Amazon.com: This film contains graphic violence and brief nudity.
Known as Gunnm in Japan and then Battle Angel Alita to Western manga readers, Battle Angel (in all of its incarnations) is now part of the canon of Blade Runner-inspired anime cyberpunk.
The film version follows a "Hunter Warrior" and cyborg healer named Ido. Ido formerly lived in the floating land of Zalem (Tiphares in the book), the paradise that hovers over the refuse heap of Scrap Iron City in which he now resides with his former lover, Chiren. In his travels as a bounty hunter (killing spine thieves in a world in which human nerve tissue has become the most precious commodity), Ido one day discovers and repairs the remnants of a cyborg whom he names Gally (Alita in the manga). Though possessing the body of a young woman, Gally embodies Ido's most sophisticated and lethal cybernetic skill. In the first episode on the DVD, "Rusty Angel," Gally challenges Chiren's own creation, Greweicia--a brain-eating gladiator--to a death match. In "Tears Sign" Gally discovers that her first love, Yugo, has put himself in the employ of the spine trader Vector so that he can earn his way, he thinks, to Zalem. Gally confronts her fellow bounty hunters to protect Yugo, only to watch him horribly wounded in a plot to capture her for Vector.
Yukito Kishiro's finely detailed line drawings in the original manga (like a cleaner version of Miyazaki's style in the Nausicaa books) are impossible to translate into film. What the film loses in detail, however, it makes up for in its intense action sequences and shadowy mixtures of color and a darkly cinematic soundtrack. Anime fans should be prepared for some pretty graphic violence--including some horrific scenes of decapitation. Also, the action keeps the plot moving at breakneck speed, so character development often seems to happen in leaps; you'll want to read the books to learn more about Gally/Alita and her world.
For English speakers, the DVD is best watched in the original Japanese with subtitles. The dubbing seems to raise the pitch of everyone's voice, changing the mood of the film from tragic-cool to slightly comical. Gally's English is especially annoying. With her original Japanese voice (sometimes childlike and sometimes a seductive whisper), she is a perfectly deadly heroine with a leather-clad style that anticipates The Matrix. --Patrick O'Kelley
A little Battle Angel goes a long way. ^ Not as good as the manga but Nobuteru Yuuki's character designs and the weird technobeat soundtrack are good enough to reasons to own this retro classic DVD. A must have for all you Battle Angel fans who are tired of waiting for the Cameron movie to come out.
- Nghia
The Angel Cries ^ This anime rocks on EVERY level. It has the most die-hard action and suspence, but more importantly, it has heart. It's extremely painful and dramatic towards the end. But it conveys a message of hope, love and understanding. That's why I like it, and that's why I treasure it. It speaks to the heart and never shuts up! GREAT ANIME, EXCLAMATION POINT
Good enough for what it is ^ Battle Angel. This title was one of the first titles to truly make me appreciate anime, in a couple of aspects.
One: Storyline. While incomplete in this OVA, I discovered the Manga off of which it was based and found out that there was much more to it, that this was incomplete. And what was given here is very good. For a while I thought anime was all about the action (the first ones I had seen were mostly fighting game ones as well as Toonami stuff), but in watching this as well as shows like Evangelion, Blue Seed, and the Heroic Legend of Arislan, not only was I seeing glorious action sequences, but I was enjoying the storyline.
Two: Watching Anime with it's original Japanese audio track. I had taken a look at this at my local Blockbuster, but for a while put it aside because of this. Of course, at the time I was a young, naive pre-teen and just learning what anime was, and to cap it all off, I didn't particularly like reading. But one day I decided to give it a go. To say the least, it was... different. It gave me a whole new look on viewing Anime. Since then, I have always preferred subs.
As for the OVA itself? Well, I mentioned one of it's faults already: it's an incomplete story. In all honesty, only die hard fans of the manga NEED to have this, because the thing it's best for is as a little add-on to the manga. But on it's own, Battle Angel is actually a pretty good film. It's well-written, well-drawn, well-animated when it needs to be, and all-around good fun.
BUT! It is definitely not for children. My father did not really care too much as long as I could handle it at my young age, but it really is R-rated material, mainly because the violence is very graphic. Perhaps the gore is a wee-bit exaggerated at times, but not to the level of something like Apocalypse Zero, Violence Jack or Ninja Resurrection. The sex-related stuff is pretty tame in comparison to the violence. Breasts and butts are bared, but only for a quick glimpse. There is also one brief sexual situation.
Overall, I can't say that this OVA adds great depth to one's collection, but what it does do is give you a bloody good time for your money. Give it a try.
Hmmmm. . . . It's okay ^ I bought this knowing that the story would be different, and it was! I liked it, but I'll have to try listening to it in Japanese. Alita (Gally, in this OVA), has SUCH an irritating voice in english. She's too girly compared to the manga. There should have been more action, but what was there was pretty good.
Hugo was a jerk, not the out of reach tease he was in the manga.
I have to say there were way too many sex scenes! (Just two, but it was indecent!)
I enjoyed it, especially "Tears Sign" ("Tears of an Angel" in the manga).
If you choose between this and the manga though, get the manga. 5 million times better!
Disappointing ^ Bone Fox's review is pretty close to how I feel about this anime. I am also a die-hard Battle Angel Alita fan and this attempt to convert the novels to an anime is a joke.
Too much of the story is left out. For example, the first face off between Alita and Makaku where Alita suffered a defeat, which in turn leads Ido giving her the berserker's body (which plays a massive role in book 5). Makaku's past and how he came to be was left out and replaced with him receiving help from a made up character that was never in the novels. Another massive mistake was leaving out the "small fights" between Alita and Zapan which later leaves to what is know as "the point of no return" in the series. There are other big mistakes and holes in the story. To type them all would lead to about 3-4 pages long...
I agree with Bone, if you have never read the novels, you may like this anime. If you have read them, this anime will make you sick and wish that it never came to be. I truly hope James Cameron can do the movies that he is planning to do and do them right and stay true to the novels. I know Cameron is a big fan of the series, but I am worried he may already be making the mistake of wanting to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ido. Arnold as Ido...it doesn't fit...
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