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Battle Royale #6
Battle Royale, Vol. 06
In the future, random Jr. High School classes are chosen to compete in a game called Battle Royale. The rules: only one student can survive after 3 days on an island or else they all perish. Weapons are handed out and each student is sent out into the field alone and unprepared for the horror that awaits them. The classmates turn upon themselves in a battle for survival, treaties are made and broken, and former friends become foes as the relentless countdown continues. Amid the betrayals and rising body count, two classmates confess their love for each other and swear to survive this deadly game together.
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2002
6 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
About the author
Koushun Takami
100 books1,578 followersKoushun Takami (高見 広春 Takami Kōshun) is the author of the novel Battle Royale, originally published in Japanese, and later translated into English by Yuji Oniki and published by Viz Media and, later, in an expanded edition by Haika Soru, a division of Viz Media.
Takami was born in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture near Osaka and grew up in the Kagawa Prefecture of Shikoku. After graduating from Osaka University with a degree in literature, he dropped out of Nihon University's liberal arts correspondence course program. From 1991 to 1996, he worked for the news company Shikoku Shimbun, reporting on various fields including politics, police reports, and economics.
The novel Battle Royale was completed after Takami left the news company. It was rejected in the final round of the literary competition for which it was intended, owing to its controversial content. It went on to become a bestseller when finally released in 1999 and, a year later, was made into a manga and a feature film.
He is currently working on a second novel.
Takami was born in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture near Osaka and grew up in the Kagawa Prefecture of Shikoku. After graduating from Osaka University with a degree in literature, he dropped out of Nihon University's liberal arts correspondence course program. From 1991 to 1996, he worked for the news company Shikoku Shimbun, reporting on various fields including politics, police reports, and economics.
The novel Battle Royale was completed after Takami left the news company. It was rejected in the final round of the literary competition for which it was intended, owing to its controversial content. It went on to become a bestseller when finally released in 1999 and, a year later, was made into a manga and a feature film.
He is currently working on a second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
January 29, 2022
Another flashback to the formation of another friendship... I don't know why there are so many flashbacks, I honestly don't. They were all in the same class, the reader will automatically assume that they've all met each other, we don't need to see every single first meeting. At least, I don't.
Six volumes in, you'd think the pace would be picking up as we got nearer to the midpoint, but Volume Six is really just a plod. More speeches about doing the right thing, more speeches about the power of friendships, but there were no child prostitutes or flashbacks to gratuitous rape scenes, so I'll consider it an improvement, even though there are only so many emotional outbursts by the hero I can tolerate.
At this point, I'm honestly hoping that Shogo manages to win again; the rest of them could die for all I care. They're some really annoying "children" in this series, including the standard "no emotions" psychopath Yakuza child.
Six volumes in, you'd think the pace would be picking up as we got nearer to the midpoint, but Volume Six is really just a plod. More speeches about doing the right thing, more speeches about the power of friendships, but there were no child prostitutes or flashbacks to gratuitous rape scenes, so I'll consider it an improvement, even though there are only so many emotional outbursts by the hero I can tolerate.
At this point, I'm honestly hoping that Shogo manages to win again; the rest of them could die for all I care. They're some really annoying "children" in this series, including the standard "no emotions" psychopath Yakuza child.
February 12, 2011
This volume of the awesome and terrible series focused on some of my favourite characters. The delightful Shinji Mimura, who struggled to accept love and put up an act of bravado to cover it; Shogo Kawada, the seemingly tough warrior with a heart of gold; and Kiriyama, the guy you can't say you like without sounding like a sociopath too but who is oddly intriguing - you feel the need to discover what it is that has made him such a cold, calculating killer.
Kiriyama is an important character in many ways, but he is most important for exploring how a person can become someone who kills without thought, without regret and without remorse. Are some people just born with it in them or did something so bad happen that it messed Kiriyama up for life? That is the question that this book provides and you find yourself desperately needing to read on further to discover the answer.
