Battle Royale

[Commi-Ninja]

A friend of mine is completely obsessed with Battle Royale (though I don't know if she knows there's a manga), and she owns both movies and the book, translated into English.  I'm not sure where she found it, though.

[kkslider5552000]

I'm not a huge fan of any version to be quite honest. One of those rare times where it isn't because it's bad in anyway. I just never got into it for some reason. Not particularly sure why even.

Parodies of it always crack me up though.

[kyuuketsuki]

I really want to read the book. I know it's the original piece, so I'm curious as to how the movie and manga stand up to it.

The movie is REALLY watered down. The manga is less so, but still there is stuff missing... Also, the mangaka's are given liberty to interpret some things that would otherwise be left up to the reader, especially regarding visuals.... In the end... the book gives the most detail, paints the truer picture (which, depending on who you are may or may not be a bad thing.... some mental images are.... yeah....) It is definitely worth the read though. It is a fantastic story that many people don't actually appreciate because they think all it is is a gorefest and nothing more. It really isn't...

[mangaluva]

Given how the movie and manga are both based off of the book, I figured the book would have the most in it...

And it really isn't a mindless gorefest. Some people are most interested in the political commentary, but the social psychology of it fascinates me the most. Not just in the reactions of the characters to their situation, but the effect that The Game has- that The Game is intended to have- on the general public. To whit:

You can trust nobody. When things are down to the wire, anyone will kill you to save themselves. Your best friend will kill you. People you have seen every day for years will kill you. The person you were just swapping homework with will kill you. Your boyfriend will rape you and then kill you. You can trust nobody. And the kicker? It's because they can't trust you either. Because admit it, in that situation, you'd kill them first, to save yourself...

In the manga, Shogo proves this horribly, painfully true. (They changed that scene in the movie, though. I don't know about the book.) Hence why the best way he can feel to beat The Game is to help more than one person survive...

I swear this story makes you paranoid as hell. The first time I read it I spent a week looking suspiciously at my classmates. >_>