The final
volume of the Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle manga ,
published on April 23 , confirmed that the next series in the
franchise, titled GUNNM: Panzer Kunst Chronicle , will
premiere in spring 2026. Although initially expected for this
year, author Yukito Kishiro has decided to delay its release.
The Mars
Chronicle story ended
on March 11, 2025 , and will be followed by this new saga that
will continue the Alita universe under a new narrative approach and title.
A legacy
that continues to evolve
The
Battle Angel Alita franchise
began in 1990 with the publication of the original manga in Shueisha's Business
Jump magazine , extending until 1995. Later, the stories Ashen
Victor (1995-1996) and GUNNM: Other Stories arrived ,
further expanding its universe.
In 2001,
Kishiro revived the story with Battle Angel Alita: Last Order ,
a partial remake of the original. Due to editorial differences, the manga moved
from Ultra Jump to Kodansha's Evening magazine
. The same publisher later published Mars Chronicle , which
began serialization in April 2014 and concluded after over a
decade of serialization.
Alita:
From Paper to Film
The story
of Gally (known as Alita in the English and Spanish versions),
a cyborg searching for her origins on Mars, has transcended the manga. In February
2019 , it hit the big screen with a live-action film directed by Robert
Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron . The film
was first released in the United Kingdom and Asia, before later debuting in the
United States and Japan, where it reached #2 at the box office .
International
editions and re-releases
Kodansha USA has
been in charge of publishing the franchise's later volumes in English,
including omnibus editions of the original series. Viz
Media published the first 15 volumes of Last Order before
Kodansha took over the remaining volumes.
With the
announcement of Panzer Kunst Chronicle , fans can look forward
to a new chapter in this iconic sci-fi story. While we'll have to wait
until Spring 2026 to find out where it goes, everything
indicates that the legend of Alita still has much to tell.