Kiriyama is an important character in many ways, but he is most important for exploring how a person can become someone who kills without thought, without regret and without remorse. Are some people just born with it in them or did something so bad happen that it messed Kiriyama up for life? That is the question that this book provides and you find yourself desperately needing to read on further to discover the answer.
July 18, 2019
Another solid installment. 4 is probably still my favorite, but this one was more interesting than 5. Honestly, it's really interesting how much has slipped my mind since reading the original novel. Anyway, no time to elaborate right now, but 8.5/10 (4/5)
Spoiler text is here for me to remember how the story is split up between volumes
Spoiler text is here for me to remember how the story is split up between volumes
August 26, 2019
these mangas,man, are amazing
March 2, 2018
Well, that was fast!?
Action-packed and fast-paced this number 6 was all the business!
A lil' disappointed at the amount of killing in this volume being zero but the reading experience was over so fast I didn't have enough time to think about it. Atleast they're coming up with some kinds of solutions by this time, that's good.
Action-packed and fast-paced this number 6 was all the business!
A lil' disappointed at the amount of killing in this volume being zero but the reading experience was over so fast I didn't have enough time to think about it. Atleast they're coming up with some kinds of solutions by this time, that's good.
October 2, 2022
ya dije lo mucho que amo a shinji?
February 19, 2023
Ufff se viene la traición, adiós bomba .. . El resto no paso mucho
March 1, 2021
The premise is doing some serious heavylifting in this one. The dialogue is straight up garbage (could be the translation, but I don't think translation alone could mess it up this badly if it were any good). The villains are shallow. The protagonist has literally nothing going for him except the power of friendship. And half of these kids half no sense of self-preservation.
October 11, 2022
Such a good manga series. A great adaption with wonderful art work.
July 18, 2025
This manga is not that different from the original Battle Royale novel except for a few minor differences.
It's not perfect but it was awesome.
My feelings for this manga are about the same as the original novel except there is more drama and the characters are fleshed out a bit more.
The story is about a class of 42 junior high students that are transported onto an island where they are placed in this program where the students have to fight to the death and there can only be one winner. Similar to the book, the program has no time limit, however a student has to die within a 24-hour time zone, or the collars explode on all the students and there are no winners. In both scenarios, it forces the students to kill each other and try to survive. The tension from that is still there and you can feel it.
The dystopian theme is strong in the manga as well as the book, but it's slightly overshadowed by the drama of the characters and their own self conflicts.
Now, unlike the novel where some characters don't have much of a backstory, the manga takes it's time to explore the characteristics and backstories of all the students. Granted, some more than others. And it gives a new perspective.
However, this manga is definitely for adults. You have sexual themes and more brutality of the gore and violence the students participate in. If you want a more visual storytelling of the original book and don't mind extra violence, the manga is not bad.
It's not perfect but it was awesome.
My feelings for this manga are about the same as the original novel except there is more drama and the characters are fleshed out a bit more.
The story is about a class of 42 junior high students that are transported onto an island where they are placed in this program where the students have to fight to the death and there can only be one winner. Similar to the book, the program has no time limit, however a student has to die within a 24-hour time zone, or the collars explode on all the students and there are no winners. In both scenarios, it forces the students to kill each other and try to survive. The tension from that is still there and you can feel it.
The dystopian theme is strong in the manga as well as the book, but it's slightly overshadowed by the drama of the characters and their own self conflicts.
Now, unlike the novel where some characters don't have much of a backstory, the manga takes it's time to explore the characteristics and backstories of all the students. Granted, some more than others. And it gives a new perspective.
However, this manga is definitely for adults. You have sexual themes and more brutality of the gore and violence the students participate in. If you want a more visual storytelling of the original book and don't mind extra violence, the manga is not bad.
