Manga By Volume: Battle Angel Alita V. 1

Creator: Yukito Kishiro

Genre: Cyberpunk

Publisher: Kodansha

Age Rating: 13+

My Rating: 8/10 (B)

Summary: Professor Ido is a cybernetics engineer living in The Scrapyard, a slum filled with cyborgs and plagued by a serial killer. One day, he meets an amnesiac woman who doesn’t even remember her name. He names her Alita (after his dead cat) and helps her get a new cybernetic body. But why does she know such a dangerous form of martial arts that she would need such a body for?

Review: This manga has a good start. The artwork looks great (Alita is cute!). I liked the plot twist on Ido. I’ll be looking forward to future reviews.

Related Media: There’s an OVA series and James Cameron made a live-action movie called Alita: Battle Angel.

Sailor Moon Crystal

Genre: Fantasy

Creator/Studio: Naoko Takeuchi/Toei

No. Of Episodes: 39, 3 seasons

Streaming/DVD: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu. Available for home video on Viz Media.

Age Rating: TV-14

My Rating: 8/10 (B)

Summary: This series is a reboot of the original Sailor Moon anime, in celebration of the franchise’s 20th anniversary, and designed to be more faithful to the manga series.

On the off-chance that you’re unfamiliar with the premise, here it is. Usagi Tsukino is an ordinary high school student. She’s got terrible grades, she’s a coward, and she’s clumsy. One day, she meets a talking cat named Luna, who tells her that she is destined to save the world and must reunite the other Sailor Senshi, who have all been reincarnated and sent into the past. Each season has a different enemy.

Review: I was interested in this reboot for the following reasons. First, it’s shorter. And second, it would be more faithful to the manga. That means the characterization and story is more like what Takeuchi originally intended. There is less filler than the original, and more focus on the plot than characterization.

The show has two flaws. First, during the first season, the characterization is lacking. If you’re not familiar with the premise, you might have difficulty with it because the lack of filler episodes allows little time for character arcs. It gets better in the second and third season though.

So, bottom line, is this reboot good. I’d say yes, but remember that you’re getting a compressed story. You don’t need to have watched the original, so that’s actually a plus. But I feel the flaws might be a problem.

Violence: While the series is far from graphic, it’s still very violent. The villains care little about innocent people.

Language: I’d say mild cursing at best.

Nudity/Sexuality: In order to transform into their superhero-like identities, the heroines have to be naked. For the most part, the nudity is stylized, but you can still see nipples. Also in the final season, Sailor Uranus and Neptune are introduced. Unlike the American version of the original series, they are lovers rather than cousins. Personally, I prefer the original characterization, as it is more authentic. The relationship is mildly sexual. Also, it’s implied that Sailor Uranus is non-binary. Usagi seems to be bi-curious, especially in the first season.

Religion: The Sailor Senshi are reincarnated and were sent into the past in order to ensure that the future will still happen the way it’s supposed to. Sailor Mars is a Shinto priestess and can see into the future.

Related Media: The original manga and anime are both available from Viz. There were also video games based on the series, but they were only available in Japan. There are also movies as well.