Customer Reviews

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Vol. 8 - Angel's Vision

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A number of Alita fans made the point about the recent books that Kishiro is going a little far afield from the main story with the arena battles and various character incarnations. Those same fans will probably cry havoc about this book more than most. Kishiro, amazingly, has embraced a character who he did not even create and has gone on a total side story about her.

Some may remember Cearlua Sanguine(think I spelled that wrong) from the Stellar Nursery team. She was a fan created character who, as a vampire, didn't seem to really fit into the cyborg world of Alita. However, I personally found her a compelling creation. What I didn't expect was for Kushiro to take her story and make it into an entire book.

This latest novel starts with Alita having a crisis of character but quickly moves into a flashback in which Sanguine is the main character. The focus is on the old world of 2010 and the fall of society. Sanguine and a posse of fellow vampires fights in a destroyed world for food(read blood) weapons and existence. The Humans, some mutants and some holdouts, also seek to live.

Thats pretty much the crux of the story. And while it remains a good Kushiro novel, full of fights, brutal violence and mind twisting facts, it is a total deviation from Alita's story, seeing as she doesn't even factor in. This book, which at its end sets it up for yet another of its sort, would have been better relegated to a side story or perhaps a new series completly. As it is, readers must face the fact that, even when the next book comes out, it probably won't focus on Alita much either.

Why a 4? Its still a good read. I would give this book a five if it weren't attached to the Alita storyline. Vampires are cool always and good stories about them, plus the neat "facts" Kishiro shoved into the back, make for a page turner too. And the art, always something I loved about Kishiro, remains detailed, brilliant and emotive.

So I suggest fans still buy this book in spite of its lack of story proggression. Or maybe check it out at a cool library. Because whatever one feels, it is STILL Battle Angel Alita Last Order book 8.

This volume is really just about expanding on The Characters. It makes Everyone's favorite Vampire a little more important, and it gives a little insight as to how earth reached it's current state, but really very little happens. Definatly Buy this volume if you're collecting the Series, but don't get too excited.

As previous comments have explained, this is a deviation of the main story. While the change of focus was unexpected, it does finally reveal the beginnings of the Battle Angel universe and the struggles humanity went through to survive such a fiasco. The theme is pretty consistent, considering the revelation in the previous novel.

Perhaps the best thing about this novel is the feel of the earliest Battle Angel novels. The story is simple, poetic, and abounded with earlier Yukito critiques on society. It is a wonderful read, and the reader must not forget that Alita is experiencing the story line as well, so it very well may play an important role in future novels.

This volume is quite good. Don't cry because Alita isn't in much of it. It's a good story, and it tells the tale of how the world running computer Merlin, which seems to have started the chain of events that lead to Alita's world, was built. The other point that seems to have escaped some readers, is that the character of Caerula the vampire is meant to be compared to Alita. This story is meant to remind you of Alita's earlier innocence. They are both women who have lived over centuries, been witness to and a part of history, loved with tragic results, fought and made hard choices. Caerula is what Alita will be if she fails. A cyborg is like a vampire in that they have greater power than humans and are virtually immortal, some of them even hunt humans. Alita has to succeed where Caerula failed, just like Luke has to succeed where Anakin failed etc...(sorry to use the SW reference) Or, perhaps Caerula will come back for a final battle with Alita with no holds barred, the old two sides of the same coin finale. Last time it seemed she gave up to let Alita "restore the world", because she thought it was destiny. The current story is showing us why she did that, since she is the one that could have beaten Alita. I think the story of Caerula is one of the most important chapters of this entire series, not some "side story" just to kill time. If it took up three more volumes with no Alita, I would say it was too far afield, and should be it's own series, but I doubt that will be the case. Just enjoy a good story where you can get it.

I am biased. I love Battle Angel Alita and Last Order series.

The stories are deep. The characters are well developed. The drawings are top quality. And I love how the author tend to incorporate all sorts of stuff into this beautiful fantasy: like ancient and current philosophy; martial arts style from all over; and the usual struggle of humanity to understand itself of who and why we are.

Gosh, I can not wait for the next book. Heh heh.

I first got hook on Alita, from the anime short done years back. Since then I've been hook on the managa series and this no different. Once you read one you will be sure to want the rest of the series.