Battle Royale, the surreal look at the no stakes world of kill-or-be-killed reality television. The first volume of this series truly blew me away and so I looked forward to the second installment to find about the fates of the remaining contestants.
Set on a deserted island, Battle Royale is about a highly rated Japanese reality television program. Known simply as The Program, the show’s premise places ninth graders together on an island where the only way to survive is to be the last one alive. Meek children become psychopathic killers, the school bullies find new ways to dominate those less fortunate or find themselves broken and dead before the next commercial break.
Well, the latest installment of Battle Royale ups the body count with some fierce and violent deaths that totally make the first volume look like a G-rated Nickelodeon program. For instance, we watch Kazou Kiriyama, a character introduced to us in the first volume kill members of his own gang, friends who thought he was a secure member of a survivors alliance. Contestants also use the game as a last chance means of closure, including a psychotic nerd striking back at those who he feels did him wrong.
We see two lovers decide not to play the game and jump off a cliff together upon hearing someone approaching. What an unfortunate death, but not as unfortunate as when two female students try to unite those who do not want to participate, together. Their noble efforts are greeted with a barrage of bullets, by our friend Kazou.
This depressing tale just gets worse as we follow our main character Shuuya Nanahara lead his friend Noriko Nakagawa through the island, looking for others who will join them in not playing the game. Shuuya ends up having to fight for his life and kill fellow students to protect himself and what will probably end up being the girl he falls in love with. However, all is not lost as Shuuya runs into a tough, no nonsense classmate, Shogo Kawada, who seems to feel the same way that Shuuya does. Carrying a big gun and some survival training, Shogo could be the man that helps them all leave the island safely or will they end up having to kill each other off to survive? Left back once and seemingly knowing a little about how the game operates, I have this feeling that he is a past winner, but right now, he is a secretive character, the cool factor to this series.
Right now, this is my favorite manga series! Battle Royale is very realistic with exceptionally gory artwork that brings all the intense action to the reader in a way that is unforgettable. Great writing also makes you believe in the characters and the plight they are forced to deal with while allowing the reader to feel for each character right before they are sadly blown away. You will never feel so deeply involved in a story in your life.
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