Battle Royale

This novel by Koushun Takami was only recently read by me - when I was 17. Well, that was almost 4 years ago now. I loved this book for its twisted and graphic imagery within strange metaphors and vivid culture-clash cynicism in a dystopia only capably committed by a handful of authors such as: Orwell, Burgess, Atwood, Takami, Murakami, Kafka and Huxley. After a while, there is a sense of longing and foreboding in a small microcosm of a state of dictatorship and Darwinian Survival of the Fittest. 

Characters:

The best character from the book and the manga, in my opinion, is Boy #6 or Kazuo Kiriyama. In the film, he is an outsider student who has volunteered to return to the Battle, but in the book and manga he is one of the students at Shirowa High School and is known for being brutal and unforgiving. In the film, he doesn't have any lines whatsoever, but in the book he says many things to give way to his incessant brutality,  corruptive nature and obsessively striking and evocative mannerisms when dealing with people he didn't like. I believe that his three dimensional characteristics have a painful power behind the true forcefulness of the killing that happens when the students reach the island. Especially when we deal with the deaths of Kanai, Sasagowa, Inada etc. 

Themes: 

The best theme, (just like Kafka), is dystopia and its relation to realism. The death force in Battle Royale is like a car being driven at top speed in a slalom of destruction and counter-culture. BUT, it still seemingly relates to the everyday nature of survival of the fittest when we look at acts of sacrifice and revival. The senses of dystopia rise from the ashes by evoking an emotive background via some killings being more symbolic and important than others. For example: in the novel, Shinji Mimura and friends are killed by Kazuo Kiriyama - that is pretty important. But the lack of descriptions on death such as; Oda, Oki, Chisato and Utsumi seemingly present us with a hierarchy within the dictatorship-hierarchy that is present between the characters and their government within the novel. The most important of characters in the dystopia being Shuya Nanahara - the representation of hope in tragedy.   

Storyline:

Such a simple story and yet having so many plot twists and character encounters - like an episode of A Game of Thrones this book will break your heart without the requirement to mend it again. Koushun Takami relates everything back to the real world and outlines the difference between our "Earth" (the everyday world at Shirowa High) and our "Hell" (the island). 

Verdict:

I give this book 7 out of 9

100% for characters: Kazuo Kiriyama is a brilliantly beautiful byronic hero that has no retribution in a world filled with ignorants - constantly getting annoyed at the extremities and trying to find straight justification for his crimes without a single ounce of sorrow and remorse. 

100% for themes: I loved the theme of dystopia being interwoven into every aspect of the book. However, there are some discrepancies between what is dystopia and what is perceived as dystopia - it is still a dystopian atmosphere all the same. 

1/3 for storyline: Yes, only 1/3. I feel that there was not "enough" concentration on the deaths of the students. Purely because some where more symbolic than others - doesn't mean that there's enough gore and violence. Just to say it straight, it wasn't as bloody as the film.