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leftovercarnage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Gore, Car accident, Bullying, Body horror, and Blood
s6ophia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Cursing, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Homophobia
zeynan3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Cursing, Murder, Child death, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Misogyny, Car accident, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Medical content and Homophobia
bookishfaye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
- I loved this way this was written!! Each chapter ending on how many were left alive made it super intense!
- I loved the darkness & grittiness of the world/characters/battle royale
- unexpected duos (in this case trio) is my favourite trope so I absolutely adore Kawada, Shuya, & Noriko
- The impact this must have had at it’s time when it came out in Korea must have been wild. I appreciated the boldness the author had in writing this at the time & stirring up some drama. The dedication made me say though, I appreciate your story sir
- the Modern, adult, asian inspired, dystopian Lord of the Flies/Hunger Games vibes were immaculate
-I loved the ending & the plot twist was really good
🍃negatives:
- I have to say I was uncomfortable with how sexualized these 8th graders were at times. It felt like in making this an adult Sci Fi, the author wrote children very adult, & I wish he just made the characters adults to avoid the uncomfiness of sexualizing children.
- Also the focus all the kids had on crushes when they were literally in a life or death battle Royal was kinda silly to me, I feel like they would have different priorities lmao
- some comments that were kinda sexist & outdated, however this did come out in the 90’s so maybe proceed with caution
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence
thegr8estangell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
The pacing of this book was all over the place. Sometimes it was fast and tense, other times it was slow and arduous. There were so many flashbacks to stupid elementary school grudges and stuff like that. It got old pretty quick. I skimmed alot of those since they had little to nothing to do with the actual plot of the story.
What really bothered me about this story was the sexism and causal homophobia. Do I expect anything different from a middle-aged Japanese man in the 90s? No. Does that mean I have to look over that to enjoy this book? Not really no. I can still criticize it and still think the book is okay. Noriko was about as useless as Sakura during the Zabuza arc in Naruto. She was written as a damsel in distress and that was all she played the entire time. Just a helpless little school girl who just wanted to survive and was content with letting her big strong men of Kawada and Shuya protect her. Shuya was this weird, white knight character that felt like every girl had a crush on. He was so popular but didn't know it. That was really annoying. He was always this, ethical person during the whole thing. He never had to make a bad or hard choice about killing someone. There was no morally grey with him like there was with Kawada. He was in this situation where he had to kill people but he never had to make that tough decision without weighing the consequences. Kawada was a cool character. I liked him. He was the only rational one in the whole book. I know it's because this was round 2 for him, but still. Good character.
The BIGGEST plot hole was the GOD-TIER status of that stupid bullet proof vest. After one bullet, those things are done. They don't last 14 other bullets to the chest, a shot gun blast, and 300+ rounds of an UZI. They don't. That's not how they are made. That was plot device that got tired real quick.
Overall, I think the violence and stakes were done well. But the actual plot needed some work. Would I read this again? No. Would I recommend this book to someone? Maybe, depends on the person.
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Grief, and Suicide
Moderate: Bullying and Child abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual harassment
that_chick26's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: Vomit
cheybrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Medical trauma
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Rape, and Vomit
onlyongracexm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I read this book in English and while I do think that it’s a fairly decent read, it’s also incredibly long and info-dumpy. Took me a month to finish.
Okay, good part first. What I like about the story is that they gave each classmate an individual, varying personality. Like a mini-Game of Thrones (before they get killed off). We get a glimpse into each classmate’s life, who they were, and what led them to make their present decisions. As a result, my two favorite characters are Mitsuko Souma and Hiroki Sugimura because they had a good number of POV chapters that showed me what kind of person they were to the choices and actions they’ve made. Another thing I liked was that I understand why this was such a controversial cult classic during its time. It gets gruesome and suspenseful during some bits that you don’t want to stop reading until it’s resolved. There were other parts that the movie didn’t have that I believe should’ve been included, like the part where Takako Chigusa didn’t just kill that fuckboy, but gouged his eyes out. And that part where Mitsuko Souma met the nice boy who spared her life and we get to see, for that one, single moment, that she was really human. Those parts were the best.
Now, the bad parts. This book got way too info-dumpy and boring between scenes. They explain, in excruciating detail, what the plan was for each character. For example, when Shinji was trying to hack into the government, it doesn’t matter if you never had one computer science class, you’re going to sit through the entire explanation on how he’s planning to do it. Down to every part. It’s very boring.
All in all, if you have some time on your hands and you like Japanese culture, give this book a go. (And be prepared.)
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault