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-inspire... more »d 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« less
"available.Anyone who has read the manga will immediately notice a few things. First of all, there are several different titles. The Japanese manga is titled Gunnm, while the American version is called Battle Angel Alita. This anime is simply entitled Battle Angel. This two-part series is based on the first two volumes of the manga, however there are several changes. In the manga, the main character is called Alita, but she has been renamed "Gally" in the anime. Also, the mysterious floating city has changed from Tiphares to Zalem. Outside of this, it follows the stories from the manga, but has been altered to fit into two half-hour episodes.At its core, Battle Angel is a story of love, hope, and heartbreak. The story blends lightning-paced action, emotional drama, and compelling mystery. What struck me was that it pulls it off so seamlessly. The flow is nearly perfect, and not once did my suspension of disbelief wane in the slightest.The character are simply excellent. No one seems "fake", for they all have realistic traits and flaws. This heightens their believability and makes it easier to become attached to them. One thing I noted is that Gally is not your typical anime android. While from the neck up she looks human, the rest of her body is very mechanical. This is a welcome break from the traditional prosthetic ani-babes which plague many other titles.The art is very good, capturing the grittiness of the scrap yard perfectly. The animation is also pretty decent, especially during the action sequences.If there is anything to complain about it's that this series is far too short. The manga version is very extensive, and this series could easily have been a couple dozen episodes in length. The short length also leaves little room for all the answers to the questions posed. Fans will have to turn to the manga for a complete revelation of all the secrets behind Gally.Overall, this is a rare gem of an anime. A dark, depressing sci-fi world with superb characters and an excellent storyline. I recommend this to any fan of science fiction"
A horrific sci-fi story about violence and love!!
Francisco Corts | 03/25/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Good:
* Intense blood and gore.
* Deep storyline (easy to understand).
* Cool character desing (so look alike to the anime in Kill Bill).
* Great action scenes with good animation (there were like 3 or 4 action scenes).
Bad:
* The graphics were kind of smudgy.
* Sad story.
The story is simple because is about this robot girl called Gally who want to become an assasin for hire so she can get a better life but later the problems become more complicated.
This anime is not those who seeks for action-packed, this is more like a violent movie but is still a classic and very recomended for anime fans.
P.S: The english dub was GREAT but way to overacted at times, I think the voices were better than the acting but is worth to hear, so don't pay to much attention to the other people because is not THAT bad. In fact! this is one of the best dubs I ever heard since Princess Mononoke and Twilight of the Darkmaster.
Adios!"
The universe manifests
zar omar | Japan | 04/06/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Unique, beautiful, and well story-lined.
This is number one in my anime collection. Just about every bad review gotten for this movie was because of people who read the manga and therefor had major bias since a movie will just about never be the way you pictured it would be from reading it.Joy, love and peace."
A must have
Christopher E. Brown | Damascus, MD | 01/21/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I absoulutely loved it, the colors arn't washed(compare it to the VHS). The audio is incredible. Much better then the VHS release. I've been looking for this DVD for a long time. If you like ANIME get it, the fight scenes and artwork although not true to the original detail of the manga is incredible none the less."
Battle Angel rocks my socks!
pteronophobia | Reading, PA United States | 09/02/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Battle Angel is my all-time favorite anime. It is the story of a beautiful young cyborg girl. A cybernetics doctor named Ido rescued her from a scrap heap and rebuilt her with an amazingly powerful berzerker body. She has no memory, except for her panzer kunst fighting technique, which is the most powerful cyborg martial art ever known. The movie is a combination of the first two graphic novels in the Gunnm or Battle Angel Alita series by Yukito Kishiro. It is set in the scrapyard, which is a city built in and from the garbage tossed down to earth from a floating city called zalem, or tiphares in the novels. In the story, Galley finds out that her savior, Ido, is a bounty hunting Hunter-Warrior and she miraculously rescues him from a bounty that almost kills him. The thrill of the fight and of the kill appeals to her so much that she becomes a hunter-warrior herself, against Ido's wishes. She ends up having to fight a huge and nasty brain eating junkie named Grewicica who was made by Chiren, Ido's ex-partner from when they lived up in zalem. Chiren didn't exist in the novels, but she was necessary for a more interesting movie. Galley also falls in love with a boy named Yugo, who is so maniacally obsessed with his dream of getting to zalem that he goes into the business of spine theft to pay for a nonexistent pass to get there. It is all a scam created by the factory's owner (he's the main authority figure), Mr. Vector. This is an amazing story of love, life, and loss. The art and character design are incredible. Galley's cybernetic body is obviously mechanical, but very beautiful nonetheless. The animation is amazing, and the fight sequences are unforgettable. Once you see the movie, you can't help but get into the nine-part graphic novel series, which is incredible. Honestly, as amazing as the movie is, the graphic novels make it look pathetic. Take my advice and get into it! Yukito Kishiro is a genius!"