Quotes From "Battle Royale" By Koushun Takami

Shinji slowly fell forward onto his face. Debris bounced up on impact. It took less than thirty seconds for the rest of his body to die. The memento of his beloved uncle--the earring worn by the woman he loved--was now stained with the blood running down Shinji's left ear, reflecting the glow from the red flames of the farm building. And so the boy known as the Third Man, Shinji Mimura, was dead. Koushun Takami

That was it. Shogo stopped breathing. The dim yellow light falling from the ceiling of the pilothouse shone on his pale face. He seemed at ease." Shogo! " Shuya yelled. He still had more to say. "You'll see Keiko! You'll be happy with her! You're--"It was too late. Shogo couldn't hear anything anymore. But his face just looked so damned peaceful." Damn it." Shuya's lips trembled along with his words. "Damn it." Holding Shogo's hands, Noriko was crying. Shuya also put his hand on Shogo's thick hand. A thought occured to him. He searched through Shogo's pockets and found the red bird call. He pressed it into Shogo's right hand and closed his hands over it so he could hold it. Shuya then finally burst into tears. Koushun Takami

Furthermore--though it was quite irrelevant now--he had no idea his killer, Kazuo Kiriyama, had, in his mansion that was much larger than Toshinori's home in Shiroiwa-cho, mastered the violin at a level far superior to Toshinori's a long time ago--and then tossed his violin into the trash. Koushun Takami

You all have your own distinct personal backgrounds. Of course some of you come from rich families, some from poor families. But circumstances beyond your control like that shouldn’t determine who you are. You must all realize what you’re worth on your own. Koushun Takami

I just didn't want to be a loser anymore...- Mitsuko Souma Koushun Takami

We're supposed to strive for harmony, and that's what the art of tea is supposed to accomplish... but harmony is very, very difficult to achieve in this country. Tea ceremony is powerless. But it's also not such a bad thing either. You should enjoy it while you can. Koushun Takami

Listen, everyone, you all have your own circumstances. Some of you come from rich families, and some poor. But your value isn't determined by such things--by things beyond your control. Each one of you must discover your own worth through your own efforts. So... don't make the mistake of thinking you alone are special. Koushun Takami

By then she was dead. In fact, she may have been dead a while ago. Physically, several seconds ago, mentally, ages ago. Koushun Takami

I didn't realize it until now, but I don't really know anything about them, or what kind of people they are, really. You can't see inside a person's heart. Koushun Takami

Nice jewelry and a boys corpse. Oh you're so pretty. Koushun Takami

We're still on the run. That's for sure. Right on. This time we're on. And we won't stop till we win. Koushun Takami