Masayuki TaguchiRezensionen

Moved to [b:Battle Royale, Vol. 01|57893|Battle Royale, Vol. 01 (Battle Royale, #1)|Koushun Takami|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388901600s/57893.jpg|56398].

Some notes and impressions (subject to revision as I continue through the series).

Note: I actually read the "Ultimate" edition which contained the first 3 volumes.

Short Answer
Good--if not terribly original--action, seinen manga if you skim the numerous flashbacks.
Note: I'm going to read the novel and see what the differences are.

Originality
The themes and story ideas raised in this book are not terribly original. [b:Lord of the Flies|7624|Lord of the Flies|William Golding|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869409s/7624.jpg|2766512] dealt with the total loss of civilized behavior among children even younger than the children in this story. Running Man (a 70s? movie) was about a gladiator game show very loosely based on Stephen King's [b:The Running Man|11607|The Running Man|Richard Bachman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333160557s/11607.jpg|3652165].

Art
Professional, detailed and realistic--not artsy. It is action-oriented and doesn't build atmosphere with dramatic two-page landscape shots.

Story
Even though the flashbacks were interesting in the beginning, they become repetitive and by vol. 5, I'm quite tired of hearing about the main MC's idealistic background. They are also so numerous that the pacing is terribly slow.

Takami misses a chance to make the story more interesting when he kills off Mim before he's able to attack the HQ, which happens in a completely unrealistic way (Kiriyama survives a point-blank bomb explosion). It was almost enough to make me lem the series.

The pace of death is regular. unrelenting, and ruthless. Some of my favorite characters get killed right as they triumph.

World:
It is no coincidence that Takami chose the name, Republic of Greater East Asia (大東亜共和国), as the name of his fictitious authoritarian country. The name of this country happens to have the same first 4 characters as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (大東亞共榮圏), which was the name given to the geo-political region that fascist Japan aspired to during WWII.

America is viewed from afar as representative of freedom--at least for now. Rock 'n roll from America is banned and American girls are to be envied ("at least American girls must be suffering the boredom of baseball just as we do" [paraphrase] says one of the girls in the cheerleading squad). Perhaps Japan wasn't defeated in WWII and there was some kind of peace accord.

Characterization
The characters are believable and behave consistently.

Suspension of Disbelief:
If I ignore the fact that the writer stated that these characters are 9th graders and instead I believe that they are 17- or 18-year-olds--or even 16--then I'm back on solid ground. And that is acceptable because this story is metaphorical. It might even be allegorical: the idealist, the veteran, the naive, the heartless, the revolutionary, the animal, the blindly faithful, the ruthless, the double suicide. And it sure runs the gamut of its allegorical character types through the wringer.

10 June Update: Finished vol.4.
9 August Update: Finished vol.7.

This is an excellent example of a dystopia for one. But it is also a great story. Take the best of Lord of the Flies, 1984, The Running Man (King's story, not necessarily the film), and add some more violence, sex, and suspense, and you get this story. It grips you from the beginning, and it does not let you go until the last page. I will definitely continue reading this series. This collector's edition offers some extras in terms of an interview with the author, a short essay by a psychologist, and extra sketches. This is definitely not for little kids, but for adults who like a good adventure with suspense and shootings and so on, this is highly recommended. 42 ninth graders go in, and only one will survive.

I used to joke around that the show "Survivor" was not violent enough. I always joked that the show should be give the participants weapons, let them kill each other, and one walks out. This series is kind of how I envisioned that dumb reality show should have been, only on steroids, so to speak. Great series, and one I will gladly follow.

This is supposed to be the original The Hunger Games. So, I had to read this before starting THG. The plot isn't believable. Why would a government force a bunch of kids to kill each other? Maybe there is an explanation in the later volumes. Its too violent for me and unnecessarily filthy.

