Battle Royale (novel)
A dystopian novel about students forced to fight to the death.
Last updated
The story originated from a dream Takami had in the 1990s, and he titled it after friends compared his concept to a pro-wrestling battle royal match.[1] In Koushun Takami's 1999 novel Battle Royale, a fascist regime in Japan forces a class of students to kill each other until only one remains alive.[2] After its 1999 release, the novel was a best-seller in Japan, with over one million copies sold in its original language before translations into nearly a dozen languages appeared.[3]
Making and release
Takami completed the novel in 1996 after leaving his journalism career.[4] Masao Higashi, a preliminary committee member, suspected the rejection was because the student-killing plot too closely echoed the Kobe child murders of the previous year. Battle Royale was first published in April 1999 by Ohta Publishing.[4] A revised two-part bunkobon edition was released by Gentosha in August 2002.[4] Yuji Oniki's English translation was published by Viz Media in North America on February 26, 2003.[5]
Haikasoru, an imprint of Viz Media, put out an expanded edition on November 17, 2009, which featured a revised translation and an afterword written by the author.[5][6]
What the cited sources add
The Polygon article by Greszes reports that Takami originally wanted to write a detective horror novel but could not make the structure work.[2] Takami's interest in the social dynamics of a battle royal focused on how former enemies cooperate against a stronger foe and how allies betray each other.[2] The Ringer article notes that the term "battle royale" has come to describe a narrative genre where a select group is instructed to kill each other until one survivor remains.[7][8] The same source states that the film's core concept has proliferated into Western works such as The Hunger Games and The Purge.[7]
The Polygon article observes that the novel's themes of mistrust and betrayal are more akin to the Danganronpa game series than to lighter battle royale games.[2] The Ringer article explains that in a battle royale narrative, the true antagonist is the malevolent force that organizes the killing, such as the Japanese government in Battle Royale.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Greszes, "Hunting down the true origins of the battle royale craze", Polygon, 26 May 2019 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Greszes, "Hunting down the true origins of the battle royale craze", Polygon, 26 May 2019. facts only, no text reused. polygon.com
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Battle Royale: The Novel"; "'Battle Royale' wins the game for hungry fans", The Japan Times, June 7, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "To Kill or Be Killed Saga of Battle Royale Continues as Viz Media Releases New Manga One-Shot: Battle Royale: Angel's Border", Viz Media, May 21, 2014; Higashi, "Battle Royale Slam Book", Haikasoru, April 1, 2014; "ホラー小説 ホラーとファンタジーは今、文学的実験の敵地に", Asahi Shimbun, December 11, 2008; "'Battle Royale' wins the game for hungry fans", The Japan Times, June 7, 2014; "バトル・ロワイアル [新書]", Amazon.co.jp; "バトル・ロワイアル 上 幻冬舎文庫 た 18–1 [文庫]", Amazon.co.jp; "バトル・ロワイアル 下 幻冬舎文庫 た 18–2 [文庫]", Amazon.co.jp (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Viz to Release All You Need is Kill Graphic Novel, Battle Royale Essay Book", Anime News Network, July 18, 2013; "Viz to Release All You Need is Kill Graphic Novel, Battle Royale Essay Book", Anime News Network, July 18, 2013 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Viz to Release All You Need is Kill Graphic Novel, Battle Royale Essay Book", Anime News Network, July 18, 2013. facts only, no text reused. animenewsnetwork.com
- "The Japanese Thriller That Explains 'Fortnite' and American Pop Culture in 2018", The Ringer, July 19, 2018. facts only, no text reused. theringer.com
- Wikipedia, "Battle Royale (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Japanese Thriller That Explains 'Fortnite' and American Pop Culture in 2018", The Ringer, July 19, 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Battle Royale (novel) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Japanese science fiction novels
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Battle Royale (novel) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced