October 15, 2025 • 35 mins
For our next request during Patreon Month, we pull apart Battle Royale’s cult status with fresh eyes—what still works, what hasn’t aged well, and why its influence keeps echoing through movies and games. We weigh shock against substance, highlight standout characters, and debate whether minimal worldbuilding helps or hurts its punch.
• Why Battle Royale’s premise still provokes
• Influence on Hunger Games, Squid Game, and battle royale games
• Shock value versus satire and social critique
• Standout characters, including Mitsuko and Kawada
• Worldbuilding gaps in the film vs the book and manga
• Violence, tone whiplash, and budget constraints
• Emotional stakes and why attachment is hard
Letterbox'd Synopsis: In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary “Battle Royale” act.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:12):
This is the Wait For It Podcast.
SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Wait For It
Podcast.
I'm your co-host, Phil Barrera,aka Phil the Filipino.
SPEAKER_02 (00:21):
And I'm your other co-host, Mr.
Eric Almighty.
And for international feature,this edition is going to feature
a film that's internationallyknown.
Keep all this in.
Don't don't restart.
Don't restart.
(00:42):
You gotta give me a minute, man.
I was cooking.
I was cooking.
I was cooking.
International feature.
SPEAKER_01 (00:49):
It's gonna feature.
SPEAKER_02 (00:50):
A film promoted gradually.
As a movie that you just have tosee at least once in your life.
And that's exactly why westarted this series, Phil.
We're here to talk about BattleRoyale.
And this intro is as chaotic asthis film.
SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
Yeah.
Jesus Christ, man.
Eric and I are like manic rightnow because we spent a very
interesting night at Daily'sPlace last night.
Not great returns, I guess I'llsay that.
Shout out to there being analternative to the WWE.
But uh I think it's time, TonyKhan, to pull the plug on
(01:34):
Daily's Place.
And maybe start doing thosesomewhere else.
But anyway, we're not here totalk about our night at AEW.
We're here to talk about 2000'sBattle Royale.
Like you said, Eric, directed byKinji Fukusaku.
And like you said, movie we'vehad circled for a very, very
long time.
Uh, this one, second episode ofPatreon Month.
And shout out to our buddyCorey.
(01:55):
Uh, this is his suggestion forPatreon Month.
And yeah, um, a lot to discusshere.
This movie is so influential,and as far as what it has done
for pop culture in general,still relevant to this very day.
So, plenty to discuss here thisevening.
(02:15):
But yeah, Eric, let's jump intoit.
Uh, of course, for any of youreturning or new listeners,
stick around to the end of theepisode.
We'll let you know you can findeverything wait for it, podcast
related.
But Battle Royale 2000, uh, thetagline in Letterboxd, could you
kill your best friend?
In the future, the Japanesegovernment captures a class of
ninth grade students and forcesthem to kill each other under
(02:38):
the Revolutionary Battle RoyaleAct.
So, uh, Eric, we will uh go toour three bullet point system
here.
I will go first here uh and umtalk about just how I mean the
the most important thing as faras why we watched this film is
like I just said how influentialit was.
(02:59):
The Hunger Games is one of myfavorite series.
I've read all the books, I'veseen all the films.
Uh, very excited for the nextfilm that is coming out.
And one of the main things youheard back when the first Hunger
Games movie came out, right?
Was let's see, when was that?
Um, that was back in 2012, god.
13 years ago.
(03:20):
So everyone that was veryfamiliar with film, and of
course, but you know, the bookversion of this and the manga
was like, well, this is just aripoff of Battle Royale.
I'm I'm just gonna be honestwith you guys, there's no
original ideas left.
Nobody lives an original life.
We're all living in asimulation, we all have shared
experiences.
So everything is basically aparody, or uh not necessarily a
(03:40):
ripoff, but like inspired bysomething else.
And of course, Battle Royale isessentially that film, and I'm
sure Battle Royale tookliberties and uh inspiration
from something else.
But without this, Eric, I thinkwe we would definitely be devoid
of one of at least they'recertainly one of my favorite
genres, and that goes all theway into video games when we
talk about Fortnite, we talkabout player unknowns
(04:01):
battlegrounds and war zone andall that stuff.
There is an appeal to thisspecific type of storytelling
and this type of one-on-onecombat or an elimination last
man standing type of thing.
And I'm glad that we finally gotto see, at least pop
culture-wise, kind of where allof this started.
SPEAKER_02 (04:20):
For that reason, I am happy that we definitely saw
this.
It's one that we've circled forquite a long time.
I'm pretty sure friend of theshow, Jordan, has also mentioned
this multiple times to us.
So it's not like in our innercircle we haven't heard of this
movie, and in film circles, wedefinitely have heard a lot
about this film.
I would say, you know, this isdefinitely so Phil, is your
(04:45):
first takeaway?
You haven't done your firsttakeaway yet, right?
You're just kind of f fieldingthe thoughts of the fact that
this is a genre that BattleRoyale might have started, but
uh didn't exactly invent thewheel to.
So that's fair.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
Setting like a setting like an overall tone for
the film and like again why it'sit's here, because it comes up
in film circles, but it's itdoesn't feel like it's really in
in terms of its place in popculture, it's not really talked
about a ton.
And even on YouTube, like whenyou go look for some videos,
most of the videos that I foundwere relatively old, you know,
from the f from a few years agowhen I tried to get kind of you
(05:22):
know what other people weresaying about this film, and it
is very highly regarded, andwe'll talk about that when it
comes to scores in just amoment.
So I I guess what I'll start offwith, Eric, is it's not an easy
movie to watch.
The violence is pretty brutal,and not everybody thinks that
it's necessarily justified.
And we are talking about kids,right?
Now, I'm sure in the two in 2000this was even more shocking,
(05:47):
especially when it came toWestern audiences.
It it was very successful overin the East, and it certainly
gained a very, very big cultfollowing.
But the first thing is like thismovie is definitely not gonna be
for everybody, even in 2025, 25years later, where we're kind of
desensitized to violence, whichis you know a conversation for a
whole nother time.
But I will say because it as faras violence-wise, it is more
(06:11):
violent than like a HungerGames.
There is a lot that goes thatgoes on in there, but it you
know, there's a lot of cutawaysto that.
But they they focus in on thekilling here in Battle Royale,
and that's obviously veryintentional and makes it not for
everybody, and not a viewingthat I would suggest for
everybody either.
SPEAKER_02 (06:30):
Yeah, that I honestly parallels a lot of what
I was thinking about the movie,is the fact that this isn't for
everybody.
In fact, if you're not a fan ofQuentin Tarantino, well, this is
like his favorite movie in thepast.
SPEAKER_01 (06:40):
Like two deck of all time, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:42):
So, yeah, he loves this movie that he's been on
record on saying that, and Icould see why he would like that
movie.
Like based off of his films, Ithink the way he described it
was it's a movie that he wishedhe made.
And when you watch this, youkind of you kind of get that,
you kind of get the vibes,especially for the type of
(07:03):
violence, which we're gonna kindof talk about, how some of that
is portrayed here, and some ofmy thoughts on that.
But what I'll say, especially ona positive note, to kind of
parallel with this, I reallyliked what this film brought.
And I think if you like thattype of violence, this movie uh
isn't just balls to the wallsviolence, like there's a lot of
(07:25):
it, but I think this movieblends in, it tries to do some
character work, it tries to slowthings down before it picks it
back up.
I think it does a pretty decentjob.
If it's not always successful,at the very least, I think there
is some semblance of uhcharacter development, there is
some semblance of humanitythat's being portrayed and
(07:47):
discussed.
There's also obviously all ofthe allegories and all of the
things that have to do with highschool and all of these kids of
that age and things they have todeal with at that age.
There's a lot going underneaththe surface other than the
violence.
And I think that someone canpick this up and really take
something from the film otherthan just pure blood, guts, and
(08:11):
gore.
Because that's not really what Ithink this film set out to do
and is all about.
SPEAKER_01 (08:16):
Yeah, there there are a lot of layers here to this
film, which again may be anotherreason that people aren't going
to enjoy it.
Uh, one, you know, we did watchthis in sub, which is
definitely, I think, the waythat I would recommend checking
it out.
I didn't even entertain, and Idon't think you did either, I
Eric.
We didn't entertain evenwatching the dub, which does
(08:36):
exist.
I know I watched the um I thinkthe director's cut, which was on
Paramount, and I had like amillion ads, but I got my I got
through it.
SPEAKER_02 (08:44):
So yeah, we go through Fandango.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
Okay, yeah, that's what I watched as well.
So, I mean it was free.
So shout out to Fan Fandango.
So just a whole bunch of ads.
But yeah, so I I think thatwould be certainly a it could be
a positive and a negativebecause there are so there's so
much layer, there's so manylayers, so much subtext going on
when it comes to this film.
