From James Cameron's purchase of the copyright in 2005, to the repeated delays due to the "Avatar" project, to the completion of the first version of the script by Kashen in 2009, to 2015, it was basically set to be directed by Robert Rodriguez. The filming started in October 2016, and the release date kept bouncing, and finally set for Valentine's Day in 2019, the live-action filmization of "Gun Dream" has gone through a long process. In particular, the delayed release rumors and the release of the trailer that started last year further aroused the enthusiasm of fans, so that ordinary movie fans like myself who had only heard of it before also expressed their appreciation for this film, which is known as "Ghost in the Shell". produced great interest.
Speaking of which, "Gun Dream" and "Ghost in the Shell" do have many similarities. The birth years of the two comics are similar. "Ghost in the Shell" began serialization in 1989, and "Gun Dream" in 1991; both set the background of the era in the near future, with a strong cyberpunk style, The atmosphere is solemn and sad; the protagonists of both works are women, and both "Kusanagi Motoko" and "Kelly" are prosthetic/mechanized characters except for the brain and spine; at the same time, they also have quite complete, Huge and complex world view settings, and profound philosophical connotations.
Although "Gun Dream" also has a large number of fans, its global reputation is still a bit worse than "Ghost in the Shell". The reason may be that the latter is much better at animation. "Ghost in the Shell" not only has several TV animations, theatrical versions and OVAs directed by Kenji Kamiyama and Kazuya Kise, especially the two theatrical versions written by Mamoru Oshii, while expanding the connotation of the original comics, it will also Its status in Japanese comics has been pushed to an unattainable height. However, "Gun Dream" is much more pitiful. There are only two episodes of OVA directed by Fufubo, and it only takes 53 minutes. It is no wonder that everyone except comic fans knows very little.
It will take a long time to make up the comics, but there is still time to watch two episodes of animation. Judging from these short two episodes of OVA, it is difficult to give a fairer evaluation, or if it is limited to the evaluation of the animated version of "Gun Dream", it can only be said that the quality is average. On the one hand, it was because the original author Kijo ゆきと was busy with the creation of the follow-up manga, and on the other hand, he didn't care much about his attitude towards animation adaptation, so the content of OVA only included the first two volumes of the manga, and it ended as soon as it opened. , which is equivalent to a drop in the bucket of the original content.
On the animation version alone, the pros and cons are obvious. The good part is that it shows a relatively complete story background in less than an hour in two episodes, as well as relatively distinct character creation. "Gun Dream" is obviously a cyberpunk work, but it is mixed with a strong wasteland atmosphere in cyberpunk. There is actually no shortage of animations depicting the wasteland world in the Japanese film industry. For example, Hayao Miyazaki's "Nausicaa" and Otomo Keyang's "Akira" are among the best. However, unlike the naturalistic feelings of "Nausicaa" and the discussion of power and order in "Aguilar", the animated version of "Gun Dream" is more inclined to the struggle and survival of individuals in a chaotic world, especially when When the protagonist is a seemingly weak woman (including Nausicaa in "Nausicaa"), it is even more infectious.
Unfortunately, due to the limited space, although the character of Kelly is impressive, the storyline is very simple and mediocre, especially the "Mars Mecha" that she is good at in the original book, and her battles with several BOSS-level villains, It all seems to be hastily, and it is not very ornamental, and it is difficult to highlight Kelly's "killing angel"-like vigorous dexterity and violent aesthetics. At the same time, from the character setting of the animation, the protagonist Kelly is more like a bystander, but the other two supporting characters "Qilian" and "You Hao" are more realistic. This practical significance can probably be summed up as the individual's obsession with dreams, as well as the delusional cruelty of the dream itself.
In this world, for the people living in the scrap iron town on the surface, the "Sky City" Salem hanging overhead is an unattainable existence, and being able to go to Salem is the ultimate dream of most people. Qilian and You Hao are typical representatives of them. In order to raise the so-called travel expenses, the two were deceived one after another. Qilian did not hesitate to sell her body, while You Hao started an illegal business. What's more, that Salem looks glamorous and charming, but in fact is full of darkness and sin. This is a true portrayal of those who blindly rush to the metropolis or go overseas to seek their dreams. Anxiety about identity and desire for high society are both the background of their behavior and the reason for their disappointment or failure. Sometimes "choice" is more important than "effort". From the perspective of philosophical connotation, the animated version of Gun Dream may barely suffice for axiology and methodology, which is far from the already achieved ontology and ontology of "Ghost in the Shell". Count also.
Of course, the gap between the animated version of "Gun Dream" and its original comic book cannot be calculated. Aside from the profound connotations such as "definition of man and machine", "physical memory awareness", and "self-breakthrough of spiritual dreams", it is just the tension and tearing feeling of individuals fighting against the world, as well as the incomparably gorgeous Mars Mecha techniques have given the live-action movie version a huge adaptation space. No matter for producer James Cameron or director Robert Rodriguez, adapting such a masterpiece is both sweet happiness and a hot potato. The key lies in how to balance the skin and the inside. The lessons learned from "Mobile Team" should be able to give the two of them some inspiration. Going back to the source, Kashen registered the domain name "battleangelalita.com" in 2000, five years before he purchased the copyright, which shows how deeply he has a deep affection for this work. So, in the face of the upcoming "Alita: Battle Angel" ("Kelly" is the Japanese version of the original protagonist's name, "Alita" is the Spanish version of the protagonist name), we might as well look forward to it.
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