Ganmu

After watching the terrific movie Alita: Battle Angel, which I felt fell apart towards the end, I decided to watch this to see if the story was the same. It is, and it's also an hour long which means it runs through that story like lightning. There's very little in the way of character development; just lots of plot.

Turns out it's a pretty similar story, and from what I've read the anime and the movie are both fairly true to the original manga but make some changes. Unlike the movie, the anime holds together because it doesn't start throwing in a bunch of stuff that seems crammed in. But it also lacks emotional punch because you're not given a chance to really get to know the characters.

It's not as good as the live-action movie, but it is entertaining enough.

This feature deals with the possibility of full cybernetic replacement of the frail human body and the effects this may have on society and the individual. What kind of value would be placed on human life? What capabilities do you build into a machine body? Can a human brain thus sustained, have a soul? There is plenty of action and even a love interest. It's an anime' classic that should be required viewing for any anime' fan. And a great starter for anyone wishing to try anime'. Be advised, though an animated feature, "Gunnm" is graphicly violent. It is NOT a cartoon. No cute bunnys. "Gunnm" (Battle Angel) is an incredibly well animated adaptation of a popular Manga (Japanese Comic Book Style). The only drawback is that their is only one and apparently no plans to continue the work in Anime'. The Manga however... continues.

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 1993 Anime mini-series "Gunnm" (aka "Battle Angel") again here in 2023, and since I really enjoyed it on VHS tape back in my youth, of course there was no doubt about me sitting down to watch "Gunnm" digitally this time around.

The storyline in "Gunnm" is pretty straight forward, but even with just two episodes, the writers did manage to put together something unique, enjoyable and timeless. "Gunnm" is an Anime that you can watch again and again, which is a testimony to the writing skills of the writers.

And not only was the storyline good, but the art and animation in "Gunnm" is good, and very much still holds up today, 30 years down the line.

If you enjoy Anime, and get a chance to watch, then you most certainly should do so. It is without a doubt a timeless classic.

The only downside there is to "Gunnm", is that the mini-series only had two episodes, and thus felt a little bit rushed. I think there was much more to delve into here, if the writers had opted for more episodes.

My rating of "Gunnm" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

Any serious anime fan will have a special place in his heart for Gally. She is *the* textbook example of the innocent anime girl. Where this work shines is in Gally's character development through her experiences where she discovers a personality of her own after being reanimated. Her gradual acquisition of her defensive affection with the Doctor and her innocent but deep attachment with Yugo are impressive. No fan of good film acting can criticize this "cartoon" as inferior to live action.

All this applies to the Japanese version with subtitles. The English dubbing is awful.

This was simply an amazing piece of artwork. This movie had the potential to be right up there next to Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Unfortunately there's just way too much left out, leaving you with a feeling that you've been conned out of a great movie. Gally (the main chick / hero) is the most beautiful anime babe out there. Overall, it's a movie an anime fan will like, but will long for more.... Find the comic books for more.