Customer Reviews

Battle Angel [VHS]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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

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!

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.

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 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!

Fortunately, I was able to watch this movie before reading the comics, so I had no biased view when watching the movie. But please get or rent the subtitle if you can, it's so much better than the english dubbed. It's not too fast that you can't follow. This is one of my very favorite animes. I haven't seen an anime like this yet. This is one of the few adventure animes that I have seen that have masterfully blended a wonderful love story with action, horror, and tradedy. For all the people who have complained about the name change from Alita to Gally in this movie, Gally is the original japanese manga name. Kishiro was disappointed that the american comics changed the name. I think that when making this movie, the authors tried to appease the manga writer by putting in the original name for the cyborg. The comic is much more cynical and violent. At least the end of the movie there was a feeling of hope. I highly recommend this movie for anime fans and non anime fans alike. Even for those die hard manga fans, this movie is a must see, just out of curiosity.

It's hard for me to be unbiased in writing this review because I've seen Battle Angel beforehand in VHS and loved it. The DVD offers some bonuses that are worth the extra bucks, but it's still the basics that made this anime impressive that will attract viewers. First, the storyline is not too complicated, so don't think you'll be pondering the meaning of life after watching the movie. I'll admit, I think it was a big mistake to try to shove everything in your face in such a short period of time. The characters seem to just merely be friends five minutes into the movie, but then become lovers two minutes later. All that aside, what really makes this anime shine, however, is the realistic world and fight scenes that encompass what should've been a longer movie. The characters are loveable in their own way (Note- avoid the dubbed version and switch to the orignal dialouge to see what I mean)and they leave each their own mark of tragedy at the end. All in all, a worthwile anime buy for hardcore and occasional viewers. Action and dramatic fans alike.

To begin, I am a die-hard fan of the Battle Angel Alita manga. When I first saw this 'episode' of the Battle Angel anime and the anime version of 'Tears of an Angel' I was very disapointed. I agree with the offcial reveiw that it is impossible to translate Yukito Kishiro's extensive manga into an animated format without losing the incredible artwork. However, the loss of the story is what disapointed me the most.
I feel that the depth of the original plot is simply cheapened in the anime. The main villian (Makaku in the manga) has been replaced by a simple "brain eating gladiator". The intense scenes where Alita attempts to save Koyomi from Makaku are completly left out. The anti-hero Desty Nova, who plays a significant role in the later books, is also missing.
If you have never read the manga, you may enjoy this.
If you have read and enjoy the manga, you may want to save your money.

Battle Angel is one of my favorite animes. It's unfortunate that this is all there is, because there is so much more that happens afterwards, like the motorball days or the tuned experience.

Adv does a great job is voice actor choices, all except for gally. When she yells, it is so annoying. Thank heaven there is the japanese version on the DVD.

Good stuff, but I wish the series would have been longer.

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