your.a.**.genius.

That.. about all i have to say. Because of this, i may write a BR fanfic, maybe. And do it RIGHT. (aka psychobitch kills/screws everything that moves, wins, and becomes a national superstar, then.. well we'll see xD) and yes! The lack of creativity is like ARG! Its scary D:

psychobitch= not very creative, but I LOVE PSYCHOBITCHES >> xD

How about a story sometime where the class Romeo-and-Juliet decide to play as a team? What would have happened if Kazuhiko Yamamoto and Sakura Ogawa had said "Screw it!" and set out to eliminate all their classmates? Playing as a team, they might have racked up a really impressive score.

A story where the "obligatory couple" are nursing a grudge against their school and classmates, and figure this is the perfect time for payback, would take things in an interesting direction. Especially if they were also trying to figure out how to escape the Program...after they'd killed everybody else off.

Your guide is so right! I like it alot, it is kind of funny in a way. It's helpful and people should pay attention to this! Make up your own characters, don't use the camp horror movie format that is the: Token Black Guy, Cocky Jock, Emo Guy, Dumb Blonde, Possibly Phsycotic Loner... But you you must link your Battle Royale Fan Story to the original somehow, if it's set in Japan, then have a few characters with dead cousins, or if it's in a foreign country, somehow slip the Battle Royale 2 terrorist bombings into a newspaper during a flashback! And please add character, don't switch every five minutes. This guide helps alot!

Yeah see but if ppl gets creative.. Killing somebody with toothbrush can get messy ;)

Anyway, u have the cliches there ;) Someone has probably written something similar about horror movies in general - most of them are like bad fics.

I would add something about injuries. At least in movies the main characters are like some sort of superheros, nothing can stop them. That is, before the end when they suddenly notice 'wait a minute - when did i lose my leg??!'

i loved watching B.R. and i loved the 'bad guy' as you put it in the movie and he was definatly my favorite even though he is 'evil' and if i do a story about this i may do his POV. Well rounded critique and very useful for writing a story for this movie and i have noticed that many people have too many students and dont name them or we dont care in the end. Awesome movie and i have to think of a plot to write down =)

In responce to question: Probably pretty damn freaky lol

A great read this, really funny and showing just what tends to happen in the fanfic world. Yeah everyone has to do something with it but being creative is far more fun.

I really need to start work on a BR fic but I've got others to do as well. Heck, I'll keep this lot in mind though anyway.

"Oh, and greatswords, bazookas, pneumatic drills, chainsaws, cannons and shovels don’t fit in the bags."

This made me LOL, since I had just been considering writing an original Program story and giving someone a chainsaw. I figured out on my own though that that wouldn't work. xD Guess they'll just have to find it on the island/wherever the hell the Program is at that time.

1. The ”good guy”

The good guy characters are such a pain in the ** usually (most of which could be traced to Shuya). Yes, there are people who would likely try to maintain their principles and the like, but being forced into a BR will kick in the fight or flight instincts of pretty much everyone. And introducing him/her first... again, cuts down on the drama significantly.

2. The evil teacher

Your advice here is well placed. Everyone's trying to copy Kitano (or whoever the teacher is in whatever version you get BR from), nobody's trying anything new. Break away from the mold, have fun with things, develop the announcer some. Have someone just there for the money, or someone who doesn't even know the kids, maybe someone who's sympathetic to them but has to do their job.

3. The obligatory suicidal couple

Again, nothing to add here, but I just gotta say it'd be great to see a couple where one kills themself first and the other just doesn't have it in them to die and just decides to play. Easy excuse for angst and psychosis if that's you're thing.

4. The murderer students

Again, just try to break the mold. Ignore Kiriyama, ignore Mitsuko. Think about the disturbed kids you're bound to see at a regular school, i.e. the school shooters, the cocky jocks who could get away with murder in the world, those with deep-seated psychological issues they just don't act on normally. And let's not forget that some people in life are just **. There is so much variety you can use for your villains, don't just fall back on the tired stereotypes of the fandom.

And as another note, they don't need to be redeemable. Again, I go back to the comment that some people are just born **, they do what they do with little rhyme or reason.

5. The troubled ones

Agreed again, throw some well-adjusted kids into the mix and see how ** up the game gets them.

6. The weapons

>>Next, remember the bad guy always gets one of the best weapons and the bulletproof vest, or, if not, he soon gets hold of them. I’ve never seen an antagonist ready to leave behind him a trail of corpses start the Program with, say, a toothbrush.

