First book by then journalist Koushun Takami, “Battle Royale” was initially completed in 1996 but was not published until 1999. It was entered into the 1997 Japan Horror Fiction Awards but was eventually rejected in the final round due to concerns over its depictions of students killing each other. Upon publication in 1999, the novel became a surprise bestseller. In 2000, one year after publication, “Battle Royale” was adapted into a manga series, written by Takami himself, and a feature film. The film was both controversial and successful, becoming one of the year’s highest-grossing films as well as prompting condemnation by Japan’s National Diet. The film spawned a sequel, and two more brief manga adaptations were also created.

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“Battle Royale” is set in a fictional fascist Japan in 1997, now called the Republic of Greater East Asia, a regime born from an alternate WWII where Japan emerged victorious.