At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is in a state of collapse.  Unemployment stands at 15% with millions out of work.  School violence is out of control and rebellious teenagers stage mass boycotts.  The beleagured government retaliates with Battle Royale: each year a randomly chosen class is pitted against itself on an abandoned island in a cruel game of survival.  A boisterous group of 9th graders embark on a school trip.  On arrival, they awaken from a drug-induced sleep, to find that they have been hijacked to fight this year's Battle Royale.  A former teacher, Kitano, will oversee the battle.  Each student has been fitted with a necklace that monitors their location, it can also explode on command.  The rules of the game are simple:

-It lasts 3 days

-Each player starts out with food, water and a 'weapon'

-If more than one player survives, everyone dies

-There is no escape

As the roll call begins, each kid grabs a backpack and stumbles away towards death or murder.  As the game progresses, terror and panic challenge the students' fragile trust in each other.  Some suspect everyone, blindingly striking down those who cross their paths.  Others form alliances dreaming of a peaceful solution with multiple survivors.  Despite the game's brutality, the adolescent players maintain their school obsessions with crushes, petty grudges and their dreams.  But as the game approaches its shocking final stages, even this semblance of normality disintegrates!