Battle Royale II: Requiem

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For related entries, see Battle Royale (disambiguation).
Battle Royale II: Requiem
Directed by Kenta Fukasaku
Kinji Fukasaku
Produced by Shigeyuki Endo
Kenta Fukasaku
Kimio Kataoka
Hikaru Kawase
Written by Kenta Fukasaku
Norio Kida
Koushun Takami (some characters)
Starring Tatsuya Fujiwara
Ai Maeda
Shugo Oshinari
Music by Masamichi Amano
Cinematography Toshihiro Isomi
Distributed by Japan Toei
Netherlands Bright Angel Distribution
Germany Kinowelt Home Entertainment
United Kingdom Tartan Films
Release date(s) Japan Jul 5, 2003
Running time 133 min
155 min (Director's Cut)
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Budget $9,000,000 (estimated)
Preceded by Battle Royale

Battle Royale II: Requiem (バトル・ロワイアルＩＩ　【鎮魂歌】 Batoru rowaiaru tsū: "Rekuiemu"?), abbreviated as BRII (Bii āru tsū), is a 2003 Japanese, dystopian, action-thriller film. It is a sequel to the 2000 film, Battle Royale, which in turn was based upon a controversial 1999 novel of the same title by Koushun Takami. An extended version of the film is titled Battle Royale II: Revenge.

Director Kinji Fukasaku, who directed the first film, started work on the sequel but died of prostate cancer on January 12, 2003, after shooting only one scene with Takeshi Kitano. His son Kenta Fukasaku, who wrote the screenplay for both films, completed the film and dedicated it to his father.

McKoy Sugie (杉江 松恋 Sugie Makkoi?) wrote the novelization of the film.[1]

Contents

[edit] Creation and conception

Kenta Fukasaku said, "We never set out to make Harry Potter." He explains that he wanted audience members to ponder "big issues" and to view the world from a point of view held by a terrorist. Fukasaku added that the film, against the "the new Matrix" and Terminator III, needed to "provide something that Hollywood can't" since Japanese films cannot compete with Hollywood in terms of special effects and budgets. Fukasaku intended to provide an alternative to what TIME magazine's Ilya Garger describes as "the moral certainty of American culture" as seen in U.S. films and foreign policy.[2]

Kenta Fukasaku said that he viewed his task as finishing his dead father's movie instead of as directing his first creation; the son credits the film as his father's. Kenta Fukasaku desired a lot of controversy and outrage for the sequel, adding that "the more strongly people react, the better."[2]

[edit] Plot

In the sequel, survivors of previous Battle Royales, led by Shuya Nanahara (the hero of the first film), have formed a rebel group called "Wild Seven". As in the first film, a class of teenagers from Shikanotoride Junior High School (鹿之砦中学校 Shikanotoride Chūgakkō?) are kidnapped by the Japanese government. Instead of stereotypically studious Japanese students, these ninth graders are “a ragtag collection of delinquents and losers from all over Japan,” including tough-guy rugby players and punks with dyed hair. More importantly, many are orphans whose parents or family died in bombings by Wild Seven. After their school bus is diverted to an army base, the students are herded into a cage, surrounded by armed guards, and confronted by their schoolteacher, Riki Takeuchi, who lays down the ground rules of the new Battle Royale game. Wild Seven is hiding out on a deserted island (filmed on Hashima Island), and instead of being forced to kill each other, as in the old Battle Royale, the students are ordered to attack the terrorist group’s hideout en masse and kill the leader, Shuya Nanahara, within 72 hours. Most of the kids are not interested in being forced to avenge their families, but are coerced to fight through exploding metal collars, which their captors can detonate by remote control. The students are also put into 'pairs'; if one student dies, then his or her 'pair' will also die because of the metal collars set to a certain frequency.

The movie also makes many references to the USA and their involvement with the world in the future. According to the film, America has bombed several countries over the years because they "don't agree with them", and had the support of the rest of the world.

Once again, Shuya — accompanied by survivors of previous "Games" — must fight to survive.

The majority of the film is centered around Shiori Kitano the daughter of the teacher from the first film.

The film does not use any elements of Takami's novel, except for a few characters.

[edit] Reception

The film received a rating of 38% at Rotten Tomatoes with a classification of "rotten". Many reviewers criticize the film for its contrived, confusing plot line and poor acting. [1]

Ilya Garger of TIME said that while the Battle Royale II: Requiem film has more "bullets, bombs and dramatic battlefield deaths" than its predecessor had, the sequel does not have the "who'll-die-next-and-how suspense." Garger described the characters in Battle Royale II as "a simpler breed" who join forces to defeat the adults.[2]

[edit] Characters

[edit] Wild Seven

Shuya Nanahara along with other Wild Seven members in Battle Royale II: Requiem. (L-R) Sakai, Saki, Kazama, Shuya, Imakire, Maki, Yonai.
  • Shuya Nanahara (七原秋也 Nanahara Shūya) - The leader of Wild Seven.
  • Saki Sakurai (桜井サキ Sakurai Saki) - The sniper.
  • Mitsugu Sakai - The mediator and peacemaker.
  • Maki Souda - A technical wizard.
  • Soji Kazama - Another previous Battle Royale winner who is also a skilled sniper.
  • Satoshi Imakire - The eldest member of Wild Seven.
  • Kengo Yonai - Skilled with bayonets and knives.
  • Mai - Another previous Battle Royale winner who appears in the beginning of the first Battle Royale film.
  • Sanada
  • Yukari
  • Aya
  • Chizuru
  • Shoko
  • Sayaka
  • Iwamoto
  • Shinobu
  • Jin

