Battle Royale
by Koushun Takami
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Book Reviews of Battle Royale
Book Review: Let's get ready to rumble
Summary: 5 Stars
As others are saying, it's not only a bloodthirsty game on the surface, but it also deals with issues of trust, loyalty, contemporary Japanese society, and how people might react under life and death situations. Friendships unravel messily in the book, but even before the game starts the main character hits on a somewhat common truth that friendships evolve rapidly over the course of childhood, as people's interests change. The cultural barbs are a fairly harsh criticism of the "entrance exam hell" which Japanese students undergo. 9th graders fight each other for positions into good high schools, which affect to varying degrees their university admittances and course their entire future (granted, it could start as far as elementary school; an Italian friend recounted a similar process there). And by turning it into a game where the winner is a brief celebrity, Takami spoofs the Japanese (and worldwide) love for insane television game shows. Generally Takami actually has a somewhat optimistic view of the younger generation, which leads to one of my criticisms. He is critical of what he feels to be sheep mentality by showing a society which has accepted this "culling" system for decades. Adults are for the most part shown as heartless, whereas there kids are explanations for their actions (one of them being a cheesy and unbelievable reason imho). It also seems implausible that the kids generally remain blissfully unaware of their possible fate, taking a "it'll never happen to me attitude" and falling into the typical categories of jock, nerd, otaku, and pop idol fan. This could have been a good way to criticize the cram school mentality of preparing for entrance exams even as grade schoolers since you would think some kids would have taken survival courses in the event they happened to be selected; even though it would have lessened the impact of seeing wholly unprepared and "normal" people thrown into extreme circumstances. Perhaps though it is only because I have a western perspective and see the fault of the Asian method of teaching by rote (i.e. always answer "How are you?" with "Fine, thanks, and you?") instead of teaching them how to think. I guess even Takami does not find it shocking to see grade schoolers and junior high students walking home from cram school at 9 PM like I did when I was over there.
The movie version, which I haven't watched all the way through, treats the concept more like "The Running Man", emphasizing the game aspect more by sensationalizing the media coverage of the winners, having the game explained to the new crop of students via videotape by a cutesy girl named "Oneesan" or big sister (shades of Orwell's "1984"), and giving out less guns and more joke weapons (pot lids or headbands). It does address one of my criticisms of the book regarding characterization, although of course it shortchanges many of the other students due to film time. It also has its own logistical problems, but still is exciting to watch. And then there's the manga version....
Definitely an excellent book to read.
Book Review: Great Book With an Orwellian theme
Summary: 5 Stars
Koushun Takami begins his novel with a series of quotes. Some are from Japanese sources, who you may not have heard of. One comes from Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run, and doesn't really come into play until later. The last is from George Orwell's Homage To Catalonia. The quote so sums up the point raised in the dark Battle Royale.
You may know the basic plot from reading other reviews, but I'll give a quick synopsis. In an alternate future Japan is a totalitarian state, which rules most of East Asia. Each year the government sponsors a ... game in each prefecture of Japan. This game is The Program. In an entire prefecture, one class of Junior High students is selected to take part in The Program, which is an essential death sentance. A class is placed in a remote location and forced to kill each other until one is left. If they refuse, an explosive collar on their neck ends things for everyone. The lucky class this year is Shiroiwa Junior High's Class B. Put on an island they are forced to come to terms wth the fact that their friends and classmates have to die or they will. The main protagonists are Shuya, the wannabe rock star, Noriko the average girl, and Shogo, the moody new kid to the class. Others try to survive and escape. One student, Shinji, develops an elaborate plan to shut down The Program, and another, Hiroki is trying to find a girl he had a crush on. Some students are more than willing to kill. Kazuo and Mitsuko are the most prolific killers from Class B.
This is not a book for the squimish. Every time a death occurs, it is described in incredible detail. Blood flows like water through out this whole book. While it can be stomach turning, even for those withstrong constitution, it adds to the realism of the story. Each death seems personal, especially if its a character thats survived for awhile. While most of the book is quite dark, it has some interesting humor. Sly jokes told at strange times combined with weird translatons and odd dialogue keeps things light durning lulls in the action.
