Yesterday it was reported on the L.A. Times that the famous Japanese story, Battle Royale is being sought by The CW to adapt it to a TV Show on its network. My first reaction, was "fucking awesome!," but then I did a double take; The CW?
You see, Battle Royale is one of the most disturbing stories to ever hit the mainstream. What began as a novel by Takami Koushun, has been adapted to a Japanese film and manga (with sequels) to the glee of many, and to the horror of others. The film had long been speculated to be banned in the US, while inaccurate, it's true that fears of the repercussions of the movie reaching America prevented the movie of being distributed.
It was understandable. American society has become quite sensitive to issues that involve school violence and abuse. What would be the reaction to a story that involved students killing each other, beating the shit out of each other, among other twisted and disturbing scenes? All in its graphic violence glory. Thankfully, we now have a very nice blu-ray edition that came out in 2012. Do yourself a favor, and grab a copy, but certainly not for the faint of heart and those easily offended. Only for the curious of the twisted.
So why the major interest now? Well, those who have any knowledge of the Hunger Games phenomenon have probably stumbled upon the comparisons being made to this Battle Royale, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the potential for the mighty dough. But to The CW? I have a hard time seeing a proper adaptation being made. I mean, if it was HBO or Showtime, then I'd be more than ecstatic despite the whatever would get lost in translation as the story is Americanized.
Still, I can't help to be curious of what The CW might do with it if it gets its hands on it. I can't help but assume that they'd turn it to a romantic crap it was not meant to be to attract their demographics. Yet I see some of their attempts to be a bit edgy, with their Nikita adaptation, the recent Ringer show, and the ultra popular Supernatural, and I think it just might work.
Got to ask, Battle Royale to The CW...good idea?
You can buy the Battle Royale novel from The Book Depository.
For now, here's a trailer for the movie:
