Battle Royale, Vol. 1 (Battle Royale, #1)

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Battle Royale, Vol. 1 (Battle Royale #1)

by Koushun Takami, Masayuki Taguchi, Keith Giffen (English Adaptation), Tomo Iwo (Translator)

3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 · rating details · 1,563 ratings · 99 reviews

Battle Royale, a high-octane thriller about senseless youth violence in a dystopian world, it 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 br...more

Paperback, 216 pages

Published May 13th 2003 by TokyoPop (first published May 13th 2000)

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May 07, 2013 Nina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, horror, adventure, novel, thriller, romance, dystopia

Let me start off by giving a tip for people who are looking into the Battle Royale franchise and doesn't know what media to go into first: Start with the novel, then watch the movie and then indulge yourself in the manga. My reasons? When you start with the novel, you'll begin with no visual aid. You don't have the characters in the movie and/or manga in your mind. It's only you and your imagination which makes things very fun. The story can be as tame or as graphic as you want it to be! Next, t...more Let me start off by giving a tip for people who are looking into the Battle Royale franchise and doesn't know what media to go into first: Start with the novel, then watch the movie and then indulge yourself in the manga. My reasons? When you start with the novel, you'll begin with no visual aid. You don't have the characters in the movie and/or manga in your mind. It's only you and your imagination which makes things very fun. The story can be as tame or as graphic as you want it to be! Next, the movie. For me, I found the movie to be disappointing, but only because I read the novel first. But it was all good since I got to start the franchise with a clean mind. Lastly, you should read the manga. The drawings were very well done and added a lot to the story. Plus, the manga had its own little changes, which made things a little bit more exciting.

Now for my review:

If I had to choose between Battle Royale's novel, movie or manga, I would have to choose the manga. First off, the movie was bad. It had no theme and it was very messy. Then again, it would have been rather difficult to compress a 600-paged book into a feature length film. Next, we have the novel. The book was long, but length means more details. The book gave much emotional impact. Almost everyone their own back story- not just the main character. But I have to say that my favorite form of media for Battle Royale was the manga by Koushun Takami.

The drawings were flawless. They were haunting, gory, creepy- everything that Battle Royale is. The drawings made the story come to life and made me feel like I was actually witnessing the events that took place. Takami added his own ideas into the manga that wasn't in the book. They worked PERFECTLY. I loved all additions that he did. Aside from changing the ending, though. The novel's ending was my favorite and I'm kind of sad to see that the movie and the manga did not follow through with it.

I gave this manga 4 stars, which is higher than what I rated the book version of Battle Royale. You see, I think that the drawings really did work well for a long story such as this. While I was reading the book, there were times when I felt like it was too long and wanted to put the book on hold. It was different while reading the manga version. Sure, I still felt like the story was too long, but sooner or later, the next gory drawing would snap me out of my tiredness and I would want to continue reading. That was what worked. If they could remake Battle Royale's movie, they should follow this manga exactly the way that it is.

First read: June 18 to 19, 2011
Review written on: June 19, 2011
Re-reread: May 5-7, 2013(less)

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Apr 30, 2013 Despair Speaking rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm trying to get my feelings and thoughts in order right now. I finally decided to check Battle Royale out to see what makes it so amazing and I think I've read far enough to be able to make a review. I'm not yet finished but having reached Chapter 40, I believe I now have the right to share my thoughts. But before I continue...

Warning: gory scenes are a given, swear words come out ever so often, and there are scenes definitely not for children!

We-ell, I don't see what's the big deal of compari...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Battle Royale, fans of violent manga

Shelves: manga

I thought I would like this more than I did. I've seen the movie, I just finished reading the novel yesterday, and so far the manga leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe I'd like it better in the original Japanese (time to start practicing my kanji again?).

I don't like the way a lot of the characters are introduced (Shinji, for instance, doesn't come off very likeable). Shuya's flashbacks are annoying and detract from the story. I also don't like the changes they made to the Program Instructor. For...more I thought I would like this more than I did. I've seen the movie, I just finished reading the novel yesterday, and so far the manga leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe I'd like it better in the original Japanese (time to start practicing my kanji again?).

I don't like the way a lot of the characters are introduced (Shinji, for instance, doesn't come off very likeable). Shuya's flashbacks are annoying and detract from the story. I also don't like the changes they made to the Program Instructor. For one, they made him an over-the-top pervert. And they changed his infamous "No whispering!" line.

