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Battle Royale #9
Battle Royale, Vol. 09
As Shuuya is nursed back to health, he discovers his saviour is a group of of girls with plans to defeat The Program and escape the island. But hope turns to despair when one girl's paranoia makes her believe thar Shuuya is the devil...and she will stop at nothing to cast him into darkness!
Just when you thought that things couldn't get any more outrageous, this volume of Battle Royale pulls no punches and packs a ton of heat...turns into a gruesome, over the top splatterfest filled of paranoia, corruption and bloody lies,
The body count is rising! Are you still game?
Just when you thought that things couldn't get any more outrageous, this volume of Battle Royale pulls no punches and packs a ton of heat...turns into a gruesome, over the top splatterfest filled of paranoia, corruption and bloody lies,
The body count is rising! Are you still game?
200 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
7 people are currently reading
412 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 49 reviews
March 13, 2019
sul finale si è ripreso guadagnando una stella, ma in generale continuo a non apprezzare questo manga
June 22, 2015
Unfortunately, this volume has probably been one of my least favorites so far... but I'm going to give it 4 stars anyway just because I've been so into this series so far. Hopefully the next volume won't continue to lose the luster.
Nothing much new happened... Kiriyama showed up being an invincible magical being again, like always. We finally got back to what Shuuya was up to. I did like his dream sequence with Mimura though. And then we got to know a little bit about the girl group that was sticking together. Le sigh... why did I think that was even a possibility.
Now the new question... is Shuuya really a demon?
Nothing much new happened... Kiriyama showed up being an invincible magical being again, like always. We finally got back to what Shuuya was up to. I did like his dream sequence with Mimura though. And then we got to know a little bit about the girl group that was sticking together. Le sigh... why did I think that was even a possibility.
Now the new question... is Shuuya really a demon?
January 21, 2017
Casi que era para dos estrellas,, muy estirado todo aunque el final todo tiro le puso emoción. Quedan menos de diez alumnos, aparte de la sangre gore, la violencia sin escrúpulos, se suman violaciones de menores, esto es para estómagos a prueba de todo...y ya estoy algo asqueado pero falta poco para el final!
January 19, 2019
El final, una de las mejores escenas de esta obra: "La escena del faro" culpa de esa pelotuda que pensaba que Shuuya era el demonio, como odie tanto a esta mina. BRONCA BRONCA BRONCA, pero en serio, sentí el mismo odio que sentí cuando leí el libro. Si bien hay personajes que tambien detesto; Oda (se cree el único digno de ganar por ser "superior a sus compañeros"), Niida (que quería a violar a Takako Chigusa), Mitsuko y Kasuo (por ser asesinos a sangre fría). Este es el personaje femenino, (porque Mitsuko me da lastima, y a cualquiera de los chicos los odie mucho mas que a ella) que mas detesto.
Resumen de escena de faro; Sugimura y Shuuya saltan de una "zona acantilosa" despues de ser atacados por Kasuo, Shuuya queda inconsciente y estan en un lugar cercano a un faro, encuentra al grupo de chicas formado por: Yukie (delegada) , Yuko, Yuka, Satomi, Haruka y Chisato. Sugimura le cuenta el plan de Kawada y se va a seguir buscando a Kayoko (la chica que ama). Yuko pensaba que Shuuya era el demonio porque lo había visto a él con un cadáver de un compañero, y pensó que lo había matado. Shuuya despierta "del coma" la delegada le dice lo que paso, escena romántica (corazoncito), y baja del faro para hablar con sus compañeras, dejandolo encerrado con llave ya que Yuko le tenia miedo. Baja y habla con las chicas del plan de Kawada de lo que había pasado con el compañero de clase, etc y todas contentas menos esta zorra de Yuko. Llega la hora del almuerzo y una le tiene que servir la comida y llevarse a Shuuya, Yuko agarra el plato y le pone veneno, porque según ella no se puede confiar en Shuuya, y antes de llevarlo Yuka se ofrece voluntaria y lo prueba...muere, Todas empiezan a desconfiar, caos. Satomi desconfía de las dos que cocinaron: Haruka y Chisato, Satomi agarra un arma y apunta a una de estas, la cual tambien agarra un arma, y Satomi le dispara, Yukie corre para ver a la chica en el piso y Satomi le dispara, la otra chica de la cocina se acerca a sus amigas en el piso y Satomi vuelve a disparar. Satomi se da vuelta y le dice a Yuko que ya están libres de peligro porque ellas jamas podrían haber envenenado la comida y Yuko la mata porque tiene miedo que la maten. ASI ES COMO MUEREN ESTAS CINCO CHICAS, CULPA DE ESTA ZORRA DE YUKO.
