Battle Royale/Characters

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The characters of Battle Royale and associated tropes.

We're gonna be here awhile...

Main Characters

Shuya Nanahara (Boy #15)

"They got to you. Too late again! Dear god in heaven...do I get to save anyone?"

The male protagonist of Battle Royale, and an orphan. His father was killed for opposing the totalitarian government, and his mother died. Because of the latter, no one wanted to have Shuya so he ended up in an orphanage, where he grew up alongside his best friend Yoshitoki "Nobu". He is a very optimistic guy, and an aspiring rock musician (rock is outlawed). A Wide-Eyed Idealist who tries to see the good sides in everyone, he makes friends easily and is quick to trust other people.

• Action Survivor
• Break the Cutie
• Chick Magnet: Let's see, there's Noriko, Yukie, Yumiko, Yukiko, Megumi, Hirono (in the manga)...
• First-Person Smartass: To a certain extent in the novel. It's not really clear whose point of view we're seeing.
• The Hero
• Heroic BSOD: He has several when he sees the corpses of his classmates and friends. Particularly in the manga, where finding Shinji Mimura's body is enough to almost make him give up.
• I Can't Believe A Girl Like You Would Notice Me!: He reacts like this to Noriko.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness
• Joke Weapon: A pot lid in the film.
• The Messiah: The guy is so innocent and wonderful, he actually manages to convert several crazy or paranoid classmates by giving them emotional speeches (before they all die, anyway...)
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: In the manga, with his mullet. Shuya in the movie looks more like an average, dumpy teenage boy.
• Lucky Seven: His last name starts with the kanji character for seven.
• Oblivious to Love
• Parental Abandonment: Depending on the version, his mother might have walked out on the family and his father committed suicide (film), his father might have been killed and his mother died of illness (manga), or both parents might have died in a "car accident" (novel).
• The Power of Rock: How Shuya changed from a straight-laced sports player to a rebellious rock fan.
• Power Trio: With Noriko and Shogo.
• The Pollyanna: Sneeringly Lampshaded by Shogo, who calls him "Pollyanna with a penis".
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: In the original Japanese.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist

Noriko Nakagawa (Girl #15)

"Hello! "The chick" has a name!"

The female protagonist, she is a bit of a Purity Sue. She is at first the love interest of Shuya's friend Yoshitoki, but gradually grows closer to Shuya over the course of the story. Since the teacher shoots her in the leg early on and the wound is infected, she is The Load much of the time. Noriko is a perfect fit for Shuya: good-hearted, idealistic and quick to trust. Although she does not realize it, Noriko manages to keep both Shogo and Shuya balanced and she is the only other person besides Shuya to survive the game.

• Action Survivor
• Alliterative Name
• Break the Cutie: So very much.
• Feminine Women Can Cook
• Joke Weapon: A boomerang.
  • Binoculars in the film.
• The Heart: She is the "glue" that makes Shuya and Shogo stay together. This is particularly evident in the movie.
• The Load: Not by choice, however.
• Naive Everygirl
• Neutral Female: The poor girl is shot in the kneecap during the Program briefing because she stood up for Yoshitoki, and as result, can't do much. This ends up subverted toward the end, though.
• Never a Self-Made Woman: She is mostly Shuya's Love Interest and The Load. Although she is the main female protagonist, she actually contributes little to the story other than killing Kazuo Kiriyama in the novel. She was given a bigger role in the film, though she seems to do even less.
  • Her character is to be the voice or a representation of the author like Simon from Lord of the Flies
• Power Trio: She even comments that she, Shuya and Shogo are like The Three Musketeers.
• Real Life Relative: Her and Shiori Kitano's actresses are sisters.
• Yamato Nadeshiko

Shogo Kawada (Boy #5)

"I'm not dying on account of you. You heard her, I'm horrible. Don't force me to prove it."

The mysterious New Transfer Student, Shogo is a tough guy who is older than the others and keeps to himself. He's big, covered in scars, and a chain smoker. He was the winner of the previous year's Program (and racking up the highest body count ever seen), and this gives him an enormous advantage when he enters it the second time. A true Badass and a survivalist to the core, he has no qualms about killing in self-defense even though his goal is to save his classmates from the Program. He allies himself with Shuya and Noriko early on after killing their attacker, and they go along with him since he knows a way the three of them can escape from the island. Obviously a very popular character.

• The Atoner: His motivation, because he accidentally killed his loving girlfriend Keiko in the previous Program. Not only did he cause her death, but he had crossed the Moral Event Horizon by slaughtering dozens of classmates in order to ensure Keiko's safety.
• Badass: Oh dear, where to begin...
  • Heartbroken Badass
• Big Brother Mentor
• Brutal Honesty: Shogo loves being blunt and deflating Shuya's and Noriko's wide-eyed idealism at every opportunity.
• Fatal Lovers Photo: Of him and Keiko.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: When first alerts Shuya to Shogo's past is the knife scars on his face and arms.
• Knight in Sour Armor: So very much. Initially, he treats Shuya and Noriko with a casual disrespect even while protecting them.
• Loving a Shadow
• New Transfer Student
• Normally I Would Be Dead Now
• Not So Different: From Kiriyama, in his first game.
• Sawed-Off Shotgun: His assigned weapon.
• Smoking Is Cool
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Shougo" in the original Japanese.
• Supporting Leader: To Shuya and Noriko throughout the story, particularly in the movie.
• Victorious Loser: Technically, he won (despite cheating) the Program, and yet he died. In a positive note, he's now with his beloved Keiko.
• Xanatos Gambit: The Program of Battle Royale went exactly according to Shogo's plans.
• Zen Survivor: Of the previous Program in the Hyogo Prefecture.

Shinji Mimura (Boy #19)

"You know it, I'm the man."

The most popular guy in the class; a star athlete, ladies' man and very intelligent. This makes him a Marty Stu, which the author acknowledges was done to conceal that Shinji is in fact a Decoy Protagonist. He is good friends with Shuya and the "leader" of their clique, which also contains Yoshitoki, Yutaka and Hiroki. More importantly, Shinji was raised by an uncle who is a political enemy of the fascist government. As a result, he has computer hacking skills and knows much more about the inner workings of the police state than his classmates, which comes in very handy when he manages to smuggle a laptop into the Program.

• Chick Magnet: In his introduction in the manga, he wonders if he has enough condoms on him to screw the entire crowd of fangirls.
• The Cracker
• Deadpan Snarker: In the flashback when three guys try to rob him. "Cash-flow problems? That it? Well, good news, gentlemen. There's a new craze sweeping the streets...it's called 'employment.'"
• Decoy Protagonist
• Even the Guys Want Him: Shou Tsukioka has a major crush on Shinji.
• Mr. Fanservice
• Genius Bruiser: Slightly subverted because his grades in subjects other than Math and English were bad.
• Handsome Lech
• Heroic BSOD: Has a brief one when Yutaka suspects him of "playing" the game. Given how Shinji had trusted Yutaka to the point that he'd never even think to suspect him, he was shaken pretty badly.
• Ho Yay: With Shuya and Yutaka in all three canons.
• Playful Hacker
• Rasputinian Death: And a completely pointless one.
• Sacrificial Lion
• Stay Frosty: His catchphrase in the manga.
• Taking You with Me: He attempts to do this against Kazuo Kiriyama after he's been wounded mortally.
• Wise Beyond Their Years

Hiroki Sugimura (Boy #11)

"You were my rock. You made me what I am."

The most quiet and reserved guy in Shuya's clique, although an incredibly powerful fighter. He is a martial arts expert but a Gentle Giant pacifist who never fights unless he is forced to. Hiroki is very shy and reserved around girls, earning him Shinji's teasing, but has a near-obsessive love for his classmate Kayoko Kotohiki. In the Program, he refuses to join up with Shuya but instead sets off on a search for her.

• Badass Bookworm
• Break the Cutie: His best friend Takako Chigusa dies in his arms, and he spends the entire story searching for a girl to confess his love. Unfortunately, she fatally shoots him by accident. They end up dying together, thanks to Mitsuko Souma.
• Dying Declaration of Love
• Cute Kitten: In the manga, this is how he and Kayoko Kotohiki had their first conversation.
• Eye Scream: It happens to him in the manga.
• Gentle Giant
• Hope Spot: His battle with Kazuo Kiriyama in all versions.
• I'm Taking Her Home with Me: His reaction to stray cats (and to Kayoko Kotohiki).
• Love Confession: He admits this to Kayoko just before he dies, even calling her by her first name.
• Love Hurts
• Martial Pacifist
• Nose Tapping: In the manga, he does this when he's unsure (which is pretty often).
• Technical Pacifist: Subverted. He refuses to take a gun and is genuinely concerned with only using his martial arts in self-defense because he's afraid that if he gets seriously violent, he'll enjoy it.
• Technician Versus Performer: Hiroki is a performer who fights furiously to defend the girl he loves, while his opponent Kazuo is a technician who is all skill and no passion. Hiroki wins, but Kazuo (who wears a bulletproof vest) then gives him a fatal wound.
• Together in Death: With Kayoko Kotohiki.

Mitsuko Souma (Girl #11)

"I just decided to take instead of being taken. It’s not a question of good or bad, wrong or right. It’s just what I want to do."

The most feared girl in the whole school. Mitsuko lives in a cycle of abuse, having taken it as a child and now dishing it out; a life of physical and mental abuse has shaped Mitsuko into a Femme Fatale with the psyche of a vengeful child. She is the prettiest girl in her class, and often uses her adorable looks to take advantage of men. She leads a Girl Posse in school. When Mitsuko ends up in the Program, she becomes one of the most dangerous contestants. Out of the four "villains" in the game, she is the second most dangerous. A Jerkass Woobie through and through.

• Abusive Parents
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Mitsuko can play the act of an innocent angel to a T.
• Broken Bird: And how. She's so broken that she's locked in her personal hell and doesn't want to be helped.
• Creepy Doll: She had one in her childhood. It was given to her by her stepfather. Who abused her. The cutesy doll, which falls apart toward the end, ends up playing a part in her Villainous Breakdown.
• Delinquents
• Disappeared Dad: In the novel and the Special Version release of the film.
• Femme Fatale: And how!
• Gainaxing: In the manga.
  • The manga artist has obviously never heard of the Discretion Shot...
• Girl Posse: She is the leader of a thugette trio who are feared by the other girls in the school.
• Girl with Psycho Weapon: Her wickedly sharp harvesting sickle.
• Intimate Healing: In the manga only. In some twisted part of her mind, she thought this was what she was doing to poor Yuichiro. Keep in mind, this scene is only in the manga. The original one in the novel is more of a Pet the Dog moment as Mitsuko gives Yuichiro a gentle kiss and then puts him out of his misery since Tadakatsu has already involuntarily wounded him fatally.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Beautiful: Since she was very little, she's been using her body to get whatever she wants.
• Slasher Smile: Eep.
• Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: She is even portrayed by Idol Singer Kou Shibasaki in the film.
• The Vamp
• Villainous Breakdown: Oh God, where do I start!?

Kazuo Kiriyama (Boy #6)

"I don't care. This is fun too."

The top student of the class, he has the mind of a genius but is physically unable to feel human emotions like sadness, compassion or even happiness. When he is forced to kill his classmates in the Program, he is indifferent and really can't decide whether he should unite his friends to lead a rebellion against the Program (and endanger his life), or play the game to win (and also endanger his life). When he decides the latter, he puts everything he has into it. In the Film of the Book, he is portrayed as a mute psychopath instead, and voluntarily signed up for the game.

