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Reviewed by Michael Deeley I’ve never seen the original “Battle Royale” movie, nor did I read the novelization. I just heard about this ultra-violent Japanese film about school kids forced to kill each other on a twisted reality show. The concept interested me enough to pick up the first volume of the manga. 13 volumes later I’m still loving the series. The early volumes focus on individual students, their lives up to that point, how they play “The Game”, and their horrible deaths. Bully Mitsuru Numai finds out how hard his boss Kazuo Kiriyama really is. Young lovers Kazuhiko Yamamoto and Sakura Ogawai decide to commit suicide rather than play. Shuuya kills a former teammate in self-defense, and then is saved by Shogo Kawada. Shuuya, Shogo, and Noriko form a team. Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano are killed after announcing they’re not playing. On a lighter note, we look back to the days Noriko first met and fell in love with Shuuya. You may wonder why mention the names of characters who died so quickly? Well, that’s the point. We learn enough about these children to miss them when they die. The story could easily rush through the deaths of the supporting characters. Instead, the creators take the time to make us care about these victims. If we just read page after page of nameless kids being gunned down, we wouldn’t feel anything. The act of violence itself means nothing. The shock comes from the events preceding and following the act. An innocent being gunned down is tragic. A tough guy betrayed by his hero is ironic. Most important is how these deaths affect the surviving characters. Optimistic Shuuya has nightmares about his dead classmates. The reality of his situation slowly sinks in. Hardened Shogo chalks them up to bad luck and better “players”. But Shuuya and Noriko have awakened feelings he long thought dead. Death affects the living for as long as they live. The content of the story is definitely not for children. The graphic violence underscores the theme of brutality. These kids are not professional killers. There are no “clean kills”. They are scared, angry, and crazy. They’re attacking anyone they see as a threat. Ironically, the copious amounts of blood and organs underscore the characters’ humanity. The more gore we see, the more real they become. In a society desensitized to violence in general, depicting shocking and painful deaths is difficult. ‘Battle Royale’ is remembered for its shocking violence. But remember: It wouldn’t be shocking if we didn’t care about its characters. Comment on this review of Battle Royale v2 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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