Battle Royale
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Battle Royale

In a country ruled by a ruthless totalitarian government, a group of ninth-grade students are confined to a small isolated island where they must fight each other for three days until only one survivor remains, as part of the ultimate in reality televisio
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Reviews

Photo of 𓆨
𓆨@viridiantre
2 stars
Mar 14, 2024

i had to deduct 2 stars for the lame ass ending and one for the cheesy ass lovey dovey shit..i'm disappointed

Photo of Ana Luiza
Ana Luiza@anaelin
3 stars
Mar 1, 2024

Gostei bastante. Esse é meu segundo ou terceiro livro japonês e sigo com a mesma opinião sobre a escrita. Parece que foi baseado de um filme. Durante toda a leitura eu tenho a impressão que alguem viu o filme e tentou escrever em forma de livro. Me falta uma profundidade que a gente nornalmente encontra nos livros. Mas, mesmo assim, me diverti muito e vou continuar lendo livros japoneses para ver se não foi coincidência. É um livro muito fluido de se ler, apesar do tamanho. O final é bem interessante

Photo of bee hernandez
bee hernandez@wavetogo
5 stars
Jan 8, 2024

so vivid I thought I was in it and dreamt about it for weeks

Photo of jess larry
jess larry@hijess
5 stars
Nov 10, 2023

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING A soul crushing take on fascism & a deep dive into the effects of extreme despair and will to live on humans. There were time I was literally too anxious to read because I was TOO INVESTED I felt like I was also hiding on the island The ending quote made me tear up GOD it just tastes like hope and pain at the same time Gobbled these 600 pages in like 2 days & im a slow reader, that’s how good this book is One of the most thrilling & emotionally engaging dystopian books I ever read 6/5

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Elliot@madeinmothh
2 stars
Sep 30, 2023

tres estrellas justitas. war is over !! madre mia lo que me ha costado acabar este libro. el final lo ha salvado un poco aunque aún así siento que la premisa tenía mucho mas potencial !! han habido cosas que me han gustado pero muchas otras que no tanto,,,

Photo of Liana
Liana@liana
4.5 stars
May 7, 2023

Drawn in by echoes of "The Hunger Games," I devoured Battle Royale, expecting a familiar teen deathmatch. But halfway through, this twisted masterpiece swerved off course, leaving me breathless. While both stories pit kids against each other in a deadly game, Battle Royale dives deeper, exploring the moral gray areas and emotional fallout with brutal honesty. Here, classmates become reluctant killers, past relationships and betrayals fuel every agonizing decision. Unlike the clear-cut heroes and villains of "The Hunger Games," Battle Royale forces us to confront the complexities of war, survival, and the chilling price of innocence lost. The writing, though occasionally clunky, never stymies the story's raw power. Be prepared for unflinching violence, gut-wrenching betrayals, and a finale that will leave you both shaken and profoundly moved. Battle Royale is a must-read for those seeking a story that transcends genre, challenges conventions, and lingers long after the final page. (Think "Lord of the Flies" on steroids, soaked in teenage angst and a relentless quest for survival.)


+3
Photo of Gavin
Gavin@gl
2 stars
Mar 9, 2023

Villain was pretty good, a classic Japanese anti-sensuality horrorshow. And clearly the premise appeals to people, since the sanitised dayglo version did well.

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sam@samvskh
5 stars
Jan 23, 2023

I actually, legitimately, really, genuinely could not stop reading it as it was just so so good. When I ask for a thriller, this is something that I would expect; something that is honestly thrilling for me to read. I didn't even intend on reading this, like I was just bored at the library and then I saw this book and I went, "Isn't that the book that people thought THG was copied from?" And basically, I was in the library for HOURS devouring this goodass book. I reached about halfway and I made a library card just so I could borrow this book. I had to do something that night but right after I got home the next morning, I finished this book hungover so - yeah, that's how good it is. Sure, some of the dialogue is..... questionable, but honestly, it's so well-written and interesting to the point where I actually don't care that the characters says some pretty corny things sometimes. The characters, let's talk about that. Unfortunately, I actually loved them. They weren't the most well-rounded characters written but then again there's 42 of them so it might be a little challenging to completely make everyone have more depth but the author does such a good job in making every single death impactful to me, an emotional reader. Way, way too good of a job. I wasn't to the crying point but it still stings a little. (view spoiler)[ Especially Hikori, Shinjin, Yukie and Shogo, like BITCH I was fucking dying I can't believe. Like, fuck dude. (hide spoiler)] The plot isn't extremely deep or anything, it's literally the description. But the content? Not coffee, just some Quali-tea. I am snatched. Anyways, it's real good.

