[Review] Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro : A gut punching sci-fi manga with a fascinating cyborg

Battle Angel Alita Vol 1
@KODANSHA / Yukito Kishiro

A bit of context : 

Alita is a cyborg who is found by a Dr. Ido in the scrapyard, which is a city that resides under the suspended city of Zalem. Not much is known of Zalem except that they require a lot of resources to be sent up to them and that they simply throw all their junk down to the scrapyard. None of the scrapyard citizens have ever set foot on this supposed paradise above them. Mystery surrounds the story around the existence and purpose of the Zalemites and who is Alita and why was she thrown down in the dumps by them. 

How is the story : 

I’ve read Ghost in the Shell (Vol 1 and Vol 1.5, yet to comprehend Vol 2) and all of the Akira manga volumes so I assumed, rather foolishly, that no story could compare to these two behemoths. However, I was wrong. Alita Battle Angel is exactly the type of story one must read if you are looking for an interesting sci-fi adventure with an overarching arc and fascinating side stories that tie in very well with that overall story.

To start of, Alita, is sometimes a bit childish but her motivations are always clear. There is no doubt or hesitation in her objectives. Once she has a goal she pursues it with all her might. Within 6 amazing volumes we get to see her mature and learn a bit about her past through her interactions and fights. Unfortunately, she does not remember any details of her past when Dr. Ido meets her and rebuilds her into a, to put it mildly, absolute crazy killing machine. However, she does have a heart of gold, not literally, she is just a bit kinder than she looks.

This leads me to my next point, the interactions in this story are very interesting. The side characters with whom she interacts with are all unique. That uniqueness helps you remember each character distinctly and I think that made the story very interesting because they all had simple goals. Some wanted to win competitions, some wanted to heal people and some just wanted to know who the hell are the Zalemites ? 

Some interactions would go smoothly, but others would often end in long battles spanning over multiple chapters and sometimes volumes too. But each fight had a strong reason behind why the fight was necessary. Each fight also gives us more insights into Alita’s past as she remembers certain details in every battle which she may or may not have learnt in her former life.

At this point, it would be wrong of me not to point out though that there is a lot of gore and blood in some battles, I mean literal limbs and brains are visible. The violence does aid the story so they do serve a purpose but there are some moments that might not be for the squeamish. That being said, the artwork behind each fight is brilliant. 

Throughout the manga I found each panel was filled with tons of intricate details that you may notice and go, “Ohh, now that is amazing!”. Especially in fight scenes, I’ve noticed the artwork really stands out and you can clearly tell what moves each of the fighters has made and how they clearly defeat their opponents. 

The artwork, the fight scenes, the motivations of Alita and sometimes the side characters who influence her decision and the overall long arc with multiple side stories all tie in very well into 6 action packed volumes. I thought it would be a simple action manga with a lot of fight scenes and some cyborg details thrown in here and there. However, the story is so much more than that. It has got a lot of heart to it with themes that are relatable and characters that you may find very memorable.

Conclusion:

I will wholeheartedly recommend this series to any sci-fi fan out in this big blue world. If you are looking for a relatable, funny and insanely strong main character with multiple fascinating side characters and an adventure that will keep you at the edge of your seat then look no further than this wonderful series. I think it shares a lot of thrilling moments like Akira and sprinkles in some mystery cyborg elements like Ghost in the shell. If you liked these two amazing series then this is one series you should definitely check out.

Thank you for reading this article. Hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!

P.S. I believe there is a sequel to Battle Angel Alita and also a prequel both of which I hope to read and share my thoughts over the next coming months or years. My To Be Read list is growing incredibly long but I will try my best to get to these stories as soon as I can.