From Manga to movie, Battle Angel Alita has come a long way in 28 years. Come see how it all started and more on the movie itself.
Originally a manga series from the early 90s created by Yukito Kishiro, Battle Angel Alita was then adapted into a 2-part anime special in 1993 by Madhouse Studios, and now with James Cameron directing the 2018 live-action adaptation.
It tells the story of Alita, an amnesiac cyborg discovered in a trash heap by a cybernetics expert who acts as a surrogate father. There is, however, one thing she does remember; Panzer Kunst, a form of martial arts that take advantage of cybernetic augments.
The series’ upcoming live-action theatrical release marks the second installment in an apparent trend of western adaptations of classic avant-garde cyberpunk Japanese media, following the 2017 live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, starring Scarlet Johanssen. While Ghost in Shell’s production can be traced back to as recent as 2008 when Steven Spielberg acquired the rights to produce a live-action film, the ideas for Battle Angel Alita’s own live-action adaptation began when Guillermo del Toro introduced James Cameron to the franchise. The domain name “battleangelalita.com” was even registered to James Cameron by 20th Century Fox in summer 2000, leading to nearly two decades of speculation.
It’s anyone’s guess how fans of the manga respond to the film upon its release, or how the public opinion in the West may potentially sway production companies. To take it a step further, how will anime fans handle the transition from their niche into the mainstream movie audience, should it come to that?
Will Battle Angel Alita’s success be the inciting incident that leads to Western production companies saturating the theatrical release schedule with live-action adaptations of cult Japanese manga classics? After Ghost in the Shell’s box office success, this vanity project may very well be the herald of a new era of cinema that competes with the Superhero genre, offering the revival of many of the eastern classics into a live-action adaption that many have been struggling to be developed, like Akira, or Cowboy Bebop.
Yukito Kishiro wove this story of cybernetic kung-fu and self-discovery nearly 30 years ago. It’s a great time for it to be revisited, and what better way than through the lens of one of the film’s most visionary directors. Let’s hope he doesn’t do something weird with it.
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