And to get to my secondtakeaway, this is both uh I
(09:07):
think both of a positive and anegative because from what I
understand um from some Redditposts that I found as well, is
they go much more in depth withthe world building here.
Now, in this, I I do think it'sa positive and a negative.
I think it's it's somethinggood, and it's also a detriment
to the film that it kind of justthrows you in.
You're kind of experiencing itas if you were one of the kids
(09:27):
in the class, and it's all justkind of thrown at you.
From my understanding, from whatI read here on a Reddit post
that I found, in the book, thekids are very much aware that
this is a thing.
And in the movie, it doesn'treally seem that way.
They're all pretty surprised.
And also in the book, and Ithink even the manga, they like
it's a whole spectacle, like theHunger Games is, it's televised
(09:48):
and everything like that.
And in the book, they actuallylike cut away to parents'
reactions to when their kids areeliminated in this in this
arena.
And I think that would be firstoff, it would be horrifying, but
uh it would, I think, assist inthe world building quite a bit.
And so again, I I like thatyou're just thrown into it in in
in terms of what the hell isgoing on.
And if you wanted to this blindin the 2000s, I'm sure it would
(10:12):
be like a crazy experience.
But also at the same time, it'slike maybe some of that extra
stuff happening outside of theisland would have uh well, it
definitely would have improvedthe experience, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_02 (10:25):
Yeah, and and again, that's gonna be echoing some of
my similar thoughts when itcomes to my second takeaway.
I agree with you.
I think that's an issue with thegenre itself.
Like the genre itself reallyrequires there to be a lot of
emotional punches to bedelivered.
So I watched The Long Walk intheaters this year in 2025, and
(10:47):
that movie did a pretty decentjob.
But like most of these movieswhere only one person survives,
like when you have that setupand you know that that's gonna
be the case, and and more thanlikely it's gonna end up just
being one, if not one or twoindividuals, if they throw a
curveball, then I don't know,like it just kind of takes some
(11:10):
of the intensity away, andyou're supposed to replace that
unsuredness with like emotionalbeats.
And I think for me, that's whatthis movie is somewhat lacking.
There are a ton of characters,there are some character traits
and developments, but I neverreally felt attached to a
singular character in any way,shape, or form.
(11:31):
If anything, the only characterI got attached to because of the
performance was the the teacher,the teacher who was who was
leading all this.
So, I mean, again, I didn'tconnect with him in any way
other than he was entertainingand I liked his performance, but
yeah, I don't know.
I didn't I just didn't feel aconnection to any particular
character.
I'm assuming you did, which iswhere we probably differ on
(11:54):
this.
SPEAKER_01 (11:55):
Yeah, there's definitely one character that
stood out over the rest of them.
But just to kind of like uh liketouch on what you were saying,
yeah, it's um there is so muchgoing on, and that's very
intentional, like the chaoticnature of the film, like really
driving home the the sense thatlike shit can just turn uh out
(12:19):
of nowhere.
Like the best uh one the examplethat sticks out for me, and
actually was one of my favoritescenes in the movie, is when the
girl poisons the food and thenthey just all immediately just
goes to shit.
And I feel like that would bethat was a really realistic
response to how things wouldjust go absolutely haywire in
that sort of situation.
(12:40):
And that was I think that's thefilm, that's the part of the
film that will certainly stickout the most.
I also did thought I think it'sso crazy that there are there
are moments of this film wherelike I did laugh, like when the
guy cuts off the guy's head andthrows his head through the
window and then the grill is inhis mouth.
I'm like, Alright, that's that'skind of funny.
I know it's it's horrifying, butit's it's kind of funny.
(13:03):
So yeah, I just think like thischaotic nature is just not gonna
be for everybody.
Um, and and I'm I'm veryinterested to see like what
Corey has to say, because he'llhave a much more artistic way of
explaining this film to us uhthan we are doing right now.
But yeah, I there was onecharacter that I really really
connected with, and I believe,and Eric, you'll probably know
(13:23):
which one, it's the thecharacter of uh Mitsiko, and
that is the one that was likejust killing it throughout the
entire movie.
She was definitely uh a force tobe reckoned with for sure.
She was kind of one step aheadof everybody as well, and I
really just like kind of how shecarried herself throughout the
(13:43):
film.
The three like main charactersthat we follow, whose whose
names I don't have.
I know one of them is Nanahara.
He is the boy, uh, one of thefinal three boys there.
And I can't remember the name ofthe guy that they kind of like
team up with.
Do you have that, Eric?
I I wish they would just like Ioh there's like a list of
(14:06):
characters.
Kawada?
Oh yeah, Shogo Ka Kawada.
Kawada, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:11):
I might I probably mispronounced that.
There's a lot of names.
Again, this is the thing withlike, especially I think an
international film with all ofthese character names, that was
also a struggle on a firstwatch.
I will say that.
SPEAKER_01 (14:23):
Sure.
Yeah, and I do like the worldbuilding they do with him.
Like you get a night, like hewas in the game before, and
that's very interesting, but youget a very like brief snapshot
of that.
So, you know, I'm sure this isalso a uh, you know, subject to
the time that it was made.
The budget was only 4.5 millionuh at the time, so uh, you know,
(14:44):
obviously a very small budgetfor for this film.
So I think you you gotta give alot of respect for what they
pulled off here.
You definitely can see likewhere the money went for sure
when it came to some of thedeaths uh that was um that were
very, very like expressive, andthat was certainly the point.
But yeah, I definitely uh wantto point out that character as
far as Mitsuko and and also theone we just uh the one we just
(15:08):
mentioned whose name I just hadin front of me.
Uh yeah, Kawada.
But but again, that's abackstory that's interesting,
but you don't get enough of it.
And um, again, because there'sjust so many other characters,
so much going on, you can onlydo so much in a two-hour film.
So yeah, I did enjoy thatcharacter.
SPEAKER_02 (15:25):
Yeah, and this movie did do a lot with like
flashbacks and stuff.
I I don't know that it wasparticularly effective for me.
It took me out more than it gaveme clarity or like more depth to
the characters personally, so Idon't know that that really
helped, but yeah, I mean, likeagain, it's a movie, Phil, that
I am curious to hear otherperspectives on it.
(15:46):
Because I do think for when itcame out and the budget you
mentioned, and what the film wasset out to try to do, I can
understand why it's kind of likea cult classic.
Like, and I can also understandwhy some people would see it as
like a revolutionary film justin film circles.
It just I don't know.
Watching it for the first timein 2025, I just don't think I
(16:08):
felt that same impact.
But we'll see.
This movie is coming out aroundthe time of this episode drops,
I think right before Phil comesout for its 25th anniversary in
theaters.
So, I mean, again, there'sobviously some type of appeal to
this for many people, but Ithink it is still very much in
that cult classic status.
(16:28):
And somebody with fresh eyes in2025, uh, I don't know if it
hits the same.
SPEAKER_01 (16:33):
Yeah, because I I'll I'll say this and just out of
just respectfully say thisbecause I understand how
important this movie is, becausewithout it, like some of the
world building in the HungerGames is my favorite part.
Like getting to know thosecharacters, getting to know
what's going on in the otherdistricts and the political
intrigue.
They are alluding to that here.
We know that this has happened,something has led to this
(16:54):
moment, and we just focus on thekilling on the island, which
works.
I think does work, but it justleaves like, man, I would like
to know more.
And that's probably a goodthing.
Um, there is a sequel to thisthat I don't think we'll ever
watch because it's not very wellregarded.
So uh we'll just have Corey tellus whether or not that's worth
checking out.
But yeah, I just think thatsometimes you could argue that
(17:16):
like the movie's message,especially 25 years later, could
get lost under the shock value.
Um, especially if like somebodyis not seeking out this movie.
No one's gonna casually watchBattle Royale in 2025.
So I'm not too worried aboutthat in terms of like feedback.
So, like, you know, we're uh,you know, we're very intentional
about wanting to watch thismovie.
No one's gonna come across thison first off, it's really hard
(17:36):
to find, uh, because uh as faras we had to, like I said, we
had to watch it on Fandango.
So uh we couldn't even, and it'spretty hard to find a physical
copy as well.
So it's not like anybody isgonna come across this that
doesn't want to.
Um, so some of those points asfar as like it not being for
everybody don't really applybecause it's not no one's gonna
see that anyway.
No one's gonna stumble into theAMC on a Sunday in November and
(17:58):
be like, what's Battle Royale?
And think that it's like aFortnite movie.
I hope that doesn't happen.
Let's hope not.
Again, I would assume Or maybe Ihope it doesn't.
Maybe.
Well, hopefully where's K-popdemon hunters?
SPEAKER_02 (18:09):
Listen, this movie did have a uh rating in Japan
where no one under the age of 16could watch it.
Like, so you know what I mean?
Like, maybe I don't know if thatif that like similar thing is
happening these days, but Imean, I don't know.
I feel like again, for its time,I would understand that.
But like for now, I don't wantto call it like it's just a
(18:31):
piece of cake to watch this, butit'll tie into my third point
about the violence.
That you know, I this isn't likethe most gruesome thing you've
ever seen.
I think the way this movie ishyped up to a lot of people, and
maybe for its time it was.
But this isn't the most like uhgory, gruesome, horrific movie
you've ever seen in your life.
(18:52):
And I think for many years itkind of had the claim of that a
little bit.
I don't know, Phil.
That's just been my perspectivewhen people talk about this
movie, typically about theviolence, and I just didn't feel
that same impact compared to thehype leading up to it.
SPEAKER_01 (19:10):
I think just it's just because it's kids, and
that's always going to bedifficult, but like when you
compare it, and this is sounfair, but like I'm I'm just
looking at our list here andlooking at other brutal films
we've watched, like I caredabout the kids to an extent, but
like it wasn't as like a we'vewatched some brutal movies, like
we've watched a train toBoussan, you know, we've watched
(19:32):
films, even watching a show likeBlue Eyes Samurai.
We just watched Grave of theFireflies a couple months ago.
Uh so when you're talking aboutmovies that hit you emotionally,
like they're just there are somany more that will come to mind
before this.
I think really what it comesdown to is like these kids are
killing each other, and it's notlike Hunger Games where they're
preparing for like a week beforethe games.
(19:54):
You know, there's no period oftime where they're training and
learning, and there's a bigspectacle of who's getting take
uh chosen.
You just, you know, wake up inthis island and all of a sudden
you're you're thrown into it,which I think again is an
incredibly interesting conceptin and of itself when you talk
about it, when you talk aboutdoing the movie that way and
doing a story that way.
I I'll tell you, I'll be honestwith you, I don't really I don't
(20:16):
think I'll ever read the book,but the manga looks interesting.
I would have I would like tohave it like in my collection
just to have and maybe skimthrough just to again get more
of that world building.
But yeah, it just like it's Ithink it's pretty good.
And but it was just like, man, Ireally I w I wanted more, and
that's probably a that'sprobably a good thing.
SPEAKER_02 (20:34):
So yeah, yeah, and again, considering when the
movie came out, I think that'stotally fair.
Phil, I think uh we're creepingup on our final takeaway.
Uh do you have one ready as faras your final takeaway for this?
Otherwise, I'll jump into mine.
Did we not do three?
SPEAKER_01 (20:50):
I thought I gave three.
Did you give a third?
We've just been chatting.
Yeah, I thought I thought thatwas your third, and that was I
gave my third.
Oh.
SPEAKER_02 (20:58):
Well, listen, maybe we did.
Uh, I'm gonna give a fourthhere, so I want to just talk
about numbers, counting's notour thing.
Yeah, you know what?
I want to talk about uh what Ialluded to with the violence in
this movie.
Was it not a little goofy?
A little goofy, right?
SPEAKER_01 (21:12):
Yeah, uh yeah.
And I think that again, that'sbudget restriction stuff for
sure.
And also, I don't think they'regonna fully blow off a kid's
head.
SPEAKER_02 (21:18):
Well, I don't know.
They they they afforded quite abit of bullets.
Oh quite a bit of bullets.
SPEAKER_01 (21:23):
That is true.
There were a lot of shit.
Unlimited ammo.
He had a perk, he had theillimited ammo perk.
SPEAKER_02 (21:29):
Yeah, uh, I don't know.
Again, that might be more of anitpicky thing.
I it's definitely not helping,like, you know, us not liking a
film like Hero because of someof the uh the fighting.
And I think in theseinternational films it's
different, right?
It's way different, but I bringit up because one of the things
we didn't love, which we thoughtwe would, was gonna be some of
(21:51):
like the combat in that.
And in this, like the violencewas so over the top, and
international films tend to dothat sometimes, and I'm just
worried sometimes when we gointo movies, older films too,
that it's a lot of that, andthat's kind of what made
international films stand outway back in the day.
But like, it doesn't feel likethat's the go-to move anymore,
(22:12):
where they need to have allthese over-the-top type of
things, whether it is a kung fuaction sequence or you know, a
guy with a machine gun blowingup a bunch of bodies, and
they're still alive.
They're still alive.
I saw a thousand bullets enterthat person's body.
That person is still moving,it's still moving, don't get it.
(22:34):
But I also just think it'sbecause of the time, it's
because of the internationalfilms and what they were kind of
doing at that time that I'm notthe biggest fan of.
And I'm just starting to realizefor me anyway, that that is
definitely a deterrent.
And I'm starting to recognizethat I think that's just
something I don't enjoy in thesemovies, and I've got to just
start to own that it willunfortunately affect my score.
SPEAKER_01 (22:56):
Sure.
We have we definitely have atrend when it comes to some of
these films that we're watching.
We're we're very much high onthe drama and the storytelling,
and there is that here.
It's just we've seen so manygood international films that
have done it way better.
And also portrayed violent, andalso portrayed violence uh in a
(23:17):
much different way.
Well, you like the raid way morethan I did, but that's true.
I think the score is gonna endup being pretty similar.
But when we talk about like someof the violent films that we
watch, obviously we were talkingabout Train to Busan.
There is, you know, Memories ofMurder isn't super violent,
other than the guy that dropkicks everybody.
But uh, you know, there is a lotof violence in there.
Uh, you know, Children of Men,obviously.
(23:39):
That's you know, there's stuffgoing on 28 days later.
Like some of these films thatare also ultraviolent, you know,
and again, and again, Grave ofthe Fireflies, which is the most
devastating film I've ever seenin my entire life.
So uh there are uh now we'regetting to the point in this
series, as well as in Late tothe Party, where we're comparing
them to like some of the otherbests of all time, and that's
(24:01):
where it's gonna get reallyinteresting when it comes to
these conversations.
But yeah, you know, the violencedefinitely as far as the
overkill when uh, you know,characters are still moving
around.
Um, even in that scene I wasjust talking about where they're
all in the kitchen, you know,that goes on a little bit too
long.
But once again, you can 100% sayhere or see why Tarantino would
be all over this thing.
(24:22):
I'm surprised he hasn't justmade it a battle royale of his
own.
And I'm pretty sure the girlthat plays Mitsuko is in Kill
Bill, isn't she?
I mean, that would track.
Yeah, I know one of them is.
I'm pretty sure it is Mitsuko,but I I'll I'll have to double
check.
SPEAKER_02 (24:38):
Yeah, I mean that would track.
But yeah, let's let's go aheadand talk about the scores,
reception of this film.
Let's talk about some of thosethings as we get into our scores
and just kind of overallcomments for a movie fill again
that I am glad that we watched,even though I think we both
expected more from it.
I think both of us still walkedaway pretty positively receiving
(25:00):
the film, maybe one more thanthe other, though.
SPEAKER_01 (25:02):
Yeah, really quick.
Uh, what would you uh whichweapon would you want if you
were thrown into this?
Which one would you be like, ohthank god I got this, or holy
shit, I'm screwed up.
SPEAKER_02 (25:12):
Oh, that's submachine gun that that
psychopath was willing to do.
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
That thing, no, no He had more guns than that, too,
but he just kept going for it.
SPEAKER_02 (25:20):
He just kept going for it.
SPEAKER_01 (25:21):
It had unlimited ammo.
SPEAKER_02 (25:22):
I respect him.
I respect him.
Yeah, that would have been myweapon of choice.
SPEAKER_01 (25:27):
No, you definitely would have gotten the pot lid,
though, is what would havehappened.
SPEAKER_02 (25:30):
That's exactly what would have happened.
Yeah, no.
SPEAKER_01 (25:32):
I would have gotten maybe the tracker and like
dropped it in water or somethinglike that.
Like I would have stumbled andit would have broken or
something like that.
That would have been likereally, really helpful.
I do wonder what the plan wasfor the guys that had figured
out how to disable the trackers.
I wasn't 100% sure what theirplan was.
Uh and unfortunately, won't youknow we didn't get to find out,
(25:53):
but yeah.
It was uh weird.
You know, it is um that was oneof the more heartbreaking
things, like seeing thatobviously most of them did not
want to fight, and and a lot ofthem had even banded together.
But uh, yeah, such is the battlethe game of Battle Royale.
But let's get to the scoreshere, Eric.
Like you said, uh, over onRotten Tomatoes, 90% tomato
(26:14):
meter score, certified fresh,88% popcorn meter score, 70 uh
I'm sorry, seven seven pointfive out of ten rating over on
IMDB, and then for uh Letterboxd3.9.
So very, very good scores acrossthe board for Battle Royale,
like we said, a very, very bigcult following at this point.
(26:35):
Uh, I gave it a 3.5.
I did lower it.
Um, after because after, like Isaid, initially watching it, I
felt really good about it.
I was like, man, that was I Ivery much saying you enjoyed it
is feels kind of fucked up, butI I enjoyed my time with it and
and took away a lot from thatfirst watch through.
