Battle Royale
by Koushun Takami
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Book Reviews of Battle Royale
Book Review: Royale With Cheese
Summary: 2 Stars
It would be something of an understatement to say that the hype for his book was overwhelming. I had seen the film version long, long before getting my hands on the beefy novel -- it's already a bonafide cult classic destined to sit beside RIKI-OH: The Story of Ricky. You can imagine my anticipation when I hoofed it to work and sunk my teeth in. Shuya Nanahara is an unfortunate sod who lives in Japan. The good news is practically every girl in class has a crush on him. The bad news is that en route to a "study trip" their bus takes a detour and winds up on a remote island somewhere. All this is well and good, but that was just basic setup and already we're 60-something pages in! Guess what -- when the reader's interest is at its lowest, it's not wise to practically begin your tale with droning exposition that doesn't apply anywhere else in the story. As we go on, the narrative will suddenly screech to a halt and we're treated to endless scenes of one-dimensional students with identical names reciting stale soap-opera platitudes.
Eventually we learn that a totalitarian government has ferried the kids off to the island so they can kill each other. Cue up the characters griping about how cool it would be if the government was Democratic. They're so evil, they've banned Rock N' Roll, even! Why'd they do that? So Shuya and a buddy can recite Bruce Springsteen lyrics like solemn profundities, of course. For the next 500 pages the cliches come flying like bullets from a MAC-10 -- for every inept "action" scene there's at least three of meandering babble. Middle-schoolers tend to get existential when they're pitted against one another, and you can smell the angst whenever a character dies and someone's there to bawl about not saving him/her. This is not helped by stilted, awkward translation that should have been proofread more than once. For 600-odd pages we go, slamming headlong into the sloppy conclusion like a ton of slushy concrete.
Does this sound like the next big Must-Read Coffeehouse Book? It's big, and I've noticed a lot of "trendy" types raving about how meaningful and important all this foolishness is. Some have gone so far as to compare this to Lord of the Flies, which couldn't be more inaccurate. LotF was mainly concerned with the buildup prior to the sudden explosion of violence, as well as factions and crude "governments" springing up out of the rubble. This starts off with a boy getting machine-gunned in the chest by a commando. There are two kids who like to kill others and the rest hide and are slowly killed off one by one while they gripe about how dumb life is. You tell me how these can be compared.
Don't believe the neverending hype for this book. Its only redeeming qualities are some fiendishly creative deaths and the occasional moment of accidental comedy. Really, Battle Royale's dry, uneven translation should be the least of your worries. Nobody under the age of 16 should be reading this book. Anyone over the age of 16 should be slapped upside the head for trying to milk "life lessons" from it.
Battle Royale is too ambitious for its own good. Takami apparently wanted to highlight his novel with sensational scenes of gratuitous bloodshed, but between these scenes he gropes for a meaning like a blind man looking for a contact lens. Maybe quite a few things got lost in translation. It's too meandering for an actioner and it's too ADD-stricken for an allegorical study of "being young and alive in a 21st-century world". Just see the movie, it takes much less time away from your diminishing life.
Book Review: EXCELLENT a page-turner and instant Japanese pulp classic!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not the type who likes extreme violence, guts, and gore (which this book is filled with, but for good reason), but I really, really enjoyed this book. It is the best pulp fiction I've ever read. Keep in mind, though, that it is no masterpiece along the lines of Shakespeare and Fitzgerald in terms of language usage (it was translated from the Japanese language, and I thought the translator still did a fine job). However, "Battle Royale" is a very memorable book; you will be surprised how all the events stay in your mind. Despite there being some 42 kids with difficult Japanese names, I remembered each character, how they lived, and how they died. And this book is literally impossible to put down-it's v. v. compulsive reading. I finished it in one sitting.
You probably already know what this book is about, but here's a quick plot summary anyway: the Japanese government institutes "Battle Royale," and randomly selects 50 ninth-grade classes for the program. Each class is left on a deserted island, supplied with different weapons, and forced to kill each other until there is only one survivor. Most are unsure of each other's intentions and cannot trust anyone; this is what the government wants: for no one to trust each other well enough to form a group against the government.
"Battle Royale" has understandably been criticized as violent exploitation (esp. since these kids are 14-15 and some are more than willing to hack each other up), but there is something much more deeper than that. The book explores tricky relationships between people, and there are many questions asked in the film, like "Who can I trust?", "Can I trust my best friend?", "Can I trust my boyfriend/girlfriend?", "What is right/wrong?", "Can we fight the system?", "Since we're dying anyway, should I tell you I have a crush on you?", etc. These are all v. interesting questions and the author does a fabulous job of answering them, showing the devastating results. The description of violence is v. graphic as to be over-the-top and distracting sometimes, and the writing is sometimes corny and painful, but as a whole, the book moves extraordinarily well.