• The Ace: The novel shows how the students all have unique interests (sports, academics, music, art, fighting) but Kazuo is better than everyone at everything, without even trying.
• Affectionate Nickname: Members of the "Kiriyama Family" call him "Boss," while Tsukioka playfully refers to him as "Kiriyama-kun."
• Awesomeness By Analysis
• Badass: He has his flair for tremendous killing, craftiness, wearing a Badass Cape that looks like a Ominous Opera Cape and walking through flower petals ominously.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: His dress shirt and his black coat that hangs off his shoulders, creating a Badass Cape effect.
• Big Fancy House: Lives in one.
• Coat Cape
• Delinquents: Numai made Kiriyama the "boss" of "The Kiriyama Family."
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness
• Empty Shell: In the novel, Kiriyama suffered a major brain injury when he was a fetus, resulting in him to be born without emotions whatsoever. In the manga, he suffers this injury as a child.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Tsukioka towards Kiriyama.
• Evil Redhead: In the film, he has reddish-orange hair.
• For the Evulz
• Flanderization: In the movie, he is victim to this. The original novel and manga portrays him as a member of the class whose brain damage makes him suffer from Lack of Empathy. Movie-Kazuo is just a sick fuck who volunteered to fight high-school kids to the death.
• Hero-Killer: Whenever he shows up, expect the person you are rooting for to be dead.
• Implacable Man
• Lack of Empathy: To Kazuo, human lives are about as interesting as rocks.
• Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant
• No Kill Like Overkill: The way he kills many people, especially Shinji.
• Offhand Backhand: How he kills Mizuho Inada in the novel and manga.
• Paper Fan of Doom: His assigned weapon in the movie.
• Rasputinian Death
• Villainous Breakdown: Again, only in the manga. Being shot in the frontal lobe somehow caused him to regain the emotions he'd gotten used to not having, as well as causing him to feel the trauma of his mother's death for the first time.
• The Voiceless: In the film he actually seems to be mute.

Other Students

Takako Chigusa (Girl #13)

"You said this was a game, right? Fine. I'll be your opponent. I won't lose against an asshole like you. I'll give everything I have to erase your existence. Got it? Do you understand? Or are you too stupid?"

A loner but among the most beautiful girls in the school, she is Hiroki Sugimura's best friend and fierce supporter since childhood. Takako's nickname behind her back is "Robo-Bitch" because of her outwardly cold demeanor. Although she is proud, severe and quick to anger, she's unhappy being shunned by the other girls in her class. She is deeply in love with her only friend Hiroki, but he doesn't know.

• All Love Is Unrequited
• Anguished Declaration of Love
• Badass: Does her best to avoid a fight, but once you make her mad...
• Betty and Veronica: The "Veronica" to Kayoko Kotohiki's "Betty."
• Cheshire Cat Grin
• Foe Yay: With Mitsuko Souma.
• Groin Attack: How she saved herself from Niida.
• Ice Queen: How most people see her.
• Shout-Out: Her given name is taken from long-time star of female Japanese Professional Wrestling Inoue Takako.
• Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
• Thirteen Is Unlucky: She is girl # 13.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: To Hiroki.
• Zettai Ryouiki: In the manga.

Yukie Utsumi (Girl #2)

"Do you understand what I'm saying? Do you see why I had to save you, no matter what?"

The female class president. She's an intelligent and caring girl, often a Team Mom to her friends, but bold and not afraid to speak her mind. Yukie has a massive crush on Shuya, and saves his life at one point. She gathers a large group around her during the Program and they take shelter in a lighthouse.

• A House Divided
• All Love Is Unrequited
• Class Representative
• First Kiss: Actually the second one. And the last one as well.
• The Hero: Of the lighthouse girls' team.
• Kiss of Death: In the manga.
• Love Confession: To Shuya in the novel and manga.
• The Messiah: She really tries to be, but sadly without success.
• Number Two
• Team Mom: A shining example, but her one mistake was that she gathered a group too large.
• Together in Death: With her friends.

Yoshitoki Kuninobu (Boy #7)

"Hey Shuya, I got a crush on someone."

Shuya's oldest friend, who is like a brother to him. He is nicknamed "Nobu", and is a part of the Five-Man Band that also includes Shuya, Shinji, Yutaka and Hiroki. He dies before the Program even starts, because Kamon/Sakamochi pressed his Berserk Button and used it as an excuse to shoot him. Originally, Noriko is his love interest, but as he dies he asks Shuya to keep her alive.

• Affectionate Nickname: He is called "Nobu" by Noriko in the novel and by Shuya in the film.
• All Love Is Unrequited
• Berserk Button: When anyone hurts someone he loves. Guess what happens when the Big Bad boasts about raping Ryoko Anno, his orphanage caretaker since childhood and surrogate mom.
• Cannot Spit It Out
• Dead Star Walking
• Heterosexual Life Partners: Would have been this with Shuya.
• Killed Off for Real
• Lucky Seven: Subverted. He's boy # 7, but he's the first boy killed. And that happened even before the Program officially started.
• Sacrificial Lamb

Hirono Shimizu (Girl #10)

"You're crazy, you know that, right? But a good crazy. I can relate to that."

The Dragon of Mitsuko Souma's little gang, which consists of these two and Yoshimi Yahagi. Her main hobbies are both dealing and using drugs, fighting, shoplifting and bullying those weaker than her. Despite this, Hirono is opposed to the idea of killing her classmates.

