Battle Angel Alita

Publisher
Manga Entertainment
Director
Hidetoshi Kaneko
Production
KSS, MOVIC
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
81 mins
Year
1993

Battle Angel Alita VHS

By John Huxley
27th Apr 04

Alita looks very much like a toy doll, and a particularly strange looking doll too. She certainly doesn't look like the ultimate fighting machine, but when you see her move you'll eat your words. Hey, it could be worse. She could look like Dr Ito, who bares an uncanny resemblance to Egon from the Ghostbusters cartoon. The angel of the title, Alita, is discovered by Dr Ito, a top cybernetic doctor who repairs her to full strength and gives her life again after centuries of sitting amongst the wasteland surrounding the massive city where our heroes dwell. High above this city, suspended in the sky is a paradise on earth, free from the polluted air and crime sprees below. These criminals are usually after one thing - cybernetic enhancements, specifically spines. To counter this, bounty hunters are employed to seek and destroy, with credits earned for every kill made - get enough credits, and you can buy your way to the city up above. Alita soon discovers great powers hidden within her and knows it is her destiny to become a bounty hunter. So she does.

The premise is eerily familiar, but the execution is good enough to let it stand out from the crowd. The plot is nothing particularly special, nor is too complex or deep, but that's probably a good thing considering it's strength lies in it's simplicity and fairytale like atmosphere. Actually, Battle Angel Alita reminds me more of a typical Japanese videogame RPG than a classic fairytale, although the two are closely related. Alita herself isn't a particularly engaging character, nor are the enemies she faces throughout the film anything special, but the artwork is neat enough and the plot strong enough to let a few weaknesses slip by. Violence is issued throughout the film, and although things never become too sickening, there is an odd dog exploding and a few spines being ripped out; so be weary if you were expecting a kiddie-friendly fairytale.

It is a little short for my tastes, clocking in at just under 55 minutes, but the scripting is very well done and everything remains crystal clear throughout, despite having to introduce a whole new world and new characters to inhabit it. The tight script writing is needed, because frankly, there aren't enough fights to keep you interested for much longer, and the whole thing is over before you know it. You can count the number of fights on one hand, which is a shame considering that the animation is nice enough to keep things fluid and watching Alita take on enemies five times the size of her is amusing if nothing else. Battle Angel Alita is a decent film, but there are better alternatives if this is your kind of thing.

-- John Huxley 27th Apr 04

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