Antes de seguir con los cinco tomos que me faltan tengo que escribir a todos los personajes que quise:
Takako Chigusa, que estuvo profundamente enamora de Sugimura, que no se rindió nunca.
Yumiko y Yukiko, que sabiendo el peligro que corrían, decidieron que era mas importante tener a su grupo unido.
Yoshimi, me da mucho lastima, como ella amaba a su novio, como le dice que prefiere que el viva antes que ella.
Hirono, la que le dio una chance a su redención a un alto al fuego, pero este duro poco ya que una loca empezó a disparle, y muere ahogada, delirando con que Shuuya logra salvarla.
Yutaka y Shiji. Sin palabras, los quiero a ambos. Pero Shinji es uno de mis favoritos.
Resumen de escena de faro; Sugimura y Shuuya saltan de una "zona acantilosa" despues de ser atacados por Kasuo, Shuuya queda inconsciente y estan en un lugar cercano a un faro, encuentra al grupo de chicas formado por: Yukie (delegada) , Yuko, Yuka, Satomi, Haruka y Chisato. Sugimura le cuenta el plan de Kawada y se va a seguir buscando a Kayoko (la chica que ama). Yuko pensaba que Shuuya era el demonio porque lo había visto a él con un cadáver de un compañero, y pensó que lo había matado. Shuuya despierta "del coma" la delegada le dice lo que paso, escena romántica (corazoncito), y baja del faro para hablar con sus compañeras, dejandolo encerrado con llave ya que Yuko le tenia miedo. Baja y habla con las chicas del plan de Kawada de lo que había pasado con el compañero de clase, etc y todas contentas menos esta zorra de Yuko. Llega la hora del almuerzo y una le tiene que servir la comida y llevarse a Shuuya, Yuko agarra el plato y le pone veneno, porque según ella no se puede confiar en Shuuya, y antes de llevarlo Yuka se ofrece voluntaria y lo prueba...muere, Todas empiezan a desconfiar, caos. Satomi desconfía de las dos que cocinaron: Haruka y Chisato, Satomi agarra un arma y apunta a una de estas, la cual tambien agarra un arma, y Satomi le dispara, Yukie corre para ver a la chica en el piso y Satomi le dispara, la otra chica de la cocina se acerca a sus amigas en el piso y Satomi vuelve a disparar. Satomi se da vuelta y le dice a Yuko que ya están libres de peligro porque ellas jamas podrían haber envenenado la comida y Yuko la mata porque tiene miedo que la maten. ASI ES COMO MUEREN ESTAS CINCO CHICAS, CULPA DE ESTA ZORRA DE YUKO.
Antes de seguir con los cinco tomos que me faltan tengo que escribir a todos los personajes que quise:
Takako Chigusa, que estuvo profundamente enamora de Sugimura, que no se rindió nunca.
Yumiko y Yukiko, que sabiendo el peligro que corrían, decidieron que era mas importante tener a su grupo unido.
Yoshimi, me da mucho lastima, como ella amaba a su novio, como le dice que prefiere que el viva antes que ella.
Hirono, la que le dio una chance a su redención a un alto al fuego, pero este duro poco ya que una loca empezó a disparle, y muere ahogada, delirando con que Shuuya logra salvarla.
Yutaka y Shiji. Sin palabras, los quiero a ambos. Pero Shinji es uno de mis favoritos.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2021
Esa despedida en el basto océano inconcientoso ha sido la sal que rebasó el vaso para caerse en picada a mi dolorido corazón que no supera la muerte de S.M.... ( '-') a ver Sugimura huye por tu vida que no estoy lista para llorar a otro difunto, todavía no ( ;~;)
September 23, 2019
First read of The Reading Rush! Jumped back into this series with Vol. 8 a few days ago, and that was a major disappointment (see review for more details), but thankfully this volume was right back on track. Back to the action, back to The Program, and away from all of the gratuitousness the last volume.
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 9, 2022
Cada vez es más difícil saber en quién confiar y en quién no, y eso es crucial para la supervivencia. En este tomo se muestra cómo la esperanza y el sentimiento de seguridad del grupo de chicas va decayendo sólo con un pequeño impulso.
Lo que sí me ha parecido un poco brusco es el beso que le dieron al protagonista. Entiendo que sea popular entre las mujeres, pero estoy viendo venir que tarde o temprano dos o más chicas se van a pelear por él, lo que llevaría a algo más tipo drama romántico mezclado con la esencia de Battle Royale, y creo que no son dos buenas combinaciones.
