Shogo Kawada

nihongo|Shogo Kawada|川田 章吾|"Kawada Shōgo" a.k.a. Boy #5 is one of the main heroes of the novel, film and manga "Battle Royale", and is largely the same in all versions. In the film he is played by Taro Yamamoto.

tyle and character ranking

Koushun Takami describes Kawada as a "Young Champion-esque character" (the manga version of "Battle Royale" was serialized in "Young Champion") and recalled that a person told him that Masayuki Taguchi's version of Shogo Kawada " looks like Bancho Kiyohara," referring to the Yomiuri Giants baseball player Kazuhiro "Bancho" Kiyohara. Readers of "Young Champion" ranked Kawada first in a character popularity poll. Taguchi felt that timing contributed to the ranking as a Kawada-centered story appeared at the time of the poll. Takami felt that Kawada would have received first place even if a Kawada-centered story had not appeared on the same pages as the poll."Final Chapter Memorial Discussion: Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi." "Battle Royale". Volume 15. "Tokyopop"]

tory

Shogo is a transfer student in all three versions. In the novel and manga Shogo, who was from Kobe Second District Junior High School in Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture, was put in Shirowa Junior High School's Class 3-B in Shiroiwa, Kagawa Prefecture a few months before the Program. In the film he is a transfer from Kobe Number 5 Junior High School who does not appear on the scene until after the rest of the class has woken up on the Island; in the film the rest of the class is from the Kanagawa Prefecture instead.

In the novel, he is described as having a "body built like a middleweight boxer's." His hair is described as having "hair cropped so short he looked like a monk" and had a "long scar from what appeared to be a knife wound [which] ran over his left brow, and...two round scars next to each other on his left shoulder [that] looked like gunshot wounds."

He has fought on the Program, which held his class, 3-C, one year before (three years in the film) and won it. He was the son of a doctor, but in the film he also says his father was a fisherman and a chef. In the manga, the reader sees a scene in which he treats a baby suffering from burns and is very harsh to the already distressed mother.

Shogo also sometimes mentions a girl called Keiko Onuki who was in the last program with him. In the manga, she was the one who presented him the bird caller as a gift.

In the film Shogo is given a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun at the start of the Program, whereas in the novel and manga he gets a Remington 870.

Due to his past experiences he knows what is the best course of action at certain times and is very organized. In the novel, on the first night before meeting Shuya and Noriko he raids the town's supply store and walks around verifying locations that are marked on the map; he also sees Shinji Mimura in the town on the first night, but he ignores Mimura.

He meets Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa early in the first morning, after Kyoichi Motobuchi attacks Shuya with a revolver and saves them by shooting Kyoichi. In the novel and manga, Shogo joins up with the two of them immediately after Kyoichi's attack; in the film they work together later, even though Shuya did not trust him at first. Shogo shoots Kaori Minami dead in the manga. He treats Noriko for a fever and helps her and Shuya get off the Island.

He looks after Noriko while Shuya is away at the lighthouse, the hideout of several of the female students, after he (Shuya) was shot by Kazuo Kiriyama.

Shogo is hardened to the game and knows when things are likely to turn from bad to worse, and he also knows what to do at times and where to go.

At the end, he kills Kiriyama, but is grievously wounded during the fight, and dies of his wounds on the boat on the way back to the mainland the next day. In the novel and manga he manages to kill the program instructor (Kinpatsu Sakamochi in the novel, Yonemi Kamon in the manga). In both versions, the instructor dies when Shogo impales the instructor in the neck with a pencil.

In the novel, Shogo dies of a neck wound, while in the manga he dies of a stomach injury. The movie does not specify a critical point of his injuries.

Personality

Prior to the events of the film, manga and novel, Shogo Kawada was not the combat-hardened survivalist that he is in the present game. His personality differs in the three versions. In the novel and manga, he is quite proficient in first aid, as his father is a doctor, appears to be quite intelligent although slightly unsympathetic. In the film, not much is known of his life before he went through the Program, only that he learned several skills from his father such as cooking and how to drive a motor boat.