And then the more that I thoughtabout it, the more that I
researched about it, like I diddrop it half a point to a 3.5.
(26:59):
And yeah, like I said, um, Ithink it's definitely a
must-watch for people who likethe you know this specific
genre, but also when it comes tofilm in general, if like you are
a film buff, uh, this isdefinitely one of those
must-watches to add to yourlist.
SPEAKER_02 (27:12):
Yeah, for me, I it's really tough because I did enjoy
the film overall, but man, Ithink I just walked away a lot
more disappointed.
For me, the battle royale genre,not a thing in film that I've
enjoyed as much as like a seasonone of Squid Game.
And that's probably been myfavorite version of a show or
(27:34):
like a version of Battle Royalethat's been done as a show.
However, I never wanted to jumpinto season two or three yet.
Like, I have not itched to goback into that world.
So there is a limitation onthat, and I think that's just a
me thing that I have to accept.
Where I think a lot of peoplehold this movie is above a film
like a Hunger's game, which Iwouldn't agree with, but I'm not
(27:56):
gonna go as far to as as far asto say it's as bad as a film
like The Condemned, uh starringSteve Austin Phil.
A film that I know for a Iforgot about that movie.
SPEAKER_01 (28:08):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02 (28:10):
I knew that call out would get a reaction from you.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:14):
Holy shit.
SPEAKER_02 (28:15):
Yeah, unfortunately.
Unfortunately for me, this movieis more like the condemned than
the Hunger Games, if we were tocompare.
That's why I gave it a three outof five.
It is very much teetering onpositive territory for me.
I just think this movie, for itstime, probably has a lot of
love, whole classic appeal, allof that stuff.
(28:39):
I think to show this to somebodyin 2025 now, I don't know.
There were just a couple thingsthat for me didn't feel like
they stood the test of time.
And I think for a genre that Ialready don't have a lot of
attachment for, it was a lot forthis movie to live up to the
hype that I had heard over theyears.
So that's just where we are.
(29:00):
On a second watch, maybe Iconnect with a character or two
and I bump this up to a threeand a half, like you, Phil.
But there's a good chance Iwatch this again, I get bored,
and I bump it down to a 2.5.
So a three is where we sit on afirst viewing.
SPEAKER_01 (29:13):
Forgot Nathan Jones is in this movie, too.
SPEAKER_02 (29:16):
Yeah, dude.
I I waited till the end to bringup the condemned because I knew
for a fact you'd be like, yo,let's go.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
Condemned.
What a bad movie.
You remember all the trailersfor that movie?
2007.
Yeah, just terrible.
SPEAKER_02 (29:31):
Crazy time.
SPEAKER_01 (29:32):
That was it.
That was that that run where WWEkept producing movies and they
were all shit.
SPEAKER_02 (29:36):
They were bad, yes.
He knows.
SPEAKER_01 (29:38):
She has five fans.
That means five people haveliked it.
unknown (29:42):
Letterboxd.
SPEAKER_01 (29:43):
Big Steve Austin fans, I guess.
That's crazy.
11,000 ratings, 2.6 score.
I'm gonna I'm gonna rate this atwo right now.
SPEAKER_02 (29:53):
Just off of principle.
I think I'll do the same.
SPEAKER_01 (29:57):
So that's crazy.
But yeah, Eric, let's talk aboutwhere this.
Ranks in terms of ourinternational feature list.
I currently have it ranked atnumber 23.
It is behind 28 Days Later andChildren of Men and right in
front of the first Naja andUltraman Rising, but those are
all 3.5s for me.
SPEAKER_02 (30:18):
Yeah, and you have a above the raid, which I didn't
know you had so low on yourlist, and it kind of hurts my
feelings, but that's okay.
Battle Royale for me is listedat 29 behind films like Perfect
Days and Bell, and above filmslike Blue Eyes Samurai and the
First Slam Dunk.
I forgot we watched Bell.
Yeah, no, I mean.
It's kind of crazy.
(30:38):
The Girl Who Leapt Through Timeis very close to that film for
me.
Hmm.
Weird.
SPEAKER_01 (30:45):
Weird.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, when you'retalking about like it is in
front of the raid, but from 29to 18, those are all three and a
halves.
SPEAKER_02 (30:54):
Yeah, yeah.
No, I mean it's not a bad thing,you know.
I I get that.
I get that.
SPEAKER_01 (30:58):
So like I said, you you enjoy the raid much more and
you love all the John Wickmovies.
SPEAKER_02 (31:02):
So like that is, you know, you're Yeah, that's the
that's the type of I that's thetype of action I I kind of
gravitate towards, you know.
You know, it's just uh just Andhave you also seen all the
Hunger Games movies or just likeone?
I've seen all of them, but Igotta be honest with you.
Like, if you ask me to recall alot of the stuff that happened,
I really couldn't.
I can recall scenes veryclearly, like a pop from a pop
(31:24):
culture standpoint.
But yeah, I know I've seen allthose films and probably in
theaters.
SPEAKER_01 (31:29):
But man, I just don't think you like Songbirds
and Snakes, but I do thinkyou'll like the new one.
The one that's about to comeout.
Um, but I don't think you likeSongbirds and Snakes.
SPEAKER_02 (31:38):
We'll see.
We'll see.
People die.
SPEAKER_01 (31:41):
That's true.
Uh I know we don't normally domore like this for this, but uh,
do you want to?
No.
Okay.
Answers that question.
Uh, I haven't seen the Belcoexperiment, but I've heard it's
got a bad rating, but I heardthe Belco experiment was kind of
good.
Oh, that's the one where they'reall in the office building and
they start killing each other.
(32:01):
They have to escape.
SPEAKER_02 (32:03):
Oh.
SPEAKER_01 (32:03):
Same thing.
They have to kill each there'sonly one person that can escape.
SPEAKER_02 (32:07):
Uh 2.8 letterboxed rating.
SPEAKER_01 (32:09):
Yeah, but it's very it's I think it's popular
amongst like horror fans, so youknow.
SPEAKER_02 (32:14):
Yeah, a lot of the a lot of these other films on here
I don't really know much about.
There's just some like reallyodd ones, Phil.
So, like we we may not play morelike this, but like films that
I'm gonna call out that I knowof or may have seen at some
point or another, like TheHappening, Final Destination 3,
Kick Ass, Fight Club, like TexasChainsaw Massacre.
(32:36):
That seems a little out there.
There's like films like thatthat are on here, Akira's on
here, Hostel, Final Destination.
SPEAKER_01 (32:42):
Like at some point, it feels like those are only on
here just because stylisticallythey're the same.
SPEAKER_02 (32:47):
That's what I was gonna say.
SPEAKER_01 (32:47):
It looks more like based off of filmmaking, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (32:50):
Based off of a style, or like it just starts
moving into horror at thatpoint.
So right.
SPEAKER_01 (32:55):
Yeah.
So but that's it.
That's uh what we had to sayabout 2000s Battle Royale.
What do you think?
Uh, have you watched this film?
Do you have any desire to ifyou're a fan of some of those
other films or video games?
That it is clearly uh it um thatis is uh I am the worst I
talking's hard as we get towardsthe end of this episode that has
(33:16):
been inspired by Battle Royale.
Uh, definitely let us know.
Shout out again to Corey for thesuggestion for Patreon Month.
We'll let you know how you canget involved in Patreon Month
here in just a little bit.
But if you want to follow theWait for a podcast and keep up
with everything that we gotgoing on, make sure you click
the Link Tree link in this andevery single episode.
You'll be able to follow us onall of our social media
(33:36):
accounts, uh, the most importantones being Instagram, TikTok,
our growing Discord community,and over on Twitch, where we are
streaming pretty much everysingle week.
Uh, head on over to YouTube,like, share, subscribe.
You guys know the drill overthere.
Uh, head on over to yourfavorite podcast player, give us
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That is very beneficial to thelifeblood of the show.
(33:57):
And make sure to follow Eric andI's personal pages as Eric
navigates his content creationjourney, and I am continuing to
pursue becoming a full-timevoice actor.
So we appreciate all the helpand support that we have gotten
so far.
But uh again, if you want a handin the content that we create,
as well as getting someadditional perks like getting
episodes early.
(34:18):
Eric will let you know how to doall of that before wrapping us
up.
SPEAKER_02 (34:21):
Yeah, all the free stuff that Phil mentioned is
great, but if you want to goabove and beyond and support us
additionally, you can do that onPatreon, where our current
patrons of the show, Briar, T3Kato, Vintage Macaroni, Corey
from the World's My Burrito,Nick Casbaro, the author of the
Vitalarium series, and Botterfrom the Shortbox podcast, are
(34:42):
supporting us monthly inexchange for things like behind
the scenes and early access toepisodes like this one.
We also have interviews from ourconvention experience that we
post on their first dibs to someof our higher tiers.
There's a lot of ways you cansupport us, but that is the best
way.
All of the ways that you do it,though, is much appreciated, and
(35:03):
including the ones that justtake your time, they mean the
world.
With that being said, my name isMr.
Eric Almighty.
That is my co host Phil theFilipino, and please don't
forget we release new episodesfor the podcast every Wednesday,
and all you gotta do is wait forit.
SPEAKER_00 (35:23):
This is the Wait for It Podcast.
This is the Wait For It Podcast.
SPEAKER_01 (00:16):
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Wait For It
Podcast.
I'm your co-host, Phil Barrera,aka Phil the Filipino.
SPEAKER_02 (00:21):
And I'm your other co-host, Mr.
Eric Almighty.
And for international feature,this edition is going to feature
a film that's internationallyknown.
Keep all this in.
Don't don't restart.
Don't restart.
(00:42):
You gotta give me a minute, man.
I was cooking.
I was cooking.
I was cooking.
International feature.
SPEAKER_01 (00:49):
It's gonna feature.
SPEAKER_02 (00:50):
A film promoted gradually.
As a movie that you just have tosee at least once in your life.
And that's exactly why westarted this series, Phil.
We're here to talk about BattleRoyale.
And this intro is as chaotic asthis film.
SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
Yeah.
Jesus Christ, man.
Eric and I are like manic rightnow because we spent a very
interesting night at Daily'sPlace last night.
Not great returns, I guess I'llsay that.
Shout out to there being analternative to the WWE.
But uh I think it's time, TonyKhan, to pull the plug on
(01:34):
Daily's Place.
And maybe start doing thosesomewhere else.
But anyway, we're not here totalk about our night at AEW.
We're here to talk about 2000'sBattle Royale.
Like you said, Eric, directed byKinji Fukusaku.
And like you said, movie we'vehad circled for a very, very
long time.
Uh, this one, second episode ofPatreon Month.
And shout out to our buddyCorey.
(01:55):
Uh, this is his suggestion forPatreon Month.
And yeah, um, a lot to discusshere.
This movie is so influential,and as far as what it has done
for pop culture in general,still relevant to this very day.
So, plenty to discuss here thisevening.
(02:15):
But yeah, Eric, let's jump intoit.
Uh, of course, for any of youreturning or new listeners,
stick around to the end of theepisode.
We'll let you know you can findeverything wait for it, podcast
related.
But Battle Royale 2000, uh, thetagline in Letterboxd, could you
kill your best friend?
In the future, the Japanesegovernment captures a class of
ninth grade students and forcesthem to kill each other under
(02:38):
the Revolutionary Battle RoyaleAct.
So, uh, Eric, we will uh go toour three bullet point system
here.
I will go first here uh and umtalk about just how I mean the
the most important thing as faras why we watched this film is
like I just said how influentialit was.
(02:59):
The Hunger Games is one of myfavorite series.
I've read all the books, I'veseen all the films.
Uh, very excited for the nextfilm that is coming out.
And one of the main things youheard back when the first Hunger
Games movie came out, right?
Was let's see, when was that?
Um, that was back in 2012, god.
13 years ago.
(03:20):
So everyone that was veryfamiliar with film, and of
course, but you know, the bookversion of this and the manga
was like, well, this is just aripoff of Battle Royale.
I'm I'm just gonna be honestwith you guys, there's no
original ideas left.
Nobody lives an original life.
We're all living in asimulation, we all have shared
experiences.
So everything is basically aparody, or uh not necessarily a
(03:40):
ripoff, but like inspired bysomething else.
And of course, Battle Royale isessentially that film, and I'm
sure Battle Royale tookliberties and uh inspiration
from something else.
But without this, Eric, I thinkwe we would definitely be devoid
of one of at least they'recertainly one of my favorite
genres, and that goes all theway into video games when we
talk about Fortnite, we talkabout player unknowns
(04:01):
battlegrounds and war zone andall that stuff.
There is an appeal to thisspecific type of storytelling
and this type of one-on-onecombat or an elimination last
man standing type of thing.
And I'm glad that we finally gotto see, at least pop
culture-wise, kind of where allof this started.
SPEAKER_02 (04:20):
For that reason, I am happy that we definitely saw
this.
It's one that we've circled forquite a long time.
I'm pretty sure friend of theshow, Jordan, has also mentioned
this multiple times to us.
So it's not like in our innercircle we haven't heard of this
movie, and in film circles, wedefinitely have heard a lot
about this film.
I would say, you know, this isdefinitely so Phil, is your
(04:45):
first takeaway?
You haven't done your firsttakeaway yet, right?
You're just kind of f fieldingthe thoughts of the fact that
this is a genre that BattleRoyale might have started, but
uh didn't exactly invent thewheel to.
So that's fair.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (05:01):
Setting like a setting like an overall tone for
the film and like again why it'sit's here, because it comes up
in film circles, but it's itdoesn't feel like it's really in
in terms of its place in popculture, it's not really talked
about a ton.
And even on YouTube, like whenyou go look for some videos,
most of the videos that I foundwere relatively old, you know,
from the f from a few years agowhen I tried to get kind of you
(05:22):
know what other people weresaying about this film, and it
is very highly regarded, andwe'll talk about that when it
comes to scores in just amoment.
So I I guess what I'll start offwith, Eric, is it's not an easy
movie to watch.
The violence is pretty brutal,and not everybody thinks that
it's necessarily justified.
And we are talking about kids,right?
Now, I'm sure in the two in 2000this was even more shocking,
(05:47):
especially when it came toWestern audiences.
It it was very successful overin the East, and it certainly
gained a very, very big cultfollowing.
But the first thing is like thismovie is definitely not gonna be
for everybody, even in 2025, 25years later, where we're kind of
desensitized to violence, whichis you know a conversation for a
whole nother time.
But I will say because it as faras violence-wise, it is more
(06:11):
violent than like a HungerGames.
There is a lot that goes thatgoes on in there, but it you
know, there's a lot of cutawaysto that.
But they they focus in on thekilling here in Battle Royale,
and that's obviously veryintentional and makes it not for
everybody, and not a viewingthat I would suggest for
everybody either.
SPEAKER_02 (06:30):
Yeah, that I honestly parallels a lot of what
I was thinking about the movie,is the fact that this isn't for
everybody.
In fact, if you're not a fan ofQuentin Tarantino, well, this is
like his favorite movie in thepast.
SPEAKER_01 (06:40):
Like two deck of all time, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (06:42):
So, yeah, he loves this movie that he's been on
record on saying that, and Icould see why he would like that
movie.
Like based off of his films, Ithink the way he described it
was it's a movie that he wishedhe made.
And when you watch this, youkind of you kind of get that,
you kind of get the vibes,especially for the type of
(07:03):
violence, which we're gonna kindof talk about, how some of that
is portrayed here, and some ofmy thoughts on that.
But what I'll say, especially ona positive note, to kind of
parallel with this, I reallyliked what this film brought.
And I think if you like thattype of violence, this movie uh
isn't just balls to the wallsviolence, like there's a lot of
(07:25):
it, but I think this movieblends in, it tries to do some
character work, it tries to slowthings down before it picks it
back up.
I think it does a pretty decentjob.
If it's not always successful,at the very least, I think there
is some semblance of uhcharacter development, there is
some semblance of humanitythat's being portrayed and
(07:47):
discussed.
There's also obviously all ofthe allegories and all of the
things that have to do with highschool and all of these kids of
that age and things they have todeal with at that age.
There's a lot going underneaththe surface other than the
violence.
And I think that someone canpick this up and really take
something from the film otherthan just pure blood, guts, and
(08:11):
gore.
Because that's not really what Ithink this film set out to do
and is all about.
SPEAKER_01 (08:16):
Yeah, there there are a lot of layers here to this
film, which again may be anotherreason that people aren't going
to enjoy it.
Uh, one, you know, we did watchthis in sub, which is
definitely, I think, the waythat I would recommend checking
it out.
I didn't even entertain, and Idon't think you did either, I
Eric.
We didn't entertain evenwatching the dub, which does
(08:36):
exist.
I know I watched the um I thinkthe director's cut, which was on
Paramount, and I had like amillion ads, but I got my I got
through it.
SPEAKER_02 (08:44):
So yeah, we go through Fandango.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
Okay, yeah, that's what I watched as well.
So, I mean it was free.
So shout out to Fan Fandango.
So just a whole bunch of ads.
But yeah, so I I think thatwould be certainly a it could be
a positive and a negativebecause there are so there's so
much layer, there's so manylayers, so much subtext going on
when it comes to this film.
And to get to my secondtakeaway, this is both uh I
(09:07):
think both of a positive and anegative because from what I
understand um from some Redditposts that I found as well, is
they go much more in depth withthe world building here.
Now, in this, I I do think it'sa positive and a negative.
