Poll: I just watched Battle Royale for the first time

[Jacco]

I didn't think it was a good as The Hunger Games, though there are of course many many similarities. I feel THG did a better job of sort of portraying the whole situation. While BR was definately more brutal and bloody, it didnt seem as refined or "real" as HG did.

They were both good, don't get me wrong, but I think I still like The Hunger Games more simply because they spent more time leading up to it. The whole first half of the movie was used to set the stage and it gave me more of a sense of the characters being PEOPLE and thus it was more "tragic" when they started to die. Battle Royale didn't really do that so the deaths didn't feel as impactful as I feel they could have.

I'm curious, though, if you've seen/read both books/,movies, what did you like better and why?

 

[Corax_1990]

Battle Royale, it was an original idea and its popularity spawned the entire popular culture sub class. Hunger games would probably not exist if not for Battle Royale, or at least, would not be nearly as popular.
I try not to compare the two and see them as separate works with entirely different styles of writing, and subsequently, styles of film. Its obvious that Hunger Games has drawn some key plot devices from Battle Royale, and since Battle Royale was first, I consider it to be the better of the two.

 

[Dangit2019]

I actually recently saw it for the first time too. I really enjoyed it, more so than I did for the Hunger Games.

When I say that, I mean to convey that the score is:
Battle Royale:9
Hunger Games:8

HG gets a lot of hate for "stealing" Battle Royale's idea (which would be stupid considering how it's one of the most influential Japanese movies in American culture), but they really were 2 different stories set around the same basic idea.

Saying one stole the other is like saying Han Solo is a rip off of Captain Kirk since they both have a ship that goes into lightspeed along with an alien crew and a knack for adventure.

 

[Girl With One Eye]

I love Battle Royale, it's one of my favourite films. I personally didn't like Hunger Games, it was very slow to start and felt like it was aimed at a much younger audience.

 

[lapan]

I didn't think it was a good as The Hunger Games, though there are of course many many similarities. I feel THG did a better job of sort of portraying the whole situation. While BR was definately more brutal and bloody, it didnt seem as refined or "real" as HG did.

They were both good, don't get me wrong, but I think I still like The Hunger Games more simply because they spent more time leading up to it. The whole first half of the movie was used to set the stage and it gave me more of a sense of the characters being PEOPLE and thus it was more "tragic" when they started to die. Battle Royale didn't really do that so the deaths didn't feel as impactful as I feel they could have.

I'm curious, though, if you've seen/read both books/,movies, what did you like better and why?

The battle royale movie was low budget in comparison and it shows. What it still managed to do better than hunger games was actually developing the characters and making you give a fuck about them. The hunger games movie killed half the characters off offscreen and didn't give the others enough screentime to develop their characters.

I don't see where you get the more impactfull deaths. There is maybe 5-6 characters slightly introduced, the others were mere statists.

Hunger games was definitely prettier and expanded more on the backgrounds.

The thing is though, the book and manga of Battle Royale beat both movies by a lot.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I've only read the Battle Royale book, I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was ground-breaking but the translation I had conveyed a lot of interesting things.

I think people focus on the violence of the book and movie too much, when it's a commentary on how wrong a society can go. The author wrote about it in reference to the the cruelty of the Imperial Japanese Government.

From what I know, Battle Royale is much more minimalistic compared to The Hunger Games. In Battle Royale, the nature of the government is only hinted at, and the reasons for the program are much more mysterious.

So it depends what you want. Do you want to figure stuff out yourself? Or have everything told for you and think about that?

 

[Casual Shinji]

I only ever saw Battle Royale, but I've never been a huge fan of it.

It was okay, just nothing that really stuck in my mind about it.

The only thing I remember is Takeshi Kitano being in it and he's the most badass dude in Japan.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Battle Royale was awesome but I don't remember any of it



Hunger Games looks shit though

 

[Lovely Mixture]

The only thing I remember is Takeshi Kitano being in it and he's the most badass dude in Japan.

Quoted for the truth. He and Wakamoto are both contenders for the "Chuck Norris of Japan" title.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The only thing I remember is Takeshi Kitano being in it and he's the most badass dude in Japan.

Quoted for the truth. He and Wakamoto are both contenders for the "Chuck Norris of Japan" title.

Chuck Norris? Ha!

More like Charles Bronson, Robert Mitchum, or Lee Marvin.

 

[Vegosiux]

The only thing I remember is Takeshi Kitano being in it and he's the most badass dude in Japan.

Except for those few times when he actually loses the castle, huh? Then the badassery is on the other side for a little while.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The only thing I remember is Takeshi Kitano being in it and he's the most badass dude in Japan.

Except for those few times when he actually loses the castle, huh? Then the badassery is on the other side for a little while.

Oh come on, when has he ever lost his castle?

I may not have been an avid watcher, but I've never seen anyone win that fucking show.

 

[Rastien]

Got to say The hunger games really does feel like a toned down and simplified version of Battle Royal. I got alot more into battle royal and all the politics surrounding it and felt alot more empathy with the characters as they were not "Generic douche-copter A" and "obvious comic relief character 1".

 

[Doclector]

The way I see it, (and keep in mind, I have neither seen nor read the hunger games) battle royale is much more visceral. You get a real sense of the fear and panic of the young people thrown into this horrifying situation, in which they literally have no choice but to kill their friends or die.

Also, I think that in particular makes it more tragic. These are people that they've known for years. They went to school together, they weren't thrown together from across the world, thus making more of an impact when they have to kill each other.

That's just my opinion though, like I said, I haven't really read or seen the hunger games, but I get the general gist.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I haven't read Hunger Games or, read any of the books. I liked the first Battle Royal movie but I didn't like what I saw of the second one. I may end up checking out The Hunger Games movie but I don't plan to for a while.

 

[Broady Brio]

Haven't seen Hunger Games. But I have seen Battle Royale and I liked the killing and the screaming and the neck bombs, GLAVIN! So Battle Royale.

 

[Absimilliard]

Battle Royal is a really well-made film, and I recommend reading the novel as well. The film deviates from it on a few points, not surprisingly. I actually think the book is even darker...

 

[Dogstile]

The only thing I remember is Takeshi Kitano being in it and he's the most badass dude in Japan.

Except for those few times when he actually loses the castle, huh? Then the badassery is on the other side for a little while.

Oh come on, when has he ever lost his castle?

I may not have been an avid watcher, but I've never seen anyone win that fucking show.

I have, found it hilarious that the show just cuts off like usual. Its like "boom, you win, awesome. Credits".

 

[Martin Toney]

I've only seen battle royale, but im aware of what the hunger games is and let me tell yah, youv'e drawn up a good comparison they are both really similar but even though I havn't seen it, I imagine hunger games will "look" better because of the large production budget =]