Akira Battle Royale soundtrack

Okay... I'm attempting to backdate this so it doesn't show up on people's Flists. If it does, please poke me.

The Akira Royale soundtrack

1) Kaori Iwasaki: Sanctuary by Utada
Kaori's song was actually the one I had the most trouble finding, because I needed something that acknowledged her boyfriend's flaws while still unconditionally accepting him, and songs with this message are surprisingly thin on the ground. In the end my brother suggested 'Sanctuary' which was perfect. I really liked the tranquil, Japanese atmosphere and the fact that 'I need more affection than you know' is always backwards, suggesting Kaori's inability to ask for support from Tetsuo, or even to admit to herself that she needs it.

My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah
Where fears and lies melt away
Music inside
(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)
What's left of me
What's left of me now
I watch you fast asleep,
All I fear means nothing

2) Sonoko Okamoto: Rapture by Hurt
This is the first time that a song has actually dictated a person's plot. I thought that this song was good for Sonoko because of its anger, religious themes and changes in mood, but on checking out the lyrics I realised that the situation it described was very different from Sonoko's. However, I also had the problem that Sonoko had decided to give Yamagata the five wounds of Jesus and I didn't know why. So I figured that Mujaki pretending to be her brother would be even more conflict-filled if she'd had a brother who'd been killed by her Christian mother, as in the song - and this also gave her a reason to damage Yamagata the way she does.

So she walked in the baby's room
Knowing what she should do leaves me in absolute horror
She put her hand on its lips and gave it one last kiss
And sang some tune that went...
Until your rapture falls to pieces
'Till your rapture falls to pieces
Find in me the room to breathe,
Simple things like suffering

3) Mujaki Okuda: Take Away by Revelation Theory
This was picked pretty much because of the lyrics, which I felt could've been written for Mujaki's attitude to Sonoko. But I also liked the aggressive tone and how it contrasted with Mujaki's passive, nervous demeanour.

Is this what you wanted?
You got what you needed; all that's mine.
Take it or leave it. (Take it or leave it.)
Everything's even but what's left of my life.

Everything's wrong I know, I can see it in your eyes again.
Taking control of my soul and my life.
Cause you take away.
You take away.
What more can you take?
It feels like I've been here before.
All that you do seems to abuse, you won't cut me anymore.

4) Eriko Otani: Control by Poe
Although Eriko never gets to confront her rapist, I felt that the message of the song - that the narrator will not let what's happened to her drag her down, that she's become ruthless - reflected Eriko's attitude and also her decision to kill herself. I also felt that the cool, intelligent tone of the song was very like Eriko. And as it happens, the male voice speaking at the end of the song sounds like the doctor from the Akira movie, which amused me ^^

You thought you could keep me from loving
You thought you could feed on my soul
But while you were busy destroying my life
What was half in me has become whole

While you were looking the other way
While you had your eyes closed
While you were licking your lips
cause I was miserable
While you were selling your soul
While you were tearing a hole in me
I was taking control

5) Hisano Oniroku: Wake Up by Dope
This was another song picked purely on the lyrics. I don't feel that it works as well as some of the others, but I do like the way that Eriko and Hisano's songs are so different, reflecting their attitudes to their troubles; Eriko chooses to focus and control her feelings, whereas Hisano is just angry.

Dissolved the life in me
You crawled inside of me
You wanted everything
You took it all from me
You fucking talk to me

6) Shotaro Kaneda: Blow Me Away by Breaking Benjamin
Not much I can say about this except that I feel the lyrics could've been written for Akira Royale!Kaneda, especially the chorus. But while Kaneda's always been the Shuuya-figure of the narrative, I didn't want a song that could've applied equally to both of them - so I am pleased that this has a deeper, angrier tone than a song for Shuuya would have. I also like the epic, saga-ish tone to it - the entire Battle Royale can be retold through it. The entire song fits, but I am resisting the temptation to quote it all.

Only the strongest will survive
Lead me to heaven, when we die
I am the shadow on the wall
I'll be the one to save us all

7) Daiko Kuroki: Catch-22 by Pink
I chose this song for Daiko because although it's a joking, silly song, the lyrics have a serious side to them and echo Daiko's problems very well, while also showing her tendency to make everything into a joke.

Looking from the outside
You're always looking in
You think you fixed the problem
'Til it comes right back again
And life seems like a trap
You're trying to get out
You're searching for your cheese
'Cause you feel like mighty mouse


8) Kimiko Kurosaka: Mad World by Gary Jules
I deliberately chose the Gary Jules version of this song rather than the original Tears for Fears track because this has such a tired, nostalgic tone to it and I feel that that really reflects Kimiko and how, in the end, she doesn't care - and how everything she does is affected by her past. I went with this song particularly mainly because of 'the dreams in which I'm dying/Are the best I've ever had'. Although it's not stated explicitly in the fic that Kimiko feels this way, for me it sums her up. The rest of the lyrics also express her lack of connection with the real world and real people.

Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me
And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had

9) Rumi Saito: Just Like You by Three Days Grace
This song is a bit of an odd choice for Rumi, but I did feel that the lyrics suited her, or at least got across the main point she makes in her last scene, that she could have tried to win the game and chose not to. It also fits with the knowledge I have of her backstory.

I could be mean
I could be angry
You know I could be just like you
I could be fake
I could be stupid
You know I could be just like you

10) Tetsuo Shima: Breathe by Nickelback
Tetsuo was a difficult person to find a song for because there are so many songs that could work for him. But the beginning of this put me onto it as a potential choice because of the mention of two men, and any song for Tetsuo has to make some reference to Kaneda... In the end I went for it because of the stressed, heavy sound to it and the lines 'I didn't want this/Somebody help me breathe', among others - because although Tetsuo started off in the first draft as someone who was always out to play the game, by the time I'd finished the fic he'd turned into someone whose crimes almost just happened... as in the original movie, he's a bastard while not knowing what he's getting into. I also like the way this track sounds so shaky and rushed next to Kaneda's song, demonstrating how Kaneda is always the more competent one. Kaneda gets the hero song. Tetsuo originally had 'Creep' by Radiohead as his song, but I changed it to this because I feel that this encompasses the entire Battle Royale, whereas 'Creep' was more about him prior to the event.

All I ever really wanted was to be the same.
Equal treatment never ever comes and here they go again.
All I ever really wanted was to be like you.
So perfect, so worthless. If I could take it all back, think again, I would
And now I found it
Found I adored it
I didn't want this
Somebody help me see

11) Tomoko Seyama: I Hate Everything About You by Three Days Grace
Originally Tomoko's song was 'Sleep Together' by Garbage, but the singer's feelings for her partner in that were far more ambiguous than in this song, which I feel fits Tomoko a lot better. I also like the repetitive, trapped feel to the song, and the hedonistic overtones, which really echoes Kaneda and Tomoko's relationship for me.

Every room-mate kept awake
By every sigh and scream we make
All the feelings that I get
But I still don't miss you yet
Only when I stop to think about it
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you?

12) Jiro Takigawa: Right Now by Korn
Poor Jiro... I ended up focusing completely on his rage issues, which is a shame as it would've been nice to find something tapping into his intellectual mindset and superiority complex. On the other hand, this song is such a solid slice of rage that I feel it reflects Jiro because when he's angry, that's all he is - it blocks out all his other qualities.

I'm feeling mean today
Not lost, not blown away
Just irritated and quite hated
Self control breaks down
Why's everyday so tame
I like my life insane
I'm fabricating and debating
Who I'm gonna kick around

13) Ryuki Tachikawa: Home by Three Days Grace
Being the most cannon-fodder-ish of the class, Ryuki was always going to make it difficult to find a song for him, but I chose this in the end because it seemed to elaborate on what we already know about him - that he has a home and that he is acting up against his concerned parents. This song comes across as very teenage and slightly whiny, which I liked - Ryuki not being the most unselfish of people. It's also ironic, I suppose, in that he dislikes his parents and resents his home while a large proportion of his classmates don't have proper homes at all.

