Battle Royale
by Koushun Takami
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Book Summary Information
Author: Koushun TakamiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-02-26
ISBN: 156931778X
Number of pages: 624
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Book Reviews of Battle Royale
Book Review: Tragic irony can be so beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
First, because I hesitated for a long time before I bought this, unsure whether I would be getting the novel or the manga, let me assure you that this book (the one with the black-on-red cover) is a real book--with words and no pictures (except a map). Amazon lists the manga series as an alternate version of this book, calling it the "Paperback Edition." This is entirely false. This edition is a paperback too, coincidentally.
Now on to the review.
The cold yet resoundingly human novel "Battle Royale" details the heartless "Program" that a junior high class was forced to endure--not to imply that they survived. This government mandated procedure, which takes place on an evacuated island, requires the students to fight one another to the death until there is only one remaining. The students--all around the age of fifteen--are each given a random weapon and set loose on the island. In order to ensure that they will participate, a time limit is set, at the end of which everyone dies unless only one is left.
Most of them don't believe that their own friends could ever kill each other and they that they themselves would never stoop so low...but the nagging threat that one of their classmates might be so weak is enough to drive some over the edge. "It is very hard to trust someone," as one of them says, and, guided by many devious narrative arcs, things quickly spiral into a bloody, brutal hunt.
Note that in the novel, the characters' transformations and the stories behind their involvement are much more diverse and each one is detailed skillfully and compellingly. Indeed, not everyone is caught up in the hysteria, and it is not the gory murders that make the story exciting, that make it so damn great.
There is, in fact, a lot of great, bittersweet, tragic, ironic...beautiful stuff in the murder sequences, and most of them are written from the victim's point of view as well as the assailant's. But the most glorious storylines follow those who are still civilized, who have their sanity and a shred of their dignity left and who are called to a higher mission.
Shuya Nanahara, the prime example and leading character, has one goal: protecting Nokiro, his best friend's crush. She isn't Shuya's lover (even though she has a crush on him) which takes the mission to new levels, making it noble and undeniably heartfelt.
Meanwhile Shinji Mimura is plotting to wage war on the forces that put them in this situation in the first place through a series of ingenious, thoroughly thought out plans. In these pasages Takami is revealed to be very technical-minded and clever, and at times reminiscent of Tom Clancy. His writing keeps the reader hooked. I would say "spellbound," but there's nothing mystical here--it is far too gritty.
But much like any number of anime titles, which can be hoplessly inane at one moment, yet close to profound the next, Takami has a few annoying tendencies that sometimes bring his work down. Frequently starting paragraphs with "That's right," placing parenthetical passages in awkward and confusing places, or using a single question mark as a scentence are some of the minor, but none-the-less irking litterary offenses.
Dispite his occasionally childish writing habits(some of which may be due to a poor translation), Takami's prose is endearing. There is a quirkiness to the writing. Quirky like Johnny Depp--quirky with an edge. Often when the scene is at its most dismal, Takami makes an obscenely happy-go-lucky analogy. Such as when three soldiers who are raising their handguns to dispose of a student who was acting up during their briefing is described thusly: "They resembled a chorus group... The men...all lifted their right hands in a dramatic, emotionally charged pose. But their hands were holding guns. Now the chorus would have been something like 'Baby please, baby please, spend the night with me--'" The writing is intense, and the suspense doesn't let up until the very end. Hell, the current number of students remaining is printed at the end of every chapter.
Though the writing may seem crass, however, it makes use of some clever and sophisticated tricks and methods to convey the story eloquently. Not the least of which is the use of familiar archetypes to get the reader to relate to the story immediately. Though almost everyone is at once a protagonist and antagonist, Takami also introduces a killer who is emotionally stunted and seemingly unstoppable on one extreme while at the same time Shinji's plan of attack on the government and Shojo's alleged "way out" provide a ray of hope.
Finally, there are the rock references. In the "Greater Republic of East Asia" all things related to the "Impeialist Swines" of America are forbidden, but Shuya and Shogo are rebels, and there are numerous references to such artists as Dylan, The Blues Brothers, and Bruce Springsteen--"Born to Run" in fact is used as Shuya and Noriko's theme.
All told, its a damn good story--one that is highly entertaining and that illuminates both the darkest and the most admirable facets of human nature. An essential read. Five stars.
......
Comparing it to the movie...I have to say, as one who saw the movie first--and loved it--that the book is better. The movie tried to sympathize with the director of the Program, which was interesting, but didn't make much sense. In this and several other aspects, the book is much more believable. In the movie, for instance, the Program was devised by frightened adults who were losing control over the kids, while in the book the Program has a much more subtle, devious purpose.
Although I loved the movie as much as I now love the novel and was constantly comparing the two as I read, the book totally eclipsed the movie, revealing it to be a mere shadow of the story's true glory.
Whether you have already fallen in love with the story or have yet to experience "Battle Royale" in any form, buy this.
Summary of Battle Royale
Battle Royale, a high-octane thriller about senseless youth violence, is one of Japan's best-selling - and most controversial - novels. As part of a ruthless program by the totalitarian government, ninth-grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food, and various weapons. Forced to wear special collars that explode when they break a rule, they must fight each other for three days until only one "winner" remains. The elimination contest becomes the ultimate in must-see reality television. A Japanese pulp classic available in English for the first time, Battle Royale is a potent allegory of what it means to be young and survive in today's dog-eat-dog world. The first novel by small-town journalist Koushun Takami, it went on to become an even more notorious film by 70-year-old gangster director Kinji Fukusaku.Manga Books
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