• All Just a Dream: Used for tragedy in the manga. When Hirono is wounded and drowning in a well, she has a dream of climbing out of the well, suddenly restored to full health, and joining Shuya and Noriko in their escape from the island.
• Almost Kiss: It looked exactly like she and Shuya were about to do that when Kaori began shooting.
• Alpha Bitch: She's much more violent than would usually be expected from this trope.
• Delinquents
• Dying Dream
• Even Evil Has Standards: She's one of Mitsuko's friends. a major bully to the other girls, and as mentioned below, kind of a Jerkass, but her internal monologue in the novel makes it clear that she finds killing her classmates to be going too far, and will only use lethal force in self defense if she absolutely has to.
• Deadly Change-of-Heart
• Hope Spot: Done three times in the manga, the last one right before we find out it was all a hallucination and she was dying.
• Jerkass: Hirono used to slash Megumi Etou's skirt with a razor and trip her in the stairs, provided Mitsuko with drugs (which she tested on Yoshimi), and didn't seem to be all that bothered about Yoshimi being used as a prostitute by Mitsuko.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man
• Sugar and Ice Personality: In the manga, at least.
• When She Smiles: Doesn't she look pretty? Sugimura commented on it as well.
• Who's Laughing Now?: When she gets into a shootout with Kaori Minami, one of her former bullying victims. Interestingly, some of her remarks to Shuya show that she doesn't want to be shooting, and she explicitly states that Kaori shot first. Even more interestingly, in the novel, she kills the person in question. However, the novel version of Hirono is more of a Jerkass than the other two, so...
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Cannot stand frogs. Fittingly, she is killed by Toshinori Oda, who looks like a frog.

Yoshimi Yahagi (Girl #21)

"Thak you, Yoji. I was so happy being with you."

The junior member of Mitsuko's gang and a hopelessly romantic girl. Yoshimi was exploited by Mitsuko, who even pimped her to strangers at one point. She is deeply in love with her boyfriend Yoji, even though she's still one of the thugettes.

• Alliterative Name
• Alpha Bitch: Like Hirono, Yoshimi is more of the "delinquent" type. In a flashback, she is seen robbing Kaori in school.
• Break the Cutie: Poor, poor Yoshimi. Being prostituted to two strangers by her "friend" Mitsuko, who then made jokes about it.
• Broken Bird: She is described as "an abused bundle of low self-esteem."
• Delinquents
• Demoted to Extra: In the film.
• Kill the Cutie: By Mitsuko in the novel and manga.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Of the "bad girl has to reform to get the guy" variety. Though she wasn't nearly as bad as Mitsuko and Hirono, and notes that she remained friends with both.
• Together in Death: With her beloved Yoji in the film.

Yoji Kuramoto (Boy #8)

The over-sensitive, surly boyfriend of Yoshimi Yahagi.

• Affectionate Nickname: Youji is called "You-chan" by Yoshimi in the original Japanese text of the novel.
• Face Heel Turn
• Demoted to Extra: In the film.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: "I love you t - "
• My Girl Is Not a Slut: More justifiable than most cases, considering Yoshimi's past. Yoji is annoyed that Yoshimi is far more sexually experienced than he is, and goes into an impotent rage if she instigates any sexual behaviour towards him. He actually loves her, but thanks to the Double Standard, feels that pretending he's only using her for sex is more acceptable. Because that's what a real man does, right?
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Yoshimi notes that she started to behave more after she started dating him.
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Youji" in the original Japanese.
• Together in Death: With Yoshimi in the film.

Yuichiro Takiguchi (Boy #13)

"I've always thought you weren't as bad as everyone said you were. Even if you'd done bad things, I was pretty sure you did them because you couldn't help it, because there was some reason behind it that wasn't your fault."

A big anime fan who is seen as an Otaku by his class, Yuichiro very easily sympathizes with other people.

• Batter Up: His weapon is a baseball bat, which Mitsuko beats Tadakatsu to death with.
• Demoted to Extra: In the film.
• Heroic Sacrifice: As Tadakatsu is about to shoot Mitsuko, Yuichiro steps between them and takes the shots himself.
• Odd Couple: The nerdy Yuichiro and the athletic jock Tadakatsu are a very unlikely team.
• Otaku
• One-Scene Wonder: Definitely.
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Yuuichirou" in the original Japanese.
• Taking the Bullet: For Mitsuko, no less.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: He's so innocent and kind-hearted that Mitsuko takes pity on him after Tadakatsu shoots him.

Tadakatsu Hatagami (Boy #18)

A sports jock who used to be best friends with Shuya and, in the Program, forms an Odd Couple with Yuichiro (whom he bosses around). He is the more level-headed and suspicious of the two.

• Demoted to Extra: In the film.
• Odd Couple: He and the anime nerd Yuichiro.
• Out with a Bang: Well, almost...

Yutaka Seto (Boy #12)

"SHINJI YOUR AWESOME"

The male class clown and Shinji Mimura's loyal friend throughout his story arc. Yutaka admires Shinji to the point of Ho Yay, although his clumsiness ends up causing problems for them both.

• All Love Is Unrequited: Towards Izumi in the novel, Fumiyo in the manga.
• Butt Monkey
• Ho Yay: With Shinji. The above quote says it all.
• Joke Weapon: A fork. He tried to intimidate someone with said fork.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Deconstructed over the course of Shinji's plot thread, as both characters come to seriously question what value Shinji can possibly find in Yutaka and why he keeps him around.
• Reckless Sidekick
• Tender Tears: Chokes up whenever Shinji says something kind to him. The two of them being best friends, this happens so frequently that Yutaka jokes, "if you stick around with a crybaby like me you'll end up drowning before we escape."

Yukiko Kitano (Girl #6)

"I don't know how much longer I can pretend to be brave."

A nice, feminine girl who is best friends with Yumiko Kusaka, with lots of Les Yay. When they team up on the island, they try to stop their classmates from fighting.

• All Love Is Unrequited: Has a crush on Shuya.
• Feminine Women Can Cook: She used to bake cakes for Yumiko.
• Huge Girl, Tiny... Other Girl: The Tiny Girl to Yumiko's Huge Girl.
• Joke Weapon: A set of darts, complete with a board
• Les Yay: With Yumiko, despite both of them having a crush on Shuya.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
• One Steve Limit: She ain't related to their teacher in any way.
• Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Her relationship with Yumiko comes across as this in the manga.
• Together in Death: With Yumiko.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl.

Yumiko Kusaka (Girl #7)

"I'd forgotten how helping me messed you up. No good deed goes unpunished, eh?"

An athletic tomboy who is in a Romantic Two-Girl Friendship with Yukiko Kitano. She is assigned a megaphone as her weapon, and decides to make use of it to get her classmates' attention.

• Affectionate Nickname: In the original Japanese text of the novel, Yukiko refers to her as "Yumi-chan."
• All Love Is Unrequited: Like Yukiko, Yumiko also has a crush on Shuya.
• Foreshadowing: Her quote above.
• Huge Girl, Tiny... Other Girl: She's much taller than Yukiko. In the novel, she notes the possibility of being taller than Shuya when she wears high heels.
• Les Yay: With Yukiko.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
• Romantic Two-Girl Friendship
• Together in Death: Again, with Yukiko.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy.

Mitsuru Numai (Boy #17)

"He taught me to be careful what I wish for...I just might get it. Oh, I get it all right."

The actual leader of the "Kiriyama Family" and the original tough guy of the school. Although a schoolyard bully and a teenage delinquent, he has a conscience and says he was never needlessly cruel. Mitsuru was the one who first encountered Kazuo Kiriyama and turned him from a quiet, well-behaved model student into a feared "hard case."

• Berserker Tears: When he discovers that Kazuo killed the other gang members.
• Delinquents: He leads a gang of them.
• Distaff Counterpart: Somewhat to Hirono Shimizu.
• Freudian Excuse: In the manga, his parents were abusive alcoholics.
• Ho Yay: A lot towards Kazuo. It's pretty much one-sided.
• The Man Behind the Man: To Kazuo. An unconventional example, since Kazuo, the gang's figurehead leader, kills Mitsuru.
• Oh Crap: Upon realizing exactly how "hard" Kazuo is.

Ryuhei Sasagawa (Boy #10)

The loudest member of the gang, although a cowardly bully. He is issued with the most powerful weapon in the Program: a machine gun.

• Berserk Button: In the manga, the sounds of Yoshio Akamatsu's handheld videogame are Ryuhei's Berserk Button.
• The Brute: In Kazuo's Five-Bad Band.
• The Bully
• Bullying a Dragon: He did this to Shogo Kawada in the locker rooms after he first came to the school. Nobody knew exactly what Shogo did to him, but Ryuhei was in tears and ran back to Kazuo, who didn't do anything.
• Delinquents
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Ryuuhei" in the original Japanese.
• We Hardly Knew Ye

Hiroshi Kuronaga (Boy #9)

The fat guy in the delinquent gang, who doesn't do much.

• Delinquents
• Fat Bastard
• Mauve Shirt
• Paper Fan of Doom: His "weapon" in the book.
• We Hardly Knew Ye

Sho Tsukioka (Boy #14)

"I have a name like a celebrity's, but I'm just a Plain Jane."

The only openly gay student in the class, and a member of the gang. His ultra-macho clique are obviously uncomfortable being around him, but Kazuo tolerates Sho for some reason.

• Bury Your Gays: In the English adaptation of the manga, his file notes that he is "not to leave the island alive under any circumstances". Word of God also states that there are anti-homosexual laws in the Republic of Greater East Asia.
• Camp Gay: Not so much in the novel and never mentioned in the film. But it's prominent in the manga, where he is depicted as slimy and leering with a pompadour haircut and uncontrollable giggling.
• Delinquents
• Demoted to Extra: In the film.
• Gayngster: His aspiration.
• Ho Yay: One-sided, toward Kazuo and Mitsuru. He also has a crush on Mimura.
• Macho Camp: Although Sho is stereotypical, he's also a tough member of Kiriyama's street gang who happens to be gay.
• Oral Fixation Fixation
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Shou" in the original Japanese.
• Stalker with a Crush: To several men.
• Your Head Asplode: The only student to fall victim to the danger zones, via Explosive Leash.

Yoshio Akamatsu (Boy #1)

An overweight outcast who was the bullying victim of the class thugs. Despite being a nice, awkward and harmless guy in his real life, the Program derails him into a frightened, psychotic killer.

• Axe Crazy: He eventually becomes like this when he snaps from the fear and imagines those who bullied him will try to kill him.
• Butt Monkey
• Chew Toy: In his class, especially to the bullies like Ryuhei.
• Gentle Giant: In the manga, Shuya calls him "gigantor".
• Otaku
• Too Dumb to Live: He's so pathetic that Shuya knocks him down by throwing an arrow at him.

Yuko Sakaki (Girl #9)

An extremely shy, sensitive girl who suffers from depression and becomes part of Yukie Utsumi's group in the lighthouse. The suicidal Yuko is assigned the most unique weapon in the Program. She has always hated the sight of violence, and is irrevocably traumatized by the things she sees on the island.

• Abusive Parents: In the novel, she had a very, very nasty brute of a father, who apparently regarded not just her, but also her mother and elder brother, as punching bags. It was to the point that it was more relief than bereavement when he was killed by a Yakuza thug. The problem here is that seeing Shuya standing over Oki's corpse was redolent of everything her father did, making her obsessed with making Shuya a complete non-threat...
• A House Divided: Her own paranoia managed to utterly destroy their relatively well maintained group within seconds.
• Break the Cutie
• Cloudcuckoolander
• Driven to Suicide: When she comprehends what she has done to her friends.
• Freak-Out: When she sees Shuya accidentally kill a classmate.
• Hope Spot: A very brief one in the manga.
• Irony: It is Yuko who survives the lighthouse masacre, even though it was she who involuntarily started it in the first place.
• My God, What Have I Done?
• Poison Is Corrosive: Yuko's assigned weapon along with a spring-loaded baton. She uses it to poison Shuya's food, to a horrifying effect.
• Sanity Slippage
• Shrinking Violet: To the extreme.
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Yuuko" in the original Japanese.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds

Haruka Tanizawa (Girl #12)

The best friend and second-in-command of Yukie Utsumi and one of the lighthouse girls.

