Battle Angel Alita

Have a fetish for dead wood comics, or you just like the better story development of the Manga? Post about 'em here.

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Libaax
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Post by Libaax »

It has always been like that,she almost never know who and why she fights she just does what seems right to her.
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RedEyes
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Post by RedEyes »

it's about time she decides... my guess is she'll resolve a lot of her issues once she goes to mars and find more about her roots/past
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Post by Libaax »

I wonder if her master is alive since it looked like he/she was a cyborg.
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Post by RedEyes »

either her or Alita's childhood friend might be alive... if there'll ever be a marc arc, it'll be extreme panzer kunst
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Post by Libaax »

That would be awesome cause i like panzer kunst so much,very cool fighting style.
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Post by RedEyes »

As of end of vol 5, Alita's team got the lead in the first round (assuming that Caerula won't interfere). But the problem is Alita does not want the tournament price, the commonwealth...

They should both get her friend's brain and win the price - just to give it to the nursery school team. How? Alita can do all the fighting, let the rest go and rescue what they want :)
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Post by Libaax »

My guess is that Alita will crush Tsu Sang and that will make Caerula come out and fight her,while she is fighting her,the nerd is gonna find where Lou is. If i know alita right she will wanna save everyone not just Lu,that will make her fight many more fights before she can save them.
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Post by RedEyes »

Well, even in the last ch of vol5, she still wasn't sure about what she's doing and she went out to fight Tsu just to get rid of the voice in her head a bit more... But, she'll end up saving them all

I guess the long term goal Alita has been looking for will be revealed shortly as mangaka is hinting us by questioning Alita's goal above saving Lu...
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Post by Libaax »

Yeah and i must say the Nazi in hear head is a nice touch by the mangaka which added more thought in to the manga.
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Post by Brainpiercing »

Tell me one thing (actually not just one...): Is Alita just the name of the character in the americanised version of the manga? Why is she called Gally in some of the scanlations? And does Gunnm mean anything?

I've finally given in and started LO (and read all of it in one go :)), but this thing confused me a bit. I also didn't quite get just when LO actually starts compared to the first series. Well, whatever, it's great going, and it's good to read more of Alita. I hope vol 6 will be ready soon.
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Post by crazyankan »

Battle Angel Alita ais the english name of "Gunnm" or "Ganmu" who means on japaneseenglish about "a gun dream" from english gun and japanese "mu" (dream).

I have heard that the translators for Gunnm made a joke with Kishiro and changed Gally to Alita and Salem to Tiphares.
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Post by RedEyes »

I knew about the Gally - Alita duality going on but I didn't know that the original name of the Tiphares was Salem.

Welcome Brainpiercing :) Let me try to clarify the chronology. Somewhere in vol9, mangaka had some health issues and had to wrap it up. He finished the series by turning Ketheres into a nanomachine tree. When I read that crappy ending, I didn't know about LO and I was shocked.

LO ignores the ending in vol9, and starts from couple of chapters back, just after Alita is resurrected by Nova in Salem.
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Post by Brainpiercing »

I knew it starts a few chapters back, I just couldn't remember when Alita gets so blown/shot/whatever up that Nova had to restore her from scratch. I suppose I could reread vol. 9, but I'm too lazy right now...

I must say though that the name change is pretty freaky. Alita DOES sound a little better than Gally, so I'm a bit shocked she's really Gally in the original. I don't care about tiphares/salem, whatever.
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Post by RedEyes »

I've known her as Alita for a long time, so I'll stick with Alita...

Btw, the official name of Ketheres is Jeru. So we have; Jeru (Ketheres) and Salem (Tiphares) and they are connected --> Jeru + Salem = Jerusalem !! What is the connection, if any?
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Post by Brainpiercing »

I guess I'll stick with alita, too.
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Post by Libaax »

Even when i saw Gally in some of the scans i still thought of her Alita cause Gally you know sucks....

Also the mangaka isnt it a she since her name Kishiro Yukito?

Brain do you like BAA so far?
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Post by Brainpiercing »

I don't know, it's not so easy with japanese names. Sometimes you can tell, but other times there doesn't seem to be a rule.

However, Chinese is worse, they often have the same names for men and women.

