GUNNM: Hyper Future Vision
銃夢 (GUNNM)
Demographic	Seinen
Genre	Cyberpunk, Splatterpunk
Manga
Authored by	Yukito Kishiro
Publisher	Shueisha
Other publishers: 天下出版社 Punainen jättiläinen Glénat Planet Manga Planeta DeAgostini VIZ Media Editora JBC JPF Carlsen Verlag
Serialized in	Business Jump
Original run	November 1991 – March 1995
No. of volumes	9

This article relates to the manga by Yukito Kishiro, not the upcoming film by James Cameron. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Seinen not to be confused with adult )) is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at an 18–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be much older with some comics aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. ... Berlins Sony Center reflects the global reach of a Japanese corporation. ... Splatterpunk is a neologism coined to describe a subgenre of horror fiction distinguished by its graphic depiction of violence. ... maNga is a popular Turkish nu metal/rapcore band. ... Yukito Kishiro (木城ゆきと Kishiro Yukito) is a Japanese manga author. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan. ... Shueisha ) is a major publisher in Japan, headquartered in Tokyo. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hong_Kong. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... Punainen Jättiläinen is a Finnish publisher for Japanese manga and Korean manwha. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Glénat is a French publisher. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Spectacular Spider Man #100 (UK edition). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Viz Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, California, is a major American anime, manga and Japanese entertainment company formed by the merger of Viz, LLC, and ShoPro Entertainment. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Brazil. ... Editora JBC(known as JB comunication, JBC) is a company that publishes the book related to Japan in Brazil. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... Japonica Polonia Fantastica is a polish Manga publisher, located in Mierzyn, Poland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... The Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Danish publishing house which in turn belongs to the Swedish media company Bonnier. ... Business Jump Business Jump, is a japanese manga anthology published by Shueisha. ... Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Tankōbon ) is the Japanese term for a compilation volume of a particular series (such as a manga or a novel series, magazine articles, essays, craft patterns, etc. ... James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a three-time Academy Award winning director, producer and screenwriter. ...

Battle Angel Alita, called GUNNM (銃夢, GUNNM^? lit. juu (gun) mu (dream), creatively read as ガンム ganmu) in Japan and Europe, is a manga series created by Yukito Kishiro in 1991 and published in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine. The title translates to "Gun Dream", and two of the nine-volume comics were adapted into two anime original video animation episodes titled Battle Angel for North American release by ADV Films. The manga series is continued in Battle Angel Alita: Last Order. maNga is a popular Turkish nu metal/rapcore band. ... Yukito Kishiro (木城ゆきと Kishiro Yukito) is a Japanese manga author. ... Shueisha ) is a major publisher in Japan, headquartered in Tokyo. ... Business Jump Business Jump, is a japanese manga anthology published by Shueisha. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) “Animé” redirects here. ... Original Video Animation ), abbreviated OVA ), is a term used for anime titles that are released direct-to-video, without prior showings on TV or in theaters. ... ADV Films logo ADV Films is the home video publication arm of A.D. Vision based in Houston, Texas. ...

Story

Battle Angel Alita tells the story of Gally (Alita in the American version), an amnesiac female cyborg. This cyborg's intact head and upper torso are found in a state of suspended animation by the cybermedic expert Daisuke Ido while he is out searching for useful scrap. Amazed by his discovery, Ido quickly returns home and works to revive her. Upon finding that the girl has lost her memory, Ido names her Alita, the name of his recently deceased cat. Alita from the cover of Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, volume 2. ... Amnesia (from Greek ) (see spelling differences) is a condition in which memory is disturbed. ... A cyborg is a cybernetic organism (i. ... Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. ...

The rebuilt Alita soon discovers that she possesses instinctive knowledge of the legendary Martian martial art Panzer Kunst, although she has no other memories of her previous life. Alita must learn to navigate, exist, and fight in the Scrapyard, whose inhabitants themselves live in the shadow of the tantalizingly close floating city, Tiphares. Her journeys take Alita across the Scrapyard and surrounding areas, as she tries to recall more of her past. Panzer Kunst (literally Tank Art or Armored Art) is a fictional martial art for cyborgs from Yukito Kishiros Battle Angel Alita and Battle Angel Alita: Last Order. ...

Characters

Main article: List of Characters in Battle Angel Alita

Battle Angel Alita features a diverse cast of characters, many of whom shift in and out of focus as the story progresses. Some are never to be seen again following the conclusion of a story arc, while others make recurring appearances. The one character who remains a constant throughout is Alita, the protagonist and title character, a young cyborg with amnesia struggling to uncover her forgotten past through the only thing she remembers from it: by fighting. Early on in the story, Daisuke Ido, a bounty-hunting cybernetic doctor who finds and revives Alita plays a major role as well, but midway through the manga he becomes marginalized as focus begins to increasingly shift to Desty Nova, an eccentric nanotechnology scientist who has fled from Tiphares. Nova is the mastermind behind many of the enemies and trials that Alita faces, but does not make an actual appearance until more than two years into the story, although he is alluded to early on. Finally, Kaos, Desty Nova's son, a frail and troubled radio DJ with psychometric powers, also begins to play a crucial role after he comes in contact with Alita. He broadcasts his popular radio show from the wastelands outside the Scrapyard, staying away from the increasing conflict between Tiphares and the rebel army Barjack. The following is a list of characters from the manga Battle Angel Alita and the Battle Angel anime. ... Alita from the cover of Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, volume 2. ... A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... The following is a list of characters from the manga Battle Angel Alita and the Battle Angel anime. ... A bounty hunter is an individual who seeks out fugitives (hunting) for a monetary reward (bounty), for apprehending by law, if such laws exist. ... The following is a list of characters from the manga Battle Angel Alita and the Battle Angel anime. ... Buckminsterfullerene C60, also known as the buckyball, is the simplest of the carbon structures known as fullerenes. ... The following is a list of characters from the manga Battle Angel Alita and the Battle Angel anime. ... Psychometry is a form of extra-sensory perception wherein a psychic holds an object in his or her hands in order to obtain information about the object or its owner. ... The Barjack flag. ...

Setting

Battle Angel Alita takes place in a highly futuristic dystopian world, reflected in its full Japanese title GUNNM: Hyper Future Vision. Besides renaming Gally to Alita, the North American version of the manga also changed the city of Salem to Tiphares, after Tiferet. Since Kishiro also used the name Jeru for the facility atop Salem, Jeru was renamed Ketheres in the translation, after Keter. To further develop the Biblical theme in the original series, Salem's main computer was named Melchizedek, "the king of Salem" and "priest to the Most High God" ^[1]. A dystopia (or alternatively cacotopia) is a fictional society, usually portrayed as existing in a future time, when the conditions of life are extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression, or terror. ... Category:Sephiroth      Tiferet (Adornment, Hebrew: תפארת ) or Tifereth, Tipheret, Tiphereth - also known as Rakhamim (Mercy, Hebrew: רחמים ) or Shalom (Peace, Hebrew: שלום ) - is the sixth sfira in the Tree of Life in Kabbalah, which is the spirituality of Rabbinic Judaism. ... Keter (Crown; כתר) also known as Kether in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the topmost of the Sephirot, or Tree of life (Kabbalah). ... Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek — by Dieric Bouts the Elder, 1464–67 Melchizedek or Malki-tzédek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק / מַלְכִּי־צָדֶק, Standard Hebrew Malki-ẓédeq / Malki-ẓádeq, Tiberian Hebrew Malkî-ṣéḏeq / Malkî-ṣāḏeq), sometimes written Malchizedek, Melchisedec, Melchisedech, Melchisedek or Melkisedek, is a figure mentioned by various sects of both Christian and Judaic traditions. ...

Tiphares

Tiphares (Zalem or Salem) is a floating city, suspended from space on a pillar construct and anchored to the ground by huge cables, which also serve as supply tubes. These tubes are extremely durable, able to withstand even Den's sword. Tiphares was a city meant to house individuals specially conditioned for the rigors of space travel. However, after the Terraforming Wars, centered around the Levathan class ships, Tiphares' connection to the surface was severed. When LADDER was established, Tiphares and its citizens were used as part of a genetic experiment, and as a source of human brains.

The Scrapyard

The Scrapyard is a sprawling expanse of buildings and other structures centered around a massive scrap heap directly below Tiphares. The mountain of garbage was once the tower that connected to Tiphares. Now, the heap consists of garbage ejected from the floating city of Tiphares. Outside the Scrapyard is desert, with some oasis-like locations called Farm Factories for resource production.

The Scrapyard reflects the cyberpunk ethos, as well as Kishiro's portrayal of a society without values. Many inhabitants became cyborgs working for the factories, some are victims of involuntary street surgery, while others use cybernetics to enhance their physical abilities. Firearms are outlawed; non-projectile weapons are permitted, and exist in great variety. Fights erupt spontaneously on the streets. Violent criminals lurk in shadowy alleyways and through the tremendous extent of the sewers. Public entertainment is of a violent nature; Motorball's fusion of racing gladiatorial combat is a prime example. These are condoned by the factory to pacify and distract the denizens of the Scrapyard. Interestingly, these are broadcast to Tiphares as well suggesting a darker nature to the Tiphareans. This becomes more evident in Last Order during the violence that follows Nova's public announcement of the secret of the Tiphareans. At that point, Casey Roscoe's men even talk of killing children for sport. Berlins Sony Center reflects the global reach of a Japanese corporation. ... Cybernetics is the study of feedback and derived concepts such as communication and control in living organisms, machines and organisations. ... Alita attempts a kick at a motorball rival. ...

