Ok, putting Deathgame recoomendations into it's own post cause the other got too long already >.>
@many-blogs
Battle Royale
(Novel + Manga by Koushun Takami, 1999-2005; Movie, 2000;)
A random schoolclass gets put on an island to kill each other. Last one alive after 3 days gets to continue to be alive.
Listen, there is a reason this spawned a genre. The Charas are...VERY early 2000s with all the stereotypes you'd expect from that, but the story is solid and a fun read. Having multiple characters to follow around really helps with cutting through how very shounen the protag is. The movie is compressed, but also they make a very smart choice with the Game Master.
If you want the gist of the whole thing, the movie is enough, but if you want the charas to make sense, then read the manga. I never read the original novel so no clue where that falls.
Alice in Borderland
(Manga by Haro Aso, 2010-2016; 2 season Life Action series, 2020-2022;)
Unkown amount of people get isekai'd into an empty Tokyo where they have to keep participating in deathly Game Challenges or get killed via giant laser.
This is the one that REALLY got me into the genre. It also kinda changed me as a person, because it's core themes revolve around suicidality and finding reasons to keep going despite it all. Great games, great characters!
The Netflix adaptation is really good! It smoothes out some of the more disjointed parts of the story, but follows it closely overall. My only note is that if you only watch the show, then please read the very last chapter of the Manga. It's the perfect end point for the themes and it sucks they didn't put it on tape.
The 8 Show
(Single season show based on "Money Game" + "Pie Game" webtoons by Bae Jin-soo, 2024;)
8 Players are locked into a Game Space where they earn money based on their private room and time passed. Time can be earned by being entertaining.
That's it, that's the entire show. It is very blunt with it's theme and it's great! I've tried to read the webtoons this is based on but I can't find them in an accessible way, so idk. Love the show, stole it for Hunting Grounds.
Tomodachi Game
(Manga by Mikoto Yamaguchi + Yuki Sato, 2013-2024;)
Friendgroup gets dragged into participating in a series of challenges to test the trust they have in each other.
This is just such a fun read. Yeah the protag has a bit of a "I'm too smart for this" problem and the twists are twisting into each other, but I don't care I'm having too much fun with these games and how they get through. This is the one that made me start Hunting Grounds. I love watching people lie to each other :)
Kaiji
(Manga by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, 1996-ongoing; 2 season Anime 2007/8 + 2011;)
One mans very bad, terrible, excrutiating long way out of gambling debts.
There are games with the consequences of grave injuries, slavery or death. This is a Deathgame, fight me! At least until Kaiji battles a Pachinko machine for ~100 chapters at which point, hi and welcome to my hell! I'm just so fascinated by the structure of this thing and I need more people to join the madness. Manga and Anime are equal, choose your poison.
Honorary Mentions:
"Gantz!" for great games and yet being so, so weird about everything else
"Death Parade" ....not sure I count it in the genre but it's great, watch it!
"Real Account" for no other reason than it's the one I'm currently reading
“You are guilty of coming to find me before I came to find you.” – Death
“I am the only being that never dies. I am the thing you mocked. Death.” – Death
“Do you still think death is the end of it all? This is only the beginning.” – Death
“Each day felt like hell while I was alive. Now I have to go to hell even after I die.” – Choi Yee Jae
“Humans are really amazing. They say their life is like hell, but they bear with it and carry on living in their so-called hell.” – Death
“What’s your impression of the real hell? Do you think you can even last a minute in there?” – Death
“Isn’t that what you humans do? You care more about the thorn in your own finger than the knife inside someone else’s body.” – Death
“You can’t really say you’re living when you live in constant fear.” – Ji Su
“People are happiest when they can truly be themselves. In the end, life would be meaningless if you can never really be yourself.” – Ji Su
“Humans always struggle to life only after they die, not while they are still alive.” – Death
“The punished becomes the punisher? That will only make you pay a greater price.” – Death
“When will you realize that death never goes as planned?” – Death
“The death that caused me the most pain wasn’t when I burned to death or when my limbs were severed. It was the death of someone that I loved dearly.” – Choi Yee Jae
“You can’t really say you’re living when you live in constant fear. But since I was a coward, I always lived in constant fear. Afraid that the world wouldn’t recognize my worth, that I would fall behind my peers, and that I would be rejected. I ended up taking my own life due to this fear before my life could even blossom.” – Choi Yee Jae
“I only realized after dying that life in itself was an opportunity. And the pain that I thought engulfed my whole life was only a small part of it.” – Choi Yee Jae
“A clear day. A rainy day. A windy day. I learned that life was made up of these different days. And that it was okay to fail as long as I kept going.” – Choi Yee Jae
Ref:
Quotes
https://korean-binge.com/2023/12/28/60-quotes-deaths-game-2023/
Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBrgWouBob8
OST Though There's no Miracle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMuNnhP-vJo
Webtoon (unfinished)
https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/deaths-game/episode-1/viewer?title_no=1265&episode_no=1
A deadly game is unfolding where the rules are simple: survive by hitting your opponent. The person with the fewest hits after three minutes will lose their life. Tensions rise as the stakes get higher. Will you be the one to survive? Watch this gripping battle unfold.