P.S. I said I liked it, it IS one of my favourites. The only thing I don't like is that lots of side-line characters tend to suddenly disappear.
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Post by Libaax »

Yeah most characthers that gets in touch with Alita dies or something like it. I wonder what happened to the boyfriend did he die or did she even met him when the mangaka changed the story in the end.

About the name Yukito it sounds female, i'm gonna look it up.
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Post by RedEyes »

Mr. Kishiro, I was also confused and I checked his webpage for this a while ago...

In LO, side characters - at least Alita's friends - tend to live longer. As for the boyfriend, it is common to keep the lead characters away from a long-term affair, well at least at these stages where we're pretty far away from the end (guess :)). Otherwise some readers find the character boring and unattainable.
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Post by crazyankan »

I think Figure Fours name in the japanese version is Rocky. Figure Four is the best name ever of a manga character imo.

Libaax wrote:About the name Yukito it sounds female, i'm gonna look it up.
Yukito Kishiro
* Birthday : March 20, 1967
* Sex : male
* Birthplace : Tokyo, grew up in Chiba
* Blood type : O
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Post by Brainpiercing »

Well, it's really just a number. There was a Four in Z gundam, and other characters in other stories/mangas/animes have number names. One of my favourite game characters is basically called 47, and accordingly one of my RPing chars is called 48. Guess what, he's a tall bald man (but doesn't have too much else in common with 47 :)).

Also, Rocky kind of fits, I don't know why they keep changing the names. Alita was a nice change, but usually translators pick weird/bad names.

Sometimes however a name changs is absolutely mandatory. One of the sideline chars in Gundam 079 or 80 or something is called FRAU something. That's the name, but it's German for "woman" or "Mrs", and it sounds so bloody ridiculous hearing them say it.
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Post by Libaax »

I found this when i was looking after info about the mangaka. About his name i only thought he was a female cuase i thought his name was written in the japanese style where the family name is first. So i thought Yukito was his given name.


A Kishiro Yukito interview

The following is an interview by "Darklion" which was taken from "Tsunami" magazine (#18, Nov 1995). It was originally presented in PUFF (08/1995). This is a translation of a translation of a translation, so a few mistakes and non-sequiturs may show up.

"Gunnm" is Yukito Kishiro's most successful manga. All the ideas present there are the result of previous deliriums he hadn't had a chance to use. This young artist who is passionate about monsters has become one of the best known mangakas. Yukito Kishiro was born in Tokyo on March 20th, 1967, but he spent his teenage years in Chiba. Since he was very young ("the age of reason", as the legend says) he started to draw. Unlike others, however, he doesn't sketch human beings, but various bizarre creatures. Using pencil only, his first amateur mangas were drawn on cardboard paper, and were populated by monsters in which events took place throughout bloody and violent scenes. In elementary school he fills 17 notebooks with a manga whose main character is a monster who pilots a giant robot. It is at that time when the idea of a post-apocalyptic universe rattles in his brain. When he goes into junior high school he buys pen and ink, but the technique is very different and he leaves aside these more professional tools without persevering. He draws 300 monster-filled pages using pencil. Never having drawn humans he continues drawing strange creatures. It is at the lyceum where Yukito finally overcomes his lack of patience and starts using pen. For the first time he begins drawing human figures. These 200 pages are part of a project of 1000 which would never be published. During the third year at the lyceum he sends a manuscript to an editor and "Kikai" wins Shogakukan's young artist award in 1984. He also writes short stories for a fanzine. He creates "Out Rigger". After other experiences with fandom, he debuts professionally in 1988 with "Bugbuster", which paradoxically is commissioned by a fanzine. An avalanche of titles follows: "Kaiyosei", "Hito", "Dai Majin", "Mirai Tokyo Headman" and "Kaisuku Shonen-Dan". Many ideas which didn't make it into these titles are subsequently re-taken by Yukito and used to create "Gunnm". Kishiro is a collector of police novels, and in his story lines there is a tendency towards mystery. If the fight scenes are realistic and dynamic it is because Yukito admires Bruce Lee and Masutatsu Oyama, this last one founder of the Kyokushinkai school where blows are actually landed, which is strange in martial arts. This background makes Kishiro's drawings truly careful studies on martial arts techniques.
Kishiro: the interview

Gunnm has ended in Japan. With volume 9 not only the first manga of a young artist concludes, but an international hit also. Yukito Kishiro is one of those hyper-dedicated authors whom editors pressure to the maximum as they are a guarantee of good business. Yukito Kishiro has known when to call it quits. He speaks calmly, without pointing any fingers. This interview makes us appreciate Gunnm even more, and with the current interest in manga it all starts making sense.