I try not to toot my own horn much, but this time I'll just note that my last surviving villain started out with a CD jewel case.

>>Oh, and greatswords, bazookas, pneumatic drills, chainsaws, cannons and shovels don’t fit in the bags.

Agreed entirely. Long weapons like shotguns, rifles, bats, axes, swords, etc. are entirely encouraged for the game, but know what kind of bag they've got. If they've got a duffel bag, they won't be visible, but if they've got a backpack, the weapon sure as hell is going to stick out.

7. Bang! Bang!

Seriously, they give people knives and blunt weapons, have some people use them. While most people are likely to use a ranged weapon if they have a choice, this is a story, some suspension of disbelief can be used. Up close fights are more personal, brutal and actually force these people who know each other to look each other in the eyes and not detach themselves from what they're doing. And you can get creative, just look at all Jason's been able to accomplish with just a machete and a hockey mask.

Commented on Chapter 3, might as well go back and offer praise, comments, etc. about the earlier chaps too. Sorry if I ramble on in stuff like this, but in looking at stuff around here I understand get everything you're talkin about. As always, no disrespect intended whatsoever, admire profusely what you've got going on here. Chap 1 now, commenting on individual pieces as they come...

1. The predictable way

While physically describing main characters early on has its points, it also tends to showcase rather blatantly who is going to make it far and who isn't. If you want to throw some suspense, give the mains a little less coverage in the early chapters and develop them more as things come.

And when you do, avoiding information dumps whenever possible (unless the chapter solely revolves around the character) is also recommended, because if you just throw out every little bit of information about a character in the beginning, they have nowhere to go or develop.

That also being said, don't try to introduce every single character with a lot of description, as that can just bring a chapter to a dead stop and utterly destroy your pacing and any chance people have for reading anything past the first chapter.

2. The stereotype way; 3. The Photocopy way

Yeah, the original story was fun. We've all read it and seen it before, now write something new.

4. The first person way

Well pointed out that this is a stupid way to go as it either gives away that the narrator is either a) the winner, b) an escapee or c) dead but still narrating. Though the latter perspective may be rather provocative, you really have to know what you're doing with it to prevent it from being a meh story. Don't just write a story from a dead character's perspective because you think it'd be cool, if you're going to do it, do something with it.

4.2. The switching point of view way

Letting everyone participate generally is a good tactic if you want to bring some drama into the mix (i.e. no main characters obvious until later in the story), but it comes with some conditions. First, don't switch characters too much as it becomes overwhelming, focusing on three or four characters or groups *tops* is all right if you give them proper coverage. Second, know why you're doing the switches in the chapter, make sure what we're seeing of the people is relevant.

5. The enormous number way

...yeah, huge frickin classes are a pain, any more than 50 and you're really giving yourself a headache.

As a general note for this story, some more detail for the examples you give would be very helpful to those who need it.

As strange as this may sound, your "how not to" guide here has encouraged me to take a shot at original BR-fiction- and to try to avoid most of these stereotypical patterns (there's no way to even **pretend** they can ALL be totally avoided).

Just wanted to say, bang up job with pointing out a lot of the clichés that come out in these stories. Fully admit to making a lot of them myself, a lot of which I’d change if it didn’t require so damn much work. That being said, I can’t say I entirely agree with all points. Just going to comment on some of them individually.

- Just keep firing at people’s stomach. Some of them will probably die, except the one with the bulletproof vest, which dramaturgy says is the one that has to kill you.

Generally speaking, the torso would be the easiest place to aim for a successful hit, particularly for someone who’s never really used a firearm before, especially if you’re going after a moving target. Realistically speaking, if everyone aimed for the head, particularly during an attack, you’d get more misses and less of a chance of actually killing the person before they kill you. I’ll comment more on bulletproof vests however at the end.

- Worry a lot about getting chosen for the Program; that’s a sure-fire way to actually get chosen.

Depending on the universe created by the authors, this may be more valid sometimes than others. If programs are widely known about and held regularly, there probably would be people worrying about getting chosen. That being said, if it’s an irregular and poorly publicized event, worrying a lot about the program would seem out of place.

- Worry a lot about having to kill people. You’ll probably end up killing your best friend by accident.

Naturally speaking, most people aren’t killers and probably would have a problem with it. That being said, put people in a fight or die situation, and the percentage of people who’d worry about having to kill would probably drop dramatically.

- When stumbling upon some other kid, don’t care about their relationship with you; kill them.

