“42 minus 41, one winner, the math is easy.”

The picture is fairly straightforward. Shiro Iwa high school Class B is composed of 42 students. In an alternate, 21st-century, militaristic Japan, every year a freshman class is chosen at random to participate in ‘The Program’ – basically a sick reality TV show where the whole class is given a random weapon and let loose in a remote and confined area to kill each other. Only one student is allowed to emerge victorious (and alive). The rules are kind of complicated, so it’ll be easier to understand if you just read it. Long story short, it’s a dictatorship, and anyone who protests ‘The Program’ is killed anyway, so neither the contestants nor their families have any say whether someone participates.

I’m having a hard time deciding when I want to submit my product for this selection, though, because it could fit into so many genres. It’s got elements from heroism, start-crossed lovers, angst, and many others alike.  I decided to read “Battle Royal” because it was recommended to me by a friend (and we happened to be in high school when he recommended it).  It has taken me a long time to pick up, but with all the hype swirling around about “The Hunger Games,” I felt I just had to finally read it. And wow. Just wow. I haven’t read “The Hunger Games,” but from what I’ve heard it’s basically a ‘G-rated’ version of this novel. Be warned, “Battle Royale” is not for the faint of heart, nor should it be read by adolescents… probably. I say probably because the themes are not only incredibly real and relevant, but they also hit incredibly hard – and they stick. It’s impossible not to be affected by this story. It shows readers the most bitter and carnal nature of humans juxtaposed almost constantly with their most compassionate and hopeful side. It’s really an emotional roller-coaster. I finished the novel and am a good half-way through the manga today after (literally) a full night of reading (give or take an hour or two between 5am-7am). I like the manga wayyy better. It’s basically the same story, but with more depth into the everyday, background lives of the ‘contestants’ – making the story all the more emotional because there is a stronger connection between readers and characters. The obstacles for “Battle Royale” becoming lit. for adolescents are the hideously rendered violence and the sexual themes. I’d almost describe the gore as exaggerated – or maybe I just didn’t know the extent to which bullets and explosions can dismantle people. There are also scenes depicting females getting victimized/brutalized sexually, though not quite to the extent I was expecting based on the overall tone of the story. And it’s worth noting for any future educators that in the manga version there is nudity, so even if you think a student can handle the themes, the visuals of the manga may need to wait. Overall, “Battle Royale” could be a dangerous read for adolescents because it could possibly make the more pessimistic types lose all hope in humanity. Then again, it could make the more hopeful ones become profoundly inclined toward actively preventing such acts of inhumanity… It’s all about perspective with this one, that’s probably where this story draws it’s power from: I’d imagine anyone reading along would be thinking, “What would I do?” throughout pretty much the entire story. The only question is, when the time comes, will you really be able to see past yourself  and predict what you’d do? Give it a read…

Disclaimer – I do not own “Battle Royale” or any of the artwork and would not tarnish this masterpiece by claiming so. The series is written by Koushun Takami, and the manga is (inculding this photo in particular) illustrated by Masayuki Taguchi. All of their rights, reserved.

My Old Graphic Novelry

Sure, it’s a fanfic (or fan “fiction,” but you probably knew that). The content doesn’t have anything to do with my personal life. However, the importance of this picture is in the importance of art. Art would not exist unless people had some kind of passion, some kind of reason, for creating it in the first place. Some people are inspired to speak about their society or their generation or their home. Some people are depressed or angry and need an outlet for their emotions. For me, art was confirmation of existence. I was no football player, no math wiz, no Science Fair champ, heck I wasn’t even that good at sitting through a book. I was a gamer and an anime nerd. I couldn’t beat anyone at debate, but I could beat them at Mario Kart without a drop of sweat seeping through my palms and onto the controller. I couldn’t memorize the U.S. presidents, but I could tell you every Hokage to ever protect Konohagakure in the manga Naruto. Art was my first school subject to give academia a purpose. How could drawing my favorite characters from a manga or anime or video game possibly have any merit in school – much less earn me A’s? Art, for me, began with doodling in class in elementary; eventually, it became my best subject. I still didn’t know much about art history, but as far as colors and contrast and technique – I just got better and better.

The reason I think “American-born Chinese” makes a good choice for our unit on power is because art empowers the artist, and I love that this author not only writes, but draws and publishes critically acclaimed graphic novels about struggles with race. To me, struggles of race go hand-in-hand with struggles of power. It’s all about power. I have only just started “American-born Chinese,” but I love the art style and I love the fact that he chose the graphic novel form and was successful with it. Further on down the road, I discovered I was a pretty decent writer too. It’s actually my dream to create graphic novels kinda like this. I prefer the traditional manga style (which is actually Japanese), but the Americanization of the art seems compatible with the theme of the novel (American-born).