(aka the Japanese novel that the Hunger Games kinda ripped off) I've read both the novel and the manga, and actually prefer the novel. It's one of the best things I've ever read! Has anyone else read it? Reasons why I like it: -there are 42 characters, and almost all of them receive some personality/development -it's dark and heartbreaking and doesn't shy away from things -it really makes you think about the people around you -it's absolutely addicting....
I seen the film, and rather liked it back when it first came out. I've never liked the ending though, it just seemed so stupid quite honestly. I've read a bit of the manga (shocking, I don't read manga at all but a friend let me read his once) and that seemed much better than the film in places quite honestly, but I suppose that's the nature of the different mediums. Not read the book though, I've been meaning to for some time.
I definitely think the book is better overall than the manga. Also, the English translation of the manga was awful, while the book translation is phenomenal. I've never seen the film, but it adds in plot holes, since two of the most pivotal characters join at the start of the program, while in the manga and novel, they were just normal classmates.
Uzi guy..... He was Boy 6/Kiriyama And the only reason I remember that is because of this video! Would totally see that
I've not seen the film or read the book in ... gosh, 3 years? So I refer to them with nicknames. I can't remember the main character's name, so I call him Pot Lid. The female main character is Pot Lid's Girlfriend. There's also Whore, Fan Guy, Fat Guy, Idiot, Hacker #1-4, and the 'LET'S ALL BE FRIENDS WITH BOMBS AROUND OUR NECKS' girls, because that was a smart idea. ¬.¬
I actually started reading Battle Royale but didn't get very far - the introduction of a horde or characters kinda put me off. I was also a little terrified of just how gruesome and disturbing it might be, given that the Japanese have a knack for getting very deep and dark. It is true the Japanese don't shy away from things, at least in their arts. But I never knew there's a manga! Gotta check that out. Is the art any good? If the English translation is poor, I'll probably just read it in Chinese. What's so awful about the English translation though?
Well, it's not so much not shying away from things, they have culturally speaking different things that make them uncomfortable. They are much more accepting of stories about incest and pedophilia than we are here in the 'west'. They are also more interested in psychological causes rather than a mixture of external forces in their fiction too.
But thinking about it, while there're many taboo subjects in the culture that people don't talk about, what subjects are taboo when it comes to anime/manga?
Not many. Though for very obvious reasons they don't talk about nuclear weapons very often, and when they do it's through allegory and metaphor, like Godzilla. Were as here in the UK and in the US, for a time it was all about the A bomb.
It tries to pretend it's the Hunger Games and that *everything* was broadcast on TV, and some other things are changed or awkwardly worded. Not terrible though. This isn't an English-only problem, but while the art is phenomenal, they really over-sexualize a few characters. While that is deconstructed, it wasn't in the original, and I don't think it was really needed. Related to "cultural differences in Japan", relationships between teachers and students are sometimes shown in a positive or neutral light. I've actually read some really well-written manga one shots about them.
Did the manga come out only after HG? Because I don't get how the manga could be pretending it's Hunger Games when Battle Royale came out first The over-sexualised characters are deconstructed in... what? The book? The film? I don't understand. You said the English translation of the Battle Royale manga is terrible - so how could it not be an English-only problem and what's a translation got to do with the visuals of over-sexualised characters? Manga in general over-sexualises their female characters as a norm anyway, so I can only imagine that's part of the original and not any modification. What are "manga one shots" supposed to be?? Yeah in general teacher-student romances are acceptable in manga. I only just realised now that that should be disturbing lol, except - I dunno, maybe cus I grew up on Japanese manga - I've never found anything that disturbing about the concept as long as the minor is 14 or older. Like, people don't find it disturbing when there's a 10-year-gap between married couples when they're both adults. I don't really see that as all that different from say a sexually active 15-year-old (and let's face it, by that age they're usually sexually active) entering a regular romantic relationship with a teacher in their mid or late 20s. It's not like the teen didn't know what they're doing. The power imbalance though is a different but related topic - while unprofessional on the teacher's part, and I don't think it should be done, I just don't quite see what's so morally despicable about it... And now I'm probably gonna get flamed
The *English translation* came out after HG. In the original, the only thing that were ever broadcast were a list of the students, how they died, and the student who won. They didn't broadcast every second of the students' goings-on. ^"not an English-only problem but" ^ It's kinda just manga (all versions) only. The book is much more tasteful, and so is the film (for all its flaws). I feel it would have been more acceptable in....almost anything but a social allegory highlighting the flaws in the system and the fragility of humanity. Manga one-shots are like 30 pages of manga that tell a complete story. They don't extend to multiple chapters. I agree with you about the student-teacher romances, not that it's anything I'd ever do. I mean, if one party is 16-17, and the other is 23-24, and it's a healthy relationship, that's not really that bad.
Aaah, thanks for clarifying Is the book and/or manga graphic (eg. is the violence quite graphic)? Cus I'd like to read it but if it's gonna be scarily graphic then I don't think I would.
Oh yeah. The manga more than the book, but the book does include some graphic scenes of brains coming out of skulls, etc. There's a lot of blood. Birds peck at dead bodies, things like that. A head falls off of a dead (heroic) adult at one point early on. A guy's head explodes.
