by Jenny Williams

She's short. She's stubborn. She lives in a city that is the junkyard of another city high in the sky. And she's a machine. Her name? Alita.

Battle Angel Alita is the story of a young and vibrant girl- or rather, machine. She is first found in the dumping grounds of Tiphares, a city that hangs from the sky, by a mechanical doctor by the name of Ido. Ido, amazed with the fact that she is still alive, takes her in and puts her back on feet, determined as ever to make her even more beautiful as each day goes by. However, his dream is ruined when Alita decides what she is meant to do with her life - fight. She becomes a bounty hunter with Ido, being as skilled as ever when she fights.

The series contains many battles that Alita fights, the opponents ranging from big monsters of bandits, to such emotions as love and hate. We, as the audience, grow to love Alita and cheer her on as she deals with such things. We cry as she does when she loses a loved one; we become as determined and angry with her ugly opponents. And we even smile at her cute moments, when she is love-struck, full of humor, or just laughing at a joke someone cracked.

Battle Angel Alita contains a variety of things, such as action, romance, and even deals with such things as creation, life, and death. Alita is like a beacon of light in a dark world. Like the title suggests, she is like an angel among us. We can face anything with Alita!

The art in Battle Angel is no exception to how great the series is. The battle scenes are intense and show a lot of detail. For instance, seeing Alita do a flip and break her opponent's arm at the speed of light is like candy for the eyes. And every ounce of determination that Alita has, every tear that runs down her cheek, every smile she shows toward the ones she loves... touches the heart of many readers. Yukito Kishiro draws the eyes full with so much emotion, the reader could feel what the character is feeling just by looking at the art.

Alita, Ido, and the slugs she fights aren't the only characters. Additional characters find their way in. In the second volume, we meet Hugo, a young man with his head up towards the sky, unaware of Alita's big eyes for him. And there's Zapan, another bounty hunter that isn't too happy with Alita. Desty Nova, another character, is a crazed doctor with strange experiments. More people cross Alita's path, bad and good alike.

Throughout the whole series, we face two main mysteries. What is Tiphares exactly like? And where did Alita learn how to fight as well as she does? By the end of the series, we found out all we need to, including these two questions... but it's up to you to read all nine volumes. Viz Comics has released the whole series, so if you're ever in the mood for a good sci-fi/action/romance manga series with stunning art, make sure to get it a soon as possible and read it! You won't regret it!