The only law is Factory Law: rules contrived to protect Tipharean interests in food and basic resources that are supplied from the factories below. For example, air travel within close proximity to Tiphares (this includes both man made objects and animal life) is prohibited. Anything that breaches this particular law is shot down by the city's defense system. For this reason, there are no birds in the Scrapyard. Bounty hunters called "hunter-warriors" are the enforcers of Factory Law in the Scrapyard, since there is no actual police force. Hunter-warrior is a term used in Battle Angel Alita for bounty hunters in the Scrapyard who are registered with the Factory. ...

Geographical setting

The setting of the series appears to take place in the United States. In the map presented in the eighth volume, the locations and geological formations closely correlate to particular cities. According to this map, the site of the Scrapyard/Tiphares is at Kansas City, Missouri, and the Necropolis is Colorado Springs, Colorado. The surrounding Farm Factories that support Tiphares also correspond to real cities; Farm 21 and Farm 22 are Sweetwater, Texas and Garden City, Kansas respectively. Radio KAOS is at the site of Dallas/Fort Worth. Figure's coastal hometown, Alhambra, is a real place in Southern California, and Desty Nova's Granite Inn is said to have been built out of a military base--assumedly the NORAD main technical facility at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.^[2] Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ... The City of Colorado Springs is the second most populous city (after Denver) in the State of Colorado and the 48th most populous city in the United States. ... Sweetwater is a city in Nolan County, Texas, United States. ... Garden City is a city in Finney County, Kansas, United States. ... Nickname: Motto: Live Large. ... Nickname: Motto: Where the West Begins Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Tarrant and Denton Government  - Mayor Michael J. Moncrief Area  - City  298. ... Location of Alhambra within Los Angeles County, California. ... NORAD is short for: North American Aerospace Defense Command Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Cheyenne Mountain is a mountain located on the southwest side of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, and is home to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station[1] and its Cheyenne Mountain Directorate, formerly known as the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (CMOC). ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Largest metro area Denver-Aurora Metro Area Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ...

Time period

Although for the longest time the exact time period of when Battle Angel Alita takes place was a total mystery, it was later revealed that the latest events take place 591 years after the launch of Sputnik 1, which was in 1957. In fact, that is the dating convention used by the characters in the story; years are given as ES (Era Sputnik). Given that it has been about fourteen years since Daisuke Ido discovered Alita in the first graphic novel, that means the entire Battle Angel Alita manga takes place mostly between ES 577 and ES 591, or 2533 and 2547.^[3] Sputnik 1 (Russian: , Satellite-1, byname ПС-1 (PS-1, i. ...

Manga

The manga was first published in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine. It was then serialized from 1990 to 1995 in nine tankōbons. In the US, Viz originally released the story in a 25 page comic book, it then followed the same volume format as its Japanese counterpart. Shueisha ) is a major publisher in Japan, headquartered in Tokyo. ... Business Jump Business Jump, is a japanese manga anthology published by Shueisha. ... Tankōbon ) is the Japanese term for a compilation volume of a particular series (such as a manga or a novel series, magazine articles, essays, craft patterns, etc. ...

• On April 4, 1997 Gunnm the novel was released by JUMP j-BOOKS, a part of the Japanese publisher Shueisha.
• On December 23, 1998 GUNNM Complete Collection, a Japanese special edition, was released in six volumes in a larger B5 format. They contain the original story, but with a different ending accommodating for the continuation of the story in GUNNM: Last Order. Included are also rough sketches, a timeline and the three short stories published earlier as GUNNM: Gaiden.

is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ... Shueisha ) is a major publisher in Japan, headquartered in Tokyo. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Comparison of the most common paper sizes. ...

OVA

Main article: Battle Angel OVA

Battle Angel ) is an OVA based on the Battle Angel Alita (known as GUNNM in Japan) manga by Yukito Kishiro. ...

Film

James Cameron is directing and producing Battle Angel, a live-action adaption of the first three volumes of the manga series. Cameron has plans to make a trilogy if the first film is successful. Alita will be a CG character performed by an actress. Filming will be made with the new digital 3D system Cameron has developed for Avatar. James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a three-time Academy Award winning director, producer and screenwriter. ... In film and video, live action refers to works that are acted out by human actors, as opposed to animation. ... CG or Cg may stand for: computer graphics center of gravity CG artwork, digitally made artwork, digital effects, or simply hand drawn art saved on a computer Cg programming language, developed by NVIDIA Chappe et Gessalin, a French automobile maker Character generator, broadcast graphic systems Coast guard Confused Gamer Conceptual... For the Hindu incarnation, see Avatar. ...

