ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL: 5 Cool Facts To Know Before You See The Film

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL: 5 Cool Facts To Know Before You See The Film

Alita: Battle Angel has officially hit theaters, and to celebrate we have brought you 5 cool facts you should know before you see Robert Rodriguez's anime adaptation. Hit the jump to see what they are!

Feature Opinion
By GBest - Feb 15, 2019 04:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Anime & Manga
Alita: Battle Angel officially hits theaters this week, and while we've been covering the film, we thought it would be nice to do something a little different. So today we bring you 5 cool facts that you should know before you see the movie so that you can impress your friends at the theater!

Fact #1 - Alita: Battle Angel is based off a Japanese manga series



The manga series that Alita: Battle Angel is based off is titled Battle Angel Alita, and is also known in Japan as Gunnm (which literally translates to "gun dream".) The manga series was created by Yukito Kishiro in 1990 and originally published in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine. It was then serialized from 1990 to 1995 into nine volumes.

For English speaking audiences in the U.S., Viz originally released the story in a 25-page comic book. They then followed the same volume format as its Japanese counterpart. Along with the rest of the series, Kishiro's original Battle Angel Alita manga is licensed for North American publication through Kodansha USA. The manga series is continued in Battle Angel Alita: Last Order which consists of 19 volumes and 6 volumes in Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle.
 

Fact #2 - There was a short lived anime series that adapted the manga



Two of the nine-volume manga of Battle Angel Alita were adapted into two anime original video animation (OVA) episodes titled Battle Angel. The episodes incorporated elements from the first two volumes of the manga with a few changes to the characters and storyline. According to Kishiro in an interview, only two episodes were originally planned. At the time, he was too busy with the manga "to review the plan coolly," nor was he serious about an anime adaptation.

In an interview Kishiro also said that there are currently no plans to revive the anime. All hope is not lost as the interview was from over 14 years ago (January of 2005). For fans interested in the anime, you can find an English dub pretty easily with a little Googling.
 

Fact #3 - The manga was adapted into a video game for the PlayStation

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Due to Kishiro not being satisifed with the ending of the original Battle Angel Alita, he created an action role-playing video game for the PlayStation based on the Battle Angel Alita manga series. The game was published in 1998 for the PlayStation after being pushed back from Its original 1997 release date. The game follows the protagonist and title character, Alita, all the way from her discovery in the Tiphares dump heap by Daisuke Ido up to and beyond her career as a TUNED agent. The story also includes additional elements that creator Yukito Kishiro created after ending the original manga in 1995, but was unable to implement at the time, which involved Alita going into outer space.

Following the completion of the Ashen Victor Manga, Kishiro worked on the game's story, character design, and packaging. The cover illustration of the game is a variation of another illustration of Alita with a blue background that he did for an earlier magazine illustration. In the game the story is advanced by completing story and boss rounds in each level. The player navigates Alita through 3D environments from a third-person perspective, exploring areas and interacting with NPCs, which includes other characters who appear in the series. While playing story mode, the player has the option of entering into Battle Mode by pressing the "Select" button, or avoiding combat by running past enemies. In fights involving multiple opponents, the player fights each enemy, one at a time, in a turn-based battle system.
 

Fact #4 - Alita: Battle Angel could have been James Cameron's orginal "Avatar"



James Cameron picked up and started working on Alita: Battle Angel a little over 15 years ago. He delayed the project to work on the hit-film Avatar that debuted in December 2009. Cameron then brought Robert Rodriguez on to condense his over 180 page original screenplay, which included 600 pages of notes, into a shooting script for the film. After doing this production for the film began in 2017 and the film released on Valentines day this year (2019)!

Cameron was not the first person to throw his name into the ring for a Battle Angel Alita adaptation. In an interview creator Kishiro stated that he had received his first offer of a film adaptation in 1994, after which many directors, producers and productions had proposed their own pitches for the adaptation. It wasn't until around 1998 that Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox approached Kishiro regarding the film.
 

Fact #5 - Panzer Kunst is a martial art made for zero gravity combat



In the story of Battle Angel Alita, Panzer Kunst (which is german for "armored art") is the first martial art to anticipate combat in zero gravity, and it originiates on Mars. It is the fighting style that Alita uses in the story, with the exception of a handful of practitioners it is nearly extinct and a dying art in the manga. It is also effective at disabling and destroying larger opponents.

The fighting style was developed to anticipate cyborg combat, emphasises combat against both armed and unarmed opponents, including those wielding ranged weapons. The fighting style also gives its user the ability to analyse an opponent's fighting style and to react accordingly. Which means a "Kunstler" (someone who practices the art) will rarely be beaten twice by the same opponent.

In the film Panzer Kunst is a combination of various martial arts including staff work and sword work, Kung Fu, Muay Thai and Kickboxing.

