Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル, Batoru Rowaiaru) is a Japanese novel written by Koushun Takami, completed in 1996 and published in 1999. The story tells of school-children who are forced to fight each other to the death.
The novel was ranked as the number four by Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 2000, an annual mystery and thriller guide book published in Japan.
The novel has been adapted into a 2000 film and a manga series. The novel itself has also been translated into Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Norwegian, and Hungarian.
Battle Royale takes place in an alternate timeline—Japan is a member region of a totalitarian state known as the Republic of Greater East Asia (大東亜共和国 Dai Tōa Kyōwakoku).
