Its inevitable : Every clock time we start a conversation about Hunger Games , someone always starts a “ Battle Royale did it first ” argument . It ’s inescapable . So we decided to liken both serial , to settle this debate once and for all .
Both stories originate as books . The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins came out in 2008 and Battle Royale by Koushun Takami was published in 1999 . While we did n’t have a transcript of Takami ’s book handy , we did get a hazard to test the Battle Royale Blu - Ray release , which is what we ’re using as basis for most of this argumentation . So please , if we ’ve miss something life-sustaining from Takami ’s original Bible , allow us know .
Now let ’s get started , here are all the similarities between the two :
The Future :
While Battle Royale takes place in an alternating timeline in the not too remote futurity of Japan , The Hunger Games is set in the post apocalyptic wasteland of what once was North America .
Verdict : Different
The Rationale :
The Program or the BR Act ( as it is referred to in BR ) and The Games ( as they are bid in HG ) are both used by the government instil a sentiency of terror into the universe . Both sets of children grow up a totalistic government — but in the BR movie The Program was reenact specifically to scare the pants off the Modern rising group of angry and fierce youth :
“ At the dawn of the millenary , the commonwealth collapsed . At fifteen percent unemployment , ten million were out of work . 800,000 students boycotted school . The grownup fall back assurance and , fearing the youth , eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act , AKA the BR Act … ”
The Hunger Games , meanwhile , were created as punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol . It is the Capitol ’s fashion of reminding the 12 dominion that they can do whatever they want , whenever they want . So both events are used for governing the masses with brat ( albeit for slightly unlike ground ) .
However , The Program is kept under curl and key , while The Games are broadcast throughout the land of Panem like the Superbowl .
Verdict : like in themes , dissimilar in reasoning .
The Villain
Battle Royale feature Teacher Kitano , while Hunger Games has the supreme leader , President Snow . While both characters are perverted , sick human , Kitano appears to have some sorting of snake soul writhing about under his pelt , due to his unusual human relationship with his student in The Program , Noriko . The moving-picture show even attempt to humanise him by showing him on the earphone with his spiteful surrogate daughter , and he paints a picture of her belt down everyone else . The filmmaker paint a picture of demented , distressing lonely little man who delights in the expiry of children , but deep down just wants to be loved . Meanwhile , President Snow is nothing but a monster , who stinks of blood after his murderous rise to the top . He kills whomever he desire , whenever he wants for political gain . Charles Percy Snow loves power , and nothing else .
One could argue that the only genuine law of similarity between the two is that they both have strange obsessions with the lead females , and they ’re both dudes — but that ’s about it .
The Dreams :
Both narration rely heavily on using dream to illustrate various characters ’ state of minds . And neither set of dreaming sequences is really that necessary for the story . So yes , it ’s on-key that both BR and HG use strange slaying dream .
Verdict : standardised
The Tech :
Both BR and HG rely heavily on advanced engineering science to supervise , produce and patrol their game . Without the exploding collar permanently attached to each child on the island in BR , there would be no veridical threat . While the technology utilized in The Hunger Games is endlessly more various than BR ( the Gamekeepers can create walls of fervor , and control herds of flesh athirst monkeys ) it ’s still a very important part of the their world . The second book in the Hunger Games trilogy seems to poach quite directly from Battle Royale , when the tribute are made cognisant of various “ danger zones ” that they must move out of at certain sentence for fear of death — which is something that BR did first . So while the technology is infinitely different , it ’s still used in an exceptionally similar way .
Verdict : Both Different And Similar
The Students / The Tributes :
Yes they are both kids , but let ’s look past that . in reality , the makeup of the Students versus the Tributes is the big dispute between the two serial . First and foremost , the tribute in Hunger Games are devote breeding . They have a small amount of time to try and learn to hold themselves ( how to use weapons , how to apply hide , hunt , crusade etc . ) They roll in the hay that their death is approach , and they have to deal with that , so it hit for a fun read .
On the flip side , the students in Battle Royale are just gased and drop off on an island . There they ’re handed a weapon ( maybe ) and say to kill each other . It ’s brutal . But because it ’s so abrupt , you get horrible humanizing twists like suicides and paranoia panic attacks that cause a ring of best friends to shoot each other to man over misplaced poison . Almost every character in Hunger Games at least tries to defend themselves , but it ’s a much more tangled kettle of fish of emotions over at Battle Royale , because these people used to be friend .
Verdict : Different
The Community :
The BR Act happens entirely off camera , and in the book they say The Program is for military inquiry . Meanwhile in Panem , The Hunger Games are used as a ocular whipping post for the total world . The tributes drop weeks in front of the photographic camera , so the whole country can get to bed them , and then watch them become flat .
The The Volunteers :
As mention earlier , BR and HG both have their own collection of lunatic volunteers who gayly bless up to belt down other children .
The Love Story :
The love triangle in Hunger Games is perhaps one of the declamatory selling points of the serial publication . Two piece pine over the leash Katniss . This storyline has pooh-pooh Team Gale and Team Peeta T - shirt , and arguing over who deserves the fierce girl with the braid pilus . Meanwhile the love story of Shuya and Noriko is downplayed to make room for more wildness . While you still take root for these two , it ’s hard to really get inested , since everyone is so ridiculously in love with Shuya — enough to toss off for her . But there are a few other in effect wild-eyed moments , as well between a handful of side characters . Which head to yet another difference of opinion between the two — these Thomas Kyd have a chronicle . In Hunger Games , Katniss does n’t get to bang anyone besides little Rue , so it ’s not the end of the world when Glimmer gets it . However , find out gamey school kids deal with a lot of luggage add a whole other layer of terror — like when Kazushi basically threatens to spoil female eccentric Chigusa so they both wo n’t die virgins .
The Violence :
While The Hunger Games is very , very bloody , Battle Royale is full tilt splatter gore . That being said , they ’re both bloody as Hades .
The Final Verdict :
It ’s undeniable , there are a hell of a circumstances of similarities between the two . But even after listing off all of the parallel ( and there are a lot ) , Battle Royale does n’t own the thunderdome ( even if BR did have the brilliant idea to put kids in it ) . The Nipponese original owe a debt of gratitude to Lord of the Flies , Mad Max , The Running Man — and oh yeah , the Romans , who started Bread and Circuses , before there were even movies . There is no such thing as an original idea in Hollywood , and rent not forget The Hunger Games take stead in a Emily Price Post apocalyptic landscape painting with qat multitude . Different .
The Battle Royale Blu - Ray will be available on March 20th , and The Hunger Games hits theaters on March 22nd . Coincidence ? We think not .
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