Battle Angel (1992)

A cyberpunk experience like no other, Fukutomi Hiroshi's 1992 attempt at animating Kishiro Yukito's only now ending manga, Battle Angel Alita was unfortunately cut short at two episodes due to it's lack of popularity in Japan, even though it was eagerly received in America and has managed, in the years since, to accumulate quite a cult following not only in the states, but around the world as well.

As Battle Angel begins, we are introduced to Doc Ido, a brilliant cybernetic physician (think of a mix between a mechanic and a doctor) and Hunter Warrior (like a bounty hunter, targeting thieves that steal nerve-tissue) with a heart of gold. When he discovers a discarded cyborg in the latest batch of waste dropped from the sky, he hurries her back to his lab and repairs her, unintentionally making her into what will eventually become an unparalleled fighting machine.

Despite it's iffy retelling of Kishiro's tale and incredibly short running time (two episodes at about thirty minutes each!) Battle Angel is much more than just another Science Fiction adventure or blood-bath romp through the dystopic alleyways of your average Cyberpunk story; it is an exciting and violent run through rust-piles and junkheaps, with enough action to keep your eyes bugged and your heart pumping, all while maintaining a solid line of philosophical speculation borne out of a time when the lines between flesh and machine are blurred, keeping us asking: "What makes us human?" and "Why?"

In Battle Angel, we are shown a world filled with horrors typical of any such dystopic future; hulking, cybernetic junkies, brutal living conditions, people fighting to survive, all under the glimmering, floating city of Zalem, a shimmering disk of steel that drops it's wealthy citizen's trash onto the city below.

But Battle Angel also has some elements distinctly it's own, introducing the concept of brutal "Spine Thieves" and the men and women who hunt them for measly bounties granted by the citizens of Zalem, as well as the idea of a whole new type of junkie; one addicted to brains themselves!

While the film begs for more content, for proper completion, leaving phantom voids where larger plot elements were likely going to be introduced, each episode is wonderfully tailored into a single, stand-alone unit, leaving you with a sense of resolution, yet craving more.

A masterpiece for it's size, Battle Angel is a disgrace to some, but a testament to others, a testament to the power of a good story, despite it's aim or packaging. In this writer's opinion, the quality of a movie is based upon many things, emotional impact among them, and while "Battle Angel" is no "chick-flick" or drama-trip, it's ending is sad enough to bring a tear to the eye of even the most hardened film veteran.