Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk admits that Japanese manga and anime inspired him in making the very popular South Korean Netflix series.
The Influence of Battle Royale and Liar Game on Squid Game: How Classic Manga Influenced One of Netflix's Biggest Shows, by Patrick Frater, Variety, Sep 24, 2021 11:16am PT.
| Quote: | | But Hwang brushes off the criticism by referring to his notes for the project, originally conceived as a feature film, in 2008. “I freely admit that I’ve had great inspiration from Japanese comics and animation over the years,” he said. “When I started, I was in financial straits myself and spent much time in cafes reading comics including ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘Liar Game.’ I came to wonder how I’d feel if I took part in the games myself. But I found the games too complex, and for my own work focused instead on using kids’ games.” |
‘Squid Game’ Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, Star Lee Jung-jae on Lasting Impact of Show: “Great Stories Can Come From Anywhere”: "I believe 'Squid Game' is the very first proven case where a non-English-language show was able to meet so many global audiences worldwide," says the director. By Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, June 7, 2022 10:15am
| Quote: | | Director Hwang, tell me about how this idea came to be and how it ended up at Netflix.
HWANG DONG-HYUK[ It was back in about 2008 or 2009. My film had just failed, and I was struggling financially. I had a lot of time, so I was reading a lot of the Japanese manga such as Kaiji, Liar Game and Battle Royale, all survival mangas. I started imagining, “What if there was a game like this that had a huge cash prize that I could participate in?” I got to thinking, “I’m not a genius. I don’t think I’m going to make it too far in these games.” Then I thought, “What if it was a really easy game, like a children’s game that had a huge cash prize? Maybe I could do quite well in something like that.” In 2009, I started writing it as a feature film script. At the time, a lot of the response was that it was too unrealistic and too violent and, because of those reasons, it wouldn’t be commercially successful. I wasn’t able to get any financing and failed in casting the main actors. I had to put it away and think that maybe one day, times would be different. |
The Influence of Battle Royale and Liar Game on Squid Game: How Classic Manga Influenced One of Netflix's Biggest Shows, By Hannah Diffey, Screen Rant, Feb 13, 2025
| Quote: | | It is impossible to talk about Squid Game without mentioning Battle Royale, a manga and novel that popularized the survival game genre. The story follows high school students forced to kill each other on an isolated island, with only one survivor in the end. The themes of desperation, social commentary, and brutal violence feel eerily familiar when compared to Squid Game. The biggest difference was that Battle Royale pits young people against one another unwillingly, while Squid Game recruits desperate adults who choose to participate. This twist makes Squid Game more of a critique on economic disparity than just a game of survival. |
As some posters point out, the Kaiji seinen manga and its Kaiji TV anime series adaptations feature adults, including the titular protagonist himself, voluntarily choosing to participate in survival games. Squid Game resembles Kaiji more than it does Liar Game and Battle Royale.
In addition, the Battle Royale manga is an adaptation of the 1999 Japanese novel Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. This is one of the most influential novels in the 21st century. It was adapted into a 2000 Japanese live-action film by the late filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku, with a screenplay by Fukasaku's son Kenta Fukasaku. In 2009, filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino praised Battle Royale as one of his favorite films of the previous two decades. The Battle Royale movie inspired Irish video game developer Brendan Greene to launch the huge battle royale genre in gaming, such as Greene's own PUBG:Battlegrounds (PUBG = Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, 2017-; Player Unknown is Greene's user name); Fortnite (2017-); and Apex Legends (2019-)
Cultural Impact [of the Battle Royale film]
| Quote: | | The film, especially with its DVD releases, drew a large global cult following and became a cultural phenomenon.[101] Quentin Tarantino considers Battle Royale to be one of the most influential films in recent decades.[102] The film has been highly influential in global popular culture, inspiring numerous works of battle royale genre fiction in a number of different media across the world.[103]
Film and television
Since its release, the film has had an influence on filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino,[104] most notably his Kill Bill films;[58] the character Gogo Yubari, played by Chiaki Kuriyama, resembles the character she plays in Battle Royale, Takako Chigusa.[105] Battle Royale has also been referenced in the 2004 zombie comedy film Shaun of the Dead, where Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg made sure a big Battle Royale poster is prominently displayed in Shaun's living room.[106] Despite not being officially released in the United States for a long time, Battle Royale has often been referenced in American pop culture, ranging from Tarantino's films to the rock band The Flaming Lips' use of footage from the film as a backdrop for its Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots tour,[107] along with references in Hollywood films such as Jason Reitman's Thank You for Smoking (2005) and Juno (2007) and American television shows such as Lost and Community.[106] In Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, one of the characters (Matthew Currie Holmes as Michael "M" Epstein) wears a Battle Royale shirt.
Maggie Lee of Reuters describes Battle Royale as the "film that pioneered the concept of the teen death game", citing its influence on films such as Kaiji (2009) and Hideo Nakata's The Incite Mill (2010), both of which starred Tatsuya Fujiwara (who played Battle Royale's protagonist Shuya Nanahara) in the leading roles.[108] V.A. Musetto of the New York Post compared it to The Condemned (2007), which the critic called "a bad rip-off" of Battle Royale as well as The Most Dangerous Game.[109]
Critics have also noted the influence of Battle Royale on other films, such as the 2008 film Kill Theory,[110] the 2009 film The Tournament,[111] and The Hunger Games trilogy.[98][99] Battle Royale has also drawn comparisons to films such as Gamer (2009),[112] Kick-Ass (2010),[113] and The Belko Experiment (2016).[114] Other examples of "battle royale" films include The Purge series (2013), Assassination Nation (2018), Ready or Not (2019), and The Hunt (2020).[103] The South Korean Netflix original series Squid Game (2021) was also influenced by Battle Royale.[115]
Comics, manga and anime
Battle Royale has drawn comparisons to the Gantz franchise of manga (2000), anime (2004) and films (2011).[116] Btooom! (2009 debut) features a variation of the battle royale theme.[117]
The film has also influenced the creation of the Marvel Comics series Avengers Arena.[118] The series' logo also mirrors that of the logo used in the Battle Royale movie.
Video games and visual novels
Further information: Battle royale game
The genre of battle royale video games, in which players compete to be the last one standing in a shrinking battlefield, was inspired by and took its name from the film.[119][120] The genre became popular in the late 2010s and includes games such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Fortnite Battle Royale, ARMA 3, H1Z1: King of the Kill, Knives Out, Rules of Survival, Garena Free Fire, Apex Legends, Realm Royale, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's "Blackout" game mode, and Call of Duty: Warzone.
The film's title also refers to the battle royale genre of visual novels, revolving around a similar narrative premise.[121][122] Examples include the Fate/stay night series (2004 debut), Dies irae (2007), and the Zero Escape series (2009 debut).[122] The Danganronpa series (2010 debut) is also notably influenced by the film,[123] with its scenario writer Kazutaka Kodaka citing the film as an influence.[124] Battle Royale has also drawn comparisons to Square Enix's The World Ends with You (2007).[125] |
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