Creative Staff
Story: Yukito Kishiro
Art: Yukito Kishiro
Translation/Adaptation: Lillian Olsen/Fred Burke
What They Say
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?
The lovely, deadly cyborg Alita returns in 664 pages of cyberpunk action! Alita wakes up alone in the sky city of Tiphares, her brain and body reconstructed by the mad scientist Desty Nova. There’s no time to wonder why Alita’s greatest enemy would resurrect her, though – the royal city has been thrown into chaos by Nova’s revelation that the Tiphareans have had their brains replaced by bio-chips! Everyone needs answers – and Alita will fight to get them!
INCLUDES TWO ORIGINAL STORIES BY YUKITO KISHIRO NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Battle Angel Alita is one of those series that I’ve known about for years but unfortunately never got the chance to actually check out. Last Order is the sequel series to the original Alita that was released here years ago by Viz and is sadly out-of-print. Due to the fact that I couldn’t easily get my hands on the original I was always hesitant to check out Last Order for fear of being completely lost. Thankfully, this new omnibus edition from Kodansha offers up a more accessible point of entry.
This omnibus editions contains approximately three volumes of the original editions released by Viz up until recently. I say approximately because, this edition is actually an omnibus of the Japanese re-release which was already a sort of omnibus; each book containing about 1 ½ volumes of the original version. So we’re close enough for government work here. The presentation of the book is quite nice with an absolutely gorgeous cover that has almost a vinyl feel to it, and the artwork really grabs the eye and draws in interest. Bundled with the main Last Order manga, are two never before released in English short works by author Yukito Kishiro. I liked these short stories a lot! I’d be initially inclined to say I liked the shorts better than the main Alita manga if only for their brief nature and well executed plots. The paper stock is a very good quality that doesn’t feel as if it would tear without some intentional effort and allow the artwork to real contrast itself nicely. It’s an all around quality product from what I can tell; the only issue is its size. This book is massive! I’m sure it could’ve been a bit thinner if they went with a cheaper paper stock, but I’m glad they didn’t. However, the book is so huge that in order to not crease the spine and turn it into an eyesore on your shelf is to be a ridiculously careful reader, like I tend to be. Halfway through the book I felt like I was placing excessive strain on my fingers to the point of pain just trying to maintain a balance on the spine to keep it from creasing. That’s a lot work! If Kodansha runs out of extra manga to place at the end (which accounted for an additional 70 pages onto the already stacked 600 page tome) the size might become a bit more manageable but I’d rather deal with the stress of keeping the book look nice than settle for cheaper paper.
As for the content of the story itself, well that’s sort of a mixed bag. The first half of the volume is a direct continuation of the events that occurred in the original manga. Having never read the original, I was understandably, and thoroughly, confused. Thankfully the extremely kinetic art style barrels through the chapters with pure action and electricity. I may not know who these characters are, Alita’s exact motivations (there is a brief preamble at the beginning of the book to help give us the gist of what’s happening, but that only really carries us through the first chapter or so), but since the focus is on revenge, character depth and development take a back seat to straight up ass-kickery. The first half of this omnibus is actually a lot of fun to read. With the simple, yet extremely detailed, artwork, we are able to just sit back and watch the blood flow. Yes we aren’t invested if we never read the original, and that does hurt; however, since the story is just revenge and action we can let it slide.
Once we reach the halfway point in the omnibus, Alita’s story shifts from revenge (spoilers: she seems to have killed everyone that was an antagonist in the first series) to that of revolution. She begins to meet some interesting individuals and learn more about the world in which she inhabits. This is the real entry point to the new series for both older fans and newcomers. We are given some exposition and the pace slows down dramatically to allow the new story to breathe. This is completely new territory it appears, and the launching pad for what’s to come. Later, Alita travels up to the city in space. It’s basically the kind of “this is where the rulers and royalty sit while looking down upon the peasants that inhabit the Earth” setup that we’ve seen before. Not sure if Alita is doing the riffing or if all the other series/movies I’ve seen are, but it’s a moot point. Once we begin this arc, the story turns to a more political angle with more emphasis on world building, information, and intrigue rather than action. This is also where the book shines. This is the place where all readers can become invested in the story and it is told with a relatively high level of competency. Sure there’s the typical issue with how far one can suspend disbelief, but if you can roll with the punches, it takes shape quite nicely. By the time we finish reading this behemoth we are already waiting to read the next volume. That is a recommendation in and of itself.
In Summary
Many many thanks to Kodansha for releasing this in omnibus format. Even if there are issues with the size of the book, this is really the best and only way to get into the series. With the original still out of print and no immediate plans for its US re-release, the omnibus format is the only way to go. If I had picked up the first volume of Last Order when Viz released it, or if Kodansha re-released it in singles, I probably wouldn’t stick with it. The barrier of entry is too high and the initial revenge plot is so devoid of anything resembling an involving story, I just would not have bothered to continue. If I had picked up the second volume, I’d still probably wouldn’t have continued. More storyless action…boring. Oh hey, a little setup for the next arc; too bad it doesn’t do enough to convince me that it will be better/different than it already has been so far. Only by getting the first three volumes in one go do we get to everything I’ve described above but it is also just enough material to hook the readers. The pros and cons taken in stride, this book is worth the recommendation just because of what we get. The fact that the two bonus stories at the end are absolutely terrific in most every way (and far more enjoyable than the main story at this point), it’s worth the plunge.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: March 26th, 2013
MSRP: $19.99
