Battle Royale
Author(s)
Koushun
Takami
Translator
Yuji
Oniki
Country
Japan
Language
Japanese
Genre(s)
Dystopian
Thriller
Horror
Alternative history
Publisher
Ohta
Shuppan
Publication
date Film
was released on 2000
The Hunger Games
Author(s) Koushun Takami
Cover artist Tim O'Brien
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Dystopian
Advaenture
Science fiction [1]
Action
Publisher Scholastic Press
Publication date Film was released on 2012
Story
Line / Plot
The
Hunger Games, at it's core, is a science fiction adventure story with a dash of
political drama. The dystopian setting,
futuristic vehicles and genetically modified whatnots add to this formula. It functions with a realistic voice from the
narrator who is contained within a world that she doesn't agree with and has
many disputes with. It's supposed to be
a fun and exciting story to experience, something that is relatable because of
the bond that we can form with the characters.
In regards to the violent centerpiece of the story, the actual Hunger
Games, within the context of the story, it is viewed purely as
entertainment. Which speaks volumes
about how we should view the story itself.
Battle Royale is quite different. The idea that the country has descended into
madness is only a setup for what the story holds. There is no real subtext within the killing
or the love story of the two leads that relates back to the idea of the country
in turmoil or the purpose of the BR act (punishing the children). It also handles its violence with a very
tongue-in-cheek quality at times.
Examining the amount of blood that shoots out of a freshly made wound in
Battle Royale is proof enough what kind of style it's taking.
The
Setting
The
general set up for the two stories is similar.
A dystopian future where in a group of children are required to fight to
the death until there is a victor. But
is it really that simple? In Battle
Royale, the country is in shambles for no particular reason; it can probably be
linked to an economic crisis with so much of the population out of work as the
prologue suggests. As a result of the
downfall of Japan, the students have protested school and the adults being in
fear of the teenagers pass the “Battle Royale” act. The act chooses one classroom of teenagers in
the country and places them in a location to fight to the death in three days.
The
Hunger Games, on the other hand, is set up with a country divided into
different districts, all spread around the country of "Panem" - what
remains of the United States and Canada.
There was, at one point, an uprising against the totalitarian government
known as “The Capitol” in which one of the districts was completely
obliterated. As a result, every year two
“tributes” are chosen from each district, a male and a female, to fight to the
death as a way to acknowledge that The Capitol is still in control.
Now,
it should be noted that “District 12,” where the main character Katniss
Everdeen lives, is indeed a “poor” district, but this not a reflection of the
country of Panem as a whole. So, as far
as the setting is concerned, Battle Royale has a country falling into a chaotic
downward spiral, The Hunger Games has a country that functions as a country
does today with richer and poorer sections and a fully functioning class
system.
The
set-up for the games are also quite different.
Part of the aesthetic of Battle Royale is that the group of children
selected are in the same classroom and thus all know each other. This reflects the very sadistic nature taken
on by the Battle Royale act itself. The
children are also selected in an effort to teach the remaining population of
children “behave or this could happen to you”.
When the children from The Hunger
Games are selected, the only ones that know each other are the ones from the
same districts. Presumably, they might
not know each other either considering their ages could be range from 12 to
18. This works toward the favor of the
games as it should make it easier for them to kill their fellow tributes if
they don't know them. But in Battle
Royale, where the very fact that they know each other and by their very nature
should refuse to kill them is again part of the very sadistic nature of the
story.
The
Characters
The
behavior of characters in a story is a very important. It takes their decisions
and actions that form what the story becomes and why you remember a character
from the story anyway. This is entirely true for both of these stories.
The
Hunger Games, Katniss is a relatable young woman with pathos and and fervor
behind her. She serves as our gateway into the story, and does so well. As a character, she is familiar with The
Hunger Games and though she never anticipates actually playing in them,
strategy and forethought are always at the back of her mind. The supporting cast
in the story are also important regarding what's happening here. Not all of them are in cahoots with The
Capitol's devious ways, some of them are there for Katniss. They help them get into a mindset that is
necessary in their achievement throughout the story.
If
you took all of the characters from Battle Royale and lined them up and then
threw a rock at one of them with your eyes closed chances are the one you hit
would be a complete and utter psycho.
Except for the two main characters in the story, almost every single
other person is bat-shit insane. There
is very little moderation in this story, everything is to one extreme or the
other. While the two leads do act
sensibly, and they do stand out for it, the moments when they break character
and lose it for a second are far more memorable than when they're sitting in a
ditch or a shack crying about how they love each other.
To me this is the defining
difference between these two stories. Sure, there are some characters in The
Hunger Games that are crazy, but literally almost every character in Battle
Royale is totally off their rocker.
There is little to no similarity in terms of character dynamics and
behavior between these two.
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