Customer Reviews

Battle Angel Alita, Vol. 6: Angel Of Death

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Made of parts rescued from the Scrapyard, Alita was first recreated by Doc Ido. He awoke her, gave her a new body, and, unsurprisingly, fell in love with the beautiful cyborg whose skills include mastery of a secret fighting discipline - the Panzer Kunst. Alita first made a living as a hunter killer, then became a Motorball star and finally, in an apocalyptic confrontation, destroys a berserker body put together by the insane ex-Tipharian, Desty Nova. Alita saves the Scrapyard, is torn into pieces, and is promptly arrested for using a handgun and sentenced to death.

Of course, no such thing is going to happen. At the last moment Alita is contacted by an agent of Tiphares and offered complete restoration - if she will agree to carry out the objectives of Tiphares as one of the 'tuned.' These are specially enhanced to be super killers (actually, the only 'tuned' is Alita). In no time at all, we find ourselves with Alita, guarding an atomic train bringing food and raw materials into the Scrapyard for further refinement and trans-shipment to Tiphares.

Soon Alita and several new friends are in a struggle to survive bandits and the desert. There isn't a lot of trust to go around, but there is an army full of bandits. Somewhere beyond the tough guys Desty Nova is hiding. He is Tiphares' real target and Alita is determined to make sure Nova keeps his word and restores Doc Ido. Naturally, everything that can go wrong does. It will take nothing short of a miracle to keep the 'Angel of Death' on track. Somehow Alita always manages to persist, to find surprising internal stores of strength.

In a perfect transition from volume five, the story of Alita continues beautifully with "Beyond the Yellow Door". However, the later parts of volume six, "Angel of Death", might seem as meaningless and weak as the motorball volumes, volumes three and four. But that depends upon your tastes, really. For me, "Angel of Death" is a perfect demonstration of what the motorball volumes should have been!

With volume six, Alita becomes nothing but a weapon, a tool, and a good deal of the volume is spent with Alita fighting and battling. Of course, the still-beautiful artwork is filled with mature-audience blood and gore, so it's good to see Yukito Kishiro maintain his sense of dedication to the series. Probably the part where people might run into problems is with the plot.

Unlike the motorball episodes, volume six doesn't divert too far away from the main plot, but some of the volume is dedicated to a new character, Figure Four, who eventually falls for Alita (and vice versa). "Angel of Death" doesn't make it clear whether Figure Four plays a major role in future volumes, so this might frustrate some Alita fans. Also, the growth of the relationship between Alita and Figure Four isn't too realistic and feels a little sloppy.

But does this make "Angel of Death" like the motorball volumes? Not really. The main plot does manage to stay that way throughout the book: main. And although there is a lot of seemingly needless fighting, it can be considered "enjoyable" needless fighting. What fan of Alita doesn't want to see her wield a scythe-like blade with an evil snicker on her face? It's a lot better than seeing Alita battle for a silly motorball!

All in all, "Angel of Death" does make a few questionable choices in its execution, but in the end it's still an enjoyable read. But even if you feel that "Angel of Death" fell as low as the motorball volumes, look at it this way: at least the story in "Angel of Death" didn't span another volume!

This is even worse than the big long sports story stretching from volumes 3-4, if that's possible. Pretty much this is a corny "romantic comedy" type thing. Sound Alita-ish? You're right, it's not. I mean, was Kishiro *forced* to write nine volumes even though he'd already run out of good stories, or what? Anyways, this is SO awful! Entirely unoriginal, the type of story where the girl and guy start out hating eachother, then go all lovey-dovey around the end. Aside from the romance, the *other* story pretty much involves Alita trying to blow people up. Somehow, the author actually managed to make this boring. I'd recommend you buy this book if you're curious as to how such a violent story could be so dull, but otherwise, don't waste your money. If you must, buy Alita #1&2, but don't go any further!

Battle Angel Alita was one of the first manga that I ever started reading and it has never disappointed me. Full of action, obscure references, great art and a loveable heroine, it has everything that you could possibly want.

This volume picks up after Alita has violated one of the major laws of the Scrapyard -- firing a handgun. And in the tradition of La Femme Nikita, she is saved by none other than the government of the utopian Tiphares in exchange for becoming one of their assassins -- hence the name, Angel of Death. She agrees... all just for the chance to see her surrogate father, Ido, once again.

In past volumes, we've seen Alita struggle to find herself, fall in love, lose her way and find it once again. This volume is no exception as Alita descends into the madness found in death and destruction only to be brought again by a man named Figure Four. Definitely a must-read.

Severed from all of those that she ever cared for, Alita is forced into the service of an organization where she is no more than a tool of destruction. Bereft of hope, Alita cannot find the strength to remain human and succumbs, becoming that which her masters want, an "Angel of Death". She finds a satisfying, primal joy in the death and destruction she causes until she meets a man by the name of Figure Four. Undaunted by her reputation and uninviting character, he reminds her of the important aspects of life. His exhortations for Alita to "take control of the rudder of her life" clash with the powerful, invincible, yet meaningless peace she has found in her military service. Once again, Alita must decide which path to take.

She is the Angel of Death! Alita is now working for Tiphares. After defeating Zapan with a gun (which are illegal in the Scrapyard), Alita is sentenced to death. Tiphares offers to let her die of work for them. Looking forward to finding Ido, she accepts the job as a one man army. Alita meets a human with power usually un seen in a non-cyborg. Alita falls in love with Figure Four, and finds another reason for living.

I absotutly love this book! The plot and art go side by side with any Anime out there. The pages that are just one frame (page 50 for example) are oustanding! If you love Anime and graphic novels then check this one out, I also recomend the other books from the series, they are just as good.

Battle Angel Alita is one of the best Anime/Manga series that I have ever read.

Angel of Death - Alita is forced to enlist as a member of the "Tuned", an elite force of Tiphares. Her first assignment: protect a nuclear powered train from the infamous brigands known as Barjack!