Some of the changes not only seem unnecessary but also don't make much sense. In the manga, Yoshitoki didn't have a crush on Noriko, and even though Shuya now knows Yoshitoki didn't have a crush on her Shuya is going to protect Noriko with his life just because he used to think Yoshitoki had a crush on her. Wait, what? Yeah, don't bother trying to make sense of that; it's just stupid.

And I love it when the Program Instructor (view spoiler)

Some of the character designs are great (Mitsuko, for instance), but some of them... aren't. However, the graphic violence is perfect; exactly what you'd expect of the Battle Royale manga.

Okay, okay, I'm going to try to share my thoughts on the manga as a standalone story without comparing it to anything else. The pacing is poor, hindered a lot by the flashbacks. Most of the male character designs are ugly. The Program Instructor is a stupid pervert and not interesting at all. The reasons behind some of Shuya's actions make no sense. Much of the dialogue is awful, made worse by the poor inclusion of slang. I also don't like that the English adaptation turns the Program into a reality TV show.

Oh, and Tokyopop's typography is terrible. Just terrible.(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Hud-c rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mature readers, those who like to see more blood

Recommended to Hud-c by: Yu

Shelves: seinen, where-villains-must-die, reviewed, manga

3 stars

The manga starts different from the novel. A lot of characters had been introduced - the main ones, both protagonist and antagonist. I do have some difficulty in assessing how much I enjoyed reading this one since I'm now all too familiar with both the novel and film adaptations storyline. Setting aside the difference in the beginning, the manga just followed the same occurrences/events in the novel. There were slight alteration from the novel - eg. the Shinji stopping Shuya in the class,...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Fredrik rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review ini adalah sekaligus untuk keseluruhan seri-nya yang kelar saya baca versi online manga-nya dalam waktu kurang dari 1 minggu. *lap keringet* :D

Pertama-tama, tentang buku ini:

Setelah selesai membaca versi manga Battle Royale ini (saya belum baca novelnya, eniwei), harus saya akui kalau saya GAK PERCAYA Suzanne Collins SAMA SEKALI GAK PERNAH membaca/menonton novel/manga/film Battle Royale.

Dude, terlalu banyak kemiripan secara konsep antara The Program (nama "game" yang ada di Battle Royal...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Erik Herz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Starting to read Battle Royale by Koshun Takami, there is a sense that you are approaching something more than a book and closer to an institution. Battle Royale has it's roots in a novel, which birthed two movies and two manga series, not to mention its obvious thematic successor, the very susccessful Hunger Game trilogy. There's obviously something very compelling about the story or themes that Battle Royale has brought to light.

The quick plot overview is that 40 teenagers are gassed and sent...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Anonomanga rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mature audiences

Shelves: reviewed

Oh, I really liked this.

For so many reasons I feel that I shouldn't have, but I really, really did.

The premise has been looked at more than once--whether or not this was the first to propose the idea I do not know--but it cannot be denied that Battle Royale has seriously got something.

The story is very dark, very bloody, and very edgy. Expect to be disturbed at least a little. I'd like to highlight the rating again: mature. And for good reasons.

Not only is it explicit with gore and brutality, bu...more

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Apr 28, 2011 R. rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Vous connaissez certainement le principe de Battle Royale. 42 lycéens sont débarqués sur une île déserte livrés à eux-mêmes. Ici ce n'est pas Sa majesté des mouches , ils vont être poussés à se battre et même à tuer pour survivre. La règle a le mérite d'être claire : à la fin il ne doit rester qu'un seul survivant. Comme ce Battle Royale est avant tout un show, il faut éviter qu'il ne se passe rien — souvenez-vous du spectacle affligeant donné par les candidats de télé-réalité avachies au soleil...more Vous connaissez certainement le principe de Battle Royale. 42 lycéens sont débarqués sur une île déserte livrés à eux-mêmes. Ici ce n'est pas Sa majesté des mouches , ils vont être poussés à se battre et même à tuer pour survivre. La règle a le mérite d'être claire : à la fin il ne doit rester qu'un seul survivant. Comme ce Battle Royale est avant tout un show, il faut éviter qu'il ne se passe rien — souvenez-vous du spectacle affligeant donné par les candidats de télé-réalité avachies au soleil près de la piscine. Pour cela rien de tel que d'équiper chaque participant d'un collier explosif — dans Battle Royale pas en télé-réalité — et de déclencher une explosion arbitraire et meurtrière si au moins une élimination — c'est à dire un mort — n'a pas été comptabilisée dans la journée.
Pour être à même de se défendre et de survivre, chaque participant se voit remettre un sac contenant de la nourriture ainsi qu'une arme — vous voyez qu'ils ne sont pas si méchants. Pour pimenter le tout et ajouter encore un peu d'injustice à une ardoise déjà bien chargée, chaque arme est différente. Le panel va du boomerang — hé oui c'est une arme avant d'être un gadget dangereux destiné aux enfants — à l'arme automatique.
Ah oui, j'ai oublié de préciser un détail. Les lycéens en question se connaissent très bien puisqu'ils font partie d'une même classe — sinon se serait trop facile de s'entretuer sans le côté affectif qui fait hésiter au moment de donner le coup de grâce.

