Alternate Realities: A Scifi Book Club discussion

People have said that The Hunger Games is a rip off of Battle Royale. Collins has stated that she had never even heard of Battle Royale before she wrote Hunger Games.

Which is better? Is it copied?

I don't have reason to believe Suzanne Collins would lie about not copying the idea of Battle Royale. Heck, Lord of the Flies is 40 years older than both of them and has children-on-children violence and murder.

I still haven't read Battle Royale so I can't compare the two but simultaneous invention does happen, so I find it totally believable that Collins and Takami independently arrived at their concepts that sparked such cult followings.

Her statement that it was instead based on gladitorial combat are believable in context. Really the only thing they have in common is child on child violence at the behest of society. I think the comparison is pretty much a knee jerk reaction and doesn't stand up to examination. I have heard that there is a different Manga that is a lot more similar to Hunger Games, but I don't recall what it was. Maybe someone else will know.