Welcome to Lyfeblerd, a podcast all about manga, manhwa, light novels and other types of comic books. I'm your host, Cryptte, and today we're diving into the intense and thought-provoking seinen manga series, Battle Royale.

Originally written by Koushun Takami in 1996, it went unpublished until 1999 after being rejected in 1997 by the Japan Horror Fiction Awards. This was because it was too reminiscent of a recent murder in Kobe involving high school students. For the show, I’ll be covering the manga adaptation which was released from 2000 to 2005 and illustrated by Masayuki Taguchi. Tokyopop released the series in English in the following years and a special edition hit store shelves in late 2007.

Now if I haven’t scared you away, strap in for a rollercoaster ride of survival, betrayal, and moral dilemmas.

Reading List

For fans of Battle Royale and those that want something similar once they’re done reading, pick up Gantz by Hiroya Oku. It’s a sci-fi story about a secret war that shares themes of survival and moral ambiguity, delving into the psychological effects of life-and-death situations. Another manga with similar dystopian themes is Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama. In a post-apocalyptic world filled with man-killing giants, we are treated to lots of action and politics.

• Gantz Omnibus Volume 1 by Hiroya Oku
• Attack on Titan Volume 1 by Hajime Isayama

If you’re looking for something lighter in the survival game space, then try BTOOOM! by Junya Inoue. It plays things simple and safe, with no psychoanalysing, moral dilemmas or complex characters. Aoharu X Machinegun by Naoe is another one but this time lives and sanity aren’t at stake. The story takes us into the world of competitive airsoft.

• BTOOOM! Volume One by Junya Inoue
• Aoharu X Machinegun Volume One by Naoe

So Long

That brings us to the end of another episode. I hope I've been able to get a new book or two onto your reading list. If I have, please subscribe and review on iTunes or anywhere else you get your podcasts. 

Join me next time on Lyfeblerd for more manga, manhua, light novels and other types of comic books. Until then, keep reading the books you love and support your local comic book scene. 

See you in the next act. 

The theme song is Dreams by Rewayde, provided by Argofox.

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