Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle, Vol. 4

銃夢火星戦記 [Gunnm Kasei Senki] #4

by Yukito Kishiro

Erica is now under the tutelage of Baron Muster, who has taken it upon himself to school her in the ways of villainy. Erica displays an uncanny knack for being bad, making her the perfect pupil, but her young mind and fresh perspectives also prove to be a boon in Muster's search for a legendary Martian treasure. With Erica's help, Muster and his team make it to a secret labyrinth that houses the famed treasure, but before Muster can finally get his long-awaited prize, an unexpected turn puts everything into jeopardy...

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Comics, Seinen, Cyberpunk, Japanese Literature, Graphic Novels

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2017

About the author

Yukito Kishiro (Japanese: 木城ゆきと) is a Japanese manga artist born in Tokyo in 1967 and raised in Chiba. As a teenager he was influenced by the mecha anime Armored Trooper Votoms and Mobile Suit Gundam, in particular the designs of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, as well as the works of manga artist Rumiko Takahashi. He began his career at age 17, with his debut manga, Space Oddity, in the Weekly Shonen Sunday. He is best known for the cyberpunk series Battle Angel Alita.

Reviews

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even villains need some kind of background story.

The entire volume takes place in the past as Erica who has become a pupil of Baron Muster faces trials, learns increasingly more about death than a child really needs, and joins the others as they seek the great Martian treasure that Baron Muster craves. Certainly there is a dab of Yoko (Alita for those that forgot or did not know) but this volume is basically about the bad guys and whether they deserve a mark on the victory side of the board of life as well as the beginning of Baron Muster before his unfortunate condition begins to afflict him..

[Jovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who is Alita?

I wonder if I’m going to find out who her mother is next issue. And why she was cyberized at such a young age.

[Alex E · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume, we stay in the past and focus a lot more on Eria, Alita's friend who was abducted by the villain Baron Muster.

And it's a fascinating read. I think what Yukito Kishiro is really diving into the backstory of Erica to show how she becomes a villain herself. Slowly but surely, through no fault of her own - as well as her own choices - she sinks deeper and deeper into the dark side. And with Baron Muster as a father figure... how could she not? In this one, she gets another betrayal that absolutely wrecks her - even though she kinda deserves it up to this point. And with the Baron slowly getting weaker and weaker, the pieces are in place for her to really step up and become the main baddie for the title.

We also get a little bit of Alita in this one, but not too much. It's interesting because during "final order", when Kishiro would diverge from Alita's story, her absence was really felt. However, in Martian Chronicles, the story of Erica and the people she is with is compelling enough for it not to hinder the overall enjoyment of the volume. Great storytelling by Kishiro.

Im very much looking forward to the next volume, as we slowly catch up to the present day.

[Rici · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hier geht es kaum um Yoko/Alita. Wir haben hier Erika, wie sie nochmals die Menschen von ihrer schlechtesten Seite sieht, lernen eine Frau kennen die Yoko sehr ähnlich sieht (könnte es sein?) und die Suche nach dem Schatz des Mars geht weiter.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of Mars continues to be unveiled as we get more details on the stories villain.

[Yuiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

More good backstory. It’s kind of entertaining to see what rabbit hole back-story YK will go down. That said, I’m starting to wonder where all this is going.

[Lars Olav Tungesvik · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of his best writing 😊

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Angelica Arafiles-Reif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flashbacks within flashbacks, oh my! Interesting seeing how all these characters are interrelated.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the past we continue to follow Erica as she travels with Muster, the villain who actually says "Mwa-ha-ha." Erica is becoming more of a psycopath. We get a brief glimpse of Yoko, but we mostly spend time on Muster's quest for the secret treasure of Mars. The art is still solid, but there were no moments that really shined.

[ダンカン · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the shortest manga volume I have ever read. In this volume, it has revealed what Mr. Muster is looking for while Erica is being trained to be an assassin herself. The discover of immortality is found... but to an unexpected results. It ends with another prologue tale of who Mr. Muster really is. Much is written here but sadly, there is confusion as well. Being a fan of Battle Angel Alita makes me wonder how far this prequel will go and hopefully, some thing good comes along.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kishiro’s new series continues to develop the backstory for Alita and Emily, while revealing hidden secrets and background mysteries never covered before. I’m really enjoying these even though the pace seems slow at times, and I’m sure I’ll keep gobbling these up as fast as they come out. I just hope it doesn’t drag on forever like Last Order did!