• Does Not Like Men: According to the manga, she's the one who demanded to ban boys from joining to their group (possibly due to abuse in her past).
• Huge Schoolgirl
• The Lancer: Of the lighthouse group.
• Last Breath Bullet: How she kills Satomi, though she's not a villain and Satomi is not exactly a hero in that moment.
• Taking You with Me: Although she was arguably thinking more in terms of saving Yuko from Satomi.
• Together in Death: With her friends.

Satomi Noda (Girl #17)

"What about you? You're different, right?"

A model student. The smartest and most suspicious of the lighthouse girls, but also the most ruthless. Satomi is also, besides Kazuo Kiriyama, the most heavily armed of the students.

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
• Deadpan Snarker: In the flashback chapter "Energy" in the manga.
• Face Heel Turn: In the manga, after she has slaughtered Chisato, Haruka, and Yukie, she approaches Yuko Sakaki, telling her they're both safe. However, Satomi lets slip that she will "get them all" and play to win.
• Freak-Out: When she kills Chisato.
• Irony: She kills everyone in the lighthouse except for the one person who killed Yuka.
• Meganekko
• The Smart Guy
• The Stoic: Until she becomes Not So Stoic...
• Together in Death: With her friends.

Chisato Matsui (Girl #19)

The smallest and shyest of Yukie's friends, who take refuge in the lighthouse.

• All Love Is Unrequited: Has a crush on Mimura in the novel.
• The Chick: Among the lighthouse girls.
• Feminine Women Can Cook
• Freak-Out: Shows signs of one in the manga at least. The prospect of being killed is enough to make her grab a gun and aim it at Satomi... which gets her shot.
• Shrinking Violet
• Together in Death: With her friends.

Yuka Nakagawa (Girl #16)

"Let's have a taste, then."

The female class clown. She is the most optimistic of the girls in the lighthouse and a Plucky Comic Relief to them. Apparently, when you're a fat girl in Japan like her, there are very few choices in high school, so class clown is as good as any.

• Big Eater: Bites her in the ass when she decides to taste test Shuya's food before giving it to him.
• The Big Guy: Of the lighthouse group.
• Blood From the Mouth: When she is poisoned by Yuko.
• Catch Phrase: In the manga. "That gets the Yuka seal of approval!"
• Genki Girl
• Plucky Comic Relief
• Together in Death: With her friends.

Mizuho Inada (Girl #1)

The weirdest person in the class, who spends a lot of time in a fantasy world and is possibly schizophrenic. Her friends don't seem to be entirely comfortable around her. During the Program, her weirdness degenerates into complete insanity.

• Cloudcuckoolander: In the novel; she thinks she and Kaori are space warriors sent to Earth to cleanse it of evil (such as Kiriyama). Some fanfics elevate her into Crazy Awesome, for whatever the reason. This is omitted from the film.
• Offhand Backhand: How she's killed by Kazuo in the novel.
• One-Scene Wonder: Okay, two chapters in the manga, but they're back to back.
  • And one chapter in the novel.
• Sanity Slippage: Though it's implied she was slightly nutty beforehand; her pregame student profile explicitly identifies her as schizophrenic.
  • From the manga: In her personal file, Kamon describes her with two words: "A loon."

Kaori Minami (Girl #20)

"No mercy. Junya. I'm going to be killed! Shoot. Mom. Sister! Dad. Shoot! Shoot! The new record release!"

A girl with an acne-covered face and a total obsession with j-pop idol singers, especially one Junya Kenzaki. When she ends up in the Program, her mental derailment is spectacular.

• Cat Scare: In the manga.
• Demoted to Extra: In the film.
• Fan Girl: Of Junya Kenzaki, a popstar.
• Go Mad from the Revelation
• Nerd Glasses: In the manga.
• Les Yay: With Mizuho, in the movie. They end up killing each other.
• Sanity Slippage

Megumi Eto (Girl #3)

A sensitive girl with a crush on Shuya (Shinji in the movie), who is absolutely paralyzed with terror when thrown into the battle. Megumi is one of the "daydreamers" (along with Mizuho and Kaori), and the only one of them who is actually sane.

• All Love Is Unrequited: Has a crush on Shuya in the novel, Mimura in the film.
• Camera Fiend: In the movie.
• Cell Phone: Her mother gave her one before the school trip. She tries to use it, only for Sakamochi/Kamon to pick up and abuse her. She hangs up in disgust. This ends up biting her in the ass when Mitsuko shows up.
• I Miss Mom
• Mauve Shirt: She gets a few sentences of dialogue before Mitsuko kills her.
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Etou" in the original Japanese.

Keita Iijima (Boy #2)

A whiny "friend" of Shinji Mimura who seeks his protection during the Program.

• Dirty Coward: According to what Mimura thinks of him in the novel and manga.
• Ho Yay: Possibly with Shinji in the movie.
• I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: The victim of this in the novel and manga.
• Number Two: He's Boy # 2

Sakura Ogawa (Girl #4)

"Even if by some miracle one of us could go back, we still wouldn't be together. Even if ... even if I were to survive ... I couldn't bear being without you."

One of the most attractive girls in the class, and Kazuhiko Yamamoto's long-term girlfriend.

