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For the past few months, there has been a huge uproar about “Battle Royale being the original Hunger Games.” So, to just end this battle of fandoms, I read Battle Royale recently. So now, I can do a book-to-book comparison, and I can tell you all, whoever thinks these books are the same are completely out of their mind. I may not change people’s opinions, but maybe I can give them something to think about.

I’m not going to lie; I am a huge J-horror nerd. I even became a Japanese minor because I fell in love with the twisted, unadulterated gore that all Japanese horror movies have to offer. I watched Battle Royale for the first time about four years ago, and I’ve seen it many times since. I also admit I was a little late jumping on The Hunger Games train. I did read all the books in August and loved them. But when people would mention the similarities, I would only shrug and say, “I suppose.” Then all the hubbub came out when Suzanne Collins said she had never even heard of Battle Royale. Given her background, why would she have? Only the “cool, young kids” know about it, according to the pro-BR, anti-HG people.

Even though I’m a fan of both series, it only occurred to me as an afterthought that these two pop culture phenomenon were anything alike.

The Government
Both books are set in a dystopian future, where the government has decided to keep the citizens on edge by hosting an annual “game” that involves children fighting to the death until there is one, sole victor. Ok, yes this does sound very similar. However, each of these worlds and the way the government chooses their children is very different.

In Battle Royale, the book hints that all of Asia is under an almost-communist China/North Korea rule. They call themselves The Republic of Greater East Asia. There is not much background on how the country came to be, and the kids themselves don’t seem to know. The government system is all mysterious, and Shogo (one of the main kids in the game) states that there’s a possibility there may not even be an emperor, but that it’s just a tool of the government to keep the country’s people at bay. An anti-government supporter dies mysteriously. People are afraid. Even at the end, when Noriko and Shuya are running, there’s an ominous feeling that things will never change, and even though they are now rebels, they are only two, small teens that won’t make much difference. A rebellion is far far away at the end of the book.

In The Hunger Games, the government doesn’t feel as stable. The 12 districts of Panem are controlled by The Capitol, and, while it rules harshly, that harshness does not necessarily apply to all the districts. As we discover in the games, Rue’s district 11 enforces the laws more harshly than district 12 does. Obviously, there is an uneven rule throughout the country. Moreover, at the end of book one, we know the survival of two tributes is enough to cause a giant rebellion. As readers, we are also more aware of how this government system works. We know its past, we know that President Snow is the supreme ruler, and, once we’re The Capitol, we get an inside view of the people who run the country.

The Games

The games are also similar in explanation. They are put in place to teach the country a lesson. However, this is the bare-bones explanation for both books’ games. In Battle Royale all the kids are of the same age and skill level, and they have relationships with another, making the killing game even harder to imagine. Could you have killed your best friend’s crush in middle school? Furthermore, the game is held secretly overnight. The outcomes are televised the next day, but it is not mandatory to watch them.

In The Hunger Games, only two tributes are chosen from each district, so there is no chance that those two tributes will know any of the other ones in the other districts. Furthermore, they are chosen from between the ages of 12 and 18, so there’s a chance that tributes form the same district may not even know each other. Though the age gap seems unfair, the fact that these kids don’t really know one another makes killing “easier.” The Hunger Games, including all the hype and pre-game interviews, are required television watching for all of Panem.

The Gore

It’s no competition – Battle Royale’s gore goes above and beyond what’s in The Hunger Games. Kids gauge each other’s eyes and threaten to sexually assult each other. The gore factor is central in the novel and the film. In The Hunger Games, the gore is there to further the plot. There are only two scenes that match Battle Royale’s gore: when Thresh smashes the rock into Clove’s head and when the pack of hybrid-wolves attacks Cato. There’s a reason why Battle Royale needed the equivalent of an R rating in the US, and The Hunger Games is rated PG-13.

Love

The role of love in both books is essential. In Battle Royale, most of the students think about their crushes before they die, or, in Shinji or Mistsuko’s cases, about what love is. The role of love is huge. It’s Shuya’s love of Yoshitoki that saves Noriko. It’s Shogo’s implied love for his girlfriend that was killed in the games that saves Shuya and Noriko. Love pushes these people to fight for their lives or for others’ lives. I mean, Hiroki searches the whole game for Kayoko to confess his love for her, but in the end she’s the one who brings him to his final breaths. Once she realizes he loved her unconditionally, she does not fight her death when Mitsuko approaches.

Love is also a huge factor in The Hunger Games, but not for the same reasons. Katniss does not know if she is even interested in romantic love. People can ship all they want for Gale or Peeta, but she never sorts her feelings out for either by the time the book ends, and when she chooses Peeta in the end it’s almost like a marriage of convenience. She definitely cares for the two boys, but not romantically at all, and, because we only see the games through her eyes, we never really feel that type of love, either. The only way we feel romantic love is through Peeta, who unconditionally loves Katniss until his tragic accident. So in the end his marriage to her is almost out of convenience as well. Katniss and Peeta are not necessarily in love, and it is tragic that we never know if they could have been happily in love without the games.

The Victors

Both games have two victors, in the end. However, where Shuya and Noriko continue to run and plan to fight the government for Shogo until the end, you never see it. At the end of The Hunger Games, we know Katniss has unwillingly been sucked into fighting against the government, which means Peeta is, as well. Shogo and Noriko are willingly rebelling out of love, while Katniss and Peeta are just pawns in the rebellion game.

While both books look similar upon first glance, they are very different books. Battle Royale focuses on love, loss, and gore, while The Hunger Games focuses on government. There are many more differences, but I feel these categories dissect the differences fairly. Feel free to comment below and tell me what you think.