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 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.