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November 14, 2024so many thoughts as per usual...
seeing all of the fight scenes actually drawn out makes me realize how fucking goofy and unrealistic these books are. like the scene of kiriyama and shuya fighting might be one of the most unintentionally funny things I've seen in a while (kiriyama leaping in the air in front of the moon like batman!?!). also, you can't tell me it's not hilarious to have shuya try to reason with and emotionally dissect a guy who literally decided to mass murder people because of a coin toss. there's nothing funnier than that. it makes shuya look so stupid and I always love that
seeing all of the fight scenes actually drawn out makes me realize how fucking goofy and unrealistic these books are. like the scene of kiriyama and shuya fighting might be one of the most unintentionally funny things I've seen in a while (kiriyama leaping in the air in front of the moon like batman!?!). also, you can't tell me it's not hilarious to have shuya try to reason with and emotionally dissect a guy who literally decided to mass murder people because of a coin toss. there's nothing funnier than that. it makes shuya look so stupid and I always love that
March 26, 2023
Aunque veo que en general bajaron las puntuaciones de las reseñas en este tomo, yo creo que logró ser entretenido y cumplir con lo que uno esperaría que ocurriera. El enfrentamiento entre Shuuya y Kazuo fue un poco fantasioso, pero nada que moleste a esta altura.
Sigo creyendo que hay apariciones demasiado convenientes de algunos personajes, pero bueno, se entiende que son necesarias para que la trama continúe y nuestros protagonistas puedan ser salvados.
En general me está gustando, pero repito, de seguir así seguro voy a estar cansado para el tomo 10.
Sigo creyendo que hay apariciones demasiado convenientes de algunos personajes, pero bueno, se entiende que son necesarias para que la trama continúe y nuestros protagonistas puedan ser salvados.
En general me está gustando, pero repito, de seguir así seguro voy a estar cansado para el tomo 10.
August 4, 2019
I'm loving this manga adaptation of Battle Royale... This volume had some pretty cool moments... particularly the fight between Kazuo and Shuya, where he gets split up from Noriko and Shogo. Then when Shuya gets shot up by Kazuo and Sugimura comes in and saves him with his dope-ass kung-fu moves! Lol... Some great action and some beautiful full-page and full-spread artwork. Digging this series a lot.
July 14, 2022
Me gusta mucho Sugimura pero no puedo evitar tener la inquietud de que va a tener una muerte repentina, espero que encuentre a la chica y que pueda salir vivo de ahí con Shuuya y sus aliados.
Mimura También tiene su punto, aunque no he conseguido conectar con él, y Noryko no sé muy bien qué pensar de ella todavía, así que veremos qué más nos puede ofrecer.
La historia se corta justo en la parte más interesante, lo cual me hace interesarme por saber que pasará después.
Mimura También tiene su punto, aunque no he conseguido conectar con él, y Noryko no sé muy bien qué pensar de ella todavía, así que veremos qué más nos puede ofrecer.
La historia se corta justo en la parte más interesante, lo cual me hace interesarme por saber que pasará después.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2018
Intense and exciting this time around. We get a long fight sequence between the protagonist and the chilling sociopath of the bunch. Considering the brutality and depth of the deaths that came before, the tension was strong and plausible throughout the whole conflict. The long shootout battle and the much needed growth of the protagonist were the highlights of this volume.
December 14, 2017
Sometimes I wish I read this when I was younger because the emotional sequences are just hard to deal with - so. much. crying. Oi...
February 1, 2018
Another good volume.
July 27, 2018
Intense!!!!!
November 28, 2018
This manga keeps getting better n better.
November 2, 2020
This was good but I hate Shuuya so much and he was in almost every chapter lol
December 17, 2021
Sugimuraaaaa pero que arriesgadooooo, pero que valiente y siento que Shinji esta en peligro de extinción... Voy a sufrir, lo veo venir.
February 7, 2022
As action-packed and awesome as I recall.
June 14, 2022
(2.5/5).
Lo mismo de siempre: Muy predecible, personajes planos actuando como tontos y repetitivo.
Lo único bueno: El plan de la bomba.
Lo mismo de siempre: Muy predecible, personajes planos actuando como tontos y repetitivo.
