Battle Angel Alita - Volume 01: Rusty Angel
Kishiro, Yukito (Creator, Author, Illustrator), Burke, Fred and Bell, Sterling and Thorn, Matt (Translation)
Paperback, 248 pages, ISBN13: 9781569310038
Published July 1995 by VIZ Media (first published September 1991)
This techno-punk manga style graphic novel follows the story of Alita, a cyborg who in the form of a young girl, while she tries to find her place in the world and also discover her past and where she came from. It begins with a cybernetics doctor finding the head of a cyborg in a junk heap, and rebuilds the body. This becomes Alita. She soon discovers she has killer martial arts instincts and a physical aptitude for violence despite being a gentle caring soul, this leads her on a quest of self-discovery to find out where and why she was created.
Creator Yukito Kishiro makes you think about humanity, morality and what really is the difference machine without the story dragging and without sacrificing the gritty oppressive nature of the world. The art is all black and white but monumentally intricate with epic amounts of detail in world building and character creation. Giant cyborg warriors, to the face of human suffering are all expertly captured in Japanese manga style.
Creator Yukito Kishiro makes you think about humanity, morality and what really is the difference machine without the story dragging and without sacrificing the gritty oppressive nature of the world. The art is all black and white but monumentally intricate with epic amounts of detail in world building and character creation. Giant cyborg warriors, to the face of human suffering are all expertly captured in Japanese manga style.
This well-paced expedition into the dystopian far future it grim at times but Alita is a thoroughly inspiring character reminding us all that even in the most desperate of times there is still hope while also featuring the compelling heroes’ journey about being afraid of one’s own nature.
