Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition, Vol. 5 by Yukito Kishiro

 Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition, Vol. 5 by Yukito Kishiro-400 pages

This is the thrilling conclusion to Alita's story in the original Battle Angel Alita manga (Last Order and Mars Chronicle continue/add to the story). Alita faces off against Dr. Desty Nova one last time and learns more secrets of Zalem. Extra endings are included in this edition that were not included in the original publication. I think Alita gets a good ending here. She experienced a lot of happiness along with sadness, pain, and suffering as we all do (although, she goes through more probably in this fictional setting than most do). Also included is the story "Ashen Victor" which is about a Motor Ball racer named Snev (aka "Self-Destructo"). It is set in the world of Alita, but is a separate story. Snev loses every race but isn't sure why. He's 0-18 in races and self-destructs/blows up every time. However, what will happen in his 19th and final race? Will he blow up as the crowd wants or will he win? I really liked reading the deluxe editions of the original Battle Angel Alita and look forward to reading Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle, Vol. 7 when it is released later this year (I've finished the first six volumes). Additionally, it was interesting to read the interviews of Yukito Kishiro in the back of the book. It was especially interesting to read about his writing/drawing process and how he chooses names and languages (such as how German became prominent in the language of Mars).