Customer Reviews

Battle Royale: The Novel

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This revised English translation of Koushun Takami's spectacular debut novel could not come at a better time. It has been out of print from VIZ for a few years now, but their new Haikasoru imprint is ideal for bringing it back. This "notorious, high-octane thriller," presents a gripping story that will stay with you for the rest of your life. It is a simple story. A group of 42 high-school students are taken to an evacuated island, given weapons and a time limit, and forced to kill each other until only one of them is left standing.

First off, why is this a must-buy?

1. The translation has been improved. The first edition was rife with typographical errors, and more than once a character would be addressed with another's name. I asked the Haikasoru editor personally, and he said the book received a line-by-line edit, so this improved, tidied translation is something to be excited about.

2. A 22-page afterword by author Koushun Takami! This will be "his longest published work since the novel itself," according to the Haikasoru website. His own opinion on the cult status of his own creation is something no fan should miss.

3. A new forward to the novel by Max Allan Collins. The prolific Road to Perdition writer knows a thing or two about good fiction, and there can never be too many essays about good novels by good novelists.

4. Last but not least, an interview with the director of the first Battle Royale film, Kinji Fukasaku. Unfortunately, Fukasaku died in 2003, so this will be an old interview, published in English for the first time. It will be interesting to know the opinions of this master director, who so perfectly adapted a film for a much younger generation than his own.

It is often said that the best fiction does not provide answers, but rather asks questions. That is PRECISELY what this book does. When one reads it, one inevitably asks, "What would I do in this situation?" The simple moral dilemma presented in this book will lead not just to introspection, but to some fun, speculative conversations with friends and family. I first read the book six years ago. After all this time, it still gets brought up in conversation, and it is a testament to the strength of the story that I am still so excited today for this new edition. The book doesn't just excel as a conversation-starter, however. Attached to the simple conflict of the story is a very, very gripping narrative with living, breathing characters. While the psychological examination of a few characters drives the story along the most of the way, the reader is given glimpses into the minds of all 42 students. Far from being confusing, this actually draws the reader further into the story.

New words by the author himself, an interview with the director of the film, and a forward by a modern master of fiction are three reasons that could, individually, motivate one to pick up this second edition of Battle Royale. What makes this purchase a necessity for the fan or new reader, however, is all of this packaged with a revised translation. Once again, if you are a fan of the book, the manga, or the films, this book will prove a good excuse to reacquaint yourself with the franchise.

Personally, I maintain that the novel itself is the best way to experience the story. I believe the author feels that the manga is the best way. Undoubtedly, some would side with the films. Regardless, none of them are anything less than entertaining. If you are a fan of Battle Royale, pick this up, it will be worth it.

If you aren't a fan yet, this is, in my opinion, the best place to start.

After describing The Hunger Games to a friend, he said that sounded almost exactly like what he read with Battle Royale... only with Japanese kids instead. I enjoyed The Hunger Games (and look forward to catching up with the rest of the series), so I gave this book a shot. I was definitely glad I did.

The plot by now is well-known to most reading this review. Every year, 21 male and 21 female Japanese junior high school students are taken to a remote and deserted island where they are forced to compete in a free for all contest where the lucky winner gets to live out the rest of their life as a surviving pawn of the Japanese government's games. The number of characters at first can seem pretty intimidating as there are 42 students at the beginning coupled with a few other characters in the Japanese government. However, the important characters are Shuya, Shinji, Shogo and Noriko. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of every character but Koushun Takami does a nice job of clearly labeling/distinguishing the characters throughout the novel.

The book does what The Hunger Games did for me. It made me mad, but it made me think also. Battle Royale is packed with action sequences and there is never a dull moment for very long as someone must die at least every 24 hours. If not? They all die via their collars which are rigged to explode if the entire group decided to band together against the government. The overriding theme in Battle Royale is one of human survival and a look into just how the human psyche can be twisted. How do you really justify not killing someone in a game like this? It's either kill/be killed or sit-by/be killed. Takami does an excellent job of showing the dark side of the human race that can be brought out in even the most innocent of people. In addition, Takami poses moral/ethical dilemmas that get the reader wondering what they would do in the same situation. It seems barbaric and it seems like most of us would never do such a thing, but you never know when a scenario like Battle Royale takes place. Human beings at the base level simply want to survive at almost any cost and that's prominently displayed in this novel.

As far as back to the novel, I'll say this much. The novel really shines towards the end. The final 20-30 pages are an absolute thrill to read. Just when you think you're right about a character, Takami does a complete 180 and surprises you with an excellent plot twist :). On a side note, I almost wish Takami would do a Battle Royale series like The Hunger Games turned out to be. I think he could have done very well with a three book series in exploring taking down the fascist/corrupt Japanese government. But as this edition tells us (with an interview with the author), Takami isn't very interested in carrying on the Battle Royale line, which I thought was a shame but that's his choice in the end. That being said, stand alone or series... this is a very worthwhile read regardless!

-Travis S.

I was first introduced to "Battle Royale" by a good friend of mine who said I just HAD to watch the movie. It took me a while 'cause the movie is not distributed in the U.S. and, therefore, is hard to buy or rent. Finally, I found it to rent and the movie was amazing ... phenomenal! I had bought the book (the novel NOT the manga) a few months ago (before watching the movie) but hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. After watching the movie, I just HAD to read it and finally picked it up and began reading all 620 pages within a week or so.

All I can say about the book is: it's 10 times better than the movie!!!! This book is clever and insane at the same time, making it a terrific, can't-put-the-book-down-type of read! As was said in one of the earlier reviews, you wouldn't think it'd be easy to keep up with the 42 students but, after a while, it is. Unlike the movie (which was very good for the time they had to keep it down to), the book is seen through pretty much every character's point of view and the action scenes as well as the explanation of injuries and deaths is so well-written and described that you can't help but wonder what author Koushun Takami is going to write for his next book.

I do have to admit that I'm a huge Bruce Springsteen fan and since the novel mentions him and quotes one of his famous songs during a crucial end scene of the book, my liking of this book grew hugely! The fact that Takami was able to comment on not only young adult issues but also of country politics and economics, computer hacking, fascism and emotional issues (plus the importance of rock music and its influence) is astounding! All of these issues are addressed within this book without sounding preachy and complicatedly overdiscussed to the point of boredom. He writes with such knowledge and detail of computer hacking and homemade bomb-making that it makes the reader wonder whether he has personal experience with these things or not.

Like I said, the reader REALLY gets to know more of the characters and their emotions in this book, which makes it all the more tragic when each come to their demise. Because there are 42 different characters, there are several stories, emotions and thoughts varying of love, hate, sadness, fear, and hope that you see through each person. Because of not only our, but the world's, desensitized views on violence, I think people who read or hear about this book (and see the movie) really don't take in the extreme seriousness of the plot: Imagine having to kill your friends (... your best friends, for that matter) to survive. Could you do it? Could you actually live with memories like that? The idea alone is scary as hell and these 9th grade students have to do just that!

The book is a mix of A Clockwork Orange, Lord of the Flies (Perigee), 1984 (Signet Classics), and Stephen King's The Running Man and The Long Walk all in one. I've always been impressed with books, movies or TV shows that are ensemble and focus on a group of people rather than just two or one person(s). And the characters in this are all so wonderfully described that you wonder what would become of them or what they would be like if you knew them in real life. If you wondered why some parts of the movie were the way they were, then read the book and it answers pretty much everything. There is also a great love story (without becoming too mushy) and PLENTY of action and plot twists. I do have to warn squeamish readers that this book is very descriptive and violent. There aren't really any sexual situations but the violence is plentiful. Like the movie Final Destination (New Line Platinum Series), near the middle of the first part of the book, you morbidly begin wondering how the next student will meet their death. And each death can be seen as a metaphoric failure-in-life because of that character's personality flaw under stress, which would lead to their failure in life because of the usual stresses that life can sometimes bring (i.e. SPOILER -- the young couple commit suicide rather than fight to survive and live; their kind of love has blinded them 'cause they can't imagine living without each other). Fear and selfishness are the true enemies which lead to death in this story.

The only flaw with the first edition was because it was translated from Japanese to English, there were sometimes grammatical errors and words missing but in this edition, they're all improved! Also included that's new to this edition is a forward by Max Allan Collins (The Road to Perdition), an afterword by the author (think of it almost as a "commentary" on the book), and a interview with the director of the 2000 movie, Kinji Fukasaku (The Yakuza Papers - Battles Without Honor & Humanity (Complete Box Set), basically the Japanese The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Giftset DVD).

This book is simply one of the best stories I've ever read! In the form of a survival/violent action story, the plot is really about learning to make your way in the world and not being afraid to go out there and live. Life can be scary but its worth living.