Filling in the back story of the novel “Battle Royale”, also by Koushun Takami, the manga explores the characters involved in the Program in greater detail, probing their individual motivations for choosing either to play and kill or not. While the story is familiar, the stark black and white artwork adds a whole new dimension. It's brilliantly gory even without being in color. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

En una realidad paralela, en la que Japón se ha convertido en un estado policial llamado Mayor República del Asia Oriental, cuarenta y dos alumnos de tercer grado del instituto Shiroiwa son sedados en el autobús en el que viajaban camino de una excursión cultural. Despiertan en una sala desconocida, con un collar metálico al cuello, convertidos en concursantes de los juegos Battle Royale. Ahora se encuentran en una isla abandonada, de la cual sólo saldrá el ganador, es decir, quien mate al resto de los concursantes. De no ser así, el collar que llevan explotará, y morirán todos. Una maravilla. Adictivo, trepidante. Con la dosis justa de sexo, violencia y filosofía. Quizá pierde un poco de fuerza al acercarse al final y quedar cada vez menos concursantes, pero el conjunto es genial. Este ha sido el primer manga que leo, y la elección no podía ser mejor. Incluso el propio autor consideró que el comic es mejor que la novela y la película porque le permitió desarrollar mejor los personajes y la situación a la que se enfrentaban.

Brilliantly violent and stylised, sticking true to it's manga routes without falling into the cookie-cutter trappings of the art and fully capturing the bloody atmosphere and terror of the story.

It's only weakness is a slightly messy plot and similar-looking characters, both problems caused by the sheer scale of the plot and cast. It's not Shoujomanga or high fantasy, but any fans of the male-orientated violence of action manga should easily enjoy this first volume.

The manga adaptation of the novel. Bloody good stuff. And the art is amazing with it's bloody detail.

Ok, I'm not a massive manga fan and I bought this on a really random whim to find out what the fuss was about... and wow. Seriously, this is not a nice book by any means but it is incredible in a must-know-what-happens-next way. It's full of very graphic (well, it is manga) sex and violence, disturbing scenes of mental illness and a horrifying look at the depths of human depravity. But it also has hope against the odds, and friendship, and love.
This is a series that spans many issues and will take the reader on a journey both around the island, but also deep inside the human mind. I can understand why some people wouldn't like this book, I find it hard to apply the word 'like' to it myself without sounding like a psychopath, but it's gripping and intriguing... you are never bored. Trust me, you should read it. But make sure you come prepared with a strong stomach.

It seems promising, but it's not latched onto my attention or anything. I'm not a big fan of the artwork; I like really pretty manga art. There's an awful lot of tears and snot in Battle Royale.

What a dark creepy manga volume. Very disturbing, but also thought provoking. I'm glad I read it.½

A Graphic Novel/Manga Series of 15 books. I am not going to review each book in the series individually, since I read all of them in one weekend...it was that good.

This series is not for the light hearted. It is full of violence, sex and tons of gore. The story line is a lot like lord of the flies, only more institutionalized. The story starts out how many typical manga tend to, a lot of happy go lucky teenagers going on a group trip. Only difference is this one has a nasty twist. The teenagers have the not so great luck to be drawn for the governments reality show called the "program". All 42 students are dropped on an island, given a duffle bag, with a random weapon which range from semi-automatic machine guns to acid and have to kill each other till there is only one left standing. Each student have been equipped with a collar which will explode if they try to take it off or escape from the island.

If you can handle the gore this is a must read just for the intense suspense and titillating anticipation to see who will best who each chapter. As the story develops with each chapter you get greater insight to the characters past and current mind set. You will find yourself selecting favorites out of the 42 characters. Rooting them on as they survive horror after horror, you will cry with them as they loose their friends and loved one and as one by one they die.

The characters are pretty well rounded, each one from all main tracks of life; poor, rich, geniuses, idiots, a few insane and a lot that were abused. The main character, Shuuya, only wanted to be a rocker when he grew up finds himself responsible for the class cutie, Noriko. Both are a bit idealistic and are in many ways too trusting in other people to do the right thing. The baddies of this story are serious Kiriyama and the beautiful Mitsuko. I found myself sympathizing with them while I gasped in horror at their actions. They were both my favorites to read about. The characters are what make this story so captivating. Almost every character gets a section where they revel what makes them tick and why they act they way the act to each other. The characters were developed so well that when one dies you feel some type of emotional reaction. As you grow attached to the characters you find yourself getting panicked because as the rules state only one will survive. Which of your favorite characters will be sacrificed so that one will survive?