Again this is dependent on the character, more development needs to be done. Killing someone on accident or out of fear without care for your relationship with them is fairly more realistic than each and every person in the game becoming a hardened, cold-blooded murderer the moment they step into the game.

- If you win the Program make sure you’re almost dead. Lose at least a limb, an eye, or any other VISIBLE part. Look as if you’ve just been pulled out of a dog’s mouth.

Unless you’re an exceptional killer and do everything from a great distance, the odds of getting injured, even crippled, in the game would be fairly high. Once you go to attack someone, odds are that they would fight back, particularly if you only had a close-range weapon and had to do it hand to hand. Engage in a gunfight, and odds are you’ll probably get hit, even with a ricochet. Engage in a gunfight with someone with an automatic… that’d be problematic.

- Spend months or even years in hospital. Slip into a coma. Die of your injuries. Scratch that, commit suicide.

Depending on the extent of injuries, some hospital time is not out of the question, particularly if the injuries are of a nature when physical therapy would be required. Coma and or dying of injuries… that’d need more work and explanation, but should not be entirely written off (though Kill Bill ripoff style comas that end after several years with few consequences other than a lust for revenge, should be avoided at all costs, as it’s been done before). Again, depending on the nature of what went down, suicide is not out of the question. Soldiers coming back from war commit suicide all the time, and they’re trained to encounter a lot of what they deal with. A complete amateur thrust into a situation where they have to murder and/or see the deaths of a lot of people they know would almost assuredly come away with a great amount of emotional and psychological scars that would be with them for the rest of their lives.

- Wait with that, kill the Program coordinator first. DO NOT shoot them. Be creative!

Yeah, the odds of a winner/survivor/escapee being able to get into contact with anyone related to the game would be extremely unlikely, as they would probably be under protection or at least impossible for an amateur to find. As for the last part… all I can say is I regret a lot of what I did in 72 Hours, and the content of the last chapter is probably at the top of it.

Now, a couple of general gripes with stories in general I’m going to throw in for the hell of it (some of which I’ll fully acknowledge I’m guilty of myself).

- The government had enough time to set up a program, install security systems and the infrastructure to support the game and kidnap a large group of people. With that level of control, escaping the game would be next to impossible. Maybe one or two escapes could take place in time, but they would be few and far between. Almost every other game is going to end with one or no people surviving.

- Guns. Most kids aren’t going to know how to use firearms, and even those who do aren’t going to be guaranteed crack shots. People are going to miss, guns are going to jam, they’ll run out when you don’t expect, and they will kick hard and unexpectedly if they’re big enough and you don’t know what you’re doing. Use a shotgun wrong without having any clue how to brace it properly, you’re bound to break your collar bone.

- Bulletproof vests. This is an excuse just to make the bad guy even more dangerous, and a lazy one at that. For a real twist, just ditch bulletproof vests and leave a character to their own devices as to how not to get shot. Have them spend more time sniping, learning to stalk and surprise people, and yes, horror upon horrors, the bad guy can retreat when they know that they can’t walk out of a situation alive otherwise.

Sorry if I rambled too much and sounded like I was criticizing the guide you’ve posted, you got a good thing going on here, look forward to any more updates should they come up. As someone else mentioned, some more explanation for some of your points would be greatly appreciated to understand more of what you mean by the points.

I think Kiriyama would've looked like a glorified Fabio-esque sex god if he won. Seriously, the guy was running around killing EVERYONE, chasing people through the woods, and he still had neat hair and that ridiculous defying-gravity cape thing? :(

Kawada looked like hell when he won the first time, too. I see your point.

Damn you to hell! (not really) I was considering writing a Program story when someone actually _WINS_, but after reading this someone's bound to get the idea and do it before my lazy ** gets around to opening a Word document. XD

Once again, I agree; I really don't read original BR stories much, AT ALL, because I figure your "story" (not sure what to call this) highlights 'em all.

Although, going along with the original BR; Kiriyama DID get the best weapon, the Uzi (so did one of the lighthouse girls, I think, but she wasn't important enough) and he also got the bulletproof vest.

The idea of Shuuya taking Kazuo out by dropping a vase of flowers on his head made me laugh. :)

Hehe, this was cute! Happy Halloween and update soon!

Opal

You did a good job with this part, even if it was a little bit confused sometimes. Poisonous snake... not a bad weapon at all... I'm waiting for the next! (Wait a minute...Kiriyama to win?! You gave me so good ideas every day, now I don't know which one to write.)