I think it's been about five minutes since I read the last word of "Battle Royale." My heart is still pounding abnormally fast, and every few seconds, I have to take a break from typing to watch the French countryside rushing by outside the train window instead. The view is strangely soothing, and I definitely need some calming right now.

So. "Battle Royale." Was. Epic. Dare I say it? It was better than "The Hunger Games," and "The Hunger Games" is one of my favorites. Both have similar settings: a dystopian government that forces children into an arena and makes them kill each other off one by one. But "Battle Royale" ended up as the more striking, more intense, of the two. The novel grabbed me, strapped me to a poodle, and threw me off a cliff. How does a poodle save a person from a fall off a cliff, you may ask. It doesn't. That's why I kind of feel like an insignificant smudge on the ground right now.

Unlike "The Hunger Games," which focuses only on Katniss's narrative, "Battle Royale" jumps around from one student to another. I didn't find that disorienting or discontinuous. The skipping around reveiled quite a lot about each participant of the Program, as the government calls this bloodbath. Such intricate lines bind all the classmates together, and it's so saddening to watch it all fall apart. There are love interests and friendships and histories and their own survival to consider as the 15-year-olds wander around an island with machine guns, scared out of their wits. What a story Takami-san has dreamt up. What a story.

And the ending, too. Wow, if you thought "The Hunger Games"'s ending was jarring, you will be totally unprepared for "Battle Royale"'s. Takami-san wrote it with the flare of a pro, although I kind of want to punch him now...

The only thing I disliked were the gory scenes. "Battle Royale" was a lot more graphic than I'd imagined. So instead of puking up the contents of my stomach, I just skipped the paragraphs describing blood and bashed-in brains. The human imagination is always a lot more vivid than a movie scene. Normally, that's a good thing, but now, not so much.

I would say that I'm now a fangirl of "Battle Royale," but given the book's subject matter, I don't think that'd be entirely appropriate. Apparently, Takami-san is writing (or has already written) a second novel. I must hunt it down.

BATTLE ROYALE, by Koushun Takami, is a brutal and compelling story that clearly influenced Suzanne Collins's popular HUNGER GAMES series. Takami's story, set in a near-future Japan, is about a government program called Battle Experiment No. 68 (or "the Program") in which students from 50 junior high school classes around the country are taken to undisclosed locations and forced to kill each other until only one remains. The government seems to be using the Program for two purposes: 1) as research into human nature, and 2) as a means of controlling the population. Parents who object to their children's participation in the Program are brutalized or killed. Students who refuse to participate in killing their classmates have their heads blown off by specially designed metal collars placed around their necks.

This is a very difficult book to read. It's overwhelmingly violent - the brutality begins during orientation, when the chosen students wake up from a drug induced sleep to realize they've been kidnapped and will be forced into the Program. Students who object are shot. Students who try to help the wounded are also shot. Once the battle actually begins, the violence and terror escalate. The killings are described in intricate detail - there's enough blood for any fan of ultra-violent horror.

I do believe that Suzanne Collins borrowed liberally from BATTLE ROYALE when she wrote HUNGER GAMES. There are certainly some very strong similarities between the two novels, including the central premise. Both books also include a romantic couple who try to figure out a way to avoid the "one winner only" rule so they can both survive. The biggest difference between the two is actually the ultimate message of each. While Collins's trilogy contains far more humor than Takami's novel, hers is ultimately a far darker and more depressing message. Not only is the Capitol corrupt in her novels, but so is the resistance. Her heroine (Katniss) may survive her ordeal, but she seems broken in the end. BATTLE ROYALE's message is much more clearly about the power of love to overcome the horrors of the world we live in. Shuya and Noriko believe in that love, and they fight for it throughout the novel. In that way, BATTLE ROYALE is a much more uplifting and satisfying novel than any of the HUNGER GAMES books.

BATTLE ROYALE is not a children's book, and as such it contains profanity, extreme violence, sex, and non-stop action. It's been compared to LORD OF THE FLIES (also not a children's book, although it's often taught to children), but I think that comparison is unwarranted. Golding's novel is about the inherent darkness (or evil) at the heart of humanity. His schoolchildren, left alone without adult supervision on a deserted island, end up violently attacking one another. Evil is stronger than good, Golding contends. Takami's BATTLE ROYALE, on the other hand, is about the ultimate power of love, which he definitely sees as stronger than evil and hatred. His schoolchildren are forced to violently attack one another, but even so there are some who rise above this tyranny. I found the novel to be quite inspirational and I highly recommend it.

