Battle Royale, Volume 15

by Masayuki Taguchi and Koushun Takami

Reads from back to front and from right to left. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1598162039
• ISBN13: 9781598162035
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: TokyoPop
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Battle Insanity

It had to be a bit rubbish. That's what I always thought to myself when I saw Battle Royale mentioned. I assumed this because it doesn't have an anime adaptation. What I didn't know back then was the reason for this -- I thought it was because the series wasn't that interesting. I never suspected it was because what's included in the story is so extreme that it would have to be butchered to make the jump from manga to anime. There's just no way a series that involves someone getting raped whilst dying by a psychotic girl, with flashbacks to her being abused by her stepfather as a child appearing during what was happening, could ever be faithfully adapted into an anime. Once I actually read a description of the story and saw its high ratings I was sold -- it sounded like something different, and it most certainly is different from anything else I've encountered. Battle Royale was everything I expected it be prior to buying it. Nothing was held back, everything was shown in graphic detail, there was lots of death and the situation the characters found themselves in is the kind that no-one would want to be in...but it's also a situation everyone is interested in from a voyeuristic perspective. A 1 in 42 chance of survival, where survival is only possible if you kill people you once thought of as friends... I wouldn't want to be in that situation, and I don't know how I'd handle it if I was. The story painted a bleak (and accurate) picture of how humans act when there are no laws and only fear and lust governing their actions. I read manga to see what's too extreme or not moe enough for anime, so in many ways Battle Royale was perfect for me. The story starts with 42 students, all aged 14-15, on a bus. The students think they're going on a school trip. They talk, laugh and act like teenagers do. Then they all start falling asleep, only realizing when it was too late that the bus driver had put a gas mask on and gas was being pumped onto the bus. They then wake up in a classroom, sat at their desks, with some kind of ring around their necks. Once everyone starts to wake up, a person who introduces himself as their new teacher walks into the room, calling himself Mr. Kamon. After pausing to distress the confused students a little more, he reveals to them that their class has been chosen for The Program -- an event that takes place every year (and has done since 1947 in the Battle Royale universe) where a random 9th grade class is selected for an 'educational' battle to the death at a deserted location (the story of Battle Royale takes place on a small island). Smiling, he tells them that if they don't kill they'll be killed, either by their classmates or by the ring around their neck that will explode if there's more than one person left by the deadline. Kamon is truly great bad guy. He looks more evil than any other character I've seen. He's the sort of character that readers will want to see die as painfully as humanly possible. If I were to de

The Conclusion To An Amazing Series

Volume 15 picks up with Shuya, Shogo, and Noriko fighting the emotionless Kiriyama. He does not seem human, standing back up blow after blow. As Shuya fights, he remembers what his friends told him, and realizes he must protect Noriko. Even if the group can survive, how can they leave the island together? This volume is, as usual, visually amazing, but I must especially point out that there is an amazing sequence of images of all of the students who perished in the program. Nothing bad to say about the dialogue, either. If you have read the other Battle Royale volumes I assume you will get this. I must admit I did prefer the movie and novel's "cliffhanger" endings, though. All in all, it is a satisfying end to what many consider to be one of the best manga ever made.

WILL YOU DIE OR PLAY THE GAME?

Shuuya, Noriko, and Kawada continue the fight for their lives and their ideals against the ruthless and unfeeling Kiriyama that started in Volume 14 and reaches its climax in this last installment of Battle Royale. Even if they beat him, what then? Does Kawada really know a way off the island or was he just using Shuuya and Noriko as allies to watch his back and now he's gonna turn on them? After all, there can be only one winner, and if nobody else is killed, then the explosive collars will detonate, executing friend and foe alike. This last volume is notable mainly for the fact that Shuuya and Noriko finally have to decide where they stand on the issue of survival. Are the two willing to be killed for the sake of their ideas or are they going to step up to the plate and face the fact that they will have to participate in the program if they want to live? It's basically a no-win situation for them no matter what they decide. Perhaps they will be able to reconcile and balance themselves like Kawada has, but it remains to be seen. While not perfect, Vol. 15 does give a satisfying ending to the series.

A fitting end to one of the greatest manga series created

I admit that when I finished Battle Royale volume 15 I couldn't help but feeling a bit dissapointed with it. There was nothing wrong with the writing or the art, it was just missing that thing that makes a series finale be truly great. Picking up where volume 14 left off it shows Shuuya, Kawada and Noriko still fighting the seemingly invincible Kiriyama (seriously the guy's like Jason he just keeps getting back up)after being killed by Shuuya, Kawada leads them to a small secluded part of the island and turns on Shuuya and Noriko, after that let's just say chaos ensues. The art style in volume 15 continues the excellence that Taguchi started in volume 1. Yet for some reason I didn't much care for the ending in the manga (I found the books to be more pleasing for some reason), still if you've read every other volume of the Battle Royale manga there's no reason for you to skip this one. The series on a whole I'd give a five, but this particular volume I have to give a four to. Maybe since this series of the manga ended Tokyopop will release the second Battle Royale manga series: Blitz Royale.