The Alita: Battle Angel live-action movie was one of the most highly-praised films of 2019. The cyberpunk theme and futuristic visual effects gave life to the humanoid cyborg Alita played by Rosa Salazar. The popular franchise was originally published as a manga series in 1990 and was created by Yukio Kishiru.

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The Japanese manga was adapted to the big screen in 2019 with James Cameron (director of Avatar) spearheading the production. Just like other movie adaptations, Alita: Battle Angel also went through major changes that are quite far from the source material. Below is a list of five things that the movie perfectly captured and another five that the anime did better.

In a dark and grim place like Iron City, its common for a lot of baddies to roam around. The antagonists in Alita: Battle Angel perfectly made the movie interesting and thrilling. Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, and Eiza Gonzalez provided such embodiment of vicious villains wed love to hate.

Also, Mahershala Ali delivered some powerful characterization and all-around range as Vector. For someone whos playing a lot of kick-ass roles (and wearing the same kind of all-black ensemble), we know this role is a piece of cake for him.

In Alita: Battle Angel, the protagonists backstory differs from that of the anime. There was no mention of her previous battles in Mars or the long-forgotten martial arts of Panzer Kunst or her Berserker body being discovered in a shipwreck.

The anime version though was given spin-offs that revealed Alitas real name, which is Yoko, and her engagement during the Terraforming Wars hundreds of years before the present time. Also found in the manga were Alitas two separate blades attached to her arms which she used during the Motorball game.

When watching a James Cameron-produced film, never expect anything less than the best visual effects. Avatar did not top the list of highest-grossing movies for several years for nothing. The stunning special effects and monstrous sceneries inside Iron City are the lifeblood of the movie.

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As for the characters, Alita is the perfect face of a hybrid human and cyborg. Cameron reportedly lent his Avatar visual effects team to the movies production crew to create an ambitious work of art. It is indeed a mesmerizing feast for the eyes.

Although Christoph Waltzs Dr. Ido in the movie mostly resembles the character in the anime as Alitas surrogate father, there are a few minor alterations with their relationship. In the movie, Ido had a daughter named Alita who was killed by a scoundrel cyborg, which is why he named Alita as such. This is not entirely true with the anime version.

Another dissimilarity from the anime is Alitas body being recovered from a downed ship. In the anime, Alitas Berserker body is her first and original flesh. Its origin, though, is unknown.

Motorball is a physical sport found both in the movie and anime. It's a futuristic contact sport which Alita joined in later in the film. In the Alita: Battle Angel movie, she joined after Hugo convinced her. In the anime, on the other hand, she joined after Hugo passed away.

Joining Motorball has been Alitas dream since its a step closer to becoming a Hunter Warrior while winning in it serves as Hugos greatest plan because it could get him a pass to enter Zalem. The movie placed more importance on the game than in the anime.

In the anime version, Grewcica is a three-fold giant cyborg. He is a composite of two similar antagonists and was later renamed Grewishka in the Alita: Battle Angel movie where he was played by Jackie Earle Haley. Here, he was folded with the third villain.

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After his first encounter in the anime series, he became Chirens victor. In the movie, he was seen with a clawed hand that came from a Motorball player instead of something Chiren gave to him. The iconic scene where Alita wiped the blood on her face is from a stray dog that Grewishka slaughtered from the anime.

Nova was introduced in the Alita: Battle Angel film in a series of flashbacks while in the anime, he was not present at all. In those few glimpses from Alitas past, we see Nova taking control of Vector and other villains.

Desty Nova, in the manga, was a scientist who specializes in the field of nanotechnology. He conducted several inhuman experiments, making him initially an antagonist. He also developed a complicated relationship with Alita which will set him up for a much deeper role, probably as the major villain, in the next movie.

Vector in the anime was originally a top broker from Iron City. He was seen as the superficial villain, rather than a major antagonist. Mahershala Ali played the role in the movie, the man who misled Chiran and Hugo that working for him will get them to Zalem.

In the anime, Dr. Ido confronted Vector, fought with his bodyguard and died at the claws of Zahriki. In the manga, Alita and Hugo fought Vector in his office but eventually let him live. Finally, in the movie, Alita stabbed Vector while master puppet Nova was still controlling his body.

Zapan is a vicious Hunter-Killer played by Ed Skrein who became Alitas foe and worst nightmare. The movie character stayed faithful to the source material as he was seen as the arrogant hunter who humiliated Alita in a bar fight before eventually losing to her.

In revenge, he framed Hugo for murder instead of confronting Alita, forcing the girl to kill her boyfriend for a bounty. She managed to keep him alive though by connecting his head to her life support system. When Zapan noticed it, Alitasliced hisface off.

The movie showed less violence than the anime. In the original material, it was made for a mature adult readership. When Alita contends with her opponents, a serious amount of blood spurts out. Ichor sprays and spills everywhere, leaving the life drained out of her enemies.

In the Alita: Battle Angel film, flesh parts were not always displayed on the screen. When Alita slices parts of her enemies, the mechanical chunk of their bodies usually fall off and scatter, instead of human blood. As a rated PG-13 move, it practically needs to be more conservative than gruesome.

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Alita: Battle Angel - 5 Things The Live-Action Movies Got Right (& 5 Things That The Anime Did Better) - CBR - Comic Book Resources