Je n'avais pas envie de réfléchir et voulais lire quelque chose de bourrin. Sur ce point au moins, je n'ai pas été déçu. Par contre sur le reste, j'ai un avis plus réservé qui commence par un blocage sur les dessins. Le style ne me plaît pas du tout et ce sentiment désagréable est renforcé par les expressions ultra exagérées des personnages — ils ont en permanence le nez qui coule et les yeux qui pleurent. On comprend bien la souffrance qu'ils peuvent subir dans cet environnement hostile mais là, pour le coup, on a plutôt envie de leur dire, comme à certain collègues de boulot, "prend un kleenex et arrête de renifler". Pour faire le lien avec le fond, cette souffrance est omniprésente et souvent accompagnée d'énormément de violence qui, à ce niveau, s'apparente plus à de la sauvagerie. On n'est pas dans la finesse, dans l'évocation, rien n'est suggéré, tout est exposé sous les yeux du lecteur avec la plus grande cruauté. Enfin, le scénario qui tient par essence un peu en haleine ne tient par contre pas toutes ses promesses. C'est au final un manga assez dérangeant que j'ai laissé tomber après la lecture de quelques tomes. Peut-être que le livre dont il est issu est plus réussi car l'idée est intéressante et peut illustrer efficacement certaines dérives de notre société comme le voyeurisme et la marchandisation des êtres humains. http://www.aubonroman.com/2011/04/bat...(less)

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Apr 12, 2011 jess rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, graphic-novels

I read this because I'm so obsessed with The Hunger Games and I heard that this was basically the same story in graphic novel form. Sure enough The Hunger Games has many similarities to this book. Since I’ve already read a similar story, a lot of the suspense is lacking for me. It turns out that I actually rely on the characterization & world-building of The Hunger Games, and I feel that is kind of lacking here.

Can I talk about this book without talking about the Hunger Games? E-Gads. The b...more I read this because I'm so obsessed with The Hunger Games and I heard that this was basically the same story in graphic novel form. Sure enough The Hunger Games has many similarities to this book. Since I’ve already read a similar story, a lot of the suspense is lacking for me. It turns out that I actually rely on the characterization & world-building of The Hunger Games, and I feel that is kind of lacking here.

Can I talk about this book without talking about the Hunger Games? E-Gads. The basic premise: A class of 9th graders goes on a class field trip - which Surprise! turns out to be a death match. Of 42 students, there can only be 1 winner. There are terrible rules to prevent things like solidarity (24 hours without a kill and all of the collars explode at once) and yes, of course the death match is broadcast to the nation as a form of entertainment. This is only the first volume, so I haven't finished the story. I'm not sure if I will get the other volumes from the library. Since there are 42 unwilling contestants and the story is a graphic novel, there’s not much opportunity to get to know more than 2 or 3 of the characters. The lived experience would be confusing and terrifying, but at least the kids all know each other. As the reader, without intimate knowledge of the classmates, I often felt lost. The story telling is rapid-fire, and disorienting. There is a body count, even though most of the contestants haven’t even made it out onto the island yet. The situation is scary. It brings up a lot of questions about the people in your intimate environment who might kill you, if they could or if they had to, and how people you know might respond to the stress, paranoia and fear of a “competition” like that. Shudder.