No matter how hard I try
You're never satisfied
This is not a home
I think I'm better off alone
You always disappear
Even when you're here
This is not my home
I think I'm better off alone

14) Yousuke Tanaka: Longview by Green Day
Tanaka was also quite difficult to find a song for because he's so average - he doesn't have enough angst for a lot of songs. So in the end I picked this one, partly because it's mentioned that Tanaka has fantasised about every girl in the class and so some of the, uh, events of the song fit - and partly because the boredom and lack of opportunites fit a lot of the kids' lives, and Tanaka, being the Everyman, should have the song to embody them. It annoys me that the singer mentions his mother when Tanaka doesn't have one, but you can't have everything.

Sit around and watch the phone, but no one's calling
Call me pathetic, call me what you will
My mother says to get a job
But she don't like the one she's got
When masturbation's lost its fun
You're fuckin' lonely

15) Ikuya Tsunoda: How Could This Happen To Me by Simple Plan
Another suggestion from my brother. I think the sad, emo sense of the song fits the actor I chose for Ikuya's picture - all big sad eyes and a hurt expression - but I also think the lyrics fit Ikuya's situation and I like the fact that the singer claims that 'I've made my mistakes'. Ikuya is not a bad person, he's just weak, and the lack of anger in the song shows this. The lyrics are also appropriate for a Battle Royale in general ^^

I've made my mistakes
got nowhere to run
The night goes on as I’m fading away
I’m sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

16) Tanoshi Tendo: Blame by KMFDM
This was quite a weird choice and I'm still not sure if it totally works, but I really like the way it contrasts with Ikuya and Yukihiro's songs - it's angrier and more abstract and weird, demonstrating how while they're just unmotivated, Tanoshi is actually kind of messed up. Especially as the way the song starts it sounds like it's going to be just like Ikuya's.

Now breathe in the blame
Sleep-walking nights are useless lives to be drained
Always the same
Couldn't be denied
Before the secret died

17) Ima Nakatsuru: Black Coffee by All Saints
I chose this because it's tranquil and pretty circular - nothing changes, the singer is just happy where she is - and I think Ima is possibly one of the class happiest with who she is and what she does. I also like the fact that it's a pop song and pretty mainstream/low-culture, because Ima is quite a lowbrow girl and not pretentious. Finally, I think that 'I wouldn't wanna be/Anywhere else but here' echoes the realisation she comes to when she and Gendo find each other in the Battle Royale.

Day dreaming
Chain smoking
Always laughin
Always jokin
I remain the same
Did I tell you that I love you

18) Akio Nagai: Free by Vast Aire
With this one I really like the way that it sounds quite positive and empowering but it can still be linked to the Battle Royale - that now you are 'free' to do whatever you want, including kill, rape and maim. Akio tries to convince himself that he is controlling the Battle Royale and that it's almost good because now he can do what he wants. He's always been happy to bully and now this is a chance to be the biggest bully of them all. I also like the dramatic, fast sound of this track, suggesting no time to think and having to make decisions in a split second.

It won't be long till they're all gone
And we can be what we want to be
I wanna run from everything
Everything that holds me down
Nothing to win
Nothing to lose
You can't tell me what to do any more


19) Sento Numaka: Nothing Wrong by Jimmy Eat World
I really like this song as a choice for Sento. I feel that Sento doesn't really get that what he does is cruel and genuinely thinks he's a good person. The song can easily be taken to be about both bullying others and about what he tries to do to Kaori. I also like the young sound of the singer's voice, and the vagueness of the lyrics. Finally, the chorus perhaps speaks for everyone in the class, considering why they're put into the Battle Royale in the first place.

We've done nothing wrong,
But we've done nothing
We can't look away,
But we're just looking in
It's second nature to say,
Hey hey hey, we've done nothing wrong!