On the whole, most of the characters are developed well and we understand why they are doing what they are. In every page, we find teenage angst, lust, love, treachery, betrayal, goodness, jealousy, suspicion, hatred, and all those goodies. Although many of the characters do unspeakable things to their classmates (either willfully or out of fear), we feel for them. We understand them and therefore, feel pity for them when they die or are wounded. Only good books can elicit that kind of feeling for 42 different characters. I highly recommend the book. Don't expect to be blown away by the writing style, but do expect to be blown away by an interesting and irresistible premise, thoughtful ideas, and a GREAT story of friendship and other human relationships.
(If you enjoy the book, you should definitely watch the movie "Battle Royale", which is the best movie coming out of Japan in years. I read the book before I saw the movie, and although I think the book is better, the movie is also incredible. Some of the scenes in the movie, especially the lighthouse scene with Yukie, even outdo the book. Of course, some characters aren't as well developed, but that's expected and understandable. With excellent acting, great direction, fantastic use of classical music, and a superb story, the movie is definitely a must-see.)
Book Review: Good story, questionable presentation
Summary: 3 Stars
42 students in a dystopic, totalitarian Japan are taken to an evacuated island after being gassed on a bus, believing that they were on a field trip, and wake up in a classroom of the island's local school. To their horror, their sadistic, childish "Instructor" Kinpatsu Sakamochi announces that they are to be part of the year's Program, better known as Battle Royale.
So begins Koushun Takami's bloody thriller as the junior-high students are released onto the island and, according to the rules of the Battle Royale, are to kill each other to the last 15-year old standing. Each student wears an explosive collar that will detonate should one of them break a rule or enter a "forbidden zone," areas on the island that are called off-limits by the instructor to make the playing field smaller. Distrust, past grudges, and in some cases vengeance all begin to manifest as the players are each given a weapon (ranging from a shotgun to a fork) and in a daze scatter across the island. It doesn't take long for the game to begin, despite what our protagonist, Shuya Nanahara hopes. Shuya pledges to protect Noriko Nakagawa, the crush of his friend, and soon they are joined by a tough survivalist, Shogo Kawada, whose past and trustworthiness are of course obscured through most of the story. Their opponents? Practically everyone as they devolve into paranoid wrecks. In particular though, there's Kazuo Kiriyama, a sociopathic, efficient killer, and Mitsuko Souma, a ruthless girl venting her frustrations and fury at her past abuses on her fellow classmates. Some kids form alliances, only to see them crumble, others try to form plans to escape, like athletic and intelligent Shinji Mimura and his friend, the class clown.
This book is altogether not too bad, although there are numerous concerns. For one, it seems a bit lengthy for a novel of this type, and it seems like the author could have spaced out the killings and fights a little more. It can be rather boring at times, despite its subject matter, and there are some continuity issues, like the fact that Kazuo's machine gun appears to have infinite ammo, or a junior high student could have computer hacking skills that potentially disrupt the government's own system. The most pressing issue may be the grammar and-as other reviewers have pointed out- this could be the translation. As the book progresses, the grammatical errors only seem to get worse, until a page can be wracked with, among other less noticeable problems, missing words and unnecessary detail described in robotic fashion. The phrase, "That's right" must literally be used at least a hundred times throughout the novel, whether in dialogue or in the narrative itself (the author tends to practically switch to 1st person in some instances). Twice he even parenthesis's a scream.
The story is good, the author's true skill at writing sporadically comes through the mélange of grammar flaws, and the characters are interesting; the point of view of each student is described at least once, even if said character may be killed at its finish. While the exact motivation for the Battle Royale program on the part of the "Republic of Greater East Asia" is never clearly explained, the despotic regime is actually believable. Finally, it can be fun and disturbing to imagine a given group of people you know, a class, workplace, or just a group of friends, in such a situation and figuring out who would do what.
Book Review: Majorly disappointing - the film was way better
Summary: 2 Stars
I thought the film was excellent, and assumed that the original book would be better (as they usually are). Dead wrong. Most of the extra detail provided in the book actually detracts from the story's overall effect rather than enhancing it.
The book is set in a parody of today's Japan: an authoritarian government happy to murder anyone who challenges it, maintaining a policy of isolationism through overt media censorship and embargoes on all foreign products, etc etc. If you just see this as direct socio-political commentary (rather than background to a story which, as a whole, becomes socio-political commentary), then maybe it's okay, but it's far too heavy-handed for me. It's so much harder to empathise with characters who inhabit such a different world. By contrast, the film is set pretty much in the real, modern-day Japan: authoritarian (though less kill-happy) government, militaristic education system, rising unemployment, socially-endemic bullying etc. This is much easier for any Japan-savvy reader to identify with.