One note: my teen reader, who is a mature & uncensored reader and reads every graphic novel that crosses the threshold of our house, told me that we shouldn't read the rest of the volumes in this series because he was uncomfortable with the explicit, disturbing representations of sexual violence. So, if you're looking for a story to share with the kids after you read the Hunger Games together, steer clear! I think there is also a (written, not graphic) novel version of Battle Royale, which I might check out at some point. But I would probably refrain from offering it to my teen.
(less)

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Dec 13, 2009 Angie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Certainly gripping, but not any more so than the novel. I don't like what changes have already been made in this first installment (implication of Yoshitoki's crush being on Ms. Anno----what the heck?---and the superhero-ized, with Shinji flipping across the room, version of events in the students' introduction to "the program", which takes away from any sense of realism). Also, though there's anime I really like, I'm not a big fan of anime/manga type illustration. I find it particularly disturb...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Max rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory-2

This is a book for teens who are 18+ due to the fact there are inappropriate pictures in it and very violent scenes too. However, I've seen worse. So anyway, Battle Royale is about a group of orphan students at a school who get sent on a field trip. At least, that's what they thought. On the bus, they are knocked out by sleeping gas and sent to an island. On the island, they are broadcasted on live TV in a game where everyone has to use their lives: Battle Royale. Each student must kill each oth...more

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Apr 23, 2009 earthy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, manga

A gratuitously violent, needlessly panty-shot-filled manga version of the disturbingly amusing movie. The storyline of the movie remains--a class of ninth-graders in a distopian future Japan is forced to participate on a TV show called "The Program," for which they must hunt down and kill each other until only one "winner" remains. You'd think, what with the extra time to develop characters and pacing, this version would in some ways be more engaging than the movie; however, our hero Shuuya's ba...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, now-this-is-weird

Would have rated it higher, but it was very violent and graphic (didn't like those bits).

Everyone says this is the orginal Hunger Games, but I sort of disagree. Yes, both books have a TV game show where the contestants fight to the death, but other than this there couldn't be more different. The Hunger Games were created to show that no one is safe from the governemnt, and to give the people in the Capitol some entertainment. However, there seems to be little glory in winning, losing or competet...more

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May 24, 2012 Kruti rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: someone who's not faint hearted

Shelves: comics-manga-graphic-novels, reviewed

It's 82° Fahrenheit outside, yet I have chills down my spine. This is definitely NOT for the faint hearted!!

I've seen it compared to the likes of Hunger Games and although there are some similarities, do not be fooled! Hunger Games is PG rated compared to this. That ends with pretty flowers and rainbows. This...THIS is full on gore galore. It's shockingly frightening and awful...yet (I hate to admit) awesome. The story is disturbing but in a good way (if a disturbing story can ever be said to b...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really wish people would stop comparing BR to The Hinger Games! Can I just say that? By comparing the two we get a lot of "can't believe how gory and disturbing BR was, Hunger Games wasn't like that!" To anyone who thought this was way to graphic and can't handle the violence and disturbed nature of it hasn't read a lot of Japanese horror, that's how they do it. They're twisted. If you don't like it, don't read it. That being said, I love how twistedly disturbed the Japanese are and I couldn't...more

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Sep 09, 2011 Agustín Fest rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ciencia-ficción, el-horror, favorites, aventura, manga, terror, mundo-apocaliptico, trágico

En el primer capítulo conocemos a los chamaquitos que se matarán en una isla. Mucho mejor que la película porque ofrece más contexto (obviamente).

El arte no me gusta tanto porque pasa de ser dulce y afeminado (y no de la buena manera, como el arte de Jo-Jo o de Hokuto No Ken), a convertirse en algo grotesco y violento. Con la historia basta y habría preferido un estilo más sutil o realista de hacer esto.

Sin embargo... Esos momentos grotescos... Son excelentes.

También aquí queda clara esa obse...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Natalie Baker rated it 5 of 5 stars

Heard about this story after reading "The Hunger Games," but that was almost a year ago. When I saw the manga at Half Price Books, I got excited, but I had no idea how riveting, violent and thought provoking this story would be. I hate to compare this to the Hunger Games, but if I have to, I'd say it is the Hunger Games' concept turned up times 10! It's awesome...frightening, but awesome. As far as The Hunger Games go, my initial assessment is that the main difference between the two lies in the...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Neha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga

Koushun-san's astounding novel Battle Royale is depicted beautifully in this manga series. Everything that you will read in the novel--all of the dark, gritty, graphic violence--comes to life here. The art style is sensationally detailed. For anyone unfamiliar with this type of art it might come off as cartoony, but as you keep reading you will see how effective it is in illustrating the brutal contents of the novel.

