Battle Angel Alita

• Ja Kanji — 銃夢 • Ja Romaji — Ganmu • Genre — * Action • Cyberpunk • Post-apocalyptic

• Type — manga • Author — Yukito Kishiro • Publisher — Shueisha • Magazine — Business Jump • First — 1990 • Last — 1995 • Volumes — 9 • Volume List — List of Battle Angel Alita chapters

• Title — Original video animation • Content — * Battle Angel (1993)

• Title — Spin-offs and sequels • Content — * Ashen Victor (1995–1996) • Battle Angel Alita: Last Order (2000–2014) • Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle (2014–2025) • Gunnm: Panzer Kunst Chronicle (2026–present)

• Title — Video game • Content — * Gunnm: Martian Memory (1998)

• Title — Live-action film • Content — * Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

• Portal — yes Battle Angel Alita, known in Japan as Gunnm, is a Japanese cyberpunk manga series created by Yukito Kishiro and originally published in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine from 1990 to 1995. The first two of the manga's nine volumes were adapted in 1993 into a two-part anime original video animation titled Battle Angel for North American release by ADV Films and the UK and Australian release by Manga Entertainment. Manga Entertainment also handled English dubbing duties for Battle Angel Alita. A live-action film adaptation released by 20th Century Fox, titled Alita: Battle Angel, premiered on February 14, 2019. The series is set in the post-apocalyptic future and focuses on Alita ("Gally" in the Japanese version, and several other countries), a female cyborg who has lost all memories and is found in a junkyard by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds and takes care of her. She discovers that there is one thing she remembers, the legendary cyborg martial art Panzer Kunst, which leads to her becoming a Hunter Warrior, or bounty hunter. The story traces Alita's attempts to rediscover her past and the characters whose lives she impacts on her journey. The manga series continued with Last Order (2000–2014), Mars Chronicle (2014–2025), and Panzer Kunst Chronicle (since 2026).

Battle Angel Alita tells the story of Alita, an amnesiac female cyborg. Her intact head and chest, in suspended animation, are found by cyber medic expert Daisuke Ido in the local garbage dump. Ido manages to revive her, and finding she has lost her memory, names her Alita after his recently deceased cat. The rebuilt Alita soon discovers that she instinctively remembers the legendary martial art, Panzer Kunst, although she does not recall anything else. Alita uses her Panzer Kunst to first become a bounty hunter, killing cyborg criminals in the Scrapyard, and then as a star player in the brutal gladiator sport of Motorball. While in combat, Alita awakens memories of her earlier life on Mars. She becomes involved with the floating city of Zalem (Tiphares in some older translations) as one of their agents and is sent to hunt down criminals. Foremost is the mad genius Desty Nova, who has a complex, ever-changing relationship with Alita. The futuristic dystopian world of Battle Angel Alita revolves around the city of Scrapyard (Kuzutetsu in the Japanese and various other versions), which has grown up around a massive scrap heap that rains down from Zalem. Ground dwellers have no access to Zalem and are forced to make a living in the sprawl below. Many are heavily modified by cybernetics to better cope with their hard life. Zalem exploits the Scrapyard and surrounding farms, paying bounty hunters (called Hunter-Warriors) to hunt criminals and arranging violent sports to keep the population entertained. Massive tubes connect the Scrapyard to Zalem, and the city uses robots for carrying out errands and providing security on the ground. Occasionally, Zalemites (such as Daisuke Ido and Desty Nova) are exiled and sent to the ground. Aside from the robots and exiles, there is little contact between the two cities. The story takes place in the former United States. According to a map, printed in the eighth volume, Scrapyard/Zalem is near Kansas City, Missouri, and the Necropolis is Colorado Springs, Colorado. Radio KAOS is at Dallas, Texas. Figure's coastal hometown is Alhambra, California. Desty Nova's Granite Inn is built out of a military base—NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado. Battle Angel Alita is eventually revealed to take place in the 26th century. The sequel Battle Angel Alita: Last Order introduces a calendar era called "Era Sputnik" which has an epoch of AD 1957. The original Battle Angel Alita series begins in ES 577 (AD 2533) and ends in ES 590 (AD 2546), Battle Angel Alita: Last Order is mostly set roughly in ES 591 (AD 2547), and Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle alternates between ES 373–374 (AD 2329–2330) and ES 594 (AD 2550).

Battle Angel Alita features a diverse cast of characters, many of whom shift in and out of focus as the story progresses. Some are never to be seen again following the conclusion of a story arc, while others make recurring appearances. The one character who remains a constant throughout is Alita, the protagonist and title character, a young cyborg with amnesia struggling to uncover her forgotten past through the only thing she remembers from it: by fighting. Early on in the story, Daisuke Ido, a bounty-hunting cybernetic doctor who finds and revives Alita, plays a major role as well, but midway the focus begins to increasingly shift to Desty Nova, an eccentric nanotechnology scientist who has fled from Zalem. Desty Nova is the mastermind behind many of the enemies and trials that Alita faces, but does not make an actual appearance until more than two years into the story, although he is alluded to early on. Finally, Kaos, Desty Nova's son, a frail and troubled radio DJ with psychometric powers, also begins to play a crucial role after he comes in contact with Alita. He broadcasts his popular radio show from the wastelands outside the Scrapyard, staying away from the increasing conflict between Zalem and the rebel army Barjack.