• Better to Die Than Be Killed: With Kazuhiko in the manga and novel. In the film it seemed to have more to do with their refusal to participate. In a rather cruel instance of irony, the students approaching them were the Lighthouse Girls, who had no intention of doing them harm.
• Cherry Blossom Girl
• Disappeared Dad: Her father was killed by the police when she was a child for anti-government activities.
• Four Is Death: She's Girl # 4
• Together in Death: With Kazuhiko.

Kazuhiko Yamamoto (Boy #21)

"Even if I were to survive, I couldn't stand being without you. Don't leave me alone."

Sakura's long-term boyfriend who is deeply in love with her. Their relationship is the closest in the class.

• Better to Die Than Be Killed: With Sakura in the manga and novel. In the film, it seemed to have more to do with their refusal to participate. Almost amusingly, it looked almost like Sakura actually dragged him off the cliff.
• Together in Death: With Sakura.

Izumi Kanai (Girl #5)

• Mauve Shirt: Any notes on her character occur after she's been killed in the novel. In the movie and manga, at least she has a few lines.
• Ojou: In fact, if not in character. Her dad's a town representative.
• We Hardly Knew Ye

Tatsumichi Oki (Boy #3)

• Axe Crazy
• Bloody Hilarious: After his death, when he fell face-first on his own machete. Shuya tries to pry loose the machete from his split face, but it won't budge, so instead he shows his respect to Tatsumichi by closing his eyes. But only one eye closes, resulting in a mutilated corpse winking at everybody.
• Mauve Shirt
• Spell My Name With An Extra O: "Ooki" in the original Japanese.

Kyoichi Motobuchi (Boy #20)

"M-my father is a director of environmental affairs in the prefectural government. How could the class I'm in be selected for th-the Program?..."

The male class president and a nerdy model student. He takes pride in being the second best student (after Kazuo Kiriyama) and in the fact that his father is a high-ranking government official.

• Nerd Glasses
• Sanity Slippage: Kyoichi's mental derailment begins when he is told that it doesn't matter two shits what his dad's position is, he's still going in the Program.
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Kyouichi" in the original Japanese.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: His motivation.

Toshinori Oda (Boy #4)

"Fucker. You robbed the world of my talent."

A rich kid who hates everyone in his class; he clearly has a superiority complex and eerie similarities to the Columbine shooters. It seems like the Program was pretty much designed for people like him, and he relishes the idea of slaughtering the classmates he loathes.

• Bulletproof Vest: His assigned weapon, which he makes good use of.
• Foreshadowing: In the manga, Oda tries to trick Sugimura and when getting ready to do so moves to protect his "jewels", in case Sugimura lets off a panic shot. Where exactly does he get fatally shot by Kazuo?
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Late in the manga, we see a quick panel of his family, presumably his father, mother, and older brother, weeping, probably after hearing news of his death. No matter what an evil toad he was, somebody is mourning him.
• Four Is Death: Gee, I wonder who's boy # 4?
• It's All About Me / Jerkass: If you're less rich than him, you're vulgar. If you're taller and/or more handsome, he resents you. If you're richer than him (i.e. Kiriyama), he resents you yet again. If you're female, he thinks you're only good for kids, decoration, and "entertainment". If your actions are even a little less than utterly refined, vulgar again. It's worth noting that this extends to the family business, a food packaging empire; being a violinist is so much more genteel. He can't even stand the thought that even if he does manage to get back up to his original violin level after his hand is wounded, people will "qualify" his success with how he overcame his disability. Maybe he'd like to run the Republic bakufu, too?
  • To further elaborate, in at least the manga, he muses for a little while about the apparent source of the kanji signifying "people", a pictograph of one person supporting another. That is, people are defined by mutualism. Oda, however, thinks that this is a complete error (and from hereon, this is definitely in the novel, too). People aren't defined by what they actively do for others, but by their wealth and connections, the alleged proofs of their inborn, immutable greatness or lowness. Pretty standard feudalistic understandings, thus far, if a little more focused on the wealth than on the duties (no noblesse oblige for Oda). Where it well and truly careens into It's All About Me is that Oda's definitions stop at wealth and connections. The wealthy aren't a community of the upper class; it's all about coaxing this favor or that favor out of someone who can accomplish it. In other words, Oda's view of society, high and low alike, is completely atomistic. Empathy and sympathy are just alien for Kiriyama; he doesn't judge them, though. To Oda, they're nothing but feints to garner favor. He thinks to exist is to regard life as All About You, that other and other must always be scheming against each other. There's no way to transcend that "zenith", so why pretend there's such a thing as worth beyond tool-hood? They're perfect synonyms!
• Minor Injury Overreaction: "Oh! You broke my finger!" (No more violin for you) In the novel, it's a little more understandable; Hiroki shot his ring finger off.
• Nietzsche Wannabe
• Off with His Head: In the movie.
• Rich Asshole
• Smug Snake
• The Social Darwinist: Very much so.
• The Sociopath
• Technician Versus Performer: The reason why Shuya was always more popular than Toshinori as a musician.
• Too Dumb to Live: Toshinori is not only the most odious student, but among the stupidest. In the film: he shouts out that the reason he survived being shot was because of his Bulletproof Vest. Cue Kazuo Kiriyama jumping at him with sword in hand. In the manga: he has a butcher's knife, and his vest keeps him alive after getting shot. So he decides to fake a death rattle, so Kazuo will come near him and check if he's really dead, enabling Toshinori to stab him. Kazuo checks if he's dead by firing a volley of bullets into Toshinori's unprotected balls. In the novel: No death rattle, but he doesn't realize why Kazuo is coming up to him. Kazuo is just coming up to make absolutely sure Oda's dead via headshot.
• Unbuilt Trope: Of the book's semi-sociopathic Misaimed Fandom, who wish to take part in the BR Program themselves. You really think you're exempt from suffering a brutal death just like the ones you wish to inflict? 'Cause you only have a 1 in 42 chance of survival.

