Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
"Battle Royale," written by Koushun Takami, is a dystopian novel set in a totalitarian Japan in 1997. The narrative revolves around a class of middle school students who are unexpectedly thrust into a deadly competition known as the Program, where they must fight to the death on an isolated island until only one survives. Each student is equipped with a random weapon and wears a collar that detonates if they enter forbidden zones or fail to kill within a set time frame.
The story primarily follows Shuya Nanahara, a compassionate athlete, and his allies Shogo Kawada, a mysterious survivor from a previous iteration of the Program, and Noriko Nakagawa, a kind-hearted classmate. As the students grapple with betrayal, survival instincts, and the brutal reality of their situation, friendships are tested and moral dilemmas arise. The characters navigate a landscape of escalating violence, where some form alliances while others succumb to madness and despair.
Central themes include the loss of innocence, the nature of human violence, and the ethical implications of state-sanctioned brutality. The gripping tale raises questions about loyalty, the will to survive, and the impact of a repressive regime on youth. As the story unfolds, it highlights the struggle for agency and the quest for hope amidst chaos, ultimately leading to an explosive and tragic conclusion.
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Subject Terms
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
- Born: January 10, 1969
- Birthplace: Amagasaki, Hyōgo, Japan
First published: 1999 (English translation, 2003)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Dystopian
Time of plot: 1997
Locale: Kagawa Prefecture and Okishima Island, Shiga Prefecture, Republic of Greater East Asia
Principal characters
Shuya Nanahara, a good-hearted and athletic student
Shogo Kawada, a mysterious student with scars
Noriko Nakagawa, a kind female student
The Story
It is 1997, and Japan exists as an isolationist state, called the Republic of Greater East Asia, with a fascist leader. A class of forty-two middle school students is on a bus trip. As night sets in, Shuya Nanahara notices everyone falling asleep at the same time, then quickly becomes drowsy and passes out as well.
Shuya wakes up in a classroom with the other students; they all wear strange metal collars around their necks. A man, Sakamochi, enters the room and announces that they have been selected for the Program, a yearly event in which classes of fifteen-year-old students are forced to kill each other until only one remains. The Program exists for military research for the state. To prove to the students that their participation is real, soldiers come in with the body of their murdered teacher. Yoshitoki, Shuya’s best friend, becomes upset and screams at Sakamochi, and the soldiers quickly kill the youth.
Sakamochi explains the rules, saying that all students will get a randomly selected weapon. He tells them that they are on an abandoned island, and that the area they play in will shrink as different parts of the island are made forbidden. If someone enters a forbidden zone, that student’s collar will explode. If no one dies within a twenty-four-hour span, all collars will explode, ending the game.
The students leave the classroom one by one. As soon as Shuya leaves the building, a student shoots arrows at him. Shuya manages to stun the student and escape. He meets up with his friend Noriko, and they agree to work together. Other students begin to slaughter one another, although all justify the murders as self-defense.
Kazuo Kiriyama, a charismatic and emotionless gang leader, calls his followers to meet him, and his second-in-command, Mitsuru, rushes to the appointed place, believing that Kazuo has a plan to save them all. When Mitsuru arrives, however, he sees the rest of the gang lying on the ground, dead. Kazuo shoots Mitsuru with a machine gun, feeling no guilt. Elsewhere, two students kill themselves rather than face losing each other.
The morning begins as Sakamochi announces over a speaker the new forbidden zones and recent deaths. A student named Kyoichi attacks Shuya with a gun. Shuya almost dies, but a mysterious student named Shogo rescues him. A recent transfer to the school, Shogo is a loner and covered with strange scars.
Shogo reveals to his new allies that he has a secret plan, one that can be revealed only when they are the last ones left. Shogo then tells Shuya and Noriko that he was the survivor of last year’s Program. Elsewhere, students continue to form small groups, to plan, and to turn against each other, while good friends Shinji and Yutaka attempt to make a device out of a computer.
Shuya and Shogo bond over their love of rock music, which is banned in the country. Noriko becomes sick from the wounds she sustained, and the trio heads for a medical center. Meanwhile, Mitsuko, a student who has snapped after years of abuse, begins a ruthless killing spree.
Shinji and Yutaka realize that their computer is no longer connecting online. To fix this, Shinji creates a virus, hoping to upload it through other computers, believing the virus will be able to shut down the collars entirely. He also plans to blow up the school where Sakamochi is stationed.
As Shuya and his group recover in the medical clinic, Shuya and Shogo acknowledge that Noriko has a crush on Shuya. When the three leave the clinic, they are attacked by grenades. Shogo and Noriko escape while Shuya passes out.
Shinji and Yutaka complete their bomb and head toward the school. But before they can get there, Kazuo attacks them. Shinji unleashes his bomb on Kazuo, realizing that he is now too weak to get it to the school. Kazuo survives to kill Shinji and Yutaka.
As Mitsuko continues murdering people, Shuya wakes up in a bed with a friend, Yukie, caring for him. Yukie reveals that she and a group of girls have hidden in a lighthouse, where they are protecting each other. One girl does not trust Shuya and puts poison in his food, but a friend eats it instead and dies shortly afterward. The girls all turn on each other and violence erupts; Shuya is the only survivor. He stumbles away and soon reunites with Shogo and Noriko.
The three friends get into a truck; Kazuo chases them with a minivan, and they exchange gunfire. After a massive battle, Noriko finally kills Kazuo, leaving only the three friends alive. Shogo then leads them to the top of a mountain, declares he has been lying all along, and turns a gun on them.
Sakamochi declares Shogo the winner, but then reveals that someone hacked into the government computer before the Program. Sakamochi realized that it was Shogo, who learned how to dismantle the collars. Knowing that Shogo did not actually shoot his friends, Sakamochi decides to kill him. Before he can do so, however, Shuya and Noriko attack the ship, and, with Shogo, they kill all the soldiers aboard. Shogo finally succumbs to his injuries and dies. Shuya and Noriko follow the instructions he gave them and escape, becoming wanted fugitives.
Bibliography
Day, Helen. "Simulacra, Sacrifice, and Survival in The Hunger Games, Battle Royale, and The Running Man." Of Bread, Blood, and The Hunger Games: Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy. Jefferson: McFarland, 2012. 167–77. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Erickson, Steve. "How ‘Battle Royale’ Became a Cult Hit and Capitalized on ‘The Hunger Games.’" Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly Group, 20 Mar. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Yang, Jeff. "Hunger Games vs. Battle Royale." Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.