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_Battle Angel Alita_ is known as _Gunnm_ in Japan, and Alita as Gally.

Why was the title and name of the series changed when it was localized? What
other changes did they make from the original Japanese version?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-18T15:52:15.607
3817
2019-07-28T00:17:22.103
2013-05-18T16:21:56.940
49
63
question
battle-angel-alita
Why is Gally's name localized as Alita?


Viz Media was responsible for localizing the Battle Angel Alita manga, and the
reason apparently makes no sense, (from [this
page](http://everything2.com/title/Gunnm)):

> Gally's name is changed to Alita. Why this was done is unknown, but the
> person who decided on the change tried to "validate" it, explaining that
> coincidentally Alita comes from Russian and has something to do with Mars
> (which is where Gally is from, incidentally).

There's a dream sequence where in the original Japanese version, Gally's dream
self is named "Alita". The Viz version has the two reversed.

> Back in 1993, as Kishiro-sensei was quickly bringing things to a close with
> the Gunnm manga, he came across a plot point which he could use to take a
> jab at Viz. Early on, Kishiro learned that Viz decided to change, for
> reasons that truly make no sense, Gally's name to Alita. Towards the end of
> the series, Dr. Nova traps Gally in the Oruboros machine, in an attempt to
> crush her spirit. At one point, Nova is talking with Ido and suggests her
> name to be (in the japanese version) "Alita," the cat's name is "Gally."
> (Gally and the cats' names are important). Unfortunately, Viz decides to
> play along word for word, and Nova names her "Gally" and the cat is "Alita."
> So much for that potshot.

Additionally, Viz changed a bunch of names of a city, facility, and the
computer (via [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Angel_Alita),
with emphasis):

> Besides renaming Gally to Alita, the North American version of the manga
> also changed the city of **Salem** to **Tiphares** , after _Tiferet_. Since
> Kishiro also used the name Jeru for the facility atop Salem, **Jeru** was
> renamed **Ketheres** in the translation, after _Keter_. To further develop
> the **Biblical theme** in the original series, Salem's main computer was
> named **Melchizedek** , "the king of Salem" and "priest to the Most High
> God".

Although "Alita" isn't a bible reference (western religion), a number of these
names were changed, and Alita is a western name (moreso than "Gally"), so that
it's more accessible to western audiences.

* * *

EDIT: I found the quote, from AN's ["Ask John"
column](http://www.animenation.net/blog/2000/01/10/ask-john-why-is-battle-
angel-called-gally-on-the-dvd/):

> In the October 1993 issue of Animerica, Fred Burke, co-translator for the
> Viz Comics Battle Angel Alita manga explains that, “For a Viz Comic to work,
> it’s got to appeal to more than just the hard-core manga and anime crowd;”
> therefore there were several alterations made in the translation of the
> manga. Yukito Kishiro’s title Gunnm, a compound of Gun Dream, was re-named
> Battle Angel Alita. Gally, the protagonist, had her name changed to Alita, a
> name, Burke explains, means “noble:” a name that he discovered while
> searching through a book of baby names. Burke also explains that, for no
> reason given, the floating city Zalem was re-named Tiphares: a name meaning
> “beauty,” taken from the Qabalah and the mystical Tree of Life. Furthermore,
> Yugo’s name was given a cosmetic change to Hugo for American readers.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-19T02:49:34.520
3826
2013-05-19T02:54:51.713
2013-05-19T02:54:51.713
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answer


Changing names is quite usual for translators/publishers when it comes to
foreign works. Apparently their idea is that people couldn't possibly buy
something with "foreign-sounding" names because that would be too confusing
for our little brains. It's all about marketing. This is why "Harry Potter and
the Philosopher's Stone" has been changed to "HP and the Sorcerer's Stone" for
the American market: because the publisher feared that people would run away
if they saw the word "philosophy" in the title.

Now you'll have to explain to me why it is the case here but not in Europe:
for instance I know that the French version of Yukito Kishiro's works has kept
every names and it's been a huge hit, not just among the "hard-core manga and
anime crowd" as Burke thinks it would be. At some point it would be nice to
see publishers and translators respect the work of the author and the
intelligence of the readers.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-14T19:07:15.003
43779
2017-12-14T19:07:15.003
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GALLY is the original name for the Gally Battle Angel Japanese cartoon. This
is a sad attempt to make political correctness for giving a. Few props to
recognize a hispanic female heroine. Much like, the thinking that ghost in a
shell should be played by a european in the live movie version. It sure would
be nice to have Gally identified as Japanese in both the big screen animation
and live movie version.


CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-12T19:35:00.223
50812
2019-02-12T19:35:00.223
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The word "Alita" in spanish means "Small Wing", so it also makes some sense
when you translate the title to spanish " Battle Angel's Small Wing".


CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-02-15T19:47:26.703
50849
2019-02-15T19:47:26.703
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