You mention in the "Author's forward" in volume 1, Japanese edition: "The pre-publication of Gunnm in magazines took place without me having defined the general concept and the overall organization of the work". When did you finally elucidate the plot of the story?
It had been a few years since I had imagined a "space" version of the series. Gally would go up to Zalem and continue her adventures in space. External and personal circumstances made it difficult to continue the series. I then decided to end it. I wasn't forced to do it, I made the decision after some painful thought. Since the beginning, I made it a rule for Gunnm not to plan ahead or organize the story beforehand, so as to keep it "free". I frequently had the bad idea of planning an episode's outcome and having to find completely unexpected solutions. To conclude Gunnm I didn't change the way I had worked until I finally had to do something definitive: Gally had to save Zalem, which is about to fall. But I didn't know how. During the development of the action I theoretically couldn't let the heroine die. The editors (Shueisha) and myself discussed it a lot. Finally, after thinking about it all night long, I decided to resuscitate Gally in the epilogue.
What can you tell us about Gally?
My readers usually tell me things like: "stop going after Gally", or "it's so pitiful to see her like that". To me, however, one of the golden rules as an author is to never have compassion of the heroes. They must go through difficult tests, they must become puppets of the circumstances to make their hearts stronger. That is the true "mark" an author must make. I'm under the impression that right now there is a lot of manga in which the heroes are pampered. Gally (like all other characters) is an amplified facet of my personality. The theme of Gally's adventures is based on the fact that she becomes independent of her parents, achieving autonomy. I've described in a positive light the selfishness required to reach this objective. Wanting to fight for others without knowing how to fight for oneself is hypocrisy. To achieve self-control one must continually escape to safer, quiet places. With feet firmly planted on the ground one can see with one's own eyes, ponder and decide which direction to take. At that moment our courage is tested, and to confront it one must be really strong. I think everybody should act like that, and I've drawn Gally as an extreme example of that attitude.
Any advice for Gally?
A very hard question. How about: "Be happy"?
Characters who fight Gally, like Makaku or Zapan, sometimes behave in ways which are not really "evil". What can you say about their attitudes?
They too, like Gally, are a reflection of my own personality and emotions. They are the enemies of the hero but they are not necessarily "evil". The dialogues between Gally and these characters symbolize my own internal conflicts.
Her first love, Yugo, was a big influence on her. How did you come about to creating this character?
At first I assumed somebody would try to climb up the tubes connecting Zalem, and I just drew it. I thought of it as a test of courage on the part of a thief, but I couldn't find any narrative link with Gally. I ended by telling a love story between Gally and a dreamer. To be honest, having a love story intimidated me, and I didn't want to touch the subject. At the same time, however, I told myself that it would be strange if Gally didn't fall in love. When I drew the more sentimental scenes even my ears turned red. Yugo, a dreamer, is also a double of myself. It has become a tendency (in Japan) to talk a lot about "dreams" in a similar manner as when one talks about "love", and there are a lot of morons who use these words lightly. To some degree I drew Gunnm to show that "dreams", like "love", are things that one achieves by sometimes risking life itself. When I hear people without convictions talk about their dreams I feel like striking them.
Professor Nova is quite an important character and one could argue he is the "anti-hero". Did you imagine him like that from the start?
Given that Frankenstein is the precursor of Heavy Metal Sci-fi it is only expected that Gunnm would have its own obscure cyber-doctor. His name, "Desty Nova", was taken from an astrologer which is mentioned in a song by Blue Oyster Cult, the first Heavy Metal group. Since there are many "mad scientists" in the genre it was very hard to find some way to make Nova's personality respectable from the very beginning. Finally, I was inspired by the laugh in "Amadeus" to obtain the result everyone knows. Nova is sort of an ideal type of guy to me. If I possessed an enormous intelligence and had nano-machines at my disposal I wouldn't hesitate in abandoning my career as a artist and imitate Nova's lifestyle. To me Ido represents supreme dandyism and Nova is ambition fulfilled.
Kaos has the power of "psychometry", allowing him to perceive a lot of things. What is the significance of his appearance?
