Volume III of Battle Royale certainly left me saying “Wow!” Still following the sick and demented story line, the surreal storytelling and most importantly, the way the characters are depicted, and their vile deaths are indeed intriguing even more so. Volume 3 gets darker and dirtier with the introduction of over the top sexual situations, giving readers a deeper look into the psyche of the children as they seek to survive The Program.
Yet, there was something amiss in this volume, while I can say with certainty that I will follow this series to the very end, I found the explicit sexual imagery and language an impediment on the progression of this wonderful story. I’m a guy and I like sex as much as the next, but the multitude of intricately drawn sex scenes just made me feel dirty. Several of the stories featured were just straight up porno; from the dialogue to the flow of the actions from panel to panel; there were moments that were truly unnecessary. One example is the misadventures of an evil vixen, Mitsuko Souma, who urinates on herself to get the attention of a male victim. The story didn’t further her Battle Royale tale at all and seemed pointless, and quite frankly gross.
However, nothing will truly keep me from enjoying Battle Royale’s action. In volume three, we learn even more about the mysterious Shogo, the student who was left back and forced to participate in The Program again. Does this fact make him an asset or a threat to the tale’s hero, Shuuya and his romantic lead, Noriko. Shogo seems to have befriended the couple and embraced their beliefs that there is a way off the island without killing their friends, but was that possibly his strategy the year before? The Program’s evil director seems to believe so.
Of course, this volume fleshes out the stories of even more characters as a new alliance is formed between the hapless Yutaka Sato and Class B’s star basketball player, Shinji Mimura, the well spoken and intelligent student who may have a plan to free the players from the collars that will kill them if they refuse to kill others. At the same time, Hiroki’s obsession with the beautiful and deadly Takako may end up saving her life, but does she want help in surviving The Program or is she looking to walk out the sole survivor?
There are so many questions still left unanswered, so many characters left unexplored and so many dangers lurking at every turn. I would like to expect a positive ending, but how will it come about and who will be the ones to enjoy that ending? Will the creators decide to shock us instead of going with what seems to be the obvious? As the body count rises, Battle Royale continues to stand tall over all other mangas. Get with The Program!
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