Alita: Battle Angel is now out in theaters! Order your tickets today at www.alitatickets.com

Have you seen the film yet? Did you know any of these facts before? Let is know in the comments area below, and stay tuned to ComicBookMovie.com for more Alita: Battle Angel coverage!

Exclusive interview with Alita herself, Rosa Salazar!

Exclusive Interview with Senior VFX Supervisor Joe Letteri!







About Alita: Battle Angel: From visionary filmmakers James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez, comes Alita: Battle Angel, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. When Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido, a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.
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SwampThing
SwampThing - 2/15/2019, 4:31 PM
Just got home after watching the movie. It was pretty darn good, but it does feel very much like an incomplete story without a sequel...so I hope it does better than expected. If you're interested, support it now please.
ImmovableForce
ImmovableForce - 2/15/2019, 5:08 PM
@SwampThing - Same assessment here. Great movie, but I kept thinking, hmm, is there enough time to resolve this, and then... yep. Bring on the sequel!
GhostDog
GhostDog - 2/15/2019, 4:43 PM
Going in an hour!
TakesTwoToTorgo
TakesTwoToTorgo - 2/15/2019, 4:43 PM
I really enjoyed this! The Roller Derby/ Murder Ball sequence being my favorite
Chewtoy
Chewtoy - 2/15/2019, 4:49 PM
Crowds seem to be liking the film... maybe it’ll get the legs it needs.
ImmovableForce
ImmovableForce - 2/15/2019, 5:13 PM
@Chewtoy - That seems like a pun... Like!
CaptainMexico
CaptainMexico - 2/15/2019, 4:55 PM
It’s an awesome movie. It will do well enough in Asia to warrant sequels. James Cameron makes movies movies like avatar, that caused people to commit suicide because they couldn’t get enough of it. He knows how to put asses in seats.
4thMaster
4thMaster - 2/15/2019, 4:57 PM
Going tomorrow to watch it. Have a good feeling about this one.
Vigor
Vigor - 2/15/2019, 5:30 PM
@8thDoctor - let us know what you thought!
Oberlin4Prez
Oberlin4Prez - 2/15/2019, 5:15 PM
@Forthas - just started listening to the audio book today.
bropous
bropous - 2/15/2019, 5:23 PM
@Forthas - That is just wonderful news. With a cast like this, that should be a leg up.
Forthas
Forthas - 2/15/2019, 5:27 PM
@Oberlin4Prez - Wow...that book is long...it will take you a while to get through!
Forthas
Forthas - 2/15/2019, 5:29 PM
@bropous - I love the cast except for Jason Mamoa...that is a BIG mistake.
MUTO123
MUTO123 - 2/15/2019, 5:15 PM
Saw it yesterday. It was alright. The actors are great and the designs, effects and action scenes are outstanding, but there's a lot of ultra-corny moments, some of the dialogue is just straight-up bad, Mahershala Ali and especially Jennifer Connelly are kind of wasted, and there were times when I was having trouble keeping track of what was happening.

6/10
ImmovableForce
ImmovableForce - 2/15/2019, 7:17 PM
@MUTO123 - I was fine with the corniness. I'd give it an 8/10.
ImmovableForce
ImmovableForce - 2/15/2019, 7:24 PM
@MUTO123 - I think the only moment I actually cringed was when someone said "Outstanding!" to express how impressed he was by something Alita had just done. It reminded me of Avatar where someone said that line in much the same way. People don't often say that word these days, and James Cameron was heavily involved in the making both movies, so it stuck out to me.
ImmovableForce
ImmovableForce - 2/15/2019, 7:30 PM
Wait, you just said outstanding in the comment I was replying to... That's awkward. Well, I have nothing against the word. I think my subconcious just played a joke on me.
Oberlin4Prez
Oberlin4Prez - 2/15/2019, 5:17 PM
Just saw this yesterday and it's pretty great. It has some story and pacing issues, but Salazar gives a very emotional performance and the action is intense and at times heartfelt. I really cared for Alita as a character and would be down for more.
bropous
bropous - 2/15/2019, 5:44 PM
@Oberlin4Prez - I will certainly take that comment into consideration.
bropous
bropous - 2/15/2019, 5:33 PM
Is this actually worth going to see? I'm getting mixed messages on it.
MUTO123
MUTO123 - 2/15/2019, 5:37 PM
@bropous - I was a little mixed on it, but I'd still say it's worth heading to the theater to see, especially in IMAX and/or 3D.
DVonShakari
DVonShakari - 2/15/2019, 6:00 PM
I knew all these facts already.
DoubleD
DoubleD - 2/15/2019, 7:13 PM
Alita: Battle Angel was AWESOME 5 Stars out of 5 Stars. Will see again
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