For those who haven't seen BR

The plot of Battle Royale 2 which came out in 2003.

"It's a story of adolescent boys and girls being randomly pulled into a filmed game show of a gory deathmatch in an arena filled with natural and artificial hazards set in a dystopian society with a totalitarian government that likes to show the people that they're still in charge. Some of the contestants embrace the opportunity to cause mayhem; others try to navigate the situation with diplomacy, only to be ruthlessly murdered by more vicious players. The story ultimately focuses on a trio of protagonists, one slightly older and embittered by loss because he has played and won the game before; the other two are younger and more innocent, and turn to their more mature peer for guidance and inspiration. In the end, instead of the usual one winner, there is a plot twist and the two younger players become lovers and end up winning the game in the end. Then they go on in the next story to try and overthrow the totalitarian government."

What gets me the most is that Suzanne Collins said she's never heard of BR. I can only guess why though, the reason being she would probably get sued.

At this point, teen dystopia is an established genre, but at the time the book was published (Sept 1999) it was the first of its kind. This is during the halcyon days of the Bush presidency and right at the start of the economic crisis and the 9/11 collapse. There was a tremendous climate of uncertainty and fear, and Battle Royale offered a counterpoint with a world that was even more *beep* up, and it resonated immediately with a young audience. It's easy to dismiss it now because of the Team Shuya/Kitiyama *beep* and screaming tweens, but some of the social themes that Battle Royale addresses (devaluation of life, government corruption, disposable pop culture, etc) speak directly to this generation.