Book Review: The Crimson Labyrinth by Yusuke Kishi

Translated by Masami Isetani and Camellia Nieh

Pros: creepy premise, interesting characters

Cons: introduced to too many characters at once making them hard to remember

When Yoshihiko Fujiki wakes up in a red stone canyon in the rain, he has no idea where he is or what's happened to him.  All he has are a few basic supplies and a handheld game system welcoming him to the Mars Labyrinth.  Before he has the chance to follow the directions to the first checkpoint he runs into another player, Ai Otomo.  Her game system is broken, so they team up to face... whatever comes next.

This is a novel that starts slowly - with Fujiki trying to figure out what's going on - but quickly builds momentum.  Like the characters, you're horrified by the turns the 'game' takes, as some of the players become less and less human.  And though Fujiki has some ideas of what's happening behind the scenes, figuring that out isn't as important as staying alive.

Try not to read the book's back cover synopsis as the first paragraph contains a spoiler that will colour how you read the novel.

The premise of the book is pretty creepy.  It starts off as a survival game with everyone in the wilderness.  As time goes on and a trap set by those running the game is activated, things shift and it becomes a different kind of survival game. 

The protagonists are pretty interesting, with down on their luck backgrounds.  Fujiki took a while to grow on me, but I liked his tenacity and cleverness.  While Ai gives good advice at times, she mainly stays in the background, letting Fujiki make most of the decisions.  The other players all have unique personalities, though you don't see much of them.

Fujiki and Ai encounter the other players at the first checkpoint and you're given a quick introduction of all of them.  It's too many people, too fast, several of whom have similar names.  I found that later in the book, when the pair met up with them again, I couldn't remember who was who.

I'd recommend this to people who would like a less violent Battle Royale.  It's got a bit of mystery, a bit of survivalistic writing, a tiny bit of romance and several violent, though not too graphic, deaths.

Movie Review: Battle Royale

Directed by: Kinji Fukasaku, 2000

IMDB listing

Pros: creepy premise, mostly stays close to the book, great acting

Cons: some unnecessary changes from the book, lots of graphically violent scenes

In a future dystopian Japan, the collapsed economy has led to a generation of kids with few prospects and no respect.  In order to make kids learn respect, the government has instituted the Battle Royale program, choosing one grade 9 class at random to duel to the death.

First of all, let me clarify that I'm not a fan of graphically violent movies or books (hence why that's in the 'con' category) but I have read the book and knew going into this that the movie would be graphically violent.  The film comes with a 16+ rating for a reason.  Having said that, if you're looking for a Hunger Games style film where most of the violence occurs off screen, this is not that film.

I was impressed by how much of the film matched the book's content.  There were a few changes I wondered about (like making 2 of the participants transfer students for the purpose of the game only rather than students from the class and the kids not knowing what the battle royale was in advance).  I loved that the man running the games had a personal grudge against this particular class.  Not only did it show that their selection for the game was rigged, it added to the terror because HE knew what was coming.  The one change I didn't really like was the reasoning for the games in the first place.  There's a chilling moment at the end of the novel where you finally learn why the government has instituted the program.  That moment's gone here, as the film has a different motive for the program, told via a quick narration at the start of the film.

Beyond those issues, the story - as far as I can remember - follows the novel pretty closely.  Shuya Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) tries to protect Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda) while evading the other students and danger zones.  I was impressed by the acting chops of the kids.  They all did an amazing job.

All in all I was impressed by the film.  It's definitely not for everyone, but if you liked the book it's a  good adaptation.