Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (Translated by Yuji Oniki)

As you probably know, one of the most popular book series out right now is The Hunger Games. While I'm not a huge fan of The Hunger Games (kind of like Harry Potter - tried to read the books, watched the movies, still a little bored), I do enjoy the dystopian genre so when I heard that there was a book similar to The Hunger Games I thought, "What the hell? I'll give it a shot." So here's the book that I've been meaning to blog about for two or so months now...

 

Battle Royale
Summary: A class of Japanese students is taken to a deserted island where the government is forcing them to fight to the death. Each student is provided with a weapon and some rations. The students are forced to kill one another until there is only one left. And if no one dies within 24 hours? Every student is killed. Now the students have to decide whether they are going to play the sick game or if they are going to fight back - even if fighting back means certain death. Who will have to strength to survive? And does anyone truly win in Battle Royale?

What I thought of the book:

I honestly don't think I can put into words how much I loved this book. Heart-breaking, thrilling, suspenseful, and full-on creepy, this book rocks. There are great plot-twists and not to mention some amazing characters. The author did a great job with the bad guys especially - they're the kind of people you love to hate but at the same time feel a little bit sorry for. Seriously, probably one of my favorite books of all time (which is saying a lot, seeing as my own mother called me a "book snob").

When I describe the book to my friends they're always like, "So it's a Japanese Hunger Games." NO. If anything, The Hunger Games is actually an American Battle Royale. You know why? Because Battle Royale came out in 199-freaking-9 and the first Hunger Games book came out in 2008. Nine years, Battle Royale was out before The Hunger Games.

Now, I'm not saying the two books aren't similar. In fact, they are suspiciously similar. Am I saying that Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, copied Battle Royale? Um, hell yeah. At first I didn't think so - I just thought they had a similar idea going on and I was totally fine with that. It happens all the time in the world of writing. But then I found more and more and more little details that happened to be the same in both books. Let me give you a list of a few of them:

1.      They use bird calls and fires to communicate.

2.      Someone who is a small hero (not necessarily a main character, but someone you wanted to live) dies while using said bird calls and fires to communicate.

3.      The really pretty people are the most cruel and the most willing to kill/start killing first.

4.      A boy and a girl who sort of knew each other before being forced to kill each other (but not really) team up.

5.      A best friend dies.

6.      Said boy and girl develop romance.

7.      Said boy gets a leg injury.

8.      Said boy and girl are given help from a person who has "won" the games before.

9.      Two people survive. Guess who they are.

10.  There is an even ratio of boys to girls.

So yes, I think Suzanne Collins copied a great amount of ideas from Battle Royale. This is greatly disappointing to me because I absolutely love her other series The Underlander Chronicles. But now all I can do is wonder what book those ideas came from. *shakes head in utter disapproval*

There are some differences though. Battle Royale is set in a more modern-day Japan (though the technology is much cool than the stuff in The Hunger Games). Also, Battle Royale is way more violent and heart-wrenching than The Hunger Games. And the point of view is different (Hunger Games is first person while Battle Royale is third).

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that before you start declaring that The Hunger Games is the best goddamn book in the whole entire universe, just give Battle Royale a try. You might actually like it better. I sure did (if you couldn't tell).

Later, Sarcastic Chick

PS Battle Royale was made into several comic books and also into a movie in 2000.

Mulan (1998)

I've noticed that the older I get the more I enjoy kid movies.  Especially Disney kid movies.  They always seem to sneak in an inappropriate comment or two into their movies that as children we didn't see.  To celebrate being able to understand all the grown-up jokes thrown into movies, I've been watching a plethra of Disney lately.  My most recent movie (I seriously finished two minutes ago.  YouTube rocks.) was Mulan.  Now if you haven't seen Mulan here's pretty much what it's about:

Mulan is a girl, the only child of her honored family. When the Huns invade China, one man from every family is called to arms. Mulan's father, who has an old wound and cannot walk properly, decides to fight for his country and the honor of his family though it is clear that he will not survive an enemy encounter. Mulan, who just got rejected by the matchmaker because she had set her on fire, decides to prove that she is worth something and steals away to fit her father's place in the Chinese army. She prays to her family's ancestors for protection and luck before leaving as a man in her father's armor with her family's horse. The ancestors awake and decide to send Mushu, a little dishonored dragon to aid Mulan in her quest. Weeks later, Mulan and the other troopers have survived the training camp and are on the way north to stop the huns. After being spotted and pursued by the enemies, an impass situation in the mountains forces Mulan to come up with an idea. But then, her real gender will no longer be a secret. She decides to risk everything in order to save China.

I hadn't seen this movie in about five or six years, keep in mind.  So I did not expect the massive number of sly comments and less-than-clean scenes.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the movie:

"What's the matter?  Never seen a black and white before?"
"I never want to see a naked man again."
"No one's listening to me."  "What?"  "Mushu!"  "Sorry, you're a girl again."
"She's a woman!  She's not worth anything."
"You're too skinny.  Not good for having boys."
"I think I'm going to go pray some more."
"You know how it is when you get those manly urges and just have to go kill something..."  (bwahahaha!  This is my favorite quote!)
"Whoo!  Sign me up for the next war!"
"Concubines.  Ugly concubines."

Some of my favorite scenes:

When Mulan is bathing in the stream and the boys jump in with her.  Awkward.
When Mushu bites Ling in the ass.  "That was close."  "No that was vile!  You owe me."
When the boys sing "A Girl Worth Fighting For" and Mulan is in the middle of it.
When they cross-dress to save China!

As you can see, my viewing experience was very enjoyable.  What are your favorite kid movies that are sneakily inappropriate?  Please comment below!