Wow. I went into this book knowing the premise and expecting an ultraviolent action story featuring characters that I didn't really like getting killed at every turn like some kind of slasher flick. The violence did not disappoint, but I also got a strong, bittersweet story with an ensemble cast of really great characters, many of whom I ended up actually caring for.

If you haven't read the book, the story centers on a class of Japanese teenagers who are taken to a deserted island by agents of their fascist government and told that they have to kill each other until only one of them is left alive. This is not a story about kids being left without authority figures, it is a story about how kids respond when authority tells them to do something horrible. Some of them try to resist and escape. Some try to hide. Some of them throw themselves into the game and viciously hunt down people who were their friends just a couple of days ago.

The characters are the highlight of the book. Some of them are realistic enough to be your friends in high school. Some are so outrageous that they seem to have walked off the pages of a Japanese comic. But all of them are interesting. They get to you, which makes you care about their plight. I found myself cheering for some of them. I was thinking, "No! Don't trust her! She's got a knife and she's going to kill you! Run away!" Or, "Don't freak out! He's a good guy, you can trust him!" But fear and suspicion drives the characters in the story, and they don't make the right choices all the time. They are killed off by the dozens, and every single death is shown to the reader. And they all matter. Some of them you feel so sad for. I was touched when a couple innocent young lovers found a sad way to escape the game, or when a cool guy went through hell trying to reach the girl he loved and she had no idea that he felt that way so she didn't know if she could trust him. And then you find out the whole awful past of a really bad character all at once and suddenly you understand exactly why someone could do the terrible things she did. One of my favorite characters only shows up for a few pages, but you get a glimpse into a mind that has totally checked out and retreated into fantasy to deal with this impossible situation. And you ask yourself, is it just the fact that she's thrown into this, or was she detached from reality all along? You will be asking yourself that a lot about the characters. Was this person always this way, or did the game change them? And the characters are asking themselves the same questions all along. Can I trust this person? She was never a good person in school. Or, he's my friend, of course I can trust him! And sometimes they are right and sometimes they are very wrong.

I read through this book in practically one sitting, I was so enthralled. It will touch your heart, but it's not for the faint of heart. It is gory and unrelenting, but also romantic and beautiful. It is also darkly funny in places, so if you like your humor black you will appreciate some of the situations in the story, as well as the satirical aspects of the work. If you can handle it, there's something for everyone here. Humor, thrills, a lot of sadness, as well as happiness, hope, and something very touching and bittersweet.

Highly recommended.

'Battle Royale' is an excellent Japanese novel that is both gripping and original. I won't describe the storyline as the amazon page has a pretty good synopsis. I will say that from the first page you will be hooked and you will find yourself returning to this book at every free moment to see how the story develops. It is a simple premise, superbly executed (excuse the pun!) and you will become completely immersed in the mindsets of the various characters and how they behave. This book, like the film, is deemed controversial and yet I can't see any real reason why. It is a violent novel, but no more so than others out there, and it has a great many redeeming qualities compared to those other pulp fiction horror books. The translation is very good, so much so that you barely realise you are reading a translation at all, the ultimate goal I would have thought. This book is so easy to read that the 613 pages will fly by in no time at all. The ending, considering the subject matter, manages to leave you satisfied and with an adrenaline rush as well. One of the better modern fiction books i've read in a while and well worth a read.

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If you are looking for a fast paced, edge of your seat, thriller this book is the one to pick up. I never wanted to put it down and the characters stayed in my head long after I did put it down. Unlike Hunger Games in this book you get to see what everybody is thinking and you get to experience every death. This book seems to be the grown up version of HG. In the book everybody in the chosen class knows each other and this adds a different dimension to the already intense plot. SOme characters were scary and others you just have to feel sorry for because they are scared and don't know what to do. All in all this is a great book and I would definitely recommend it.

A spectacular novel, unputdownable, incredible characters and action. Utterly different from the awful movie. Seriously, you might actually read this in one sitting.

After having read the hunger games, I decided to read Battle Royale.

I was captivated with the book. It thrived with action from begining to end. I like the fact that the author gave just enough expository to make his point. All though I knew who would survive in the end, the twists and turns along the way were interesting, and at times unexpected. One problem I had was the number of characters in the book. I think the author of hunger games got it right when she copied the book and narrowed it down to 12. Also, some of the translation was incorrect, but I got past it and it didn't bother me much. And the "knit brows" was over used. Can we use other pharases like "furrowed brows"?...It was a little over used, but I got past it. I really loved the book and the message was clear. Can't wait to see the movie!