You will just have to read it to find out -- but you will have to buy your own copies cause mine are staying on my shelf :)

Vous connaissez certainement le principe de Battle Royale. 42 lycéens sont débarqués sur une île déserte livrés à eux-mêmes. Ici ce n'est pas Sa majesté des mouches, ils vont être poussés à se battre et même à tuer pour survivre. La règle a le mérite d'être claire : à la fin il ne doit rester qu'un seul survivant. Comme ce Battle Royale est avant tout un show, il faut éviter qu'il ne se passe rien — souvenez-vous du spectacle affligeant donné par les candidats de télé-réalité avachies au soleil près de la piscine. Pour cela rien de tel que d'équiper chaque participant d'un collier explosif — dans Battle Royale pas en télé-réalité — et de déclencher une explosion arbitraire et meurtrière si au moins une élimination — c'est à dire un mort — n'a pas été comptabilisée dans la journée.
Pour être à même de se défendre et de survivre, chaque participant se voit remettre un sac contenant de la nourriture ainsi qu'une arme — vous voyez qu'ils ne sont pas si méchants. Pour pimenter le tout et ajouter encore un peu d'injustice à une ardoise déjà bien chargée, chaque arme est différente. Le panel va du boomerang — hé oui c'est une arme avant d'être un gadget dangereux destiné aux enfants — à l'arme automatique.
Ah oui, j'ai oublié de préciser un détail. Les lycéens en question se connaissent très bien puisqu'ils font partie d'une même classe — sinon se serait trop facile de s'entretuer sans le côté affectif qui fait hésiter au moment de donner le coup de grâce.

Je n'avais pas envie de réfléchir et voulais lire quelque chose de bourrin. Sur ce point au moins, je n'ai pas été déçu. Par contre sur le reste, j'ai un avis plus réservé qui commence par un blocage sur les dessins. Le style ne me plaît pas du tout et ce sentiment désagréable est renforcé par les expressions ultra exagérées des personnages — ils ont en permanence le nez qui coule et les yeux qui pleurent. On comprend bien la souffrance qu'ils peuvent subir dans cet environnement hostile mais là, pour le coup, on a plutôt envie de leur dire, comme à certain collègues de boulot, "prend un kleenex et arrête de renifler". Pour faire le lien avec le fond, cette souffrance est omniprésente et souvent accompagnée d'énormément de violence qui, à ce niveau, s'apparente plus à de la sauvagerie. On n'est pas dans la finesse, dans l'évocation, rien n'est suggéré, tout est exposé sous les yeux du lecteur avec la plus grande cruauté. Enfin, le scénario qui tient par essence un peu en haleine ne tient par contre pas toutes ses promesses. C'est au final un manga assez dérangeant que j'ai laissé tomber après la lecture de quelques tomes. Peut-être que le livre dont il est issu est plus réussi car l'idée est intéressante et peut illustrer efficacement certaines dérives de notre société comme le voyeurisme et la marchandisation des êtres humains. http://www.aubonroman.com/2011/04/battle-royale-t1-par-k-takami-m-taguchi.html

Based on Koushun Takami's original novel, Battle Royale is "The Lord of the Flies" gone fascist. In a sickening version of Japan, a class of ninth graders are chosen to compete on The Program, a reality television show that requires them to fight one another to the death. This volume collects the first 3 books into one hardcover edition, and is the first in a series of 5.

That's the basic plot, and from that point on there are far too many characters to mention in just a short review. Our hero, Shuuya Nanahara, tries to find a way out of the game--with help from the lovely Noriko and the mysterious Kawada. His classmate Mimura begins to organize an attack on the Program's administrators. Meanwhile, martial arts prodigy Hiroki Sugimura is in search of his best friend. But they'll need to watch their backs for trouble--some of their classmates are playing the game, and playing to win.

This was one of the first manga I ever read. The English adaptation by Keith Giffen(!) is nearly flawless, and the story itself is deeply engaging and thematically fascinating. It stands up to thorough rereading; hence the reason I've bought the nice hardcover editions. My only complaint is some aspects of the art, which can border on the hyperbolic even when a scene is devoid of violence. Taguchi draws very realistic-looking gore, and the vast majority of his work on Battle Royale looks gorgeous, but some of his faces look out of proportion, even by manga standards. Other than that, I adore this book.

Veel beter dan de film, goed uitgewerkt, meer plot en psychologie.

Probably the best manga I've ever read. The only thing that puts me off buying the Battle Royale series is the graphic nature of the comic - nevertheless, the story is captivating, the artwork fantastic and it leaves you hungry for more.½

Having read the original novel, I was surprised to see how the manga delved more in the backgrounds of the characters then it did. It did, however, ratchet up the level of gore and sex though I don't think that took away too much from the storyline.

Horror, Pulp