Battle Royale (novel)
ISBN 4-87233-452-3 | |
Battle Royale (
The dystopian novel was previously entered into the 1997 Japan Horror Fiction Awards but was eventually rejected in the final round due to concerns over its depictions of students killing each other. Upon publication in 1999, the novel became a surprise bestseller.
In 2000, one year after publication, Battle Royale was adapted into a manga series, written by Takami himself, and a feature film. The film was both controversial and successful, becoming one of the year's highest-grossing films as well as prompting condemnation by Japan's National Diet. The film spawned a sequel, and two more brief manga adaptations were also created.
Plot
Battle Royale takes place in a fictional fascist Japan in the year 1997. The state, known as the Republic of Greater East Asia (大東亜共和国, Dai Tōa Kyōwakoku), arose after an alternate World War II where Japan emerged victorious, and a rebellion was put down by the combined military and police forces. The government controls everything, and anything "immoral," such as rock music, is banned unless it beautifies the government, along with an unnamed dictator with a strong cult of personality able to bend the whims of the populace.
The government has established a military program, the Battle Experiment No. 68 Program (戦闘実験第六十八番プログラム, Sentō Jikken Dai Rokujū Hachi Ban Puroguramu), wherein fifty randomly selected classes of third-year junior high school students are kidnapped, dropped into a remote location, and forced to kill one another until only one student of each class remains. Ostensibly, it is to help the government and its military research survival skills and battle readiness – in actuality, it is meant to instill terror and distrust in all of Japan's citizens to curb any attempts at rebellion by showcasing the government's power and ability to target citizens' families and preying on the fear of being killed by a friend.
A group of students from Shiroiwa Junior High School (城岩中学校, Shiroiwa Chūgakkō), a junior high school in the fictional Kagawa Prefecture town of Shiroiwa, prepare for a field trip. Among them are wannabe rock star Shuya Nanahara, whose father was killed by the regime; Noriko Nakagawa, the demure crush of Shuya's best friend; Shogo Kawada, a quiet, tough young transfer student; and sociopathic prodigy Kazuo Kiriyama. En route, they are gassed – the "field trip" was a ruse for the Program.
They awake in a classroom on a small, vacated island, surrounded by troops, and wearing metal collars around their necks. A teacher, psychopathic sadist
To make sure the students obey the rules and kill each other, the metal collars around their necks track their positions. They will explode if they attempt to remove the collars or linger in "Forbidden Zones": randomly chosen areas of the map that increase in number over time, re-sculpting and shrinking the battlefield and forcing the students to move around. The collars secretly transmit sound back to the game organizers, allowing them to hear the students' conversations, root out escape plans, and log their activities.
The students desperately fight amongst each other for survival, with mentally ill bullies Mitsuko Souma and Kiriyama killing many. Shuya takes Noriko under his wing after his best friend is killed, believing that he has a duty to honor his fallen friend by protecting his crush. Shogo – who is revealed to be the winner of a previous Battle Royale and hopes to put an end to the Program – avoids the fighting, joining with Shuya. Shuya's friend, athlete Shinji Mimura, attempts to hack the system running the Program and bomb the building where Sakamochi and the other personnel overseeing the Program are stationed, but is killed by Kiriyama.
Eventually, halfway through the third day, only Shogo, Shuya, Noriko, and Kiriyama remain, with Kiriyama dead set on hunting down the trio. After a frantic car chase, Kiriyama is finally gunned down. Still, Shuya and Noriko are held at gunpoint by Shogo, who taunts them over being so naive as to trust anyone in the Program: the collars record gunshots and Shuya and Noriko flatlining.
Declared the winner by Sakamochi, Shogo is escorted to his transport off the island, surrounded by soldiers. Sakamochi, however, reveals that he knows Shuya and Noriko are alive and that his supposed execution of Noriko and Shuya was a ruse after he found a way to disable their collars and attempts to kill Shogo. Shogo kills him as a hidden Shuya and Noriko hijack the ship and kill the soldiers on board. As the boat sails towards the mainland, Shogo succumbs to his wounds sustained during the fight with Kiriyama and dies, but not before thanking Shuya and Noriko for being his friends.
On the advice of Shogo, Shuya and Noriko escape to the mainland and plan to flee to a democratic America, pursued by the government.
Characters
- Shuya Nanahara– An orphan whose parents were killed for taking part in anti-government activities. Shuya is a self-proclaimed "rock star," listening to and playing rock 'n' roll music in spite of the ban on the genre. After the death of his best friend Yoshitoki Kuninobu, he vows to protect Kuninobu's crush, Noriko Nakagawa, in his stead.
