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Reviewed by Michael Aronson Oof, this is a hard one to review, since it’s all roses up until a weird revelation at the very end, which may or may not be true at all. The end could completely change the context of the entire volume and cripple its effectiveness, but it isn’t yet clear what it means. Not fun to have a vague ending like that pop up for no apparent reason, but I’m not going to dock points from the volume for it. Because volume five is one crazy ride. Marking the halfway point of the series, Angel of Redemption progresses the entire Alita saga in a significant way and at the same time offers a startling mini climax. The timeframe flashes forward by two years and we pick up with what Alita’s been doing since and how she’s changed, and it turns out to be a surprisingly clever new status quo for a wild hunter killer robot. Volume five is also Zapan’s tale – he’s the minor thug who got his ass handed to him in the first two volumes – and it explores how far down the path of madness and distortion his revenge quest has taken him. I’m not usually fan of mad scientists, but I now realize that they’re as interesting as the science they’re mad about, and Desty Nova has one heck of a hobby: bringing corpses back to life. While his penchant rather ensures the return of a villain from the series’ previous pages, it’s the means of the return that’s the killer twist. And Ido, Alita’s father figure, is in for a lot of suffering, and it doesn’t seem like his string of bad luck will end any time soon. What’s weird with the art is that it seems to have shed its quirky Chris Bachalo-esque distortions for more standard proportions in the characters, but the detail has shifted fully into intricate and elaborate designs in the monsters, technology, facial expressions and extent of damage. Some of Alita’s “transformations” in this volume are both shocking and incredibly rendered, losing nothing in the evolution of Kishiro’s style. Five volumes and going strong. Can this staggering quality continue through to the end? Comment on this review of Battle Angel Alita v5: Angel of Redemption on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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