Battle Royale, Volume 5

By Masayuki Taguchi and Koushun Takami

After their initial plan to take down The Program fails, Shinji Mimura and Yutaka Sato put their backup plan in motion. Having located all the supplies necessary to put together a crude bomb, the pair are all set to deliver their package right where it will do the most damage...the school which serves as The Program control center. The only problem is that the school is in a permanent danger zone. Shinji believes he's found a way around this. Or more specifically, above this. Meanwhile, Sho Tsukioka has never been what you would call a normal 9th grader. Flamboyantly gay, and damn proud of it, he believes the key to surviving The Program is to tail its likely winner, Kazuo. Kazuo, however, may have other plans. Finally, in what may be the most blackly comic Battle Royale vignette yet, Hiro Shimizu has seen her best friend turn on her, her other best friend murdered, and has now taken a bullet herself. While her wound may not be lethal, her bad luck, it would appear, just might be.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1591823188
• ISBN13: 9781591823186
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: TokyoPop
• Length: 202 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

WE'RE NOT ALONE.....OR ARE WE?

In the aftermath of their failed plan to hack into the Program's computer system, we learn through flashback the origin of Shinji and Yutaka's odd couple friendship. Meanwhile, Shuuya and Noriko continue to try to convince Shogo Kawada that it's worth his while to help them find other allies in the surviving members of their homeroom, despite the danger. And then there's the wholesome tale of Sho Tsukioka, the drag-queen hustler and blackmailer who is on the trail of the Program's most dangerous player, Kazuo. Battle Royale continues the tale of heartrending tragedy and death and hope that started in Volume 1. While the story of Tsukioka was a little too hard to take due to its lewdness, I don't see anything wrong with a little depravity here and there. Royale succeeds admirably at creating suspense and empathy for the main characters. Beneath all the murder, there is a little glimmer of hope in that people like Shuyaa still have faith that some of his fellow classmates do not want to be a part of this madness.

Excellent Progression

If you are reading this, then I assume you have read all of, if not most of, the mangas released prior to Vol. 5. That having been said, I shall continue. This book focuses primarily on the plans and relationship between the basketball star Shinji Mimura and his incompetant sidekick, Yutaka Sato. By this point, there is far less mindless violence than the first few mangas, and much more in depth character development, which takes the series to an entirely new level. We also get to see even more background on Shuuya, making him more and more realistic and likeable. Perhaps most importantly (in my opinion, anyways) is the continued upward scale of how hardcore Kazuo Kiriyama is, and what an important role in the story he really will have (Those fans of the movie and novel know exactly what I mean) Overall, I am impressed with the progression of the manga and shall continue to read them until the last one is released (if it hasn't already, I just finished Vol. 7) and can't wait to see what other noteable plot changes occur.