Battle Royale (Remastered)
Page 59
poems on any theme they wished, and then the teacher read the best ones aloud.
At that time, Shuya had already written several of his own songs. He also had a number of lyric fragments he couldn't quite make into songs yet and managed to put a few of them together for the assignment. He was confident. And when his was read first, he raised up his hands with a cheer and waved at the rest of the class, but when Ms. Okazaki announced her favorite poem, it was Noriko's.
If I could have my way, I would fashion a tale
I would fashion a tale about everything surrounding me
The cherry blossoms, the crybaby dog next door, the wind chime I bought before, the sea from that one day, the man I spoke with at the fish market,
If I could, I would fashion a tale about it all
Yes, that's what I think
And if everyone would protect that tale The world would be always at peace.
It was that sort of poem.
Okay, well, that about does it. I still think that the author doesn't matter a damn when it comes to the story, but still, I'm glad I got to talk to you all. I feel blessed to have my story undergo the process of translation and be read by people of another tongue. Completely blessed. Thanks again to VIZ and to Mr. Oniki. And to you readers, however much you enjoyed this book, I give my utmost appreciation. Thank you.
I just have one more piece of business. Whatever is written in Wikipedia, or whatever people in the industry might think, or even whatever gets scanned in by Google (well, that might be unrelated), I will return. I wonder if I will produce something worth translating. I don't know, but I have to aim for that level of quality or there's no point. The truth is, I didn't include much rhyming or wordplay in the original manuscript of Battle Royale. Even while writing it I was working under the fantasy that it would be translated someday. Yes, I had been waiting! Therefore, I will leave you with the line said by Lupin III at the end of each episode for the past thirty years.
"See ya!"
March 2009
Koushun Takami
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Koushun Takami was born in 1969 in Amagasaki near Osaka and grew up in Kagawa Prefecture of Shikoku (the fourth largest island in Japan), where he currently resides. After graduating from Osaka University with a degree in literature, he worked for a newspaper company, Shikoku Shinbun, for five years, reporting on politics, police reports, and economics. Also, he attended Nihon University's liberal arts correspondence-course program and acquired an English teaching certificate for junior high school and high school.
Battle Royale, completed after Takami left the newspaper company, was his debut work and his only novel published so far. With its publication in Japan in 1999, it received widespread support and became a best seller. Battle Royale was serialized as a comic, made into a feature film in 2000, and has been translated into more than ten languages. Since its initial release, Battle Royale continues to be a cult favorite in Japan and internationally.
In 2012, Battle Royale: Angels' Border, a spin-off manga scripted by Koushun Takami, was released.