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kat_smith24's review against another edition
3.0
This one was kinda meh. If you're into roller derby, I suppose it's pretty good. But I'm not.
sherrise's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
armeneely's review against another edition
4.0
Got to the tournament arc of the series xp
Gotta say though, it continues to be a lot of fun, and I really love the artwork of this series!
Gotta say though, it continues to be a lot of fun, and I really love the artwork of this series!
bookmeanderings's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed having a ton more motorball in this one. It's so cool! Gonna wait and write a full review for volumes 3 and 4 together.
tanekaberi's review against another edition
4.0
Artwork is fantastic, but story seems to slow down a bit and I got impatient.
jbb_lkh's review against another edition
4.0
Ok, I'm not trying to be cynical, but the movie did cover this part of the race. The sequence is really different. I like how we can see the emotional side of Alita from this point of view thru the comic. Which we have not come to witness this as yet in the movie.
I enjoyed every moment of it and I guess this is really a new favourite of mine. Volume 04, here I come!!!
I enjoyed every moment of it and I guess this is really a new favourite of mine. Volume 04, here I come!!!
frasersimons's review against another edition
3.0
Battle Angel Alita in printed form sticks pretty closely to the OVAs (from 1 to start of 3)I watched ages ago. It's over-the-top cyberpunk aesthetic that, at first glance seems nothing but aesthetic. Put out in 1990, I think it's pretty impressive. It was trying to tell a much more philosophical and nuanced tale than most of the late 80's cyberpunk media with the exception of Ghost In The Shell, published in 1989.
Luckily there's quite a bit of depth even with the typical manga fan service---at least there isn't the sexual fan service though? It's more typical gender rolls and how male/female interactions are, and it is an older manga. What is great about it is that even with all this, there is still an exploration of interesting questions and the translation has a lot of helpful extra side bars expounding on some of the sparse philosophy drops. Each villain is further contextualized beyond normal manga that is hyper violent like this one, too.
They are always the product of the terrible city they live in, and way of life that allows for them to eek out an existence. The ordinary citizens look up at a city suspended from space, where everything might just be better than the literal massive scrap yard they live in; controlled by factories that have laws that protect the corporation and not its citizens and perpetuating violence by paying people to hunt and kill anyone who breaks these laws. All of which serve their own ends as I've said.
Alita struggles with the perception of her body from outsiders dealing with the stigmatism of being a cyborg, embodiment issues (handled from a very male perspective) and a Cartesian mind/body duality when she is placed in a body of a killer and (as of halfway through vol.3) still doesn't recall her past but does cyborg martial arts, and does it well! Is it her body, or has she always been a weapon? There's some interesting stuff that undeniably makes it better than a lot of the stuff coming out around then. Especially 80's cyberpunk, in general, media wise.
About halfway into vol 3 though, the story takes a bit of a nose dive as Alita wants to be rid of her memories over Yugo, and shed her former body entirely. Also the doctor becomes pretty toxic, in general. It's a lot less satisfying than the first two volumes. Will keep going, though!
Luckily there's quite a bit of depth even with the typical manga fan service---at least there isn't the sexual fan service though? It's more typical gender rolls and how male/female interactions are, and it is an older manga. What is great about it is that even with all this, there is still an exploration of interesting questions and the translation has a lot of helpful extra side bars expounding on some of the sparse philosophy drops. Each villain is further contextualized beyond normal manga that is hyper violent like this one, too.
They are always the product of the terrible city they live in, and way of life that allows for them to eek out an existence. The ordinary citizens look up at a city suspended from space, where everything might just be better than the literal massive scrap yard they live in; controlled by factories that have laws that protect the corporation and not its citizens and perpetuating violence by paying people to hunt and kill anyone who breaks these laws. All of which serve their own ends as I've said.
Alita struggles with the perception of her body from outsiders dealing with the stigmatism of being a cyborg, embodiment issues (handled from a very male perspective) and a Cartesian mind/body duality when she is placed in a body of a killer and (as of halfway through vol.3) still doesn't recall her past but does cyborg martial arts, and does it well! Is it her body, or has she always been a weapon? There's some interesting stuff that undeniably makes it better than a lot of the stuff coming out around then. Especially 80's cyberpunk, in general, media wise.
About halfway into vol 3 though, the story takes a bit of a nose dive as Alita wants to be rid of her memories over Yugo, and shed her former body entirely. Also the doctor becomes pretty toxic, in general. It's a lot less satisfying than the first two volumes. Will keep going, though!
ripfunki's review against another edition
2.0
Lost potential
I’m very confused at the second part of this volume.. it begins great with a very emotional story, and then the second subplot just lost me. It feels like all the characters changed in an odd manner. I think maybe it’s supposed to reflect the trauma from the beginning of the manga, but it doesn’t deliver.
From the second volume Ido was the one who supported Alita in expressing her love to Yugo and guided her as a father. But in this volume he acted like someone who owned her like a slave and a love interest?! Why would Alita be jealous when Ido is a father figure to her? It doesn’t make sense how any of them are acting and it seems very out of character for both of them.
Also, the fact that Alita ran away to start a new life instead of seeking Ido for support as always was completely unnecessary.
Ido turned into a creep and Alita lost all her charm and is just an angry cyborg who challenges everyone she meets without thinking.
It’s such a disappointment and In don’t think I will get the next volumes.
Such a wasted potential.
I’m very confused at the second part of this volume.. it begins great with a very emotional story, and then the second subplot just lost me. It feels like all the characters changed in an odd manner. I think maybe it’s supposed to reflect the trauma from the beginning of the manga, but it doesn’t deliver.
From the second volume Ido was the one who supported Alita in expressing her love to Yugo and guided her as a father. But in this volume he acted like someone who owned her like a slave and a love interest?! Why would Alita be jealous when Ido is a father figure to her? It doesn’t make sense how any of them are acting and it seems very out of character for both of them.
Also, the fact that Alita ran away to start a new life instead of seeking Ido for support as always was completely unnecessary.
Ido turned into a creep and Alita lost all her charm and is just an angry cyborg who challenges everyone she meets without thinking.
It’s such a disappointment and In don’t think I will get the next volumes.
Such a wasted potential.