Kayoko Kotohiki (Girl #8)

"Ta-dah! The one and only ki master, Kayoko Kotohiki!"

A playful, dreamy and energetic girl who is Hiroki Sugimura's love interest (although she doesn't find out until [[very late). She is a waitress at a bar, and participates in unusual activities like tea ceremonies and flower-arranging.

• Alliterative Name
• Betty and Veronica: The "Betty" to Takako Chigusa's "Veronica".
• Cloudcuckoolander: Manga version. Talking about Dragonball Z in the middle of murder game...
• Cute Kitten
• Genki Girl: In the manga.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: How she and Hiroki Sugimura would have ended up had they both survived. In the manga, they get to at least team up briefly.
• I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: In the manga.

Kayoko: "I am just a little troll compared to Takako!"

• Irony: She runs into a wounded Hiroki toward the end, and since he had been fighting Kiriyama, she assumes he's playing and shoots him. He wasn't. He'd been searching for her to confess his love and take her with him to meet up with Shuya's group so they could escape.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Her personality.
• Odd Couple: Her and Hiroki.
• Puppy Dog Eyes
• Must Make Amends: And fails.
• Together in Death: With Hiroki. In the novel, she even vows to die with him as penance for accidentally killing him. Mitsuko sees to that.

Kazushi Niida (Boy #16)

"I decided this is a game. So I'm not going to pull any punches."

A football player and Jerk Jock extraordinaire. He is mostly known for his attack on Takako Chigusa, which didn't end well.

• Eye Scream: One of the several things that happen to him.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: To Takako Chigusa.
• Jerk Jock
• Red Right Hand: He is described as a handsome boy whose only visible flaw is his crooked teeth.
• Stalker with a Crush: He spread rumors in school that he and Chigusa were dating.
• Toothy Issue
• You Don't Want to Die a Virgin, Do You?: He even says the actual phrase.

Mayumi Tendo (Girl #14)

A girl who wore her hair in a lobster braid. She is the first death in the Program proper.

• Compensated Dating: The book says she did this, while keeping a prim and proper facade.
• Mauve Shirt
• OC Stand-In
• Spell My Name With An Extra U: "Tendou" in the original Japanese.

Fumiyo Fujiyoshi (Girl #18)

"Psst...Yukie..."

A member of of Yukie Utsumi's clique, not much is really known about her other than she was a caring nurse's aid and was very talkative. In the manga, Yutaka Seto had a crush on her, and after her death, he described her as being pretty, no matter what she was doing.

• Alliterative Name
• Ascended Extra: In the novel, she is mentioned only a few times after her death. In the manga, Yutaka has a crush on her, and we get to see a bit more of her through flashbacks.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Kamon/Sakamochi throws a knife into her head for whispering in class. And to illustrate to Shinji Mimura that he doesn't give two shits about the lives of the "players".
• OC Stand-In
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Yutaka views her this way in the manga.
• We Hardly Knew Ye

Others

Kinpatsu Sakamochi/Yonemi Kamon/Kitano

"The reason why you're all here today ... is to kill each other."

The Big Bad himself. He is the administrator of the Battle Royale Program, who instructs the students in what to do and oversees the death match from beginning to end. This would normally be an unpleasant task, but he relishes it and the total power over life and death it gives him. Since he is an employee of the totalitarian government, it's a death sentence for the "players" to threaten him or even look at him the wrong way. In The Movie, where Takeshi Kitano plays him, his character is more humanized and has a personal grudge against the students, but has a soft spot for Noriko. He has a daughter called Shiori.

• Affectionate Parody: "Kinpatsu Sakamochi" is a pun on the name of the heroic teacher in Kinpachi Sensei.
• Anti-Villain: The movie version of the Director, who is somewhat more humanized and has a legitimate grudge against the students (minus Noriko) and a Morality Pet in his daughter Shiori.
• Big Bad
• Complete Monster: Sakamochi/Kamon.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Several times. In the manga and novel, he deserves it. In the movie, not so much.
• Evil Teacher: In all three versions, he is a former high school teacher. In the film, he used to teach this same class and hates them.
• Fat Bastard: In the manga.
• The GM Is a Cheating Bastard: Kitano goes out of his way to ensure Noriko's survival.
• Jabba Table Manners
• Orcus on His Throne: He never ventures outside his headquarters once, and spends his time smoking, eating junk food, and making cruel announcements over the PA system. This is for a very good reason, since there are armed teenagers out there who hate his guts.
  • In the film, he briefly goes onto the island to save Noriko from Mitsuko, but he immediately returns to base and this is never brought up again.
  • This is also the reason why no student is given a gun more powerful than an Uzi: so they'll always have less firepower than Kamon's soldiers.
• Pet the Dog: In the film only. His bizarre painting of Noriko is somewhere between this and Nightmare Fuel.
• Psycho Supporter: Sakamochi, of the Republic. It really says something when he's perfectly willing to let his own daughter become Program fodder if her class is ever chosen, because it'll help to keep the bakufu lasting forever.
• Takeshi Kitano: Portrayed by the man himself.

Ryoko Anno

In the novel and manga, the young caretaker of the orphanage and the closest to a mother Shuya and Yoshitoki have.

• Mama Bear: In the manga, she is this to Shuya (after his real mother's death) and Yoshitoki.
• Promoted to Love Interest: She's only a minor background character in the book and not even mentioned in the film, but the manga (at least the English version) made her this to Yoshitoki. Yes, his surrogate mom and love interest.
  • This was made up in the English adaptation.
• Parental Substitute
• Tender Tears

Masao "Dragonfly" Hayashida

The teacher of Year 3 Class B. A very kind and moral person who taught his students not to judge others by their reputations. He is killed when he objects to his class' participation in the Program.

• Cool Teacher
• The Mentor
• We Hardly Knew Ye