- Noriko Nakagawa– A quiet, reserved girl who teams up with Nanahara from the beginning and becomes a sort of love interest. She is shot in the leg by a soldier before the Program starts.
- Shogo Kawada – A transfer student from Kobethat is one year older than the rest of the class and covered in scars. He is a loner and, unbeknownst to his classmates, won the Program the previous year. He teams up with Nanahara and Nakagawa with a plan to escape the island together.
- . He actively takes part in the Program, killing his fellow students remorselessly.
- Mitsuko Souma– The beautiful leader of a female gang. Having been sexually abused several times as a child, Souma actively takes part in the Program, using her sexuality to kill her male classmates.
- Kinpatsu Sakamochi– The government official in charge of supervising this year's Program. He is stocky, with long hair reaching his shoulders, and ruthless.
Background
Origin
In the 1990s, Koushun Takami came up with the original story concept for Battle Royale after having a dream.[1] Takami stated in 2009:
I was lying in my futon, half asleep, half awake, and I got the mental image of a teacher from a school drama I saw on TV long ago. He said, “All right class, listen up.” [...] “Now today, I’m going to have you kill each other!” The image of him grinning as he spoke was so vivid, I laughed, but was also terrified. [...] And with just that, I knew I had something to write about.
— Koushun Takami (2009)[1]
He came up with the title Battle Royale after discussing his story concept with his friends, who said it sounded like a reimagined
Publication
Takami completed Battle Royale when he stopped working as a journalist in 1996.[2] The story was rejected in the final round of the 1997 Japan Horror Fiction Awards (ja:日本ホラー小説大賞), which took place in March 1998, because of its controversial content.[3][4] Masao Higashi, who took part in the award's preliminary selection committee, later suspected this was due to its backdrop of students killing each other being too reminiscent of the Kobe child murders committed the previous year.[5] Battle Royale was first published in April 1999 by Ohta Publishing.[6] In August 2002, it was released in a revised, two-part bunkobon by Gentosha.[7][8]
Takami describes the characters as possibly all being "kind of alike", being "all the same" despite differing appearances and hobbies, and being
Battle Royale was translated into English by Yuji Oniki and released in North America by Viz Media on February 26, 2003. An expanded edition with a revision of Oniki's translation and an afterword by Takami was published on November 17, 2009, by Haikasoru, a division of Viz Media. This version also included an interview with the director of the book's film adaptation, Kinji Fukasaku. Viz released a new translation by Nathan Collins on April 1, 2014, under the title Battle Royale: Remastered.[10] They also published The Battle Royale Slam Book: Essays on the Cult Classic by Koushun Takami on the same day, which includes essays on the details of the novel and the controversies surrounding it as well as its adaptations written by science-fiction, horror, and thriller authors such as Brian Keene, John Skipp, and Catherynne M. Valente.[10]
Adaptations
Manga
A manga adaptation, written by Takami and illustrated by Masayuki Taguchi, was serialized in Akita Shoten's Young Champion from 2000 to 2005.[9] It was collected into fifteen tankōbon volumes,[11][12] and published in North America by Tokyopop from 2003 to 2006.[13][14]
A second manga, Battle Royale II: Blitz Royale, ran in Young Champion from 2003 to 2004.[15][16] Written and illustrated by Hiroshi Tomizawa, it was collected into two tankōbon volumes.
In 2011, a two chapter spin-off manga titled Battle Royale: Angels' Border was drawn by Mioko Ohnishi and Youhei Oguma (each drawing one chapter). It focuses on the six girls who holed up in the lighthouse, was published in Young Champion and later combined into one tankōbon volume on January 20, 2012.[17] The single volume was published in North America by Viz Media on June 17, 2014.[18]
Feature films
Battle Royale was adapted into a 2000 feature film of the same name, directed by Kinji Fukasaku and written by his son Kenta Fukasaku. The film was also controversial and successful, with it being condemned by members of Japan's National Diet on grounds of it being harmful to the youth,[19] yet becoming one of the year's highest-grossing films.[20] It was followed in 2003 by Battle Royale II: Requiem.