Takami is more than just a good writter. He shows that he knows a lot about totalitarian novels of the Orwellian tradition. The country where they live is officially named Eastasia, a reference to one of Orwell's super powers from 1984. But while taking note to the greats Takami throws in some original ideas. Like whether rock music has the power to move people as it is percieved.
This has been advertised as a modern day Lord of the Flies. In some ways it is. Children on an island losing touch with reality and their humanity does conjure images of Lord of the Flies. But there is no stopping the maddness. In Lord of the Flies adults stop the violence of the children. Adults force it on kids in this novel. I my opinion Battle Royale more resembles a look at totaltariansm in a modern setting. What happens when a society's morality is immoral? The answer is found in Battle Royale. This is novel where you need to look past the blood and the violence to see the true beauty of this beast of a book. Read it.
Book Review: Show no mercy
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine this: Japan is run by a totalitarian government, which occasionally selects groups of ninth graders to methodically destroy each other. On TV.
There now, isn't that chilling? It's the creepy, all-too-real premise of Koushun Takami's "Battle Royale," an intricate novel about a parallel universe, where Japan is part of a brutal, coldhearted empire. Takami's writing style is a bit too spare at times, but he's still able to inspire a sense of haunting terror in his readers.
A group of third-year high-schoolers are being transported on a bus, when they are gassed to unconsciousness, and taken to a distant island. When they awake, they have silver collars around their necks, and a man explains that they have been chosen for the Program: a military training exercise where you must kill or be killed. If you don't play, or stay in one place too long, the collars explode.
The teenagers slowly weed one another out, armed with weapons and random household tools, and monitored by the authorities to make sure they don't plot. Finally the entire class is weeded down to three young adults, including Shuya Nanahara and his girlfriend Noriko. But if they refuse to kill, then they must escape the fascist nightmare... which no one has done before.
"Battle Royale" was condemned in Japan for being so violent, and having a bunch of normal high schoolers killing each other off. So of course, it became a massive bestseller. But "Battle Royale" would have been striking even if it hadn't been publicized like that -- not only is it well-written, but it asks the question straight-out: how much will people do to survive?
Maybe it's also a parable about high-school life, and the struggle to succeed at all costs in Japan. However, Koushun Takami avoids any outright preaching or pondering. Instead he uncoils the tense plot, all about the kids fighting (they're told to "show no mercy") as they try to find a way out of their dilemma alive. Will any of them make it? There's a little glimmer of hope, since Shuya is trying to think his way out.
The pacing is pretty slow and intricate -- considering the large cast, it's not surprising. But the careful plot is punctuated with bursts of nasty action. And Takami writes in a spare, taut style, full of little details to add atmosphere and keep it from being TOO stark ("Under the moonlight, the bluish-white concrete pier gleamed like bone").
Shuya and Noriko are the main characters, and most of the novel's action is through their eyes. These are nice, normal, everyday kids like the ones who live down the street, but suddenly they're faced with their friends and classmates... wanting to kill them. Takami does a great job exploring their emotions as they struggle to keep their sanity and lives.
Violent, creepy and wonderfully atmospheric, "Battle Royale" is a brilliant cult novel that takes an exaggerated look at what it takes to stay ahead. Excellent piece of work.
Book Review: Dear lord...that's me!
Summary: 5 Stars
You're probably wondering who I'm talking about. I'm talking about Shogo. His mind is mine.If you are a high school student who is not afraid of brutal honesty when it comes to death and human nature, you owe it to yourself to read this book. One of these poor, doomed kids is you. You will see your own death. It's a sobering experince, that really gets you thinking. Read it, now.