I think it's it's somethinggood, and it's also a detriment
to the film that it kind of justthrows you in.
You're kind of experiencing itas if you were one of the kids
(09:27):
in the class, and it's all justkind of thrown at you.
From my understanding, from whatI read here on a Reddit post
that I found, in the book, thekids are very much aware that
this is a thing.
And in the movie, it doesn'treally seem that way.
They're all pretty surprised.
And also in the book, and Ithink even the manga, they like
it's a whole spectacle, like theHunger Games is, it's televised
(09:48):
and everything like that.
And in the book, they actuallylike cut away to parents'
reactions to when their kids areeliminated in this in this
arena.
And I think that would be firstoff, it would be horrifying, but
uh it would, I think, assist inthe world building quite a bit.
And so again, I I like thatyou're just thrown into it in in
in terms of what the hell isgoing on.
And if you wanted to this blindin the 2000s, I'm sure it would
(10:12):
be like a crazy experience.
But also at the same time, it'slike maybe some of that extra
stuff happening outside of theisland would have uh well, it
definitely would have improvedthe experience, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_02 (10:25):
Yeah, and and again, that's gonna be echoing some of
my similar thoughts when itcomes to my second takeaway.
I agree with you.
I think that's an issue with thegenre itself.
Like the genre itself reallyrequires there to be a lot of
emotional punches to bedelivered.
So I watched The Long Walk intheaters this year in 2025, and
(10:47):
that movie did a pretty decentjob.
But like most of these movieswhere only one person survives,
like when you have that setupand you know that that's gonna
be the case, and and more thanlikely it's gonna end up just
being one, if not one or twoindividuals, if they throw a
curveball, then I don't know,like it just kind of takes some
(11:10):
of the intensity away, andyou're supposed to replace that
unsuredness with like emotionalbeats.
And I think for me, that's whatthis movie is somewhat lacking.
There are a ton of characters,there are some character traits
and developments, but I neverreally felt attached to a
singular character in any way,shape, or form.
(11:31):
If anything, the only characterI got attached to because of the
performance was the the teacher,the teacher who was who was
leading all this.
So, I mean, again, I didn'tconnect with him in any way
other than he was entertainingand I liked his performance, but
yeah, I don't know.
I didn't I just didn't feel aconnection to any particular
character.
I'm assuming you did, which iswhere we probably differ on
(11:54):
this.
SPEAKER_01 (11:55):
Yeah, there's definitely one character that
stood out over the rest of them.
But just to kind of like uh liketouch on what you were saying,
yeah, it's um there is so muchgoing on, and that's very
intentional, like the chaoticnature of the film, like really
driving home the the sense thatlike shit can just turn uh out
(12:19):
of nowhere.
Like the best uh one the examplethat sticks out for me, and
actually was one of my favoritescenes in the movie, is when the
girl poisons the food and thenthey just all immediately just
goes to shit.
And I feel like that would bethat was a really realistic
response to how things wouldjust go absolutely haywire in
that sort of situation.
(12:40):
And that was I think that's thefilm, that's the part of the
film that will certainly stickout the most.
I also did thought I think it'sso crazy that there are there
are moments of this film wherelike I did laugh, like when the
guy cuts off the guy's head andthrows his head through the
window and then the grill is inhis mouth.
I'm like, Alright, that's that'skind of funny.
I know it's it's horrifying, butit's it's kind of funny.
(13:03):
So yeah, I just think like thischaotic nature is just not gonna
be for everybody.
Um, and and I'm I'm veryinterested to see like what
Corey has to say, because he'llhave a much more artistic way of
explaining this film to us uhthan we are doing right now.
But yeah, I there was onecharacter that I really really
connected with, and I believe,and Eric, you'll probably know
(13:23):
which one, it's the thecharacter of uh Mitsiko, and
that is the one that was likejust killing it throughout the
entire movie.
She was definitely uh a force tobe reckoned with for sure.
She was kind of one step aheadof everybody as well, and I
really just like kind of how shecarried herself throughout the
(13:43):
film.
The three like main charactersthat we follow, whose whose
names I don't have.
I know one of them is Nanahara.
He is the boy, uh, one of thefinal three boys there.
And I can't remember the name ofthe guy that they kind of like
team up with.
Do you have that, Eric?
I I wish they would just like Ioh there's like a list of
(14:06):
characters.
Kawada?
Oh yeah, Shogo Ka Kawada.
Kawada, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:11):
I might I probably mispronounced that.
There's a lot of names.
Again, this is the thing withlike, especially I think an
international film with all ofthese character names, that was
also a struggle on a firstwatch.
I will say that.
SPEAKER_01 (14:23):
Sure.
Yeah, and I do like the worldbuilding they do with him.
Like you get a night, like hewas in the game before, and
that's very interesting, but youget a very like brief snapshot
of that.
So, you know, I'm sure this isalso a uh, you know, subject to
the time that it was made.
The budget was only 4.5 millionuh at the time, so uh, you know,
(14:44):
obviously a very small budgetfor for this film.
So I think you you gotta give alot of respect for what they
pulled off here.
You definitely can see likewhere the money went for sure
when it came to some of thedeaths uh that was um that were
very, very like expressive, andthat was certainly the point.
But yeah, I definitely uh wantto point out that character as
far as Mitsuko and and also theone we just uh the one we just
(15:08):
mentioned whose name I just hadin front of me.
Uh yeah, Kawada.
But but again, that's abackstory that's interesting,
but you don't get enough of it.
And um, again, because there'sjust so many other characters,
so much going on, you can onlydo so much in a two-hour film.
So yeah, I did enjoy thatcharacter.
SPEAKER_02 (15:25):
Yeah, and this movie did do a lot with like
flashbacks and stuff.
I I don't know that it wasparticularly effective for me.
It took me out more than it gaveme clarity or like more depth to
the characters personally, so Idon't know that that really
helped, but yeah, I mean, likeagain, it's a movie, Phil, that
I am curious to hear otherperspectives on it.
(15:46):
Because I do think for when itcame out and the budget you
mentioned, and what the film wasset out to try to do, I can
understand why it's kind of likea cult classic.
Like, and I can also understandwhy some people would see it as
like a revolutionary film justin film circles.
It just I don't know.
Watching it for the first timein 2025, I just don't think I
(16:08):
felt that same impact.
But we'll see.
This movie is coming out aroundthe time of this episode drops,
I think right before Phil comesout for its 25th anniversary in
theaters.
So, I mean, again, there'sobviously some type of appeal to
this for many people, but Ithink it is still very much in
that cult classic status.
(16:28):
And somebody with fresh eyes in2025, uh, I don't know if it
hits the same.
SPEAKER_01 (16:33):
Yeah, because I I'll I'll say this and just out of
just respectfully say thisbecause I understand how
important this movie is, becausewithout it, like some of the
world building in the HungerGames is my favorite part.
Like getting to know thosecharacters, getting to know
what's going on in the otherdistricts and the political
intrigue.
They are alluding to that here.
We know that this has happened,something has led to this
(16:54):
moment, and we just focus on thekilling on the island, which
works.
I think does work, but it justleaves like, man, I would like
to know more.
And that's probably a goodthing.
Um, there is a sequel to thisthat I don't think we'll ever
watch because it's not very wellregarded.
So uh we'll just have Corey tellus whether or not that's worth
checking out.
But yeah, I just think thatsometimes you could argue that
(17:16):
like the movie's message,especially 25 years later, could
get lost under the shock value.
Um, especially if like somebodyis not seeking out this movie.
No one's gonna casually watchBattle Royale in 2025.
So I'm not too worried aboutthat in terms of like feedback.
So, like, you know, we're uh,you know, we're very intentional
about wanting to watch thismovie.
No one's gonna come across thison first off, it's really hard
(17:36):
to find, uh, because uh as faras we had to, like I said, we
had to watch it on Fandango.
So uh we couldn't even, and it'spretty hard to find a physical
copy as well.
So it's not like anybody isgonna come across this that
doesn't want to.
Um, so some of those points asfar as like it not being for
everybody don't really applybecause it's not no one's gonna
see that anyway.
No one's gonna stumble into theAMC on a Sunday in November and
(17:58):
be like, what's Battle Royale?
And think that it's like aFortnite movie.
I hope that doesn't happen.
Let's hope not.
Again, I would assume Or maybe Ihope it doesn't.
Maybe.
Well, hopefully where's K-popdemon hunters?
SPEAKER_02 (18:09):
Listen, this movie did have a uh rating in Japan
where no one under the age of 16could watch it.
Like, so you know what I mean?
Like, maybe I don't know if thatif that like similar thing is
happening these days, but Imean, I don't know.
I feel like again, for its time,I would understand that.
But like for now, I don't wantto call it like it's just a
(18:31):
piece of cake to watch this, butit'll tie into my third point
about the violence.
That you know, I this isn't likethe most gruesome thing you've
ever seen.