[edit] Students

[edit] Males

  1. Takuma Aoi (青井拓馬 Aoi Takuma)
  2. Shugo Urabe (卜部秀悟 Urabe Shūgo)
  3. Osamu Kasai (葛西治虫 Kasai Osamu)
  4. Ryo Kurosawa (黒澤凌 Kurosawa Ryō)
  5. Haruya Sakurai (桜井晴哉 Sakurai Haruya) - The brother of Saki Sakurai.
  6. Masami Shibaki (柴木雅実 Shibaki Masami)
  7. Tetsuya Shimura (志村鉄也 Shimura Tetsuya)
  8. Naoki Jo (城直輝 Jō Naoki)
  9. Masakatsu Taguchi (田口正勝 Taguchi Masakatsu)
  10. Jun Nanami (名波順 Nanami Jun)
  11. Tatsuhiko Hasegawa (長谷川達彦 Hasegawa Tatsuhiko)
  12. Shota Hikasa (日笠将太 Hikasa Shōta)
  13. Yasuaki Hosaka (保坂康昭 Hosaka Yasuaki)
  14. Kenji Maezono (前薗健二 Maezono Kenji)
  15. Shintaro Makimura (槙村慎太郎 Makimura Shintarō)
  16. Kiyoshi Minamoto (皆本清 Minamoto Kiyoshi)
  17. Yosuke Miyadai (宮台陽介 Miyadai Yōsuke)
  18. Wataru Mukai (向井渉 Mukai Wataru)
  19. Tatsuro Morishima (森島達郎 Morishima Tatsurō)

[edit] Females

  1. Naomi Asakura (浅なお Asakura Naomi)
  2. Yamatake Morino(Morino Yamatake)
  3. Miki Ikeda (池田美希 Ikeda Miki)
  4. Kyoko Kakei (筧今日子 Kakei Kyōko)
  5. Shiori Kitano (キタノシオリ Kitano Shiori) - Shiori is the daughter of Kitano, the teacher from the first Battle Royale. Shiori signs up to transfer to Shikanotoride Junior High School and to participate in the Battle Royale II.
  6. Haruka Kuze (久瀬遥 Kuze Haruka)
  7. Nozomi Sagisawa (鷺沢希 Sagisawa Nozomi)
  8. Sanae Shioda (汐田早苗 Shioda Sanae)
  9. Risa Shindo (新藤理沙 Shindō Risa)
  10. Honami Totsuka (戸塚保奈美 Totsuka Honami)
  11. Yuko Natsukawa (夏川結子 Natsukawa Yūko)
  12. Rena Niimi (新見麗奈 Niimi Rena)
  13. Maho Nosaka (野坂真帆 Nosaka Maho)
  14. Mayu Hasuda (蓮田麻由 Hasuda Mayu)
  15. Ryoko Hata (波多量子 Hata Ryōko)
  16. Kazumi Fukuda (福田和美 Fukuda Kazumi)
  17. Shiho Matsuki (松木志穂 Matsuki Shiho)
  18. Yuka Mifune (三船夕佳 Mifune Yūka)
  19. Asuka Motomura (本村明日香 Motomura Asuka)
  20. Ayane Yagi (八木綾音 Yagi Ayane)
  21. Ai Yazawa (矢沢愛 Yazawa Ai) (paired with Hibiki Yano)
  22. Hibiki Yano (谷野響 Yano Hibiki)
  23. Kana Yuki (夕城香菜 Yūki Kana) (paired with Eri Yoshiyama) --- The actress, Yuko Morimoto, was selected from an open audition.[3]
  24. Eri Yoshiyama (善山絵里 Yoshiyama Eri)

[edit] Adults and miscellaneous characters

  • Riki Takeuchi (竹内RIKI Takeuchi Riki) - The "teacher" of Battle Royale II.
  • Kitano (キタノ Kitano) - The "teacher" of the first Battle Royale appears in his daughter Shiori's dream sequences and flashbacks.
  • Noriko Nakagawa (中川典子 Nakagawa Noriko) - The other survivor from the first Battle Royale.
  • Hitoe (仁絵 Hitoe) - Riki Takeuchi's daughter.


[edit] Cast

[edit] Music

The sequel's soundtrack has more original work by Masamichi Amano and fewer classical pieces. One of them, Farewell to the Piano (composed by Beethoven), is played by Shiori Kitano herself during the film.

The song from the opening credits is Dies Irae, taken from the Verdi Requiem.

The end title song is by Japanese punk band Stance Punks. The song "Mayonaka Shounen Totsugeki Dan" features on their first full length, self-titled album.

[edit] Trivia

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2007)

[edit] Books

The book "The Road to BRII" (ISBN 4834252124) is a behind-the-scenes photo collection about the production of the movie. About ten tie-in books related to the movie have been released in Japan.

[edit] Related manga

A manga series called Battle Royale II: Blitz Royale is partially related to Battle Royale II: Requiem. The school in Blitz Royale is Shikanotoride Junior High School, and the "teacher" pops pills like Riki Takeuchi. There are numerous plot differences between the book and manga.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4872337751
  2. ^ a b c Garger, Ilya. "Royale Terror." TIME. June 30, 2003.
  3. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20030220024217/http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/kiji/2003/02/08/01.html
  4. ^ http://www.battleroyalefilm.net/manga/index.html

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Battle Royale by Kōshun Takami
Battle Royale (2000 manga) • Battle Royale (2000 film) • II: Requiem (2003 film) • II: Blitz Royale (manga) • Original Soundtrack • Characters (Shuya Nanahara)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Royale_II:_Requiem"