20) Yukihiro Noma: Angel by Gavin Friday
I mainly picked this because it sounds like someone who's stoned ^^ but also because the only thing that really matters to Yukihiro is Hisano, so a song about a girl seemed a good choice for him - especially as the singer is idealising his girlfriend and seeing her as an angel rather than actually giving a sense of her as a person. Alternatively, Kimiko could be the angel - 'It's paradise you take me to' now having a literal meaning.

Angel, hold on to me
I'll call, call out to you
It's paradise you take me to

21) Gendo Hatamura: Nemo by Nightwish
This was actually a song that I wrote chunks of the first draft of the fic to, so I could be biased - but although the lyrics don't initially seem to reflect Gendo, it feels like him to me - the abstract nature of the song, the mentions of being lost and not knowing who you are. I also like the slightly old-fashioned, Gothic tone, because it reflects how Gendo is different from the rest of the class and just does his own thing.

Oh how I wish
For soothing rain
All I wish is to dream again
My loving heart
Lost in the dark
For hope I`d give my everything

22) Suki Higuchi: #1 Crush by Garbage
This was the song that gave me the idea for this soundtrack - to me, it seemed to fit Suki incredibly well, with its driven tone and its violent lyrics. It's simultaneously aggressive and vulnerable and I also really like the way it builds up and up, echoing Suki's mental state in the Battle Royale.

Violate all the love that I'm missing,
Throw away all the pain that I'm living,
You will believe in me,
And I can never be ignored...
I would die for you,
I would kill for you,
I will steal for you,
I'd do time for you,
I will await for you,
I'd make room for you

23) Asa Fujikami: No Surprises by Radiohead
Asa was going to be another difficult one to find a song for because I didn't really know what her song should be about. In the end I picked this because it's got a childlike, creepy-nursery-rhyme sound to it, which echoes Asa's reluctance to grow up and the way people tease her for being immature; and because the lyrics are a plea for a quiet life in a city that doesn't care about you, which sounds like Asa. It also makes a reference to home, and Asa is one of the few people who's actually happy with her home life - happier than she is with any other part of her life, anyway.

This is my final fit,
my final bellyache,
with no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises,
no alarms and no surprises please.

24) Kaisuke Fujimoto: English Summer Rain by Placebo
This was another song that chunks of the first draft were written to, and I originally had it in mind for Kai because 'I'm in the basement/You're in the sky' made me think of him coming down to the bottom of the prison to rescue Kaori. But I think it fits also because of the way it repeats - the same lines coming round again - which is kind of what I feel Kai's mental state is like in this fic. The same problems keep resurfacing and in the end he has to confront them. I also liked 'Hold your breath and count to ten/And fall apart and start again' because it again sums up Akira Royale!Kai.

Hold your breath and count to ten,
And fall apart and start again,
Hold your breath and count to ten,
Start again, start again...

25) Ichiro Yamagata: Coming Undone by Korn
I found this song as the music for an AMV about Tetsuo, but I suddenly realised I wanted it as my Yamagata song because while it's rough and angry, it's also got fear in it, and Yamagata is all about fear in this (while he isn't, really, in the original movie so it was nice to find a song that is very much about him here). I also like the constant beat, which gives a sense of inevitability to the whole thing.

Choke, choke again.
I find my demons were my friends.
Getting me in the end,
They're out to get me.
Since I was young,
I tasted sorrow on my tongue.
And this sweet jerky gun does not protect me.

26) Kei: White Wedding by Billy Idol
I picked this for Kei relatively early on because of the mention of 'little sister' - I really liked the idea of it being her brother addressing it to her, especially as so many of her actions, including her less pleasant ones, are motivated by her loyalty to her brother. It also sounds to me like her brother is encouraging her to turn away from that darkness and how, although 'there's nothing pure in this world' she should 'start again' and go off with Kaneda ^^ (So I ship them. So sue me ^^) I also like the way it sounds like it would be good for a Neo-Tokyo montage, as Kei, more than anyone else, is very affected by the city and what happens in it.

Hey little sister what have you done
Hey little sister who's the only one
Hey little sister who's your superman
Hey little sister who's the one you want
Hey little sister shotgun
It's a nice day to start again
It's a nice day for a white wedding