I think the way this movie ishyped up to a lot of people, and
maybe for its time it was.
But this isn't the most like uhgory, gruesome, horrific movie
you've ever seen in your life.
(18:52):
And I think for many years itkind of had the claim of that a
little bit.
I don't know, Phil.
That's just been my perspectivewhen people talk about this
movie, typically about theviolence, and I just didn't feel
that same impact compared to thehype leading up to it.
SPEAKER_01 (19:10):
I think just it's just because it's kids, and
that's always going to bedifficult, but like when you
compare it, and this is sounfair, but like I'm I'm just
looking at our list here andlooking at other brutal films
we've watched, like I caredabout the kids to an extent, but
like it wasn't as like a we'vewatched some brutal movies, like
we've watched a train toBoussan, you know, we've watched
(19:32):
films, even watching a show likeBlue Eyes Samurai.
We just watched Grave of theFireflies a couple months ago.
Uh so when you're talking aboutmovies that hit you emotionally,
like they're just there are somany more that will come to mind
before this.
I think really what it comesdown to is like these kids are
killing each other, and it's notlike Hunger Games where they're
preparing for like a week beforethe games.
(19:54):
You know, there's no period oftime where they're training and
learning, and there's a bigspectacle of who's getting take
uh chosen.
You just, you know, wake up inthis island and all of a sudden
you're you're thrown into it,which I think again is an
incredibly interesting conceptin and of itself when you talk
about it, when you talk aboutdoing the movie that way and
doing a story that way.
I I'll tell you, I'll be honestwith you, I don't really I don't
(20:16):
think I'll ever read the book,but the manga looks interesting.
I would have I would like tohave it like in my collection
just to have and maybe skimthrough just to again get more
of that world building.
But yeah, it just like it's Ithink it's pretty good.
And but it was just like, man, Ireally I w I wanted more, and
that's probably a that'sprobably a good thing.
SPEAKER_02 (20:34):
So yeah, yeah, and again, considering when the
movie came out, I think that'stotally fair.
Phil, I think uh we're creepingup on our final takeaway.
Uh do you have one ready as faras your final takeaway for this?
Otherwise, I'll jump into mine.
Did we not do three?
SPEAKER_01 (20:50):
I thought I gave three.
Did you give a third?
We've just been chatting.
Yeah, I thought I thought thatwas your third, and that was I
gave my third.
Oh.
SPEAKER_02 (20:58):
Well, listen, maybe we did.
Uh, I'm gonna give a fourthhere, so I want to just talk
about numbers, counting's notour thing.
Yeah, you know what?
I want to talk about uh what Ialluded to with the violence in
this movie.
Was it not a little goofy?
A little goofy, right?
SPEAKER_01 (21:12):
Yeah, uh yeah.
And I think that again, that'sbudget restriction stuff for
sure.
And also, I don't think they'regonna fully blow off a kid's
head.
SPEAKER_02 (21:18):
Well, I don't know.
They they they afforded quite abit of bullets.
Oh quite a bit of bullets.
SPEAKER_01 (21:23):
That is true.
There were a lot of shit.
Unlimited ammo.
He had a perk, he had theillimited ammo perk.
SPEAKER_02 (21:29):
Yeah, uh, I don't know.
Again, that might be more of anitpicky thing.
I it's definitely not helping,like, you know, us not liking a
film like Hero because of someof the uh the fighting.
And I think in theseinternational films it's
different, right?
It's way different, but I bringit up because one of the things
we didn't love, which we thoughtwe would, was gonna be some of
(21:51):
like the combat in that.
And in this, like the violencewas so over the top, and
international films tend to dothat sometimes, and I'm just
worried sometimes when we gointo movies, older films too,
that it's a lot of that, andthat's kind of what made
international films stand outway back in the day.
But like, it doesn't feel likethat's the go-to move anymore,
(22:12):
where they need to have allthese over-the-top type of
things, whether it is a kung fuaction sequence or you know, a
guy with a machine gun blowingup a bunch of bodies, and
they're still alive.
They're still alive.
I saw a thousand bullets enterthat person's body.
That person is still moving,it's still moving, don't get it.
(22:34):
But I also just think it'sbecause of the time, it's
because of the internationalfilms and what they were kind of
doing at that time that I'm notthe biggest fan of.
And I'm just starting to realizefor me anyway, that that is
definitely a deterrent.
And I'm starting to recognizethat I think that's just
something I don't enjoy in thesemovies, and I've got to just
start to own that it willunfortunately affect my score.
SPEAKER_01 (22:56):
Sure.
We have we definitely have atrend when it comes to some of
these films that we're watching.
We're we're very much high onthe drama and the storytelling,
and there is that here.
It's just we've seen so manygood international films that
have done it way better.
And also portrayed violent, andalso portrayed violence uh in a
(23:17):
much different way.
Well, you like the raid way morethan I did, but that's true.
I think the score is gonna endup being pretty similar.
But when we talk about like someof the violent films that we
watch, obviously we were talkingabout Train to Busan.
There is, you know, Memories ofMurder isn't super violent,
other than the guy that dropkicks everybody.
But uh, you know, there is a lotof violence in there.
Uh, you know, Children of Men,obviously.
(23:39):
That's you know, there's stuffgoing on 28 days later.
Like some of these films thatare also ultraviolent, you know,
and again, and again, Grave ofthe Fireflies, which is the most
devastating film I've ever seenin my entire life.
So uh there are uh now we'regetting to the point in this
series, as well as in Late tothe Party, where we're comparing
them to like some of the otherbests of all time, and that's
(24:01):
where it's gonna get reallyinteresting when it comes to
these conversations.
But yeah, you know, the violencedefinitely as far as the
overkill when uh, you know,characters are still moving
around.
Um, even in that scene I wasjust talking about where they're
all in the kitchen, you know,that goes on a little bit too
long.
But once again, you can 100% sayhere or see why Tarantino would
be all over this thing.
(24:22):
I'm surprised he hasn't justmade it a battle royale of his
own.
And I'm pretty sure the girlthat plays Mitsuko is in Kill
Bill, isn't she?
I mean, that would track.
Yeah, I know one of them is.
I'm pretty sure it is Mitsuko,but I I'll I'll have to double
check.
SPEAKER_02 (24:38):
Yeah, I mean that would track.
But yeah, let's let's go aheadand talk about the scores,
reception of this film.
Let's talk about some of thosethings as we get into our scores
and just kind of overallcomments for a movie fill again
that I am glad that we watched,even though I think we both
expected more from it.
I think both of us still walkedaway pretty positively receiving
(25:00):
the film, maybe one more thanthe other, though.
SPEAKER_01 (25:02):
Yeah, really quick.
Uh, what would you uh whichweapon would you want if you
were thrown into this?
Which one would you be like, ohthank god I got this, or holy
shit, I'm screwed up.
SPEAKER_02 (25:12):
Oh, that's submachine gun that that
psychopath was willing to do.
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
That thing, no, no He had more guns than that, too,
but he just kept going for it.
SPEAKER_02 (25:20):
He just kept going for it.
SPEAKER_01 (25:21):
It had unlimited ammo.
SPEAKER_02 (25:22):
I respect him.
I respect him.
Yeah, that would have been myweapon of choice.
SPEAKER_01 (25:27):
No, you definitely would have gotten the pot lid,
though, is what would havehappened.
SPEAKER_02 (25:30):
That's exactly what would have happened.
Yeah, no.
SPEAKER_01 (25:32):
I would have gotten maybe the tracker and like
dropped it in water or somethinglike that.
Like I would have stumbled andit would have broken or
something like that.
That would have been likereally, really helpful.
I do wonder what the plan wasfor the guys that had figured
out how to disable the trackers.
I wasn't 100% sure what theirplan was.
Uh and unfortunately, won't youknow we didn't get to find out,
(25:53):
but yeah.
It was uh weird.
You know, it is um that was oneof the more heartbreaking
things, like seeing thatobviously most of them did not
want to fight, and and a lot ofthem had even banded together.
But uh, yeah, such is the battlethe game of Battle Royale.
But let's get to the scoreshere, Eric.
Like you said, uh, over onRotten Tomatoes, 90% tomato
(26:14):
meter score, certified fresh,88% popcorn meter score, 70 uh
I'm sorry, seven seven pointfive out of ten rating over on
IMDB, and then for uh Letterboxd3.9.
So very, very good scores acrossthe board for Battle Royale,
like we said, a very, very bigcult following at this point.
(26:35):
Uh, I gave it a 3.5.
I did lower it.
Um, after because after, like Isaid, initially watching it, I
felt really good about it.
I was like, man, that was I Ivery much saying you enjoyed it
is feels kind of fucked up, butI I enjoyed my time with it and
and took away a lot from thatfirst watch through.
And then the more that I thoughtabout it, the more that I
researched about it, like I diddrop it half a point to a 3.5.
