Favorite Books : Battle Royale

Hey there!

This is a new segment of my blog where I will explore my favorite books. Writing and reading are two parts of the same whole, and I think it’s important as writers to discuss the content we enjoy, whether it be books, music, movies, etc. All of these things contribute to our muse, so it benefits us to analyze why we like them and how they influence our work.

I don’t have a number one favorite book of all time, but rather, a list of them. I will start with Battle Royale, as I finished it within the last month.

Battle Royale is a 1999 Japanese dystopia novel written by Koushun Takami. The movie of the same name, which was released in 2000, has become a cult classic.

(above : battle royale movie poster)

Summary : (no spoilers!)

The story’s main plot comprises of a junior high school class of 42 students that are taken to an empty island off the coastline of mainland Japan (or the Republic of Greater East Asia in the novel) to fight to the death until one remains. The country is a totalitarian system that controls that populous through force, military, and obedience. The government established the battle royale to “study” survival readiness, quick wit, and skill of randomly selected, under-prepared students, though it breeds mistrust and quells rebellion among the citizenry.

The novel switches points of view to different students throughout the span of over 600 pages of story. One constant is Shuya Nanahara, a male student with a passion for rock music (which is a banned genre), and a female student, Noriko Nakagawa. The students are given survival packs with randomly selected weapons and are sent into the battleground one at a time. There is no escaping alive, as there are metal collars attached to their necks that explode should they try. Only one will come out the winner, the odds against many of the students.

(above : map of island featured in the front of the novel)

Thoughts : 

Battle Royale is constantly compared to the Hunger Games and vice versa. Battle Royale is older than the Hunger Games, and the similarities are undeniable. However, I’m not one to get in on this debate, because I don’t care much to compare the two. I’m not a fan of the Hunger Games and prefer Battle Royale. It doesn’t matter to me if they are similar, I have my opinions on both and one is not influenced by the other.

That being said, while the two stories may be similar, there is one key difference between them: Hunger Games is a young adult novel, Battle Royale is for adults. I wouldn’t want anyone under 16 or 17 reading it. It’s located in the adult section of my library, where I found the red binding sticking out among a sea of white, and that’s how I came to read it. It’s brutal with vivid descriptions of graphic violence, and at times, emotionally taxing. It’s not for the faint of heart.

(above : battle royale book cover)

What makes Battle Royale stand out to me in the ocean of written content I’ve read is that expression of humanity articulated in this book. A myriad of emotions and thoughts are portrayed through the cast of over 40 characters. You get into their heads, find what inspires them, what makes them tick, their favorite memories. You are along for their experience, they get built up and torn down. They tear each other down. Some get back up and some don’t. It’s, for lack of better wording, an emotional roller-coaster.

The emotions in this book are masterfully portrayed within the context of the setting. Some students hide under tables, others run dashing into the forest, some try to team up with their friends. Some loose their trust in everyone and everything. Some try to figure out ways to get back at the government. There are plethora of reactions within the characters. All of the characters are unique, which is a great feat for a book of 40+.

Overall, the most convincing part of the characters’ humanity comes with their age. They’re junior high students of about 14 or 15, and the book never looses sight of that. They’re teenagers, and may of them, despite being in a dire situation, are still preoccupied with teenager thoughts. One of the most vivid examples that stood out to me was a female student only motivated to win because a boy band, and kept a locket of a pop idol around her neck to help her through her daily life.  It’s such a quintessential teenager thing to obsess over, and the novel shows that situational changes don’t always completely change your mindset or priorities along with it.

More convincing were the varied strategies of the teenagers in the novel. Some try to build things and scavenge to aid them, some play defense or offense, others try to move from hiding spot to hiding spot in hopes everyone else will leave them the last one standing. There is such variety in approach to the situation and actions taken by the characters that the story never becomes dull.

The book is placed in my favorites lists for its characters more than the situation they are placed in. They become products of their predicament, and from it comes a variety of strategies, emotions, and motivations. I’m not one for gore and violence in the media I consume, but the characters were intriguing enough and story was told in such a fast-paced way that I couldn’t put it down.  I’d recommend this if you’re a fan of dystopia, thrillers, or looking to try a new author of Japanese literature. This is Koushun Takami’s only novel to date. It is said he’s working on a second, but I’ve not found much information on it.

Thank you for reading!

-Cordelia Rhein