Photo of maría
maría@juntatumierda
3 stars
Sep 1, 2022

empecé el libro y me lo estaba leyendo super rapido pero sobre la mitad se vuelve todo muy repetitivo realmente. casi todos los capitulos tienen la misma estructura y se me hizo un poco pesado. tmb me parece un poco de mal gusto q todas las chicas malas estuvieran metidas en la prostitución no se :|||||| el final tho???? no se si me gusta o no (creo q mas tirando para el no?) pq era team shinji y shogo y 🤡 sinceramente me hubiera gustado incluso mas si shogo hubiera matado a shuya y noriko siendo sincera pero bueno a ver la peliculita

This review contains a spoiler
Photo of Katie Chua
Katie Chua@kchua
4 stars
Aug 13, 2022

teens killing teens, ya know. take down the government! weird ending

Photo of Omar AlHashmi
Omar AlHashmi@omaralhashmi
5 stars
Jul 11, 2022

The only book I forgot to rate when i started my goodreads account, I think its because I was looking at my bookshelf as I was rating my read books, and I read Battle Royale on an iPad :p so yeah i loved this book 5/5

Photo of Camila Eduarda Vilela Lobianco
Camila Eduarda Vilela Lobianco@camilalobianco
3 stars
Mar 3, 2022

O livro é ótimo, as batalhas incríveis e a violência é muito bem retratada. O desespero das crianças, a maturidade que elas ganham ao serem inseridas no jogo é tudo muito bem retratado. Em momento algum banalizou a violência. Só não ganha mais estrelas porque o que era para ser o elemento surpresa do livro não me surpreendeu nem um pouco.

Photo of Richard Binder
Richard Binder@scottmichael
3 stars
Feb 8, 2022

Docked a point for turning its main antagonist (because they're mostly antagonists anyway, aren't they?) into the Terminator, and the ending stretches the boundaries of implausibility. But it's still ultimately poignant, helped along by Springsteen. I wonder if other translations are less (un?)(intentionally?) funny. Also, probably docked a point for bad cultural timing, since I was nearing the end of this when the Aurora shooting happened. Not really the book's fault.

Photo of Chiara Malaspina di Orezzoli
Chiara Malaspina di Orezzoli@lamorehaidenti
4 stars
Jan 19, 2022

Una bomba. (o anche: hunger games suca) Gli unici appunto che farei è che forse ci sono troppi personaggi: se all'inizio ogni morte è un po' un colpo al cuore (e comunque ogni personaggio è deliziosamente delineato, anche quelli meno longevi) dopo i primi 20/25 inizi ad essere impaziente di scoprire come finirà più che di leggere un'altra decina di modi cruenti per morire. Lo stile, anche, non mi ha soddisfatto a pieno; non riesco a capire però se è una questione di traduzione. Resta comunque una lettura incredibilmente coinvolgente. Olè.

Photo of Sofia Collodel
Sofia Collodel@sophiie91
5 stars
Jan 10, 2022

what can I say? this book just blew my fucking brains out. its AMAZIIIIING.  I heard that The Hunger Games was ripped off this book. The similarities between them are undeniable, and I liked this one soooo much more! (I still like the hunger games, but this one is much more realistic, crude and gory ). I liked the fact that “Battle Royale” is a complex story which follows all participants of the game and it's not only from the point of view of one "player". I think one of the problems with the Hunger Games is that you don't see all the action in the arena because you only see things from Katniss point of view. The only problem I had with this book was that it has a lot of japanese names, and a lot of them sound and look very similar. So at the beginning it was hard to follow all the characters, but you get used to it! and its definitely worth it!

Photo of Cande SD
Cande SD@candesd
5 stars
Jan 2, 2022

It got me out of my reader block

+1
Photo of Shay Rabaya
Shay Rabaya@goldensnitchskr
5 stars
Dec 20, 2021

one of the best books i've read in recent memory

Photo of Nicholas Hanemann
Nicholas Hanemann@nick_h
4 stars
Dec 20, 2021

This was miles beyond what I expected from this book! It's exhilarating and horrifying, but it also has a lot to say about human relationships that isn't trite or played out. This is the real deal, absolutely recommended.

Photo of Charlotte Josephine Loveridge
Charlotte Josephine Loveridge @thesecrethistoryaddict
4 stars
Dec 6, 2021

** spoiler alert ** i am sincerely angered by this book. kiriyama should have won, just saying.

Photo of Eugenia Andino
Eugenia Andino@laguiri
5 stars
Nov 20, 2021

Me ha encantado, uno de mis libros favoritos del año. A ratos muy violento debido a las descripciones detalladas de cómo mueren los protagonistas. Uno de los detalles que más me han gustado es cómo a ratos capta de manera ágil y real la manera de hablar y de pensar de los adolescentes: la timidez, las pandillas, las declaraciones de amor... Oscila entre la reflexión sobre en quién puedes confiar y los tiroteos de una manera que sorprende pero ni aburre ni resulta falsa.

Photo of Jade Flynn
Jade Flynn@jadeflynn
4 stars
Nov 20, 2021

I've had this sitting on my shelf for over five years and thought it was time to pick it up. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Even though it could've been a hundred pages shorter and maybe less conversations surrounding crushes I flew through 600 pages in two days. Really excited to watch the cult classic film sometime soon.

Photo of Christina M Masters
Christina M Masters@xtina127
5 stars
Nov 17, 2021

Check out my review @ The Book Geektress

Photo of Morgan Kinney
Morgan Kinney@momoisreading
5 stars
Nov 17, 2021

I could not put this book down. I still think about it and its been a while since I have read it. It was action pack. Blood and gore! So many interesting ways to die. The lighthouse scene!!!!

+6
Photo of Faith
Faith@phoeyf
5 stars
Nov 16, 2021

So so so good