(26:59):
And yeah, like I said, um, Ithink it's definitely a
must-watch for people who likethe you know this specific
genre, but also when it comes tofilm in general, if like you are
a film buff, uh, this isdefinitely one of those
must-watches to add to yourlist.
SPEAKER_02 (27:12):
Yeah, for me, I it's really tough because I did enjoy
the film overall, but man, Ithink I just walked away a lot
more disappointed.
For me, the battle royale genre,not a thing in film that I've
enjoyed as much as like a seasonone of Squid Game.
And that's probably been myfavorite version of a show or
(27:34):
like a version of Battle Royalethat's been done as a show.
However, I never wanted to jumpinto season two or three yet.
Like, I have not itched to goback into that world.
So there is a limitation onthat, and I think that's just a
me thing that I have to accept.
Where I think a lot of peoplehold this movie is above a film
like a Hunger's game, which Iwouldn't agree with, but I'm not
(27:56):
gonna go as far to as as far asto say it's as bad as a film
like The Condemned, uh starringSteve Austin Phil.
A film that I know for a Iforgot about that movie.
SPEAKER_01 (28:08):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02 (28:10):
I knew that call out would get a reaction from you.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:14):
Holy shit.
SPEAKER_02 (28:15):
Yeah, unfortunately.
Unfortunately for me, this movieis more like the condemned than
the Hunger Games, if we were tocompare.
That's why I gave it a three outof five.
It is very much teetering onpositive territory for me.
I just think this movie, for itstime, probably has a lot of
love, whole classic appeal, allof that stuff.
(28:39):
I think to show this to somebodyin 2025 now, I don't know.
There were just a couple thingsthat for me didn't feel like
they stood the test of time.
And I think for a genre that Ialready don't have a lot of
attachment for, it was a lot forthis movie to live up to the
hype that I had heard over theyears.
So that's just where we are.
(29:00):
On a second watch, maybe Iconnect with a character or two
and I bump this up to a threeand a half, like you, Phil.
But there's a good chance Iwatch this again, I get bored,
and I bump it down to a 2.5.
So a three is where we sit on afirst viewing.
SPEAKER_01 (29:13):
Forgot Nathan Jones is in this movie, too.
SPEAKER_02 (29:16):
Yeah, dude.
I I waited till the end to bringup the condemned because I knew
for a fact you'd be like, yo,let's go.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
Condemned.
What a bad movie.
You remember all the trailersfor that movie?
2007.
Yeah, just terrible.
SPEAKER_02 (29:31):
Crazy time.
SPEAKER_01 (29:32):
That was it.
That was that that run where WWEkept producing movies and they
were all shit.
SPEAKER_02 (29:36):
They were bad, yes.
He knows.
SPEAKER_01 (29:38):
She has five fans.
That means five people haveliked it.
unknown (29:42):
Letterboxd.
SPEAKER_01 (29:43):
Big Steve Austin fans, I guess.
That's crazy.
11,000 ratings, 2.6 score.
I'm gonna I'm gonna rate this atwo right now.
SPEAKER_02 (29:53):
Just off of principle.
I think I'll do the same.
SPEAKER_01 (29:57):
So that's crazy.
But yeah, Eric, let's talk aboutwhere this.
Ranks in terms of ourinternational feature list.
I currently have it ranked atnumber 23.
It is behind 28 Days Later andChildren of Men and right in
front of the first Naja andUltraman Rising, but those are
all 3.5s for me.
SPEAKER_02 (30:18):
Yeah, and you have a above the raid, which I didn't
know you had so low on yourlist, and it kind of hurts my
feelings, but that's okay.
Battle Royale for me is listedat 29 behind films like Perfect
Days and Bell, and above filmslike Blue Eyes Samurai and the
First Slam Dunk.
I forgot we watched Bell.
Yeah, no, I mean.
It's kind of crazy.
(30:38):
The Girl Who Leapt Through Timeis very close to that film for
me.
Hmm.
Weird.
SPEAKER_01 (30:45):
Weird.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, when you'retalking about like it is in
front of the raid, but from 29to 18, those are all three and a
halves.
SPEAKER_02 (30:54):
Yeah, yeah.
No, I mean it's not a bad thing,you know.
I I get that.
I get that.
SPEAKER_01 (30:58):
So like I said, you you enjoy the raid much more and
you love all the John Wickmovies.
SPEAKER_02 (31:02):
So like that is, you know, you're Yeah, that's the
that's the type of I that's thetype of action I I kind of
gravitate towards, you know.
You know, it's just uh just Andhave you also seen all the
Hunger Games movies or just likeone?
I've seen all of them, but Igotta be honest with you.
Like, if you ask me to recall alot of the stuff that happened,
I really couldn't.
I can recall scenes veryclearly, like a pop from a pop
(31:24):
culture standpoint.
But yeah, I know I've seen allthose films and probably in
theaters.
SPEAKER_01 (31:29):
But man, I just don't think you like Songbirds
and Snakes, but I do thinkyou'll like the new one.
The one that's about to comeout.
Um, but I don't think you likeSongbirds and Snakes.
SPEAKER_02 (31:38):
We'll see.
We'll see.
People die.
SPEAKER_01 (31:41):
That's true.
Uh I know we don't normally domore like this for this, but uh,
do you want to?
No.
Okay.
Answers that question.
Uh, I haven't seen the Belcoexperiment, but I've heard it's
got a bad rating, but I heardthe Belco experiment was kind of
good.
Oh, that's the one where they'reall in the office building and
they start killing each other.
(32:01):
They have to escape.
SPEAKER_02 (32:03):
Oh.
SPEAKER_01 (32:03):
Same thing.
They have to kill each there'sonly one person that can escape.
SPEAKER_02 (32:07):
Uh 2.8 letterboxed rating.
SPEAKER_01 (32:09):
Yeah, but it's very it's I think it's popular
amongst like horror fans, so youknow.
SPEAKER_02 (32:14):
Yeah, a lot of the a lot of these other films on here
I don't really know much about.
There's just some like reallyodd ones, Phil.
So, like we we may not play morelike this, but like films that
I'm gonna call out that I knowof or may have seen at some
point or another, like TheHappening, Final Destination 3,
Kick Ass, Fight Club, like TexasChainsaw Massacre.
(32:36):
That seems a little out there.
There's like films like thatthat are on here, Akira's on
here, Hostel, Final Destination.
SPEAKER_01 (32:42):
Like at some point, it feels like those are only on
here just because stylisticallythey're the same.
SPEAKER_02 (32:47):
That's what I was gonna say.
SPEAKER_01 (32:47):
It looks more like based off of filmmaking, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (32:50):
Based off of a style, or like it just starts
moving into horror at thatpoint.
So right.
SPEAKER_01 (32:55):
Yeah.
So but that's it.
That's uh what we had to sayabout 2000s Battle Royale.
What do you think?
Uh, have you watched this film?
Do you have any desire to ifyou're a fan of some of those
other films or video games?
That it is clearly uh it um thatis is uh I am the worst I
talking's hard as we get towardsthe end of this episode that has
(33:16):
been inspired by Battle Royale.
Uh, definitely let us know.
Shout out again to Corey for thesuggestion for Patreon Month.
We'll let you know how you canget involved in Patreon Month
here in just a little bit.
But if you want to follow theWait for a podcast and keep up
with everything that we gotgoing on, make sure you click
the Link Tree link in this andevery single episode.
You'll be able to follow us onall of our social media
(33:36):
accounts, uh, the most importantones being Instagram, TikTok,
our growing Discord community,and over on Twitch, where we are
streaming pretty much everysingle week.
Uh, head on over to YouTube,like, share, subscribe.
You guys know the drill overthere.
Uh, head on over to yourfavorite podcast player, give us
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That is very beneficial to thelifeblood of the show.
(33:57):
And make sure to follow Eric andI's personal pages as Eric
navigates his content creationjourney, and I am continuing to
pursue becoming a full-timevoice actor.
So we appreciate all the helpand support that we have gotten
so far.
But uh again, if you want a handin the content that we create,
as well as getting someadditional perks like getting
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(34:18):
Eric will let you know how to doall of that before wrapping us
up.
SPEAKER_02 (34:21):
Yeah, all the free stuff that Phil mentioned is
great, but if you want to goabove and beyond and support us
additionally, you can do that onPatreon, where our current
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(34:42):
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the scenes and early access toepisodes like this one.
We also have interviews from ourconvention experience that we
post on their first dibs to someof our higher tiers.
There's a lot of ways you cansupport us, but that is the best
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All of the ways that you do it,though, is much appreciated, and
(35:03):
including the ones that justtake your time, they mean the
world.
With that being said, my name isMr.
Eric Almighty.
That is my co host Phil theFilipino, and please don't
forget we release new episodesfor the podcast every Wednesday,
and all you gotta do is wait forit.
SPEAKER_00 (35:23):
This is the Wait for It Podcast.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!