Battle Angel Alita, the movie

Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel Alita [The Book Depository] [Waterstones] was one of my favorite mangas when I was a teen. I can’t wait for July to see the movie. Rosa Salazar brings to life Alita, who has huge manga eyes in the movie. It might come as weird, but the reality is that Cameron wanted Alita to keep her huge manga eyes. Granted, to see those in a life-action movie is somewhat creepy. So far I’m in love with the eyes because they capture Alita at her origins. If you’ve read Kishiro’s manga, or seen the anime, you know exactly what’s all about.

Since it’s a cyberpunk story, I expect technology to go bananas during the film. We only need to take a closer look at the teaser trailer to realize how cool the whole environment is! Also, it seems that Cameron developed new tech to make the film possible. Plus, Salazar’s performance was done through motion capture.

Cameron had the idea for the film during ten years in his head. So, I guess that we can expect a great thing from it. However, as good as it can go, it’s also true that it could be a massive flop. Not everyone is cheering the manga eyes, nor the fact that Robert Rodriguez is the director of this live-action film. Despite all the criticism out there, I’m going to give it a try.

So, who is Alita? She’s a cyborg who has lost all her memories. A cybernetics doctor finds her head in a garbage heap and decides to rebuild her. The only thing she remembers is a legendary cyborg specialized in martial arts called Panzer Kunst. After deciding to become a bounty hunter, she starts her quest to remember who she was.

I don’t think Cameron is going to follow the manga as it is. However, I hope the adaptation is close enough for me to enjoy the movie. I’m going to be angry if it goes too far away from the comics, or if it makes no sense.

The dystopian future where Alita inhabits, everything revolves around the city of Scrapyard, trashy place down Tiphares. From it, trash falls down onto Scrapyard by the tons. That’s where Ido, the cybernetics doctor, found Alita’s head. Ground dwellers have no access to Tiphares. They are also forced to make the living with whatever they find on the trash. Life is so hard, that many people go the cybernetic way to survive.

The only parts that are original on Alita are her head and chest. The rest is a body that Ido gives to her. From the looks in the movie, it’s pretty cool. However, I would be concerned about having no memories and a cybernetic body just to myself. Ido is a nice person fellow, since he decides to do something good for her: he gives her another chance at living.

But Alita is no angel, and she knows a lot of fighting. Even if she looks innocent, she can certainly manage herself in the toughest situations. I wouldn’t like to cross her in a bad day or as a villain.

And, as you might imagine, there might be some romance out there too. Now, the comics put the guy in a different light. I’m not sure if this one is her friend, but in the way they show him to us, he looks like a possible love interest.

To make sure that I get things right, I plan to re-read Battle Angel Alita [The Book Depository] [Waterstones] before the movie is out in the cinemas. The main reason is that my memory is foggy. The secondary reason is a massive excuse for enjoying the manga yet again. I was hooked on it when I was younger, so it’s fair to say that I’ll enjoy it again. Plus, I’m sure that I’ll find new things that I hadn’t notice before.

So, let’s get to the point: what do you think about Alita’s eyes in the movie? Nay or Yay?

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Copyright: Images on this post (C) Alita Battle Angel (C) Yukito Kishiro (C) Battle Angel Alita / Memes & Gifs (C) by their owners / Top banner made by dePepi with an official (C) Alita Battle Angel image.