Battle Royale, Vol. 3

asked by advisor on November 21, 2006 1:37 AM

"Griffen is an excellent choice to make the material live for the English-speaking audience, handling the teen dialects well and making the most of the dark humor. "

-- Chris Allen, Movie Poop Shoot "Based on the cult novel and live-action Japanese film of the same name, Royale hits all the manga bases (martial arts, creepy old men, panty shots) without being Sailor Moon silly... A- "

-- Marc Bernardin, Entertainment Weekly "Battle Royale, for all its violence, is a dramatic and addictive story."

-- Alan David Doane - Comic Book Galaxy "Battle Royale is a very controversial series that is not for the squeamish or easily offended. It is a great series for those who appreciate the absurdity of it all and not take it too seriously. However be forewarned that this is a really disturbing series that gets worse and worse as it goes on. Quoting Keith Giffen, who did the English adaptations to Battle Royale, 'I had to call my lawyer to find out if it was even legal for me to look at this.' -- A"

-- Naota Nanadaba, The Ticker "Taguchi's straight-ahead storytelling and Giffen's superior adaptation make the gore easy to follow. The book's scenes of torture, implied rape and killing combine the horror and extreme violence of A Clockwork Orange with Lord of the Flies' exploration of human nature and depravity and aren't for the faint of heart."

-- Publishers Weekly "Battle Royale is full of sick thrills but is so plausibly plotted and well-written that it is impossible to dismiss it as just another stereotyped imitation of a bloody video game. It is frighteningly believable. 'Kill or be killed, Little Warriors!'"

-- Newtype Magazine "Feel like crossing the line, perhaps taking in something of such magnitude that the pages actually jump into your head? Look no further. Run, don't walk, to your nearest book dealer and feast your senses on Battle Royale..."

-- Play

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Reviews

Whoa, whoa, whoa... someone put a blanket on that high school girl! She's running around naked! Seriously, this is not good. Aren't there laws against depicting minors like this, in explicit sexual situations, that never got to the folks at TOKYOPOP. It wasn't just nudity; it was full-blown sex scenes and even rape. I was so offended by this that I've actually hidden this volume away, as if I'm ashamed to let others know that I'm reading filth. I'm only hoping that the characters responsible for all the ugliness in this volume die off soon so that the overall story of Battle Royale could get back on track. As of right now, I'm an extremely disappointed, but loyal, fan; I'm hoping Battle Royale changes soon, preferably within the next volume.

I can only recommend this volume to those of you who are of a mature mindset, and who understands that this is solely a work of fiction. Battle Royale the manga series comes with a lot of baggage, including incredibly gory violence, but this volume introduces graphically one very ugly element, that being rape. This is definitely a manga that should have attained an "A"-adult rating; this couldn't even be considered soft-core.

reviewed by kmf on November 28, 2006 12:43 PM

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This manga is about the famous asia movie battle royal. It's all good and stuff. This particular manga is pretty hentai. The story is good, but the artwork is really weird. It's a little over exaggerated. But personally the story is god enough to make up for the crappy artwork.

reviewed by oden on November 28, 2006 10:03 PM

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As Shuuya, Noriko, and Kawada try to decide on their next move, Shinji Mimura has already made his. He's been able to scrounge together some resources from the abandoned houses on the island, including a laptop, and has hooked up with the rat-looking Yutaka. His plan is to disrupt the Program computer systems and disable the exploding collars that all the participants are wearing. It seems Sugimura, the martial artist, is desperately combing the island, not looking for victims, but for a girl he cares about. Then there's the lovely couple of Yoji and Yoshimi, a couple who might have to make a life or death decision about their relationship. To top everything off we have an extremely graphic side tale about the sluttish vixen Mitsuko, a girl that would make Lizzy Borden look like a pious saint.

The great characterization continues in Volume 3 but the formula is showing its first signs of weakness. It's starting to come down to 1.Introduce character 2.Show flashback 3.Character lives or dies. The whole scene where two people look at each other and you wait anxiously to find out whether they are playing the game is getting old too. There are some great plot twists and the character backstories on the whole are well done. The insertion of the side story at the end about Mitsuko, dubbed "soon-to-be-infamous" by the book jacket wreaks of high camp and comedic exploitation. The sex scenes are purposely grotesque in order to cover up what is actually happening in them. Still, overall this series is great. Probably needs to tinker with its formulaic storytelling in order to keep my interest for future volumes though.

reviewed by shakeonit on November 29, 2006 2:46 AM

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I loved BR movie and would tell all my friends about it. But this....This is crap. For some reason I just had to read the first 3 books but now I have officialy stoped reading. The character development is very good but one thing that keeps this from being good. ITS WAY TO GRAPHIC FOR ITS TASTE! I know it says Mature on the back but still jeez! I mean you see some much brains and intestince get shot or pulled out. For an example Shuyas orphin brother gets shot in the cheek and you see a graphic picture of him laying on the ground with a huge whole with his tung sticking out. And than the teacher finishes him off by shooting him between the eyes. Its extreamly violent. And when you get to the last chapter on this lets just say if your into Hardcore Pornagraphy than you'll like this. This book went waaay overboard. But its in your taste what you like. All I know Is I've stoped.
The novel and Movie is really good!
BATTLE ROYALE 2 was not that good.
Later.........

reviewed by goonball on November 29, 2006 9:12 AM

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add a new book!