A few of the stories behind the individual characters were interesting, but many were dull, repetitive and, therefore, predictable. The whole "A is in love with B, but doesn't have the guts to tell him/her" gets very tedious by the tenth time we read it, especially when B turns out to be the same guy every time.
I also felt that the book didn't manage the development of major characters nearly as well as the film. For example, Sakamochi remains, to the end, a 2-dimensional caricature villain, while the film's Kitano, due to his history with the students (e.g. the stabbing scene with Kuninobu) and the insights into his tragic family life, is far more complex, albeit still despicable. Sugimura, presented in the film as a loyal, courageous, but somewhat naive, hero, plods through the book as a gullible twit who can't do anything right. The separate exits of Nanahara's parents in the film go far in explaining his determination to protect those dear to him, whereas this element is completely absent in the book. Mimura's rebellious antics in the book outstrip MacGyver in ridiculousness - on a deserted island with no more than a few farmhouses and a general store, he just happens to find a helium canister?! The detail provided regarding his hacking attempts just shows the technological ignorance of the author - the equivalent part of the film still requires willing suspension of disbelief, but the lack of detail makes it easier to just be swept along with his plan. As for Kiriyama, whom the book presents as nearly superhuman in his ability to master anything (from martial arts to violin playing) without trying, and whose cold malevolence is attributed to brain damage at birth - what a joke! The film's Kiriyama had infinitely more menace from the moment he appeared in the classroom, and his silence, and the lack of any personal history, serve to enhance his mysterious appeal.
Finally, and most importantly, the translation of the book was just ATROCIOUS!!! Why on earth would they invest so much money in publishing an English edition, but not bother to get a native English speaker to edit it?! In particular, the "continual inclusion" of "particular phrases" enclosed in "inverted commas" wherever the "Japanese text" presumably had "-toiu-koto" is "REALLY ANNOYING!".
You see where I'm going with this. See the film instead.
Book Review: Survivor Meets Lord Of The Flies
Summary: 5 Stars
I always thought the ultimate dystopian society is tbe a fascist government that controls every aspect of its citizens.Oppressing every thought and every movement. How wrong I've been.
The ultimate dystopian society is that which seeks to destroy its future. An every societies future is in its children.
With so much in the news of Columbine and school shootings, Battle Royale has upped the ante with its vision of teenage violence.
What a better way to control society than with seeding fear and mistrust within its children. With such a notion planted, there would be no way for the future adults to overthrow the dictatorship that exists.
The story takes place in an isolationist Japan. The government controls everything. Music, news, clothing, you name it.
Prefecture Class B is on a class trip when the entire class is drugged and knocked out. They awake in a school house on a deserted island off the coast of Okinawa. They're greeted with soldiers surrounding the room and a sadistic Mr. Kitano as they're instructor for this years Battle Royale.
What is Battle Royale?
At random, an entire junior high school class is abducted and taken away to a secret location (usually an island).
They have explosive collars placed around their necks and given a knapsack containing the following:
3 days of water
3 days of food (government issue bread)
A map of the island
flashlight
random weapon.
Its interesting the weapons they are given. Some are given guns, knives, bullet proof vests, clubs and kitchen utensils.
Students are pulled one person at a time at two minute intervals and given a pack and told to leave the school grounds.
The rules are simple. Kill your fellow student.
Last student standing is the winner. After 3 days if no student is standing then the explosive collars are activated and all remaining students are killed.
Every 6 hours certain zones on the island are forbidden. Crossing into these zones will cause the collars to detonate.
So, the question running through every student's mind is, can I kill my fellow classmate to survive?
Can I kill my best friend?
My secret crush?
Should I take my chances and play the game, or perhaps band together with my fellow students and find a way to escape?
The student portrayals are right on the money. All 42 students are portrayed with all their ambitions, hang ups, crushes and
personalities. I could identify with every student in the class, because we're either were one of those students at one time or went to school with them. The class clown. The nerdy loner. The class jock. The prettiest girl. They are all here and the author almost makes you care about these people. They are all by no means 2-dimensional.
Every chapter ends with a body count of the remaining class members. Starting from 42 class members remaining the body count goes down from chapter to chapter and the tension increases from chapter to chapter.
Who wins? You'll be surprised at the twist ending which completely comes out of left field. The entire book is a page turner, but its the last 30 pages that you'll have a difficult time putting the book down until the very end.
This is a first time novel for the author Koushun Takami. Overall a job well done, and I look forward to his future work.