Lo que sí me ha parecido un poco brusco es el beso que le dieron al protagonista. Entiendo que sea popular entre las mujeres, pero estoy viendo venir que tarde o temprano dos o más chicas se van a pelear por él, lo que llevaría a algo más tipo drama romántico mezclado con la esencia de Battle Royale, y creo que no son dos buenas combinaciones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2022
Such a good manga series. A great adaption with wonderful art work.
August 28, 2019
i just love these mangas man
March 25, 2012
Yuko you stupid! >__<
July 4, 2024
This volume of the manga does have one of the most iconic scenes in the overarching narratives in Battle Royale; namely, the lighthouse scene. Between formats, whether you’re looking at the movie, at the book, or at the manga, the lighthouse scene is one of the big ones. Big casualties, betrayals, et cetera.
Overall, I have a huge soft spot for the novel. Between the book, the movie, and the manga, all three are very different. They have the same vague overarching plot and the same characters, at least in name, but the novel is of course more than the movie and the manga takes the novel and gives you even MORE. You get backstory on just about every single character in the manga, and it’s more than a line or two. Oda got a full-on chapter, and in the movie all you got was “la la la I have a bulletproof vest and thus am invincible I’m sure this can’t go wrong!”
Spoiler alert, Oda: it goes wrong. But when we get backstory on you and realize that you’re terrible… eh.
I don’t know if I would like this manga as much if I didn’t already like the story, though. It’s ugly, exploitative, and overdramatic. The characters, who are supposed to be around ~15 years old either look 9 or 45. There wasn’t as much gratuitous nudity in this volume, apart from a chapter page break, but that is maybe part of the charm of the Battle Royale manga. It is absolutely trash.
But it’s fun, and I do love Battle Royale, and I will forever curse high-school-Aurora who bought the first seven volumes when they were 4$ in 2012 and then decided, nah, I can wait, and now they’re like THIRTY BUCKS APIECE.
Overall, I have a huge soft spot for the novel. Between the book, the movie, and the manga, all three are very different. They have the same vague overarching plot and the same characters, at least in name, but the novel is of course more than the movie and the manga takes the novel and gives you even MORE. You get backstory on just about every single character in the manga, and it’s more than a line or two. Oda got a full-on chapter, and in the movie all you got was “la la la I have a bulletproof vest and thus am invincible I’m sure this can’t go wrong!”
Spoiler alert, Oda: it goes wrong. But when we get backstory on you and realize that you’re terrible… eh.
I don’t know if I would like this manga as much if I didn’t already like the story, though. It’s ugly, exploitative, and overdramatic. The characters, who are supposed to be around ~15 years old either look 9 or 45. There wasn’t as much gratuitous nudity in this volume, apart from a chapter page break, but that is maybe part of the charm of the Battle Royale manga. It is absolutely trash.
But it’s fun, and I do love Battle Royale, and I will forever curse high-school-Aurora who bought the first seven volumes when they were 4$ in 2012 and then decided, nah, I can wait, and now they’re like THIRTY BUCKS APIECE.
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.
April 2, 2023
Bueno... todo se fue a la mierda tan rápido que aún estoy recalculando un poco.
No estoy del todo seguro de como me siento al respecto. la verdad es que fue muy brusco todo el tema de las chicas, pero a la vez creo que fue una buena forma de romper el status quo de la saga y dar un pequeño golpe al estilo: este es el mundo en el que la historia se desarrolla, si buscas un final feliz o una sociedad en armonía es que no estas prestando atención.
Me pareció interesante el planteo que las chicas tenían y me hubiera gustado ver como interactuaban con Noriko y Kawada. Estando tan cerca, pero a la vez tan lejos del final ya me palpito que Kawada va a ser el enemigo final... no me creo que exista su tan mencionado plan, solamente va a esperar el momento adecuado para enloquecer y mostrar la hilacha.
En fin, sigo enganchado a la saga, pero seguramente la deje reposar un poco para evitar saturarme aunque me genera mucha intriga no saber como hará el autor para innovar en estos números que quedan.
No estoy del todo seguro de como me siento al respecto. la verdad es que fue muy brusco todo el tema de las chicas, pero a la vez creo que fue una buena forma de romper el status quo de la saga y dar un pequeño golpe al estilo: este es el mundo en el que la historia se desarrolla, si buscas un final feliz o una sociedad en armonía es que no estas prestando atención.
Me pareció interesante el planteo que las chicas tenían y me hubiera gustado ver como interactuaban con Noriko y Kawada. Estando tan cerca, pero a la vez tan lejos del final ya me palpito que Kawada va a ser el enemigo final... no me creo que exista su tan mencionado plan, solamente va a esperar el momento adecuado para enloquecer y mostrar la hilacha.
