Battle Royale #1
By Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi
English adaptation by Keith Giffen
Published by Tokyopop
I'm not a regular reader of Japanese comics, but the concept of this series and the recommendation of a trusted advisor (hi, Mischel!) was enough to convince me to have a look. Battle Royale has been issued in the U.S. in "Authentic Manga" style -- which means it reads back-to-front and right-to-left to Western readers (with a helpful diagram on the last page -- which is the first page readers new to manga will likely look at). Just a caveat -- I was able to get used to the format with no difficulty, but it might be an adjustment for some.
No doubt Battle Royale is inspired in part by the reality TV craze -- a group of high school students is forced to take part in a Survivor-type TV show called "The Program," with death being the price for refusing to play the game. It's a perverse premise, and it's depicted with a visceral realism by Takami and Taguchi. The underlying horror of The Program is established in the opening pages, as two young children see the most recent winner of the game on television -- with little of her humanity obviously intact.
Those very same children grow up to be forced into the game a few years later, and one of the key elements of the book is the way flashbacks and dialogue are used to establish the sometimes lifelong relationships among the class members forced to play the game. It's scary how quickly and brutally the teenagers get into their roles, but it's utterly believable, too. "The Program" is a cultural standard for them, and the indoctrination they receive upon arrival on the island is convincingly merciless.
My biggest problem with reading manga historically has been the cultural divide -- some elements of the culture that are depicted in the art just do not translate easily to my eyes. I had no problem with that in Battle Royale, though. There is the usual implication that most or all middle-aged men are obsessed with the sexuality of teenage girls, but beyond the manga cliche (see my review of Short Cuts) here there's an added layer of perversion -- the man running The Program uses all the tools at his disposal to manipulate and terrify his victims into playing the game, and of course threats of sexual violence would be in his arsenal in a situation like this.
This is a violent, nasty piece of work. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but potential readers should be aware that this is a pretty bleak scenario and it's depicted with clinical accuracy. Acts of quick, terminal violence such as a boy being shot through the mouth at point-blank range or a girl having her throat sliced are seen with full, sickening detail (apparently there's a controversial film of this story that hasn't been released to U.S. audiences -- we're so sensitive, y'know). The focus on the decency of some of the teenagers is enough to convince me this isn't a work without morality or hope, but at the start of this story, there's plenty of horror to be seen, and we see it close-up and without compromise or stylization.
I confess to an utter lack of knowledge about manga art in general or the work of the artist of Battle Royale, so I don't feel terribly qualified to comment, other than to say that it's among the best manga art I've ever seen and tells the story incredibly well. I was particularly impressed with the perversion apparent in the depiction of the "teacher" who instructs the kids in the rules of the game, Yenomi Kamon. He is depicted as twisted and evil, but arrogant and confident that the latest batch of players will eventually bow to his will. The settings, from dark, threatening woods to the inviting safety of a family living room to the sterile efficiency of the classroom, are all well-established and give the reader a solid sense of location at all times. This is one of the most highly readable graphic novels I've encountered this year, even factoring in the "backwards" nature of the "authentic manga" format.
Battle Royale, for all its violence, is a dramatic and addictive story. The first volume just shipped last week to U.S. comics shops, and future editions should come out bi-monthly. I'm hooked by this first volume and can't wait to read the rest of the series. If you've got an appetite for cutting-edge drama and a understand going in that there's some pretty overt and horrifying acts of violence as a key element of it, then Battle Royale should be on your reading list. Grade: 5/5