Battle Angel is currently in pre-production and is set for a 2009 release. ^[4] 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Video game

• GUNNM: Memories of Mars, an action RPG video game for the PlayStation by Banpresto.

This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... Banpresto Co. ...

Related works

• GUNNM: Last Order, also known as Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, a continuation published monthly in Ultra Jump.
• GUNNM: Gaiden, a collection of side stories of GUNNM;
• Haisha, also known as Ashen Victor in the United States, a prequel set a decade before the beginning of Gunnm. It primarily tells the story of a Motorball player and it sets the evolution of the game into what it becomes in the main story.

Ultra Jump (ウルトラ ジャンプ Urutora Janpu) is a monthly manga magazine published by Shueisha, it was first issued in 1999. ... Serialized in Ultra Jump Original run 1995 – 1996 No. ... Ashen Victor (Japanese: 灰者, Hai-Sha) is a futuristic manga by Yukito Kishiro, taking place in the same universe as his Battle Angel Alita series, specifically in the Scrapyard. ...

Trivia

• Above the entrance to Ido's workshop, there's a "Max Headroom" sign not unlike those shown on the Max Headroom series.

• There are a few references to Judas Priest in Battle Angel Alita and Last Order.
  • The support character Sechs has the words "Blood Red Skies" and "You won't break me" written on the undersides of his new boots during the ZOTT tournament. This appears to be a clear reference to the song "Blood Red Skies", which seems to mirror themes of struggle in a torn world.

• There are also several references to another rock band, Blue Öyster Cult, scattered throughout the series.
  • The name Desty Nova is quite similar to "Desdinova", a character from Blue Öyster Cult songs.
  • The new body presented to Alita by Nova late in the manga is called the Imaginos, which is also the title track of a Blue Öyster Cult concept album.
  • The character Zapan bears the Blue Öyster Cult logo on his forehead.

• In volume 1, a bottle of liquor named after heavy metal band Heaven's Gate can be seen, same logo and all.

• Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie appears in the first volume among the cyborgs seats in Bar Kansas in the original series.

• "Running Wild", a German heavy metal band, is spray painted in the wall in the Motorball arc of the original series.

• The character Kaos seems to have been inspired by the protagonist of the concept album Radio K.A.O.S., by Roger Waters. Both are sickly young men with the ability to communicate via radio waves.

• Megadeth's mascot Vic Rattlehead appears in the cyborg audience of the motorball competition.

• In Angel of Victory, the band logos for the Scorpions and Megadeth can be seen on billboards at the beginning of the race in the chapter titled Headbangers Ball.

It has been suggested that 20 Minutes into the Future be merged into this article or section. ... Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in 1968 in Birmingham. ... Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed in 1967 and still active in 2007. ... Imaginos was a 1988 heavy metal concept album by Blue Öyster Cult. ... Zapan is a fictional character in the Battle Angel Alita manga by Yukito Kishiro. ... Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ... Heavens Gate was a German heavy metal band. ... Iron Maiden are a British heavy metal band from east London. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Running Wild is one of several German power metal bands to emerge in the mid/late 1980s (along with Helloween, Rage, Blind Guardian, Grave Digger, etc). ... This article is about the Roger Waters album. ... George Roger Waters (born September 6, 1943) is an English rock musician; singer, guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and composer. ... Megadeth is an American Thrash Metal band led by founder, frontman, and songwriter Dave Mustaine. ... The Combat Records incorrect version of Vic Rattlehead. ... Scorpions are a hard rock/heavy metal band from Hannover, Germany, best known for their 80s rock anthem Rock You Like a Hurricane and their singles Wind of Change, No One Like You, and Still Loving You. The band has sold over 70 million records worldwide. ... Megadeth is an American Thrash Metal band led by founder, frontman, and songwriter Dave Mustaine. ... Headbangers Ball is a television show about heavy metal music airing on MTV2, MTV in Australia and MTV Adria (the MTV subsidiary covering the former Yugoslavia). ...

Notes and references

1. ^ Genesis 14:18; Melchizedek was renamed "David" in the first North American release of Battle Angel Alita. Subsequent releases retain the original name.
2. ^ http://www.nick15.com/kudos.html
3. ^ http://www.nick15.com/kudos.html
4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437086/

This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ...

External links

• Yukito Kishiro's homepage
• Shueisha's Ultra Jump

• Marco's Gunnm FAQ
• The Kudos! List, a collection of pop-culture references within Battle Angel Alita.
• Battle Angel Alita: Last Order preview at Mangareviewer.com
• Battle Angel Alita review at Mangareviewer.com