His relationship with Keiko also differs. In the flashback sequences in the novel and manga, he is in a relationship with her, and while they seem to be a happy couple most of the time, he upsets her frequently with his unsympathetic nature. One most notable incident was when he felt no ounce of pity when a couple had their child taken from them as they were guilty of stealing money. This happened the day before he was taken to the Program. In the film, it is not known if Keiko and Shogo were really a couple; they care for each other in a similar way Shuya cares for Noriko in a deliberate parallel by the film makers.

Kawada's experience in the previous Program

As with his personality and relationship with Keiko Onuki, what happened when Shogo was originally put in the Program differs in the three versions:

Novel and manga

In the novel and manga, Shogo did not win by luck. He racked up the highest body count in the whole game, whilst searching for Keiko (believing that he was killing to protect her) first by stabbing a boy with a katana, and then killing a girl by shooting her when she had fired at him and missed. Over the rest of the game he killed 10 more students (throwing one out a window), and was cut above his eyebrow, which left a scar that is visible even in his second game.

In the novel, it is stated that she died before meeting Shogo and that he stayed at the location of her death for quite some time (he claims it was because "she died a horrible death"). After he kills Kazuo, Shogo lies to Shuya and Noriko by stating that he never had a relationship with Keiko; in the novel and manga, he states that the girl in the photograph is a lady named Kyoka Shimazaki (島崎 京香 "Shimazaki Kyōka"), who he says lives in Kobe. Shogo lies about "Shimazaki" to fool Kinpatsu Sakamochi since he knows Sakamochi listens in on conversations.

In the manga, later on, Shogo kills another boy by shooting him in his stomach. This however, was witnessed by his girlfriend Keiko, who is held at gunpoint by one of the remaining male players. He believes that Keiko should be with someone who cares about her, as he believes Shogo does not, and seems to have lost his mind. Shogo just smiles and pretends he does not care, and says that he has already killed 13 people, and is playing to win. Shogo then points out to him that he has not taken the gun off safety, and then shoots him in the head and kills him. When Keiko asks him if what he says was true, he says that while he did kill 13 people, he is planning on shooting himself, letting Keiko win and beating the game (as he says, "Loopholes, eh?"). However, Keiko points the gun at him and threatens to kill him. It causes Shogo to react, and shoot Keiko in the head and kill her.

As he mourns her, Shogo finds out she was not aiming at him, but at the other last remaining contestant behind him. She tries to kill him, but he dodges the shot and kills her. Shogo (now the winner) is taken from the Island, recovers in a hospital, and goes back to his home, where he finds out his father died when he tried to fight back against the soldiers who told him Shogo was in the Program.

Film

Shogo's Battle Royale differs from the novel and manga greatly. First of all, while it is not known how many people he killed, it can be gathered that it was far less than his body count in the novel and manga (which was 13, including the person holding Keiko hostage before Kawada). What is known from what he said, is that he and Keiko were forced to kill one of their best friends who tried to kill them. In the final hour of the game, Shogo and Keiko, who both appear to be injured, walk to a hill where a massive battle occurred, with dead bodies lying around them everywhere. As the final minutes approach, the collars start flashing red and start beeping. Knowing that their death is approaching, the two embrace and prepare themselves, but before the collars detonate, Keiko shoots Shogo. The two roll around, and Shogo shoots Keiko and mortally wounds her. She says "Thank you..." and dies.

The collars stop beeping, and Shogo wins. This serves as his motivation in the film — he wants to know why she gave up her life for him, something he eventually discovers when he does the same thing in the second game, by deliberately risking his life to fight Kazuo Kiriyama in order that Shuya and Noriko might live. He does survive the fight, however the next day internal injuries caused by Kazuo's Uzi prove fatal. On the boat as the group escape, Shogo teaches Shuya how to sail it. He then lies down on the deck and recalls Keiko's last words, which he finally understands "Thank you...and then...and then...I'm glad I finally found true friends". Having avenged Keiko and found true friends himself, Shogo dies happy, in much the same way as Keiko herself died in the previous program.

References