in a post-apocalypse, with the main locale being a big city known as the Scrapyard. The name is no coincidence, as a lot of the scraps from the floating city of Zalem rain down and litter the Scrapyard. We don't know a great deal about Zalem since it isn't talked about in this volume, but there's certainly an implication of a massive class divide between it and the Scrapyard. Between the whole situation of Zalem's garbage covering the Scrapyard being normal, the seeming lack of contact between cities, and the Scrapyard's citizens not having the most glamorous or safe lives, it's clear even without seeing what goes on in Zalem that one city has a more privileged situation than the other. Many of the Scrapyard's citizens are cyborgs, likely out of necessity due to all the violence brought about by criminals in the city. There's not a lot of career options, either, given the prominence of hunter-warriors (who are tasked to take down criminals) and fighters in underground clubs. Others get by through scavenging, which is where our story begins. We start off with an introduction to Daisuke Ido, who keeps his profession of cybermedicine afloat by looking for parts to help his cyborg patients. On one of his excursions, he is astonished to find the intact head and chest of a female cyborg. He takes the time to restore this cyborg and give her a new body, and christens her Alita. Alita has no recollection of her previous existence, but she's content with her present situation and is thankful for Ido's efforts to rebuild her. Intrigue immediately builds when Alita follows Ido outside one day, and it's revealed that Ido himself is a hunter-warrior who has been using his earnings to finance rebuilding Alita. After an interesting misunderstanding between the two, a violent criminal makes itself known, and it's in this moment that it's revealed that somewhere within Alita is a fighting instinct that allows her to defeat the killer in elegant fashion. Touched by Ido's efforts (and perhaps driven by a subconscious desire to fight), Alita resolves to be a hunter-warrior herself, much to Ido's chagrin. Alita's first target was probably her worst possible choice, as she's nearly destroyed facing off against Makaku, a freakish murderer with a brain fixation and the ability to assimilate other cybernetic parts. If it weren't for Ido (who himself was severely injured in the encounter), Alita wouldn't have made it, and upon accepting that Alita's desires differ from his wants for her, he resolves to build a body that can handle all the fighting Alita will have to endure. He goes to his underground vault and gives Alita a Berserker Body, a cybernetic body implied to have enhanced soldiers in an ancient war. Alita gets a chance to run it back against Makaku (who himself has gotten an upgrade given his last body was severely damaged in the first fight) after he attacks a bar full of hunter-warriors and takes a baby hostage, and she handles her new body with the greatest of ease as Makaku finds difficulty keeping up even with powerful weapons. The aftermath isn't shown in this volume, but the intense battle does see an ending. Naturally, I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding Alita's origin. Who wouldn't have questions about a miraculously intact cyborg with an innate proficiency for martial arts, after all? Volume 1 is quite coy on the details, and I want to keep reading just to find some answers. On top of that, I have no idea what the city of Zalem's all about, and the Berserker Body implies that the present day of this universe wasn't always like this. There's a lot of things I want to know, and these early chapters set up enough mysteries that I'm itching to learn more about. Despite not having memories, Alita shows a strong personality early on when she acts out of guilt and concern after recognizing Ido's efforts for her. Shortly after her instincts were reawakened, she then finds a strong desire to fight, and there's an implication that said desire may be too strong for her own good (though those tendencies don't really surface this early on). She also has a strong sense of independence and wants to do something for herself, which is why she pursues being a hunter-warrior despite Ido's protests. Ido is an interesting character, as he initially has his own strange ideas of what he wants Alita to be when he first rebuilds her. When Alita insists to become a hunter-warrior, Ido eventually comes to accept her wishes and helps her in his own way, but knowing his own nature as a hunter-warrior, he couldn't help but question if it's the right path for her. We also don't know a great deal about Ido's backstory, and it's possible later chapters explore that. Other characters are also introduced, though they only get brief moments where I find them notable. The main standout to me outside of Alita and Ido is Makaku, who's one vicious son of a bitch. That's really all he is for the most part, but in his second battle with Alita, he hints at a tragic past of his own. I want to hear about that as well, especially with how it relates to the location the battle takes place (which is apparently tied to his origin). I thought the art was fantastic. The level of detail was impressive, and what stood out to me stylistically is how a lot of that detail is achieved with rather prominent textures (most notably an abundance of cross-hatching, among other techniques). The action looked dynamic as well, capturing Alita's incredible fighting style wonderfully, plus a lot of the character designs are memorable between their exaggerated features (a lot of these characters are cyborgs, after all) and specific design elements (like Alita's signature hairstyle or Ido's noir-esque hunter-warrior outfit). I will add a warning for the squeamish, however, as there's a fair amount of gore in some of the fights, and that's captured in great detail as well. VERDICT: Between the amazing art, the mysterious world, and characters with potentially fascinating backstories, there are a lot of reasons for me to keep reading Battle Angel Alita. For me, the action and the art alone are both worth the price of admission, but my curiosity about all the details that are still a mystery has me equally interested in checking out the next chapters. I haven't watched the movie, so I don't know how much of the manga that adapts. As such, I don't think myself qualified to make a recommendation based on that. What I can say is that I think Battle Angel Alita's cyberpunk world is interesting off the bat, and I can't stress enough how I love the art. Take away from that what you will. - end -
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
Derryck
|