'Alita: Battle Angel' Reveals Japanese Title

Alita: Battle Angel has been divisive for fans for a number of reasons, but none can deny the number of changes it seems to have made from the original source material in Japan.

The most striking of which is the name.

Alita: Battle Angel is an adaptation of Yukito Kisihiro's manga, GUNNM. The manga was changed to Battle Angel Alita in the West, and it seems the film will also follow suit as the official title for the film in Japan is Alita: Battle Angel. Fans were expecting the film to reflect the Japanese title, but it's a Western creation through and through.

Along with not reflecting the original title of GUNNM, the name of the main character will remain "Alita" in Japan rather than Gally, as she was known in the manga series. The Japanese trailer for Robert Rodriguez's film confirms the Japanese title, and promises not many changes from the Western release of the film.

Fans have been having mixed reactions to two other things as well, her eyes. James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez confirmed that they decided to depict Alita's eyes as "anime like" to further push her into uncanny territory, which is also most likely to highlight how different she is to the rest of the world. But while fans have had mixed reactions to Alita: Battle Angel, its original creator Yukito Kishiro is optimistic about its future noting that a Hollywood is like a "dream come true" for him.

For those unfamiliar with Battle Angel Alita (GUNNM in Japan), the series was originally created by Yukito Kishiro. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic future and follows Alita, a cyborg who is found in a garbage heap by a doctor and rebuilt. Completely devoid of her memory, all she has to cling to is a legendary cyborg martial art known as Panzer Kunst. With this knowledge, Alita decides to become a bounty hunter. Originally published in Shueisha's Weekly Business Jump in 1990, it was collected into nine volumes and licensed for an English language release by Viz Media.

The series was adapted into a short anime OVA series, and was the only anime adaptation to date. The film, Alita: Battle Angel, had been struck with production delays for several years before finally debuting its first trailer. Alita: Battle Angel will be directed by Robert Rodriguez, produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, stars Rosa Salazar (as the titular Alita), Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, and will hit theaters July 20, 2018.