Lo único bueno: El plan de la bomba.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loving this series!
Loving this series!
August 16, 2022
Brutal, heartbreaking and brilliant.
February 10, 2025
Se aproxima lo del faro, y si mi memoria no me falla (sobre la novela) that's peak absurdness, I'm in.
February 14, 2025
Compensa sus pocas muertes con mucha acción frenética. Aunque no avanza mucho, visualmente se luce.
January 6, 2021
I wanted to read the Battle Royale manga 10 years ago but did not have the necessary employment to fund the expensive volumes. Flash forward to 2015, and the price had only increased as the series became rarer and out of print. I eventually managed to obtain a complete set in good condition on eBay, but was the long wait worth it? Not only is this is the first manga series I will review, but it is also the first I have read, and as such, the format took quite some getting used to. Despite being spread across 15 volumes, the self-contained story, cumulative chapters, and fast reading pace influenced me to review the series as one book. It was originally serialised from 2000 to 2005, based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Koushin Takami, which I haven't read yet. I was however, a fan of the film adaptation, which formed my introduction.
Set in a dystopian future, each year the Japanese government randomly selects a class of high school children and forces them to compete in a survival deathmatch for reality TV known as 'The Program.' The teenagers are equipped with explosive collars that detonate if more than one combatant is left alive at the end of the time limit, randomly assigned weapons, and a map of the area with designated danger zones that change periodically. After a brief prelude which introduces the main players, this year's crop of unlucky teens are kidnapped and sent to a deserted island where all but one will meet a grisly end. The manga does a good job of exploring each of the 42 students and providing them with varied back stories, although most fall under classic stereotypes. The main protagonists are Shuuya Nanahara, a pacifist would-be rock star and his dull love interest, Noriko Nakagawa. Other characters include previous program survivor and hardened combatant, Shogo Kawada, the sensitive kung fu artist, Hiroki Sigumuru, and basketball ace and computer hacker, Shinji Mimura. The two main antagonists are Kazuo Kiriyama, an emotionless killer with brain damage, and the deranged femme fatale, Mitsuko Souma, also a psychopath.
Without revealing too much of the story, which is mostly bouts of action scenes with gratuitous violence and sex, interspersed with melodramatic soul searching and flashbacks, I would like to say a few words on the English adaptation by Keith Giffen, which can be appalling at times. I understand the need to slightly alter things for a translation, but substituting Japanese figures with American equivalents was a step too far. For instance, why on earth would Japanese school children know who Donald Trump and Polyanna are? In a manga of over the top splatter violence, this criticism may appear rather trivial, but it was nonetheless jarring and very ill-advised. (I hope Giffen reads this one day so he can see how ridiculous it was.) My other complaint is that some of the characterisation is utterly bizarre. There is a cross-dressing homosexual, who looks and acts like a 40 year old sleaze queen, yet whom we're supposed to understand is the same age as his teenage classmates. Mitsuko and her constant nudity is also a problem, definitely overstepping the line into full blown hentai every time she makes an appearance. I noticed with suspicion that the perverted volume 8 was noticeably more worn than the other books.
I appreciate that I am no longer the target audience of this series, having arrived at it too late, but I retain a soft spot for the film I loved as a teenager and Taguchi is an astounding illustrator, if a little too disgusting at times. I cringed at the frequent eyeball gouging and finger nail tearing. To try and analyse the manga in terms of anything deeper would be nonsense, yet I'm sure many younger readers have done so. The broad stabs at authoritarian regimes and the cliched Lord of the Flies tropes are of course clumsily present, but the true purpose of the series is to sate the gore lust of teenage boys. I cannot really recommend the series to anybody due to the difficulty in getting hold of a complete set, but I hear the novel is good. As an introduction to manga, I couldn't have wished for anything better, and although I'm not sold on the genre in general, it was nice to vary my pattern of reading weighty classics. Battle Royale has had a huge influence on popular culture, spawning the inferior series of books, The Hunger Games, and inspiring many of Quentin Tarantino's action films. The story can be repetitive and angsty, but the absurdity of the plot and its dynamic illustrations earns it a space on my bookcase.
