
            The story opens with a frantic news broadcast about a young girl being brought back to mainland Japan after she wins the latest "Battle Royale", a contest that pits high school students against each other in a fight to the death on a remote island. While being filmed, the girl smiles.Shuya Nanahara, a Japanese middle school student, attempts to cope with life after his father's suicide by hanging. Meanwhile, schoolmate Noriko Nakagawa is the only student attending class -- 3-B. Their teacher, Kitano, quietly leaves upon her tardy, apologetic arrival, but is attacked by student Yoshitoki Kuninobu and resigns after recovering from his wound.One year later, class 3-B takes a field trip after completing their compulsory studies; however, the class is gassed on their bus. They wake up in a "briefing room" on a remote island, wearing strange electronic collars. Kitano explains that the class has been chosen to participate in this year's Battle Royale as a result of the BR Act, which was passed after 800,000 students walked out of school. The orientation video cheerfully instructs the class to kill each other for three days until only one student remains. Students resistant to their rules or entering one of the randomly placed "death zones" for each day are to be killed by the collar's detonation. One of the 42 students, Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, interferes with the video by whispering to her friends; Kitano kills her on the spot with a thrown knife. While a shocked class is subdued by soldiers, Kuninobu openly confronts the viciousness of Kitano and the teacher slashes him with a knife (in the back of leg - the same area Kuninobu attacked Kitano two years earlier) before detonating his collar while Shuya, his best friend, watches in horror. Each student is provided a bag of food and water, map of the island, compass, and one item containing either a lethal weapon (firearm, kama (sickle), knife, potassium cyanide) or an item apparently worthless toward survival (paper fan, binoculars, coat hanger, saucepan lid). The weapons are supposed to eliminate any natural advantage any one student might have over the others.The program's first six hours see twelve deaths, four of which are suicides. Brazen, mute "exchange student" Kazuo Kiriyama and quietly deranged classmate Mitsuko Souma soon become the most dangerous players in the game, while another exchange student, Shogo Kawada seems somewhat more merciful. Shuya promises to keep Noriko safe for Kuninobu because he was in love with her, but never told her. Other students have various goals in the game: Shinji Mimura and his friends plot to hack into the military's computer systems and destroy their base of operations; Hiroki Sugimura searches for his best friend Takako Chigusa and his love interest Kayoko Kotohiki. Chigusa runs into Kazushi Niida, who is sexually obsessed with her; Chigusa kills him after he attempts forcing himself on her, but is herself killed by Mitsuko. Kawada teams with Shuya and Noriko, and reveals that he won a previous Battle Royale at the cost of his girlfriend, Keiko; he now swears vengeance. The trio are forced to separate when Kiriyama attacks, and Sugimura rescues Shuya, assisted by his assigned "weapon," a GPS tracking device.Shuya awakens bandaged by Yukie Utsumi in the island's lighthouse, where she helps reorient him to the events of the past 14 hours; five other girls on the school's cheerleading squad have also been guarding and hiding out in the building, apparently since the beginning of the program. Utsumi gathers the girls around the dining table to weigh in on a possible method of escape from the island which Shuya has informed her of. Yuko Sakaki, thinking that Shuya murdered a friend of hers, attempts to poison Shuya's food, but it is inadvertently eaten by one of the girls, killing her and sparking a massive, fear-fueled gunfight resulting in all the girls' deaths -- except Yuko. She realises the enormity of her paranoia and commits suicide, jumping from the deck of the lighthouse.Shuya returns to Noriko and Kawada, and they set out to find Mimura's group. To a small warehouse, Sugimura tracks down Kotohiki, who panics and kills him shortly after; Sugimura professes his love before dying. Kotohiki cries in despair, and is found and killed by Mitsuko. Watching from the rafters, Kiriyama then guns down and kills Mitsuko after she sadly dispenses some fitting advice to her two (dead) classmates.Upon the rapidly-consecutive deaths of Sugimura, Kotohiki and Souma, all of the seven students remaining are either preparing or willing to completely subvert the operations of the "game" - save for the psychopathic Kazuo. "The Third Man", a hacker group consisting of Mimura, Iijima and Yutaka, successfully infiltrate the military's computer system and prepare to destroy the perimeter using a truck converted into a fire-bomb. However, at the last second they are found by Kiriyama, who kills them all, but one of them manages to detonate the truck, seriously injuring the killer. When Kawada, Noriko and Shuya arrive at the hackers' burning base, Kawada confronts and kills the shrapnel-blinded, Uzi-armed Kiriyama with his SPAS-12 