V8
From BRRP
Version 8 of [BR] Roleplay showed that even with characters that had been well worn-over in past versions, [BR]RP members could still utilize the students of Shiroiwa Junior High School to pull out all the stops for an adrenaline-filled, highly unpredictable novel canon version. We saw the introduction of characters who had hardly been played before, along with several new and creative spins on characters we knew very well. V8 had twists and turns right to its incredible end.
Shy girl Chisato Matsui gets off to a bad start in the Program. A really bad start. Right off the bat, she and her close friend, Haruka Tanizawa, are trying to kill each other. Out of desperation, Chisato manages to get the upper hand with her first kill. But it doesn't stop there. Her insecurities begin to spiral as she loses all control on the events happening around her- the death and chaos that just won't stop. Shinji Mimura's death eventually shatters her, and Chisato will do anything- anything- to feel beautiful again, even if that means killing indiscriminately.
Toshinori Oda makes quick and dirty work of the first of his victims, Tadakatsu Hatagami. Believing himself to be superior to his classmates, he's remorseless in his decision to play and win the game. There's only one fellow student whom Toshinori could even come close to considering as his equal. Kayoko Kotohiki. The girl continues to trust him, even after witnessing Toshinori murder Hiroki Sugimura, who confesses to Kayoko with his dying breaths. But all of this bad karma is collecting, and Toshinori will be forced to learn that everyone's on equal ground when it comes to life or death.
Kazuo Kiriyama is bored. He always has been. Constantly seeking fulfillment for a void in his mind he has never been fully consciously aware of, he sees the Program as a new and interesting challenge. We're familiar with the fate-deciding coin toss from the original Battle Royale canon, which Kazuo repeats in this version. But the path he takes in V8 is something that will throw any reader for a loop. A series of circumstances leads to another head injury for this gifted young man. How will this effect him? What will Kazuo Kiriyama do when he's forced to face his emotions for the first time in his life?
Shuuya Nanahara and Yoshitoki Kuninobu have weathered every storm together since meeting at the Charity House orphanage over ten years ago. As best friends, they are inseperable, and the faithful Shuuya makes it his goal early on in the game to find Yoshitoki. But things aren't quite what they seem between the two. With one standing constantly in the spotlight and the other trailing behind, secrets will be confessed, accusations will be made, and a long-standing friendship begins to deteriorate completely. Will they remember in the end that the only family they have is each other?
The class's golden couple, Kazuhiko Yamamoto and Sakura Ogawa, aren't without their own share of problems. Their trouble in paradise started just a short while before the class trip, when Sakura's boyfriend confessed to her that he was gay and having a fling with their openly homosexual classmate, Shou Tsukioka, on the side. As a kind and introverted girl, Sakura is keeping Kazuhiko's secret, and their relationship has turned into more of a facade. Despite it all, she still wants to seek Kazuhiko out on the island. But when he is killed early on, who will she turn to? There's one definite way to escape the situation, and so Sakura's own hands curl around her throat...
Mizuho Inada is convinced that she is a warrior. She's a lasting pillar of support for the two best friends that rely on her, Megumi Etou and Kaori Minami. A bit eccentric, Mizuho marches to the beat of her own drum, gaming dice in hand. But what will this defender of justice do when thrown into a situation so depraved she could never have dreamed of it? Worst of all, the lines of reality and fantasy begin to blur for this girl after a while. Mizuho has made a hobby of fighting demons on the game board. Now she'll have to fight them for real.
Class clowns Yuka Nakagawa and Yutaka Seto have each always had the ability to laugh off whatever bothered them. Joking that they must be on the set of a horror film, they're able to escape the harsh reality around them, if just for a little while. The truth quickly sets in, though, and no amount of humor could be a sufficient enough escape. The Program soon claims Yutaka, forcing Yuka to move on on her own. Forced to make decisions where both choices are the worst case scenario, she's definitely not laughing any more.
Yuko Sakaki, Megumi Etou, Yukie Utsumi, and Mayumi Tendo- all kind girls, the type who could make friends with anybody. They're also very good friends with each other, but those friendships begin to strain under the weight of the Program. Threads of fate bring them together at the Shinto shrine located on the island, where a situation so tense and unnerving that it easily rivals the familiar Lighthouse massacre of the original canon begins to unfold. These four girls find themselves entangled in a complex web of lies, paranoia, and, eventually, heartbreak. Two will manage to escape the shrine, and the other two will be reduced to nothing but bullet-riddled corpses on its holy ground...
Shogo Kawada has a shotgun, a scar, and a secret. He's also got a plan. A former winner- or is that victim?- of the Program, his life has been hell ever since his victory over a year ago. With nothing to keep him going but the memory of the girl he loved and a desire to see the government turned on its head, he's going to try to save his classmates with his collar removing skills. But Shogo's sense of purpose is far greater than his task, and he begins to lose sight of anything but his own pride, having knowingly allowed his new class to be entered into the Program. Soon, he's forced to realize that it's far too late to save anyone, and that includes himself.