Now, like I said, you'd better be ready for some brutal honesty. This shows in the writing style, which is clinical at times, and very human at others. The most infamous example of this would undoubtedly be the 'X STUDENTS REMAINING' at each scene change. This chilling tally even undergoes a transformation. Oh, yeah, and be prepared for accurate descriptions of death. This is not 'Hollywood-style' death, this is 'real-world' death. In other words, messy, and very messy. The biggest example of this is probably the fight between the nunchuk-equipped boy and the icepick-armed girl. Read it and I assure you, you'll know what I mean. Another example of this brutal honesty. The 'instructor'. This man is a cold, heartless bastard who truly enjoys his work. You -will- want him dead within five-minutes of meeting him, tops, for a slow reader. The goverment is of the type that you know is wrong, but you can't do a dammed thing about.
But there is a flip side to this honesty. Because the game is also about trust. You never quite know what a person is thinking, outside of a few characters, unless they're to die soon. And die they will. You are likely to cry for a couple of characters, and just as likely to cheer as other characters meet their messy ends.
Now, the back cover of the english edition calls this "a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century". Close, but not quite. If I was to use a number of different things to sum this up they would be: Lord of the Flies, 1984, snuff films, and Survivor, with a bundle of weapons and a ton of sadism. But this doesn't even come close. If you just read the book and can't find a connection to the characters (older readers, I'm talking to you), you will find this book to be much like the Program itself: violent, twisted, and ultimately, to quote Shogo: "Pointless". But if you see yourself in even one of these characters, you will have one very important question answered for you: "What will I do to survive?" In Lord of the Flies, a power struggle, along with the absence of authority, doomed the island society to a catastrophic breakdown. In Battle Royale, however, there is no peaceful way out. Authority is forcing you to kill. And no matter how much you believe in the fundamental goodness of humanity, you can't stop the truth portrayed in this book.
Battle Royale is a wake-up call to the New Age, and a hard lesson that really needs to be learned.
Oh, and in case you're wondering what my answer to that charming little question is, it's kill. Me over you.
Book Review: They should lock the author away in a nut house!
Summary: 5 Stars
Battle Royale is quite possibly the best book i've ever read. At least, in the action genre. But there is SO much more than action. The book, as you should by now know, is about an unfortunate group of Japanese students in which are taken to a deserted island,as a device of the corrupt government, and FORCED TO KILL ONE ANOTHER. (The corrupt government is a fictional one, and we are led to assume that the Japan we are experiencing is in an alternative world.)
*SLIGHT SPOILERS
There are around forty students, half male, hale female. Each one is armed with random weapons and let go at timed intervels. Each one is given a bag in which they find a map, bread, and water, and a weapon. The weapons are randomized as to add variety to the "game".The weapons range from knives to binoculars, forks, bulletproof vests, grenades and ect... Thats JUST the melee. In firearms you get anywhere from a Colt Python revolver to a Beretta, a UZI S.M.G to a Spas Shotgun. To say the least, these arent your normal school accouterments, and things WILL get messy.
Now, what ive described may seem like a total bloodfest, but you get more than that. You get to see each individual characters involvement in the "game", and most of their eventual demise. You get to see the psychological health of each teenager, each one knowing that only one survivor is possible. Some fight against the government, some willingly kill classmates, some hide dormant and formulate plans. Some form bonds and some trust no one. At least a quarter of the students go insane before they die...
Aside from violence due to suicide, strangulation, stab-bitation and more, there are... the collars...
Each student has a collar around their necks, which moniters location, life-signs ect... If they tamper with it... yep, it explodes. If they try and swim from the island, aside from the four battle ships waiting, the collars will explode. If they assualt the building in which the directors of the "game" stay at, the collars explode. If they are caught in a "forbidden zone", the collars explode.
Thats right, the forbidden zones. At specific intervals, students are let known of dead students, students remaining, and forbidden zones. Every hour a new coordinate on the grid-map that each student carries is marked, and students are to leave the area before said time. Or else... yep, the collar explodes.
Enough spoilers, however! To end my review, I will say that the translation of the book is wonderful, the writing too. There is enough violence in here to be offensive to some, but if you really cared you'd have stopped ready a while ago. The story is SOLID, the characters beleivable, although, to me, the ending wasnt in tune with the insanity which we had read for 600 hundred pages or so.
FIVE STARS OUT OF FIVE
BUY THE BOOK! INSANITY GALLORE!