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Masayuki Taguchi

Autor(a) de Battle Royale, (Manga) Book 1

20 Works 508 Membros 18 Reviews

About the Author

Séries

Obras de Masayuki Taguchi

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Conhecimento Comum

Nome padrão
Taguchi, Masayuki
Sexo
male

Membros

Resenhas

Moved to [b:Battle Royale, Vol. 01|57893|Battle Royale, Vol. 01 (Battle Royale, #1)|Koushun Takami|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388901600s/57893.jpg|56398].
 
Marcado
quantum.alex | outras 3 resenhas | May 31, 2021 |
Some notes and impressions (subject to revision as I continue through the series).

Note: I actually read the "Ultimate" edition which contained the first 3 volumes.

Short Answer
Good--if not terribly original--action, seinen manga if you skim the numerous flashbacks.
Note: I'm going to read the novel and see what the differences are.

Originality
The themes and story ideas raised in this book are not terribly original. [b:Lord of the Flies|7624|Lord of the Flies|William Golding|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869409s/7624.jpg|2766512] dealt with the total loss of civilized behavior among children even younger than the children in this story. Running Man (a 70s? movie) was about a gladiator game show very loosely based on Stephen King's [b:The Running Man|11607|The Running Man|Richard Bachman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333160557s/11607.jpg|3652165].

Art
Professional, detailed and realistic--not artsy. It is action-oriented and doesn't build atmosphere with dramatic two-page landscape shots.

Story
Even though the flashbacks were interesting in the beginning, they become repetitive and by vol. 5, I'm quite tired of hearing about the main MC's idealistic background. They are also so numerous that the pacing is terribly slow.

Takami misses a chance to make the story more interesting when he kills off Mim before he's able to attack the HQ, which happens in a completely unrealistic way (Kiriyama survives a point-blank bomb explosion). It was almost enough to make me lem the series.

The pace of death is regular. unrelenting, and ruthless. Some of my favorite characters get killed right as they triumph.

World:
It is no coincidence that Takami chose the name, Republic of Greater East Asia (大東亜共和国), as the name of his fictitious authoritarian country. The name of this country happens to have the same first 4 characters as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (大東亞共榮圏), which was the name given to the geo-political region that fascist Japan aspired to during WWII.

America is viewed from afar as representative of freedom--at least for now. Rock 'n roll from America is banned and American girls are to be envied ("at least American girls must be suffering the boredom of baseball just as we do" [paraphrase] says one of the girls in the cheerleading squad). Perhaps Japan wasn't defeated in WWII and there was some kind of peace accord.

Characterization
The characters are believable and behave consistently.

Suspension of Disbelief:
If I ignore the fact that the writer stated that these characters are 9th graders and instead I believe that they are 17- or 18-year-olds--or even 16--then I'm back on solid ground. And that is acceptable because this story is metaphorical. It might even be allegorical: the idealist, the veteran, the naive, the heartless, the revolutionary, the animal, the blindly faithful, the ruthless, the double suicide. And it sure runs the gamut of its allegorical character types through the wringer.

10 June Update: Finished vol.4.
9 August Update: Finished vol.7.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
quantum.alex | outras 13 resenhas | May 31, 2021 |
This is an excellent example of a dystopia for one. But it is also a great story. Take the best of Lord of the Flies, 1984, The Running Man (King's story, not necessarily the film), and add some more violence, sex, and suspense, and you get this story. It grips you from the beginning, and it does not let you go until the last page. I will definitely continue reading this series. This collector's edition offers some extras in terms of an interview with the author, a short essay by a psychologist, and extra sketches. This is definitely not for little kids, but for adults who like a good adventure with suspense and shootings and so on, this is highly recommended. 42 ninth graders go in, and only one will survive.

I used to joke around that the show "Survivor" was not violent enough. I always joked that the show should be give the participants weapons, let them kill each other, and one walks out. This series is kind of how I envisioned that dumb reality show should have been, only on steroids, so to speak. Great series, and one I will gladly follow.
… (mais)
 
Marcado
bloodravenlib | outras 3 resenhas | Aug 17, 2020 |
This is supposed to be the original The Hunger Games. So, I had to read this before starting THG. The plot isn't believable. Why would a government force a bunch of kids to kill each other? Maybe there is an explanation in the later volumes. Its too violent for me and unnecessarily filthy.
 
Marcado
anushanarasimhan | outras 13 resenhas | Feb 5, 2020 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
20
Membros
508
Popularidade
#48,806
Avaliação
½ 3.7
Resenhas
18
ISBNs
28
Idiomas
6

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