shotgun.On the morning of the final day, Kawada, aware of the collars' internal microphones, takes Shuya and Noriko aside and fakes their deaths. Suspecting that Kawada has won through manipulation of the BR system, Kitano ends the game and dismisses the troops before establishing final protocol, intent on personally killing the young man. Kitano realizes that Kawada, and not Mimura, has hacked into the game's intranet system months beforehand, and has now disabled Shuya and Noriko's tracking devices. Kitano unveils a homemade painting of the dead students, with Noriko indicated as the winner. He reveals that he was unable to bear the mutual hatred between him and his students, having been rejected by his daughter, Shiori. He also confesses that he always thought of Noriko as a daughter. He asks the confused, reluctant Noriko to kill him, but is quickly shot by Shuya after he threatens her at gunpoint. As he falls, Kitano shoots, and it is shown that the weapon in his hand was a mere water-gun. Suddenly, his phone rings, and Kitano sits down to answer it, telling Shiori that "if you hate someone, you take the consequences" before finally dying. Shuya, Noriko and Kawada leave the island on a boat, but Kawada dies from injuries sustained in his gunfight with Kiriyama -- "glad" that in the end, he "found true friends."Shuya and Noriko are declared fugitive murderers, and last seen on the run in the direction of Tokyo's Shibuya train station.
    

Battle Royale


            A young girl named Haru awakens to another day, where it seems she's a few steps behind everything. Rushing to school, she comes in late for class, to mocking laughter from her classmates, and even from one guy in her class whom she has a crush on.After school, walking home with her friend Hiromi, Haru curses her misfortune. As they walk down a busy street, they see a dark cat carrying a small box in his mouth. In the middle of the street, the cat drops it, and attempts to pick it up, unaware that a large truck is heading towards it! Haru grabs her friend's lacrosse stick, and running into the street, saves the cat, before collapsing into some bushes and breaking the lacrosse stick. Unseen by anyone but Haru, the cat then stands on it's hind legs, and thanks her for saving him. It then gets back on all fours, and rushes off. When Haru relates the incident to Hiromi, her friend can scarcely believe it either.Later that evenin, Haru tells her Mother about the incident. Her Mother explains that it sounds like something that happened when Haru was little. Supposedly, a dirty white kitten was following her as she ate fish crackers. Haru then took pity on the kitten, and gave her the whole box. Haru's Mother claims that Haru told her that the kitten talked to her, but Haru doesn't recall anything like that happening.Later that night, Haru hears something outside, and sees a procession of cats walking down the street. Then eventually stop outside Haru's house, and she comes outside. Among the procession are the Cat King, his Prime Minister Natori, and a servant cat named Natoru. Natori explains that the Cat King thanks Haru for saving his son, and she is presented with a scroll, that gives information about numerous gifts she will receive for her good deed.The next day, Haru wakes up, wondering if it was a dream. Her ponderings are soon put to rest when a number of things happen. Her friend Hiromi has awoken to find numerous lacrosse sticks outside her door. At Haru's place, cat tail plants surround their house, and as she heads to school, a number of cats chase after her (Haru surmises that she must have some catnip on her). At school, she is freaked out when she finds a number of individually-boxed mice in her shoe locker.Getting over the shock, she goes about the day, taking Hiromi's clean-up duty upon her request. While taking out the garbage, she sees the guy she has a crush on, walking by with his girlfriend. This distracts Haru and she trips and falls, feeling more miserable than the day before. Suddenly, she sees the King's assistant, Natoru, who becomes shocked when Haru yells at him regarding the 'gifts' she has received. Noting that she seems upset, Natoru offers to take her to the Cat Kingdom for a personal tour, and even tells her of the additional gift she will receive for her good deed: the chance to marry the Cat King's son, Prince Lune. This shocks Haru, who then starts to wonder if being among cats wouldn't be so bad, since they seem to have very few responsibilities. Natoru takes this as a 'yes' answer, and rushes off, leaving Haru distraught at the idea of her (a human girl) marrying a cat! As she panics, a disembodied voice tells her to find a white cat at the crossroads, who will lead her to the Cat Bureau.Haru goes to the specific location, where she finds a large white cat. The cat doesn't say a word, but she follows him through all sorts of little nooks and crannies, until he reaches a small embankment of shops that almost seem doll-like in size. Here, the large white cat gets up on his hind legs, and heads to a small storefront. As he does so, the setting sun catches on the windows surrounding them. The front door of the building opens, and a cat in a suit emerges, giving his name as Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, but Haru decides to just call him 'Baron.' Baron cites the large white cat as Muta, and as they talk, a stone statue comes to life, which Baron says is named Toto.Baron invites his guests into his home, where Haru explains about her predicament, and how a strange voice told her to seek out the Cat Bureau. The Baron decides that he and Muta will make a visit to the Cat Kingdom in regards to Haru's request for their help. However, the Baron requests that Haru never forget who she is, as this will be very important. As they speak, there is a knock at the front door. Haru answers it, only to find Natoru there, and a number of cats who carry Haru off, intending to take her to the Cat Kingdom. Muta manages to catch up with them, but Baron and Toto lose their trail.Haru wakes up in the Cat Kingdom, where she finds she has shrunk to the size of a cat. Looking around, she is met by a white cat named Yuki, who pleads with Haru to leave the Cat Kingdom at once. However, Natoru appears, and takes both Haru and Muta to the King's palace.Haru is taken to be dressed to meet the King, while Muta is escorted to a banquest hall, where he gorges on a number of foods. As Haru changes, she is then met by the King, who is overjoyed that she has chosen to marry his son. However, Haru explains her trepidations, since she is a human, and the Prince is a cat. The King and Natori smile, telling her that that is no longer a problem, since Haru is now half-cat. Haru looks in a nearby mirror, and is shocked to see that she has somehow turned into a cat! Running from the room, she finds Muta, stuck in a bowl of catnip jelly, unable to move.Even though Haru is still upset over being turned into a cat, she is taken to the main dining room, where the King attempts to cheer her up with a number of entertainment acts. When none seem to please Haru, he has the performers tossed out a nearby window. Suddenly, a masked strange comes forward, promising to cheer up Haru. As the band strikes up a waltz, Haru dances with the mysterious stranger, feeling more at ease being a cat. This feeling causes her to grow whiskers, which makes her gasp. The masked stranger then tells her not to forget who she really is, as he said so before. Suddenly, the Cat King calls for the music to stop, demanding to know who the stranger is. He removes his mask to reveal the Baron! The Cat King sends his troops to take down the Baron and retrieve Haru, but this quickly fails. In the ensuing scuffle, Muta is freed from the bowl of catnip jelly, and joins the battle.Off to one side, Yuki appears and hastens Baron and Haru to her. She explains that there is a way for Haru to regain her human form, and helps her and the Baron escape through a secret entrance, which leads to a maze outside the castle, of which a large tower extends from it's center. Yuki explains that if they can get to the top before a specific time, they will be able to return to their world.Muta then joins them, and they set out going through the maze. However, the King sends a number of troops, and tries to throw them off course. His plans fail, and Haru, Baron and Muta make it to the tower, climbing up it's outer stairway. Just when it seems they've made it halfway-up, the King detonates the tower, causing the mid-point to plummet to the bottom!Haru, Baron and Muta are then met by the King, though the reunion is short-lived when Prince Lune arrives, along with a contingency of soldiers. The King explains to the Prince about Haru, but the Prince explains that he wishes to marry Yuki. He then hands her the same box that Haru saw him with on the street. The box contains some fish crackers. Yuki then explains that they are just like the kind that Haru gave her when she was a kitten, and thanks her for helping her all those years ago.The King finds this very moving, but then tries to see if Haru will marry him instead. Haru angrily rejects his advances, and Muta happily proclaims that he admires her spirit.The King, not one to be spurned, still tries to claim Haru, but Muta and Lune's soldiers prevent him from advancing, and Haru heads up the nearby steps for the top of the tower. Baron also confronts the King, and wins in a duel against him, before hearing Haru cry out from the top of the tower...which leads to the other world, but whose opening is several hundred miles up in the sky! Muta and Baron rush to her aid, but not before she falls over the edge.They freefall towards Haru's hometown, when a flock of crows appears, courtesy of Toto. Haru makes it safely down, and they say their goodbyes, with Haru admitting that she has a bit of a crush on Baron, before he takes off.The next day, Haru's Mother awakes, and is shocked to see that Haru is up before her, having already prepared breakfast. Later on, Haru meets up with Hiromi, who happily tells her friend that the guy she has a crush on has broken up with his girlfriend. However, instead of being excited at this, Haru shows no concern, as this is now unimportant to her. It appears that her experience has allowed her to become more independent.
    

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