It has no particular meaning. The appearance of Bar Jack and his gang was required to expand the framework within which the other characters could develop. Often those who join a group rushing towards the future do not realize the pain, the blood which flows during these movements. Kaos's "psychometry" not only allows him to see past events, but also to feel the forgotten pain of people, long ago erased by time. I wanted to create a story which showed a society and its history... but unfortunately I wasn't able to do everything I wanted.
As we approach the end of the story, Prof. Nova allows us to glimpse his human facet. Did he manage to overcome his "karma"? (In volume 5 he claims that his ultimate objective is to overcome his karma. In Hinduism and Budism human existence is a karma. If one is successful and perfection of oneself is attained it is possible to avoid reincarnation. Of karma. Do not forget that Yukito Kishiro is Asian).
It's not about being able to change one's "karma". Nova's work, being a scientific endeavour, consists of trying to understand the mechanics of "karma", and develop a theory so as to reproduce it whenever he wishes. He is the inventor of a hypothetical factor of the "karma" ("Go Shi", in the original) which arises from mathematics, and he has also worked on the "Go-Shi mechanical equation" which attempts to explain "karma" in terms of quantum theory. Since his head has become a tulip, he will have to wait 5670 million years to obtain a solution (in Japanese "Go" means "karma" and "Shi" is "factor").
In "Ouroboros" Gally again fights against Jashugan, who is trained by Nova. Was Jashugan Gally's greatest foe?
Her fight with Jashugan during the Motorball saga was simply a first encounter. They had to confront each other again. Many things had not been said. What Jashugan has that Gally does not possess is not "real world" strength, but a compass within the heart which always points north over the violent sea of destiny. That is the reason he is the one true master of Gally throughout her relationships. In "Hokuto No Ken" (Ken, the survivor) there is a ghost which appears over the shoulder of various characters and he speaks to them. Gunnm is science fiction and such things are out of the question. A vision within a character's dream is the best way to show a ghost.
What has Gunnm provided you?
Passionate admirers and unexpected income. Every time I read fan mail their passion impresses me. Sometimes I can tell by reading between the lines that people are having a hard time in their lives, and I'd like to tell them: "don't give up! Stand firm!" Others ask for "shikishi" (a special paper used for painting and calligraphy) for dedications or some original artwork, and these make me laugh. Indeed, I understand what they want, but the world just isn't generous enough for their wishes to come true so easily. For those admirers, forget it and that your wishes enter Buddha's paradise! When I began the series I was poor and slept in some studio's closet, like at "Doraemon". It didn't bother me then, but when I compare it with the large apartment I have now it's like night and day. I never imagined that being a mangaka was such a lucrative career.
What were your feelings when the last chapter ended?
I wasn't able to deliver the last episode in time, which was the usual case during pre-publishing. When I finished the last page I simply said to myself: "Uff, I could've avoided the embarrassment of the delay", and that was it. Later, however, after going over volume nine, and after finishing the colour cover illustration, I said to myself "Oh, it's the last time I'll draw Gally...", and I felt a bit sad.
Please, a word for your admirers?
See you in the next dimension...

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Brainpiercing
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Post by Brainpiercing »

Heh, at first I thought, well, I don't mind this ending to BAA, but as of now, I'm happy that the mangaka took it up again. I must say he IS cruel, though, both towards his heroine and to his other characters. I guess that's one point of his philosophy he really sticks to.

Well, one other thing remains, and that is somehow finding the anime. I've heard it's not the best anime ever, but it would be nice seeing it nonetheless.
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Libaax
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Post by Libaax »

Its only 2 ep OVA so its like 00000,1% of the manga storywise.

The only time i thought that he was too cruel to Alita was when her "father" got wasted. The rest of time i think its good that the world is tough on her,nothing good comes easy ;)
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Post by RedEyes »

I agree, he is a cruel one... besides what he did to Edo, he also made Alita lost her love right at the end of the first volume
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