Set in a dystopian future, each year the Japanese government randomly selects a class of high school children and forces them to compete in a survival deathmatch for reality TV known as 'The Program.' The teenagers are equipped with explosive collars that detonate if more than one combatant is left alive at the end of the time limit, randomly assigned weapons, and a map of the area with designated danger zones that change periodically. After a brief prelude which introduces the main players, this year's crop of unlucky teens are kidnapped and sent to a deserted island where all but one will meet a grisly end. The manga does a good job of exploring each of the 42 students and providing them with varied back stories, although most fall under classic stereotypes. The main protagonists are Shuuya Nanahara, a pacifist would-be rock star and his dull love interest, Noriko Nakagawa. Other characters include previous program survivor and hardened combatant, Shogo Kawada, the sensitive kung fu artist, Hiroki Sigumuru, and basketball ace and computer hacker, Shinji Mimura. The two main antagonists are Kazuo Kiriyama, an emotionless killer with brain damage, and the deranged femme fatale, Mitsuko Souma, also a psychopath.
Without revealing too much of the story, which is mostly bouts of action scenes with gratuitous violence and sex, interspersed with melodramatic soul searching and flashbacks, I would like to say a few words on the English adaptation by Keith Giffen, which can be appalling at times. I understand the need to slightly alter things for a translation, but substituting Japanese figures with American equivalents was a step too far. For instance, why on earth would Japanese school children know who Donald Trump and Polyanna are? In a manga of over the top splatter violence, this criticism may appear rather trivial, but it was nonetheless jarring and very ill-advised. (I hope Giffen reads this one day so he can see how ridiculous it was.) My other complaint is that some of the characterisation is utterly bizarre. There is a cross-dressing homosexual, who looks and acts like a 40 year old sleaze queen, yet whom we're supposed to understand is the same age as his teenage classmates. Mitsuko and her constant nudity is also a problem, definitely overstepping the line into full blown hentai every time she makes an appearance. I noticed with suspicion that the perverted volume 8 was noticeably more worn than the other books.
I appreciate that I am no longer the target audience of this series, having arrived at it too late, but I retain a soft spot for the film I loved as a teenager and Taguchi is an astounding illustrator, if a little too disgusting at times. I cringed at the frequent eyeball gouging and finger nail tearing. To try and analyse the manga in terms of anything deeper would be nonsense, yet I'm sure many younger readers have done so. The broad stabs at authoritarian regimes and the cliched Lord of the Flies tropes are of course clumsily present, but the true purpose of the series is to sate the gore lust of teenage boys. I cannot really recommend the series to anybody due to the difficulty in getting hold of a complete set, but I hear the novel is good. As an introduction to manga, I couldn't have wished for anything better, and although I'm not sold on the genre in general, it was nice to vary my pattern of reading weighty classics. Battle Royale has had a huge influence on popular culture, spawning the inferior series of books, The Hunger Games, and inspiring many of Quentin Tarantino's action films. The story can be repetitive and angsty, but the absurdity of the plot and its dynamic illustrations earns it a space on my bookcase.
July 6, 2022
This one was pretty intense, and I'm dying to know what happens next. (Yes, I've read the book, but that was seven years ago.) And this point marks the furthest I've gotten in the manga, so I'm excited to read on.
One thing I like about the artwork in this is how blank Kiriyama looks at all times. No expression, no feelings, just a straight sociopath. It's shown so well; despite all the times I've been rolling my eyes at how some of these teenagers are depicted, I think they nailed Kiriyama's look.
One thing I like about the artwork in this is how blank Kiriyama looks at all times. No expression, no feelings, just a straight sociopath. It's shown so well; despite all the times I've been rolling my eyes at how some of these teenagers are depicted, I think they nailed Kiriyama's look.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews