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mysteryspouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
velveteenrabbit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence
vvabecca's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
excritos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
diane_matcha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
perthalus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I’ve seen the film adapt more than once before, and reading the original book provided so many pieces of context and extra character bits that made reading it entirely worth it. Koushun Takami absolutely nails the action. Even knowing what happens doesn’t remove from the intensity and suspense provided by each encounter, and god, what a premise.
I especially love Kazuo Kiriyama’s gang, though I wish Kazuo himself got a little more background towards the end, but that may just be my bias talking. And I also love Shogo Kawada because… I don’t know, I just love him, okay? 🫶🏻 Now that I think about it, there isn’t a character I don’t really like, maybe besides Shinji, though even he has his moments. But Mitsuko, Kazuo, Shogo, Shuya, Hiroki, Chigusa, and Noriko are all characters I absolutely love.
I will say that the action can ride the edge between believable and ridiculous, especially when characters do somersaults mid-fight. And on top of that, Shinji’s computer jargon and his exposition on pre-established information made his chapters a little repetitive, but other than that I can’t pick out any glaring problems with the book or it’s story.
Overall, it’s a book that is still incredibly entertaining, shocking, and politically powerful as it was when it was first released, and it only made my appreciation grow for the story and the film adaptation.
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, Trafficking, and Classism
sobbinghoursopen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Blood
miketilford's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The story opens up with a huge info dump regarding the world, and the 42 characters in the story. As if I am going to remember anything about any of those 42 different characters with Japanese names, not going to happen. After this, things do pick up, but the book is plagued with info dump chapters that just kill the momentum. I suppose these chapters are suppose to better fill out the world, and maybe give some philosophical view of society, but I wasn't interested in the world.
Don't get me wrong, the story is good, but the writing itself is terrible. I want to believe that most of this is due to translation, but I don't know. Edit: Okay, it turns out that there are multiple translations. I began reading this on Kindle with the original translation, and switched to the new Nathan Collins translation around the 50% mark. The newer translation is way better, but be forewarned that the character names slightly change if you switch translations as I did.
It almost feels like Takami wanted to write a Manga, but couldn't find a publisher, so he wrote a novel instead. Fun fact, after the success of the novel, he did make this into a Manga, so I may not be too far off.
The main villain of the story is comically evil. He's a straight up sociopath that can't experience feelings. Okay sure, this is straight out of Manga / Anime, but fine whatever. This part is a bit much, but I can deal with. The fact that this 15 year old is basically the Terminator is a bit of a joke. Also, I'm pretty sure bulletproof vests are a one time thing.
With all this criticism, you may think that I didn't like Battle Royale. You wouldn't be further from the truth. The story was great, and despite the few criticisms I had, I loved the rest of it. My favorite scene involved the Lighthouse. The entire scene from the setup to the payoff was absolutely great, and completely believable.
Overall, I found this a surprisingly good read.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
samdej's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I generally have a lot of trouble with character names, but by the midpoint I was able to recognize the most important ones. In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I'll discussing my favorite characters based on general descriptions rather than names. There's "murder boy", which I know ought to be a meaningless moniker in this setting, but he's the one who is described as not having emotions, and decides to partake in the violence based on what might as well be a coin flip in his mind. I have some concerns with this as a portrayal of neurodivergence and/or mental illness, I lump those together when discussing this character because part of the problem is that aside from discussing him as an emotionless and then murderous person there isn't much to go off of. He's clever and methodical, with a savvy about the game which is mostly implied by the way other characters can tell he's succeeded in an encounter with someone who is now dead. My favorite character is guy with a best friend (whom he's not dating). I also like the main trio of characters, the narrative tends to flip between one of the guys in that trio and then moves to one of the other characters before coming back to him.
The web of relationships between forty-two teenagers on the government-run murder island is complicated, and tends to revolve around who likes whom, who the bullies are, which one of them has the bulletproof vest, or who is seeking catharsis in unleashing a hail of bullets. The misunderstandings, violence, assumptions, and last-ditch attempts to communicate a crush before impending the end of their lives are woven together expertly in a way that feels plausible given the setup. The fact that most of these kids have know each other for years in various classes before this means that every kill has personal context, no matter how much they might wish it didn't.
The worldbuilding is communicated in a mix of government propaganda, brief explanations of the current political situation and historical context, and off-hand things the characters say. There's a moment when one of the people running the scenario comments on how he's having his third kid to do his part to offset the declining birthrate. It's a small moment that tells so much about the setting. This one comment speaks to the insidiousness of the government's propaganda, the net effect of randomly killing off a set number of kids every year, and the gap between what the government may have wanted and the actual effect on the population. There are a lot of little moments like this, but that one has stuck with me. It tells so much about the mindset of this person helping hold up a horrific system, and it does so quickly, which is important since this is one of just a couple of times where an adult's perspective is shown.
A theme which the basic premise of the novel didn't prepare me for is the toxic combination of misogyny and the threat of rape as a weapon. I think it's handled very deftly, with a surprising amount of nuance. This throughline begins with an early reference to someone being raped at the government's order as part the program. I appreciate the way the novel as a whole engages with the horrors of sexual violence, and how it (in at least one case) can warp a person if they are unable to get help to deal with it. There are no scenes of rape in the book itself, but the fact that it's a tool of violence which is available to the teens on the island shows up several times.
The cadence of the plot provided periods of rest and some really touching scenes amidst the violence. These opportunities to learn more about the characters in turn made the death scenes more tense and emotionally resonant. Sometimes a character's perspective was shown for the first time right as they were about to die, and some characters appeared several times before someone took them out. I appreciated this mix because it kept up the pacing as a thriller and enhanced the dystopian themes all at once. I highly recommend this, and I'm very glad I read it.
A quick note since BATTLE ROYALE was written before THE HUNGER GAMES, but some comparison is warranted: there are a few tropes in common between the books, however the central dynamic in Battle Royale is that of a group of people who have known each for a long time before they are forced to kill each other. That difference alone means that these books feel and play out very differently. It also matters that the only audience in Battle Royale are administrators who have trackers but no cameras. It's not voyeuristic, they're not performing for a crowd, and they know everyone they kill. It's a commentary on authoritarianism instead of a critique of entertainment culture.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault