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A review by thedinosaurkid
Battle Royale: Remastered by Koushun Takami
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was pretty good.
Obviously (or maybe not) I went into this comparing it to Hunger Games. It faired pretty well. If anything I probably liked it more. If you're looking for a book like Hunger Games but with more murder (first off get therapy), this is a good pick. It has the potential to be a 4-5 star read.
However, that is not what I'm giving it.
Despite the good characters, twists, and overall plot, this book was very obviously written in the 1990's (specifically 1999). There is major misogynistic language throughout the book. Nothing outright,in fact there is a character who is shown to have horribly sexist thoughts, like "women are property" type stuff. The author makes it clear that this is a horrible person. but there is a lot of stuff like "oh I can never beat this boy because I'm a girl and girls are weak". It's not as overt as that but it conveys a similar message.
Another reason for the rating is because of a specific chapter that follows a gay character and how homophobic it feels. The gay character is described as following a character who is particularly brutal and looks like might win. The gay character is then described as having "stalker behavior" and being super feminine. The author mentions that he has the audacity to care about his looks during this murder game. He has a mirror that he holds to make sure he looks good. Generally, the way this character is portrayed is very homophobic and uses lots of homophobic stereotypes.
The plot is good, don't get me wrong, but its hard to ignore the misogynistic tones throughout the book. The ending was enjoyable and my attention was kept during the whole book but reading about "weak girls" really brought me out of the experience.
Obviously (or maybe not) I went into this comparing it to Hunger Games. It faired pretty well. If anything I probably liked it more. If you're looking for a book like Hunger Games but with more murder (first off get therapy), this is a good pick. It has the potential to be a 4-5 star read.
However, that is not what I'm giving it.
Despite the good characters, twists, and overall plot, this book was very obviously written in the 1990's (specifically 1999). There is major misogynistic language throughout the book. Nothing outright,
Another reason for the rating is because of a specific chapter that follows a gay character and how homophobic it feels.
The plot is good, don't get me wrong, but its hard to ignore the misogynistic tones throughout the book. The ending was enjoyable and my attention was kept during the whole book but reading about "weak girls" really brought me out of the experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Child death, Blood, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Torture, Stalking, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia