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Battle Royale Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition
Paperback
Published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Koushun Takami
97 books1,583 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 of 1 review
May 17, 2024
Please be aware before you pick up this book that it is very violent and was written before books started having trigger warnings!
In the same fashion as Hunger Games we follow a class of 42 students who are going on a study trip but are kidnapped by the government to participate in "The Program"; a free for all killing spree between the classmates. They have no choice, neither do their parents or caregivers.
This book was very good with character development and intrigue but it was a difficult read for me. Battle Royale has no holds barred on describing exactly the grotesque ways that the teenagers are killed. Worth a read if you don't mind gore but don't expect this to be as tame as Hunger Games. Yes, I called Hunger Games tame.
In the same fashion as Hunger Games we follow a class of 42 students who are going on a study trip but are kidnapped by the government to participate in "The Program"; a free for all killing spree between the classmates. They have no choice, neither do their parents or caregivers.
This book was very good with character development and intrigue but it was a difficult read for me. Battle Royale has no holds barred on describing exactly the grotesque ways that the teenagers are killed. Worth a read if you don't mind gore but don't expect this to be as tame as Hunger Games. Yes, I called Hunger Games tame.
Displaying 1 of 1 review