WELCOME!

First of all, let me apologize for the state of this site, which hasn't been updated in almost four years. I know that the recent R1 release of Battle Royale and the theatrical debut of The Hunger Games is drawing more attention to this website, so I'm just as disappointed as you guys are that this page hasn't been kept up to date. Feel free to browse the rest of the site, which still has plenty of useful information, and visit the links below for more BR-related info and discussion:

BR Message Boards at iMDb
BR2 Message Boards at iMDb
Battle Royale Forums @battleroyalefilm.net
Battle Royale Wikia
Buy Battle Royale at Amazon.com (US)

Thanks for visiting!
- mikejonas

Can you explain the ending of BR? (SPOILER)
How is the Special Version different from the Original Version? (SPOILER)
What music was used in BR?
What's the best DVD of BR to get? Where can I get it?
Has BRII come out on DVD? Where can I get it?
Where's Noriko in BRII? (SPOILER)
Why send kids to BRII when a military attack would do? (SPOILER)
How many volumes are in the manga?
Where can I get BR-related goods?

6/21/08
Battle Royale II actress passes away: Miyuki Kanbe, who played Kyoko Kakei in BRII, died suddenly on Wednesday June 18th of heart failure. She was 24. More details at Anime News Network.

5/01/07
BR remake prospects "seriously shaken" by Virginia Tech slayings: The New York Times reported yesterday that the recent killings on the Virginia Tech campus has affected a number of horror/thrillers that are in the works, among them the Battle Royale remake. Another surprising revelation is that New Line has yet to complete the deal for the remake rights, something that many fans had assumed would have happened by now. Producer Roy Lee says in an interview that while he's still interested in moving forward with the production, a remake would have to be "a little more sensitive to the issues." He also feels that had BR been in production at the time of the killings, "we would have been slaughtered by the press."

7/10/06
The New York Times on the BR Remake: This article in yesterday's Times revealed some details about the Hollywood remake in the works, including the fact that New Line Cinema has not (as of this writing) yet acquired the remake rights to the film. Producer Roy Lee also dropped some hints about the project that may be reassuring to some fans: the contestants will remain high school classmates, and the new movie will draw from the original novel as well as Fukasaku's film.

6/8/06
BR remake in the works?
Ain't It Cool News is just one of many movie news pages shaking up BR fandom today with news that a remake of Battle Royale is being "set up" at New Line Cinema by Neal ("The Fast and the Furious") Moritz and Roy (the King of Remakes) Lee. No other names have been announced as being attached to the project. Join in the ongoing debate at our newly-created BR Remake Forum!

2/11/06
Still Revenge-less, but when it comes, it'll come in two different flavors: The Tartan UK release of Revenge has been pushed down further in the calendar; as of this post the new date is May 22, 2006, but you're probably better off checking the Revenge delay thread on the forums for the latest updates from Akira 7 and other fans. Some good news: There will actually be two releases of Revenge--a deluxe limited edition with a tin case and collectible film cell, and a normal two-disc edition.

BRII on Netflix: Meanwhile, the original version of Battle Royale II, Requiem, has made its way into the Netflix library. Netflix has imported the Wision release (see below), which includes R0 NTSC versions of Requiem and the Special Version of the first film. The translation leaves plenty to be desired (BRII reads like a translation of a translation), but they do the job.

9/17/05
No Revenge in 2005: Akira 7 reports that yet again, Tartan UK has revised its release date for the long-awaited tin to January 30, 2006.

7/10/05
Revenge is a disc best served cold: Tartan UK has postponed the release of the BRII Special Version Tin from its original August 22 date to December 5. (credit to "Akira 7" on the BR forums for the heads up)

Battle Royale and Battle Royale II box set: Wision, a Korean label, has released Battle Royale: Special Version and Battle Royale II: Requiem (the original version) in a special DTS box set with a bonus disc containing behind-the-scenes specials for BR and BRII produced by the Japanese channel WOWOW, and BRII: Gaiden, a behind-the-scenes documentary previously only available in Japan. Unfortunately, there are no English subs on the extras, and the movies themselves contain the subtitling errors found in the Starmax Korea releases (which they are basically a repackaging of). With the Starmax release of BR out of print and getting harder to find, this set is shaping to be the new "default" legitimate BR release for American viewers. The box set is in stock at DVDAsian.com and Yesasia.com.

5/28/05
New Battle Royale Forums address: the battleroyalefilm forums are now also accessible through the URL battleroyaleforum.com. Join the fun as we enter our third year of discussing anything and everything Battle Royale (and then some)!

Battle Royale II: Revenge UK (R2 PAL) DVD release date: the news is a little old, but the extended cut of BRII will be released on August 22 by Tartan UK. The two-disc set, much like the limited edition Special Version release of BR by Tartan years ago, will come in a collector's tin with a collectible film cel spliced from a print of the film. The film's bonus disc reportedly contains 160 minutes of subbed extras! You can pre-order at Amazon UK and Play.com. The two sites conflict in their reports of the release's encoding (R0 PAL and R2 PAL).

Revenge R0 NTSC bootlegs: For those who don't have qualms about "unauthorized versions," are wary of the quality of the UK release (which will likely have the infamous "ghosting" problem), or don't want to deal with compatibility issues, Revenge is already available as a subbed R0 NTSC DVD on eBay. The subs are pretty well done, but there are no subs on the extra features, of which there are only a handful.

2/5/05
Netflix BR is the Starmax disc: Quan T. writes in and reports that the DVD being rented out by Netflix is, contrary to the UK Tartan SE image shown in the entry, the region-free NTSC Starmax "Director's Cut". If you're one of those renting the movie and can't make sense of some of the subtitles, follow the link above to read a properly-translated transcript of the poorly-subbed parts!

1/25/05
Battle Royale II: Revenge DVD details, new tie-in book: akira 7 treats us again to new details and information about the February 21st 2-disc release (Region 2 NTSC, no subs), which will have 70 minutes of extras: see this thread on the battleroyalefilm forums for akira's post, which also includes a mention of the release of a new tie-in book, Battle Royale II:Gaiden 3B 42 Students.

Battle Royale on Netflix: The American online rental service Netflix has, for some reason, added BR to its library, even though there is no R1 release of the title. The picture in its listing is of the UK PAL Special Edition by Tartan, which will not play on many American DVD players, which adds to the confusion. If you're one of the lucky people who has this coming to your mailbox (there's currently a long wait for the title), please let us know which version it turns out to be--the speculation ranges from the highly unlikely scenario that Tartan (which has recently opened a U.S. division) has quietly acquired U.S. release rights and released the film with no press whatsoever, to Netflix now adding import R0 NTSC titles to its library (either a bootleg, the R0 NTSC Korean Special Edition, or the R0 NTSC Tartan UK Original Version).

10/07/04
Battle Royale II: Revenge new Region 2 (Japan) release date: The extended cut of BRII that was originally scheduled for release in September finally has a new release date (February 21) as well as pre-order links at Amazon Japan and Yesasia.com. Thanks to "akira 7" and "YukieUtsumi ClassRep" from the forums for keeping an eye out!

For older news (or newer olds), go here.
For up-to-the-minute discussion and news, visit the forums.