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nakedsushi's review against another edition
3.0
It is really weird to be reading this book at this stage in US authoritarianism, and I thought it would hit harder, but something about the writing made it difficult for me to really immerse myself into it. Maybe because of the sexist overtones of the main narrator, even though the point of view shifts multiple times, but I couldn't really get into the headspace. Even getting more background in the characters, which would make them feel more real didn't make their deaths that powerful.
I ended up skimming a lot of chapters, especially ones about random students mostly because I knew what would happen to them, or it was a repetitive rehash of their death, which I already read about from a different character's point of view.
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia and Pedophilia
kittcaat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault and Torture
Minor: Pedophilia
vintagesunkist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Pedophilia and Sexual content
jrod9291's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
essiie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Police brutality, Medical content, and Car accident
Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, and Death of parent
outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
This is an action-packed read but somehow it doesn't seem that fast-paced. I'm not sure if it is because it is a translation from the original, but it seemed a little stilted in style, but it was still very readable. There are a staggering 46 deaths in this books - most of them students. - & it's interesting to see the shifting loyalties of those who try to band together versus those who start playing the game straight away.
Some of it did seem a little contrived: the backpacks were supposed to have been given out randomly & yet the obvious psychopath received a machine gun whilst the others had weapons ranging from handguns, & boomerangs, to flick knives. Seems rather one-sided. Perhaps that is the point? It has been suggested that this was a precursor to 'The Hunger Games' & I can certainly see where certain elements are similar. I would say this one slightly edges it on brutality & stone-cold killing. Definitely worth reading.
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia and Rape
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Did I remember all ~50 characters? No! But the reading pace kept me flying through it and the 20ish that were most important were definitely memorable. The size of the book flew by with the pacing of the short, intense chapters.
This new translation is more action-packed than the original (I compared line by line with the audiobook of the original English translation). You can tell this translator has worked on manga and video games before because the fight scenes are so much smother. But whichever version you have, read it.
What a thrilling, unexpectedly emotionally charged, bloody, anti-fascist roller coaster. This is the inspiration behind Hunger Games and battle royale style video games, but way more politically incendiary.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Car accident
takeachance's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The action scenes are good, and the booking is Really really good. You can tell that Koushun Takami is a wrestling fan aha.
While it's a big book, it moves Fast, the scenes just flying by and the end of chapters giving you Just enough to want to keep reading and reading to see what happens next.
My main problems with the book are the kinda over the top and vague details of the political system. I definitely believe its a fascistic system, but when it tries to make it a communist system as well, it kinda fails because the state seems to have absolutely nothing to do with communism or it's theories? And then to pit it at odds with imperialist America is odd? I know there's a deep and complicated history in japan, considering their role in WW2 and the rise of nationalism that preceded that, and then in turn you have what happened afterwards and the ways America did change ways Japan did things for the negative in the fallout after bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki... History and the way it effects culture is complicated, and to be fair, I don't really have the knowledge of it as a whole, but I do know many Japanese creators work through these ideas and that it's something that many of them keep in mind so... IDK
There Is something interesting being done here re: that, but also I don't feel like it's really well fleshed out or anything. It works as a backdrop to the character drama and and conceit that makes the story move, but on its own it kinda fails.
But that's honestly a relatively small criticism in the face of the rest of the book, which is a really exciting book about teens being teens and how they experience and process trauma, but Also about them killing each other because a good amount of them don't trust each other and want to survive.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Rape, and Vomit
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Classism
mysteryspouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
velveteenrabbit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence