Battle Angel Alita Manga Order

One of the most influential and popular seinen manga from the beginning of the 1990s, Gunnm also known as Battle Angel Alita is a cyberpunk series from Yukito Kishiro published initially in Japan between 1990 and 1995.

The story of Battle Angel Alita is a dystopia set in a future where a natural catastrophe caused by a meteorite colliding with the Earth has taken humanity to the brink of extinction. The world is then divided between Zalem, a suspended city reserved for an elite few, and Kuzutetsu, the land that serves as its “dumping ground”, where humanity survives in violence.

The story follows the rebirth of an amnesiac cyborg named Alita (or Gally if you are not reading the English version), as she searches for meaning in her life. Daisuke Ido, a bounty-hunting cybermedic expert, discovers her intact head and chest in suspended animation in the local garbage dump. Ido revives her and, upon discovering she has lost her memory, names her Alita after his recently departed cat.

Alita quickly realizes that she knows the famous combat technique Panzer Kunst automatically, despite her inability to recollect anything else. Alita employs her Panzer Kunst as a bounty hunter, slaying cyborg criminals in the Scrapyard, and later as a great player in the deadly gladiator sport of Motorball.

Gunnm was Yukito Kishiro’s debut series and it became one of the first successful mangas to be exported to the West. The manga debuted in Shueisha’s Business Jump magazine. It was then serialized in nine tankōbon from 1990 to 1995. In 2000, the author launched the first sequel series, and it would not be the last.

Explore The Battle Angel Alita Universe:

The Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita universe–or franchise, if you prefer–is made of multiple series, mostly sequels but also a prequel.

Battle Angel Alita (1990-1995): The original manga ran for 9 volumes (or 5 in the Deluxe Edition). However, as the story progressed over time, the original ending and final chapters became outdated and were dropped from the official canon. The current official plot comes to an end in chapter 51.
Ashen Victor (1995-1996): This is a (really optional) prequel story that has no connection to Alita’s story, but it takes place in the same universe. The events depicted in the series occurred six years before the first Battle Angel Alita volume and are of no consequence to the rest of the franchise.
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order (2000-2014): Alita continues to look for answers about her enigmatic history in a direct sequel to the first manga. It has 19 volumes (5 volumes in the incomplete Omnibus collection).
Battle Angel Alita: Holy Night & Other Stories (1997-2006): This is not really another spin-off series, but a collection of short stories set in the Gunmm universe that were released in a single volume.
Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle (2014-present): This is supposed to be the series’ last installment. This time, the narrative alternates between two timelines–one starts immediately after Last Order, and the other one is set during Alita’s formative years. It is still ongoing.

Follow the Battle Angel Alita Manga Order

I. Battle Angel Alita (GUNNM)

Even if there are prequels to the original Battle Angel Alita series, it is recommended to start by reading the first manga series before exploring anything else.

As it was stated earlier, the Ashen Victor series is optional, but you can read it here.

Ashen Victor: Motorball Diaries From The World Of Battle Angel Alita

Battle Angel Alita Deluxe edition

In recent years, the Gunmm manga was republished in Deluxe edition, a bigger format collecting multiple of the previous volumes in larger books:

Battle Angel Alita Deluxe 1
Collects volume #1-2.
Battle Angel Alita Deluxe 2
Collects volume #3-4.
Battle Angel Alita Deluxe 3
Collects volume #5-6.
Battle Angel Alita Deluxe 4
Collects volume #7-8.
Battle Angel Alita Deluxe 5
Collects volume #9 & the Ashen Victor series.

II. Battle Angel Alita: Last Order (aka GUNNM: Last Order)

This is the second series of the Battle Angel Alita franchise and a direct sequel to the original series. Kodansha Comics started to release an Omnibus Collection, but has never finished the publication–there are 5 books collecting the first 15 first volumes.

III. Battle Angel Alita: The Short Stories

There are 4 short stories that have been collected in the following book. As they were first published in Japan from 1997 to 2006, those stories take place at different points in time. If you want to read this volume in one go, now is the time, but if you want more details about where to place the stories in the reading order, look just below.

Battle Angel Alita: Holy Night & Other Stories
Collects Holy Night, Supersonic Fingers, Homecoming, and Barjack Rhapsody.
- “Holy Night” is a short story set around 6-5 years before the start of Battle Angel Alita Vol. 1.
- “Sonic Finger” is a short story that takes place between Battle Angel Alita Vol. 4 & 5.
- “Hometown” is one that is set between the first and second chapters of Battle Angel Alita Vol. 6.
- “Barjack Rhapsody” is set after Battle Angel Alita: Last Order Vol. 2.

IV. Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle (aka GUNNM: Mars Chronicle)

The sequel to Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, the “Mars Chronicle” series is presented as the “final chapter” in the Battle Angel Alita franchise. The events of Mars Chronicles alternate between two timelines: ES 373, when Alita was a young cyborg girl trying to survive on the war-torn Mars, and ES 594, which is set three years after the events of Last Order.

We are just starting to explore the world of manga on Comic Book Treasury, but for more comics originating from Japan, we invite you to read the dark fantasy manga Tokyo Ghoul or to live some adventures with Pokémon.

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