2009 saw the tenth anniversary of the first iteration of the story as well as the publication of a new English edition of the novel by Viz Media under their Haikasoru imprint. Read moreĪlthough I was quite familiar with the basic plot and premise of Battle Royale, I had never read Koushun Takami's original novel, seen the film based on the book, or read the manga adaptation. I guess I’ll need to find the manga now and do this all again sometime. So if you’re interested in experiencing either then I’d recommend if you want the action then check out the movie but if you want more story to go with it then the book is the way to go. The film is definitely more OTT than the book but the characters lack the depth that you can gain from the written version. While there are a few differences the two are pretty much the same with only the ending having any real dramatic change. Even though it was never in the running for any of the great prizes for literature it certainly is that, as long as you don’t mind a bit of blood spatter that is.Since finishing the book I’ve also rewatched the movie for the sake of comparison. There are also moments of really black humour on show too (the lighthouse anyone?) which while not lightening the mood certainly add to the readability of the story. This helps keeping the who’s who straight, with so many of them running about initially, and adds to the feels when the inevitable death ensues.
It’s not all violence and gore though as you do also get snippets of back-stories of some of the more prominent students to better understand their character traits. Will they participate? Can they trust anyone to make allegiances with and if they do there is the ever present threat of betrayal with only one person able to claim victory.This is a brutal tale in both the psychological and violent sense that the reader, for the most part, follows in the company of Shuya, one of the students.
Stranded on a deserted island each person is equipped with a pack containing food, water, a map and an item classed as a weapon (anything from a machine gun to a fork) and sent on their way at 2 minute intervals. This story follows one such class of 42 students as they are abducted from their intended school trip and awaken in a strange classroom and discover their new circumstances. The government decided to act and passed the Program where 50 third-year junior high school classes are forced to fight their classmates until only 1 participant remains left alive. Its youth were a disaffected lot and were often displaying such traits in increasingly violent ways.
The Republic of Greater East Asia was falling apart.
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