Masayuki Taguchi Boeken

The cult Japanese bestselling phenomenon! Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of 42 junior high school students are taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are electronically collared, provided with weapons of varying potency, and sent out onto the island. If they are in the wrong part of the island at the wrong time, their collars will explode. If they band together to save themselves a collar will explode at random. If they try to escape from the island, they will be blown up. Their only chance for survival lies in killing their classmates. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - BATTLE ROYALE is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, and a potent story of politics and survival in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, BATTLE ROYALE is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, and is now available for the first time to the UK mainstream.

In the future, random Jr. High School classes are chosen to compete in a game called Battle Royale. The rules: only one student can survive after 3 days on an island or else they all perish. Weapons are handed out and each student is sent out into the field alone and unprepared for the horror that awaits them. The classmates turn upon themselves in a battle for survival, treaties are made and broken, and former friends become foes as the relentless countdown continues. Amid the betrayals and rising body count, two classmates confess their love for each other and swear to survive this deadly game together.

Soccer player Kazushi Niida gets a kick out of The Program when he decides to think of it as an exhibition game. How many goals will this all-star player make before his time on the field runs out? When Takako Chigusa's leg is on the receiving end of his bow-gun, Kazushi may experience a permanent time-out from Sugimura. Meanwhile, Kaori Minami wants nothing more out of life than for her acne to clear up so she can make an impression on her favorite pop star, Junya

As the violence begins to escalate, Shuuya continues searching for friends who would be willing to join his alliance. However, the search doesn't go as well as he would hope, resulting in the deaths of several more students. Childhood friends Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano would be glad to join Shuuya, but will he reach him in time?

As Shuuya, Noriko and Shogo figure out their first move, the mysterious transfer student reveals that he is actually the winner of the previous season's Program. Can Shuuya and Noriko still continue to trust him, despite their knowledge of the acts Shogo committed to emerge victorious?

As part of a ruthless program by the totalitarian government, ninth-grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food, and various weapons. Forced to wear special collars that explode when they break a rule, they must fight each other for three days until only one "winner" remains. The elimination contest becomes the ultimate in must-see reality television. A Japanese pulp classic available in English for the first time, Battle Royale is a potent allegory of what it means to be young and survive in today's dog-eat-dog world