Koushun Takami

The cult Japanese bestselling phenomenon! Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of 42 junior high school students are taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are electronically collared, provided with weapons of varying potency, and sent out onto the island. If they are in the wrong part of the island at the wrong time, their collars will explode. If they band together to save themselves a collar will explode at random. If they try to escape from the island, they will be blown up. Their only chance for survival lies in killing their classmates. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - BATTLE ROYALE is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, and a potent story of politics and survival in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, BATTLE ROYALE is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, and is now available for the first time to the UK mainstream.

Battle Royale

Kōshun Takami

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

𓆨

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

Ana Luiza

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

bee hernandez

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

jess larry

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

Elliot

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,,,

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.)

Liana

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.)



Kōshun Takami

Reads from back to front and from right to left.

Battle Royale Volume 1

Gavin

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

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.

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

maría

Katie Chua

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

Omar AlHashmi

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

Camila Eduarda Vilela Lobianco

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.

Richard Binder

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.

Battle royale

Chiara Malaspina di Orezzoli

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.

Sofia Collodel

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!

Cande SD

Shay Rabaya

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

Nicholas Hanemann

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.

Charlotte Josephine Loveridge 

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

Eugenia Andino

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.

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 television.

Battle Royale: The Novel

Jade Flynn

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.

Christina M Masters

Morgan Kinney

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!!!!

Battle Royale

Reviews