En fin, sigo enganchado a la saga, pero seguramente la deje reposar un poco para evitar saturarme aunque me genera mucha intriga no saber como hará el autor para innovar en estos números que quedan.
September 30, 2018
Another insanely chilling volume. The only thing that kept me from giving it five stars was Kiriyama. His strange aura of invincibility and almost inhuman dominance over the other characters is really starting to irk me. He’s become more of an annoyance than a good villain. Just the bland, perfect bad guy with no flaws.
What really sold me on this volume was the bloodbath in the lighthouse. A bunch of sweet girls turning on each other in a bout of extreme paranoia. The tension was painful to sit through and it was done phenomenally.
What really sold me on this volume was the bloodbath in the lighthouse. A bunch of sweet girls turning on each other in a bout of extreme paranoia. The tension was painful to sit through and it was done phenomenally.
July 29, 2018
Omg!!!! Brutal and insane. 9 characters are still alive. Plus a lot of the girls killed each other because of paranoia. Yuko wanted to kill Shuuya but Yuka ate some of the soup Yuko poisoned and she died!!! Yikes! Also Kiriyama is crazy!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2025
I have been dreadfully awaiting this volume.
The story of what happened in this building is one that stayed with me after reading the novel. The mistrust, the quick way someone can turn on you and the true intention behind actions.
The story of what happened in this building is one that stayed with me after reading the novel. The mistrust, the quick way someone can turn on you and the true intention behind actions.
December 14, 2017
Pretty wild - things get really crazy here.
February 7, 2018
Another good volume. Also, I like how the cover of this volume looks just like the cover of The Firm.
June 18, 2022
3.5 ☆
De mis partes favoritas. Todo se convierte en caos.
De mis partes favoritas. Todo se convierte en caos.
August 2, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And we’re back to a five star!!!
And we’re back to a five star!!!
August 16, 2022
Brutal, heartbreaking and brilliant.
June 11, 2023
La desconfianza terminó por matar a todas...
adiós faro.
adiós faro.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2023
4,5 ⭐
Mis respetos al capítulo 71 que todo se fue a la mierda de una forma perfecta.
Mis respetos al capítulo 71 que todo se fue a la mierda de una forma perfecta.
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November 14, 2024all i’ve learned from this book is that ugly people are evil. don’t trust the uggos
February 10, 2025
La primera parte aburrida pero lo del faro siempre me parece tan absurdo que es 10/10.
February 21, 2025
El volumen que más muertes contiene a la menor cantidad de tiempo, y de forma muy loca. Gore divertidísimo y funcional.
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
Having to think of a review for each volume of this series is exhausting. I like the lighthouse girls.
March 9, 2024
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“Battle Royale” de Kōshun Takami y Masayuki Taguchi es una obra maestra del manga que presenta una historia intensa y provocadora en un entorno distópico. Publicado por primera vez en 1999, el manga es una adaptación del libro homónimo y ha dejado una marca duradera en la cultura pop.
La trama gira en torno a un oscuro y siniestro programa gubernamental llamado “Battle Royale”, que selecciona a una clase de estudiantes de secundaria para participar en un juego mortal. Los estudiantes son transportados a una isla desierta, se les proporciona armas y se les da una misión: luchar hasta la muerte hasta que solo quede un estudiante en pie.
El protagonista, Shuya Nanahara, y sus compañeros de clase se ven atrapados en este juego macabro sin entender completamente sus razones. La historia se sumerge en la psicología de los personajes mientras luchan con la moralidad, la lealtad y la desesperación. La lucha por la supervivencia lleva a relaciones complejas y a decisiones difíciles que desafían la ética y el sentido común.
“Battle Royale” de Kōshun Takami y Masayuki Taguchi es una obra maestra del manga que presenta una historia intensa y provocadora en un entorno distópico. Publicado por primera vez en 1999, el manga es una adaptación del libro homónimo y ha dejado una marca duradera en la cultura pop.
La trama gira en torno a un oscuro y siniestro programa gubernamental llamado “Battle Royale”, que selecciona a una clase de estudiantes de secundaria para participar en un juego mortal. Los estudiantes son transportados a una isla desierta, se les proporciona armas y se les da una misión: luchar hasta la muerte hasta que solo quede un estudiante en pie.
El protagonista, Shuya Nanahara, y sus compañeros de clase se ven atrapados en este juego macabro sin entender completamente sus razones. La historia se sumerge en la psicología de los personajes mientras luchan con la moralidad, la lealtad y la desesperación. La lucha por la supervivencia lleva a relaciones complejas y a decisiones difíciles que desafían la ética y el sentido común.
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