Battle Royale is by far my favorite piece of Japanese literature to date. It is...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, comic-manga

I read the whole Battle Royale Manga/Comic last summer years after I finished reading the book and I feel in love with the story a whole lot more. I think the whole series despite the different volumes deserves 5 stars because it is absolutely amazing. The art is astounding to see and the characters and so beautifully depicted it's really easy to fall in love with the good ones. I feel the manga is better than the book because the characters feel more real and relatable because you can actually...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Feby rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, manga-graphicnovel-comic, non-indonesian, owned-ebook, gore, dystopian

2,5 bintang for overall series. Tapi saya menolak menaikkan jadi 3. ^_^

Just no.
Bukan karena saya bukan penggemar gore (view spoiler). Tapi karena terlalu banyak hal yang dilebih-lebihkan dalam manga ini. Dari segi cerita ataupun adegan-adegan gore dan seksualnya. Bahkan mengarah ke flaw. Rasanya seperti nonton The Raid atau The Expandable, dua film itu punya moto to hell with story, we're performing ~~gore!~~ action!

Singk...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Stargirl (Shoujo and YA Banter/Vocaloid Fanatic) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga

I'm surprised this was distributed by Tokyopop. Profanity and gore, killing and graphic scenes. Not for the kids, I can assure you that. Now, I would like to point out this came out before the Hunger Games. It's 1000 times better. Where as the HG took forever for the actual games to start, BR gets straight to the action and gore. I loved that. The art was very....different. The close ups of gore and detail....I don't know whether to be extremly disturbed or awed by the details that go into drawi...more

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Apr 14, 2010 Emily B rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga-comics

Battle Royale is one of the finest, most complex manga series I've ever read. The story is completely compelling, touching at time, and definitely interesting. It's also beautifully illustrated, though incredibly graphic at times, and I love how in-depth the author went into the character stories. I had seen the movie before I picked up the manga series, and I love the manga so much more. I think a lot has to do with the fact that the manga had no real time restraints, like a movie would, and it...more

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Feb 26, 2009 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic, teen, thriller

"Ooo, that's a wicked little thing," said the comic book guy when I purchased this title. It's about a 9th grade class that is randomly selected for a fight-to-the-death reality show. Brains get blown out, throats get slit, oddly, though, the black and white images are not so disturbing - this is coming from someone who read a lot of Stephen King as a teen. The writing is excellent and so is the artwork. The main characters are fully fleshed out, and I was already rooting for their survival well...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, bullying, murder, series, crime, love-triangle, psychological, ensemble, dystopia, horror, abuse, futuristic, translation, manga, japan

Caveat: I'm not a fan of horror, titillating violence or sensationalist tactics. I guess I should have expected what came from this manga, but I simply was not prepared for the extreme depictions of rape, murder and torture. Sadly, I don't believe in throwing away books, or this would be tossed in the recycle bin.
That being said, I can understand the political message behind the perversions, about how our ultra-violent society is verging on the obscene and it's not such a huge step from choking...more

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Nov 29, 2009 Christine Crawford rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, graphic-novels

I think this book was originally a novel (which is what I wanted to read and couldn't find it anywhere), and then it was made into a series of graphic novels. This was the first novel in the series. The premise is basically the same as Hunger Games (and this came first), but I really didn't think it was as good. It's violent and gory, but in Hunger Games, while there was violence, it was secondary to the story line. In this book, it feels like the story is just an excuse for as much violence and...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

My sister bought this and Vol. 2 when we were teenagers and I nicked them off of her and read them then. She doesn't want them anymore and they were given to me, so I re-read them.

They were no less horrific to me than they were back then. Gripping stuff however, that car-crash-fascination with terrifically gory artwork. Definitely more hardcore than Hunger Games, and not just only for the rape/sexual overtones (although not this Vol. or Vol. 2) but I can't remeber if I've read more of them or am...more

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Jul 05, 2009 Colin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-manga-graphicnovels

wow, since i thought Sandman was too gory, it's hilarious that I'm reading this right after. MAJOR gore, TONS of violence--I find the sexualized violence directed toward the women characters especially creepy. Perhaps the Hunger Games plot should have been a clue not to read this in manga form. Thank god it's in black and white, I think that helps. Having said all that, the plot is riveting, and I'm going to keep reading them. Apparently this manga came out after both the book and the movie. Hav...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Vina Crystelline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, manga, in-english, read-in-2011