Alita was originally a female cyborg police officer named Gally in an unpublished comic called Rainmaker. Publishers at Shueisha liked her and asked Kishiro to make a new story with her as the main character. After he had come up with the plot for a storyline he was commissioned to make it a long-running series. Besides renaming Gally to Alita, older North American versions of the manga also changed the city of Zalem (from Biblical Hebrew שָׁלֵם šālēm, "peace") to Tiphares (after Tiferet). Since Kishiro also used the name Jeru (after Jerusalem) for the facility atop Zalem, Jeru was renamed Ketheres in the translation (after Keter). More recent versions reverted the cities' names back to Zalem and Jeru. To further develop the Biblical theme in the original series, Zalems main computer was named Melchizedek, "the king of Salem" and "priest to the Most High God".

The manga was first published in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine. It was then serialized from 1990 to 1995 in nine tankōbon. Yukito Kishiro moved from Shueisha to Kodansha in August 2010. The company acquired the license rights to Battle Angel Alita. A six-volume special edition titled Gunnm: Complete Edition was released in Japan from December 18, 1998, to August 18, 2000. The series was released in B5 format and contains the original story, but without the original ending, which was retconned later in 2000 by Battle Angel Alita: Last Order. Also included are rough sketches, a timeline and the first three Battle Angel Alita: Holy Night & Other Stories short stories. From October 5 to November 16, 2016, Kodansha republished Gunnm in three volumes in B5 format. It was later reprinted in A5 format in five volumes from November 21, 2018, to February 22, 2019. A spin-off series titled Ashen Victor was published in Ultra Jump from September 1995 to July 1996 issues. It was released in a single volume on June 24, 1998. A spin-off series titled Battle Angel Alita: Holy Night & Other Stories was published in Ultra Jump from January 24, 1997, to December 19, 2006. It was released in a single volume on December 19, 2007. It is composed of four short side stories: "Holy Night", "Sonic Finger", "Hometown" and "Barjack Rhapsody". In North America, Viz Media originally released the story in a 25-page comic book, after which it followed the same volume format as its Japanese counterpart. Viz also released the Ashen Victor spin-off series. Along with the rest of the series, Kishiro's original Battle Angel Alita manga has been licensed for North American publication through Kodansha USA, who republished it the five-volume omnibus format in 2017 and 2018, with the last volume including Ashen Victor. Holy Night & Other Stories has also been licensed by Kodansha USA, who published it digitally on October 30, 2018, and as hardcover on November 20. Battle Angel Alita has also been licensed for international release in a number of languages and regions. It was published in Spain by Planeta DeAgostini, in Brazil by Editora JBC, in France and Netherlands by Glenat, in Poland by JPF, in Germany by Carlsen, in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing, in Argentina by Editorial Ivrea and in Russia by Xl Media.

A two-episode original video animation (OVA) was released in 1993, incorporating elements from the first two volumes of the manga with changes to the characters and storyline. According to Kishiro, only two episodes were originally planned. At the time, he was too busy with the manga "to review the plan coolly" and was not serious about an anime adaptation. It remains the only anime adaptation of Battle Angel Alita to date and there are no plans to revive it. • Illustration — Alita as depicted in the 2000 CG movie clip A three-minute 3D-CGI rendered movie clip is included in volume six of the Japanese Gunnm: Complete Edition (1998–2000). It showcases Alita in a Third League Motorball race with players from two of her races such as "Armor" Togo, Degchalev, and Valdicci, and depicts events from both of those races.

A novelization of the manga by Yasuhisa Kawamura was released on April 4, 1997, by Shueisha's JUMP j-BOOKS label. In November 2018, Titan Books published Alita: Battle Angel—Iron City, a prequel novel for the film. The novel was written by Pat Cadigan, a notable science fiction author.

Gunnm: Martian Memory is an action RPG video game for the PlayStation by Banpresto. It is an adaptation of the manga, following Alita (Gally) from her discovery in the Zalem dump heap by Daisuke Ido up through and beyond her career as a TUNED agent. The story includes additional elements that Kishiro had conceived when he ended the original manga in 1995, but was unable to implement at the time, which involved Alita going into outer space. He then expanded the story, which formed the basis for the manga Battle Angel Alita: Last Order.

• Ashen Victor, a story set six years before the beginning of Battle Angel Alita, published in Ultra Jump. It primarily tells the story of a Motorball player and it sets the evolution of the game into what it becomes in the Battle Angel Alita series. • Last Order, a continuation of Battle Angel Alita, published monthly in Ultra Jump and later in Evening. • Mars Chronicle, a continuation of Last Order, published in Evening and later in Comic Days. • Panzer Kunst Chronicle, a continuation to Mars Chronicle, published in Comic Days.