In June 2006,
Theater
In 2012, the Sipat Lawin Ensemble and two other college theater groups in the Philippines, made an unofficial loose adaptation of the novel into a live-action performance called Battalia Royale, which had its debut at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Performances were also held at an abandoned high school in Quezon City.[24]
Television
On July 26, 2012, the
At the
Reception
Upon publication in 1999, Battle Royale became a best-seller in Japan.[28] The original Japanese novel sold more than 1 million copies, before being translated into nearly a dozen languages.[29]
The novel was entered into the 1997 Japan Horror Fiction Awards, but was eventually rejected in the final round with no winner that year.[3] All three members of the final round's selection committee that year admitted Battle Royale was the best work, but declined to award it due to its controversial content. Hiroshi Aramata said that while it was the best nominee in terms of "story, structure, and subject matter," he felt it was too much of a Kinpachi-sensei parody and suspected its content would cause problems. Katsuhiko Takahashi felt that although it was the superior work as far as its construction as a novel, giving the award to a story about students killing each other at "this time" would hurt the reputation of the competition. Mariko Hayashi said that while she believed it was the best of the four novels, it was like reading an "unpleasant near-future manga" and "No matter how squarely it might be horror or how interesting it might be, I'm not so sure we should be writing stories like this."[3] In 2001, Kōji Ōnuma wrote Battle Royale: Kyokugenshinri Kaisekisho (バトル・ロワイアル 極限心理解析書, Batoru Rowaiaru Kyokugenshinri Kaisekisho, roughly "Battle Royale: Analysis of Extreme Psychology"), a dissertation that explores the themes of the book.[30]
Battle Royale has been critically acclaimed abroad. In
David N. Alderman, writing for the Red Room site, gave Battle Royale a score of 4½ out of 5 stars, stating that the "story itself is brilliant. Touted as being extremely controversial, especially for the time it was released, the book opens up all sorts of doors to conversations and thoughts about psychology, murder, survival, love, loyalty, and moral ground." While noting that those who "cringe at slash and hack" should "steer away from this" since "it is a bit gory," he states that it is "definitely worth the read" and concludes that it has "touches of romance, and definitely some great moral themes to spark off in-depth conversations with others."[32] Complete Review gave the novel a B rating, describing it as "a perfectly fine thriller, with a fun premise, quite well drawn-out."[33] In The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society, Tom Good praises the novel, concluding that, as "a pulp-fiction horror tale, Battle Royale delivers plenty of thrills, action, suspense and fun."[34]
Legacy
Since its release, the novel and its film adaptation have had an influence on later works. These include filmmakers such as
The 2008 American young adult novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has been accused of being strikingly similar to Battle Royale in terms of the basic plot premise. While Collins maintains that she "had never heard of that book until her book was turned in", Susan Dominus of The New York Times reports that "the parallels are striking enough that Collins's work has been savaged on the blogosphere as a baldfaced ripoff," but argued that "there are enough possible sources for the plot line that the two authors might well have hit on the same basic setup independently."[46] The general consensus in the time since has been one of amicable controversy, especially since the release of The Hunger Games film adaptation. Battle Royale author Takami said he appreciated fans "standing up" for his book, but stated that he thinks "every novel has something to offer," and that if "readers find value in either book, that's all an author can ask for."[47]
The 2012 comic Avengers Arena has a similar plot to Battle Royale. Additionally, the cover of its first issue bears a homage to the Battle Royale film poster; featuring the main characters posed in the same manner and a similarly designed logo.[48]
The novel and especially its film adaptation have been influential in global
In 2021, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk cited Battle Royale, particularly the manga version, as an inspiration behind the hit Netflix show.[52]
See also
- The Most Dangerous Game, a 1924 short story about a big game hunter who is hunted down by another hunter on an isolated island
- Lord of the Flies, a 1954 survival novel with a similar setting
- The Long Walk, a 1979 dystopian novel about contest
- The Hunger Games, a 2008 dystopian novel with a similar premise
References
- ^ a b c Greszes, Sam (May 26, 2019). "Hunting down the true origins of the battle royale craze". Polygon. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- ^ To Kill or Be Killed Saga of Battle Royale Continues as Viz Media Releases New Manga One-Shot: Battle Royale: Angel's Border, Viz Media, May 21, 2014, retrieved December 19, 2016
- ^ ISBN 978-1-421-56599-6.
- Asahi Shimbun. December 11, 2008. Archived from the originalon October 7, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
- ^ "'Battle Royale' wins the game for hungry fans". The Japan Times. June 7, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
- Amazon.co.jp (in Japanese). ASIN 4872334523.
- ^ "バトル・ロワイアル 上 幻冬舎文庫 た 18–1 [文庫]". Amazon.co.jp (in Japanese). ASIN 4344402707.
- ^ "バトル・ロワイアル 下 幻冬舎文庫 た 18–2 [文庫]". Amazon.co.jp (in Japanese). ASIN 4344402715.
- ^ a b "Final Chapter Memorial Discussion: Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi". Battle Royale. Vol. 15. Tokyopop.
- ^ a b "Viz to Release All You Need is Kill Graphic Novel, Battle Royale Essay Book". Anime News Network. July 18, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ^ "バトル・ロワイアル 第1巻" (in Japanese). Akita Shoten. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "バトル・ロワイアル 第15巻" (in Japanese). Akita Shoten. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Battle Royale Volume 1". Tokyopop. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "Battle Royale Volume 15". Tokyopop. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ "ヤングチャンピオン 2003年No.13" (in Japanese). Akita Shoten. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
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- ^ Sharp, Jasper; Mes, Tom (April 9, 2001). "Midnight Eye interview: Kinji Fukasaku". Midnight Eye. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
- ^ "Cinemas raked in record 200 billion yen last year". The Japan Times. February 1, 2002. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
- ^ McNary, Dave (June 7, 2006). "New Line set to do 'Battle'". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ Cieply, Michael (April 30, 2007). "After Virginia Tech, Testing Limits of Movie Violence". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Yang, Jeff (March 23, 2012). "'Hunger Games' Vs. 'Battle Royale'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
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- ^ Zeitchik, Steven (September 24, 2012). "'Battle Royale' could be reborn as a TV show". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Rose, Lacey; Goldberg, Lesley (January 14, 2013). "CW Boss Mark Pedowitz on Fates of 'Supernatural,' 'Wonder Woman,' 'Battle Royale'". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "CW Head: Network Is Not Planning to Remake Battle Royale". Anime News Network. January 14, 2013.
- ^ "'Battle Royale' wins the game for hungry fans". The Japan Times. June 7, 2014.
- ^ "バトル・ロワイヤル 極限心理解析書 (単行本)". Amazon.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved May 8, 2009.
- ^ King, Stephen (August 4, 2005). "Kick-Back Books: Stephen King's summer reading list". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ Alderman, David N. (October 7, 2010). "Battle Royale – (Book Review)". Red Room. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ "Battle Royale by Takami Koushun". Complete Review. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ Good, Tom (October 7, 2007). "Book review: Battle Royale (Novel)". The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ "DVD reviews: Battle Royale (Arrow)". The Scotsman. December 9, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "Quentin Tarantino's Favorite 20 Films Since 1992". Washington City Paper. August 20, 2009. Archived from the original on October 28, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
- ^ Mulligan, Jake (March 21, 2012). "Blu-ray Review: "Battle Royale – The Complete Collection"". The Suffolk Voice. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ Sandhu, Sukhdev (October 10, 2003). "Bloody, marvellous". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ V.A. Musetto (April 27, 2007). "Executioner's wrong: Fans condemned to bad cinema". New York Post. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
- ^ Shaffer, R.L. (March 26, 2010). "Kill Theory: DVD Review". IGN. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ Hunter, Rob (September 11, 2016). "Review: The Tournament". Film School Rejects. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (March 26, 2010). "Toronto Film Review: 'The Belko Experiment'". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ Poland, David (March 20, 2012). "Review: The Hunger Games". Movie City News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5.)
Like Battle Royale crashed into Wings of Desire with courtesy breasts, Gantz throws everyday people into a life-or-death conflict, but focuses on their humdrum musings — what to wear, how to impress girls, who gets the rocket launcher.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - GamesRadar. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
- ^ Dominus, Susan (April 8, 2011). "Suzanne Collins's War Stories for Kids". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ Fujita, Akiko (March 22, 2012). "'The Hunger Games,' a Japanese Original?". ABC News. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
- ^ "Marvel Rips Off 'Battle Royale' With 'Avengers Arena'". Bloody Disgusting. September 13, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- ^ "The Japanese Thriller That Explains 'Fortnite' and American Pop Culture in 2018". The Ringer. July 19, 2018.
- ^ Zavarise, Giada (December 6, 2018). "How Battle Royale went from a manga to a Fortnite game mode". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^ GReszes, Sam (May 26, 2019). "Hunting down the true origins of the battle royale craze". Polygon. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- Variety.com. Retrieved October 7, 2021.