Baru menyelesaikan vol 1 saja aku sudah dibuat berdebar-debar dalam menyelesaikan komik ini.. Baru kali ini ada komik yang aku baca sampai berdebar-debar.. Pheww.. Bayangkan kita terjebak didalam permainan tanpa akhir, brutal.. kill or be killed.. tanpa ada pilihan lain.. Pengen baca komik ini karna katanya tema ceritanya kurang lebih sama dengan buku Hunger Games,, tapi banyak yang bilang komik ini lebih brutal.. dan aku setuju 100%. Kalau dalam Hunger Games, pemain dihadapkan dengan lawan yang...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Tuyen (Books freak:P) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga-books

I read this long before The Hunger Games, if i didnt know any better. I think the hunger games copy this idea. This is a much more gore version of the hunger games and better! We get to know each and everything character.(will most of them)

This Japanese manga is really ruthless. If you're into Blood and Horror. This would be a great book! I read this book and the whole series a while back and it, i would say one of the most interesting one i have come across.(Sadly, the manga is no longer publis...more I read this long before The Hunger Games, if i didnt know any better. I think the hunger games copy this idea. This is a much more gore version of the hunger games and better! We get to know each and everything character.(will most of them)

This Japanese manga is really ruthless. If you're into Blood and Horror. This would be a great book! I read this book and the whole series a while back and it, i would say one of the most interesting one i have come across.(Sadly, the manga is no longer publish in U.S) The plot is completely different from anything i read at the time. Now you can read similar titles such as Deadman Wonderland, Volume 1.
This book have rape and lots of violence. So I don't recommend this for young teens.

In this world, every year a class of freshmen. Gets randomly enter in a program/game. There parents can not do anything about it, and will get killed if they object or fight against this. Now what is this program/game? You follow the rules and survive. Everyone is given a bag and each has a different weapon in it. You have to kill your classmates and get the last one standing. You have a collar around your neck, if you take it off it will explode along with your head. It also track where you are, so the government knows and if your alive or not.

Koushun Takami drawings and characters really get to you. It covers a wide variety of issues that are very much real in our world, just more twisted and cruel. We see another side of characters once they realize what kind of situation there in. Some are calm. We see there fears and what lead them to do next. The whole plot is wicked and they dont even get to pick, Its a world where the goveremtn controls everything and killing your best friends is the way out even. You dont know who to trust because one wrong chose, could lead to your death. How far could you do to kill someone? I cried, i laughed(yes, i did at some parts).

The ending was great! This was not a disappionted read. I recommand to anyone whos into gore and horror and violence. (view spoiler)(less)

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Apr 01, 2011 Indah Threez Lestari rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-english, manga

Baca ulang.

Sudah niat baca ulang setelah baca novel Hunger Games-nya Suzanne Collins, yang versi game survival of the fittest-nya kurang seram dibanding Battle Royale, mengingat hampir tidak kenal dengan lawan-lawannya.

Di awal jilid ini diperkenalkan main charas dari 42 murid SMP Shiro Iwa Kelas 3B yang bakal menjadi kontestan dalam game survival yang ditayangkan di TV ini:
- Shuuya Nanahara (cita-cita jadi rocker)
- Shinji Mimura (jago basket playboy)
- Shogo Kawada (murid pindahan yang tampangnya...more

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About Koushun Takami

Koushun Takami (高見広春 Takami Kōshun, born 1969) is the author of the novel Battle Royale, originally published in Japanese, and later translated into English by Yuji Oniki and published by Viz Media and, later, in an expanded edition by Haika Soru, a division of Viz Media.

Takami was born in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture near Osaka and grew up in the Kagawa Prefecture of Shikoku. After graduating fro...more

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Books by Koushun Takami

Battle Royale, Vol. 2 (Battle Royale, #2)

Battle Royale, Vol. 3 (Battle Royale, #3)

Battle Royale, Vol. 5 (Battle Royale, #5)

Battle Royale, Vol. 4 (Battle Royale, #4)

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Quotes from Battle Royale, Vol. 1

“I hope you fall in love with someone nice and have a good marriage. I might end up dying without knowing what it's like to be in love.” — 5 people liked it

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avg rating	preview: Battle Royale, Vol. 1 Goodreads rating: 3.93 (1563 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57893.Battle_Royale_Vol_1?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347888311l/57893.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57893.Battle_Royale_Vol_1?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Battle Royale, Vol. 1 by Koushun Takami[/url]

Battle Royale, Vol. 1 (Battle Royale #1)

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