Death Game Roundup

Oh, October. Here, summer becomes a distant memory, while winter looms large on the horizon. The leaves are changing, the air turns cold, and the days grow shorter while the nights grow longer… It’s the season for horror! Bloody and spine-chilling, October is the month for jump scares, killer clowns, and death games. And here at Yen Press, we have quite a few of those for you.

That’s right: It’s a death game manga roundup!
 
Our first manga on the chopping block is a twist on Sword Art Online’s formula. When top-ranked BTOOOM player Ryouta Sakamoto finds himself thrown into a real-life version of his favorite game, he finds out a similar little catch—if he dies on this remote island, it’s Game Over for real! Gritty and psychological, this death game manga has a fun little surprise: there are two endings to the story! BTOOOM! Light or BTOOOM! Dark, whichever you pick, you’re sure to be on the edge of your seat as you follow Ryouta and his companions while they fight for their lives.

BTOOOM!
By Junya Inoue

By all counts, Ryouta Sakamoto is a loser when he’s not holed up in his room, bombing things into oblivion in his favorite online action RPG. But his very own uneventful life is blown to pieces when he’s abducted and taken to an uninhabited island, where he soon learns the hard way that he’s being pitted against others just like him in an explosives-riddled death match! How could this be happening? Who’s putting them up to this? And why!? The name, not to mention the objective, of this very real survival game is eerily familiar to Ryouta, who has mastered its virtual counterpart-BTOOOM! Can Ryouta still come out on top when he’s playing for his life!?

All volumes of BTOOOM! are available now!
 
Our next manga has games for days: hide and seek, treasure hunts, and majority votes—You name it, and Your Turn to Die has it. An adaptation of the cult-classic indie game by the same name, Your Turn to Die follows a group of twelve strangers who wake up in a mysterious facility and are forced to vote which amongst them must die to survive! As more of their number are whittled down, paranoia and doubt begin to take hold of the ragtag group. Will they be able to keep their wits about them and figure a way out?

Your Turn to Die: Majority Vote Death Game
Original Story & Adaptation by: Nankidai, Art by Tatsuya Ikegami

Joe Tazuna has always been the most selfless person Sara Chidouin has ever known, someone she could count on to take a bullet for her. But that trust is put to the test when they wake up restrained to some strange tables and discover Joe holds a key that can set only one of them free. Thus begins a mysterious and sadistic game that will require all of their wits and faith in each other to survive…!

All volumes of Your Turn to Die: Majority Death Game are available now!
 
While most struggle to survive a single death game, Yuki, the protagonist of our next manga, is aiming to survive ninety-nine! Deadly escape room? Not a problem. Cops-versus-robbers manhunt? No sweat! There’s no puzzle she can’t solve or fight she can’t win, as she strives to break the record for most death games won. But why enter a death game at all? Some girls do it for glory, others to pay off debts. But to Yuki, this is just a job—and one she’s very, very good at.

Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table
Original Story by Yushi Ukai, Character Design by Nekometaru, Art by BanzaiKotobukiDaienkai

Six girls wake to find themselves in maid outfits and confined in a trap-filled manor. Unimaginable riches await on the other side of this death game, but only if they make it out alive. With impending doom lurking around every corner, it’s a nightmare of terror and despair for everyone…with one exception. Yuki participates in death games for a living, and her ultimate goal isn’t mere survival—it’s to achieve an unprecedented 99-win streak!

Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table (manga), Vol. 1 is now available, with Vol. 2 available for pre-order! Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table (novel), Vols. 1-6 are also available.
 
You’ve seen cute, killer girls dressed in bunny suits in Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table—but in this death game, the animal costumes are a bit more primal. An older entry into the genre, Judge does what its name implies: It takes the killing to the court. In Judge, there are no elaborate setups or flashy powers at play. There’s just the courtroom, the stand, and the jury of your peers. Who will die, and who will survive? It’s up to the animal-headed sinners of Judge to decide, and for you to find out…

Judge Ultimate Verdict Edition
By Yoshiki Tonogai

Envy, lust, sloth, wrath, gluttony, pride, greed. A group of sinners who bear the guilt of the seven deadly sins has been gathered in an old courthouse to face judgment. To leave this place alive, they must offer up a sacrifice—one of their number. As the trial begins, who will the gavel fall on first? The gripping psychological death game manga in a new omnibus edition!

Judge Ultimate Verdict Edition, Vol. 1 is now available!
 
We’ve gone through a handful of modern entries into the genre, but where did it begin? This final featured manga is one of the stories that defined the death game genre as we now know it. You know how it goes: forty-two middle schoolers dropped on a remote island, forced to fight until only one is left standing. Battle Royale hardly needs an introduction—It’s inspired every manga on this list, as well as stories across the globe.

Battle Royale Deluxe Edition
Original Story by Koushun Takami, Art by Masayuki Taguchi

The hyper-violent classic is back in a new edition! Forty-two middle school students are forced to fight to the death until only one survivor remains!

Battle Royale Deluxe Edition, Vols. 1-2 are now available, with Vol. 3 now available for pre-order!
 
Each of these entries into the death game genre bring with them their own strengths and storytelling quirks. From the originators to the innovators, no matter which manga you choose to pick up, you’re sure to have a deadly good time reading! How many heads will roll before your death game manga itch is satisfied?