Lychee Light Club

To be honest with you guys, I have read this manga a while ago. However, because of the content and how disturbing it is, I had to mull it around the brain for a little bit. The art is gorgeous and rightfully disturbing especially in certain scenes of the manga. The artist sure knows to add in those extra details when it comes to the human body – especially through the eyes of a young, disturbed, Japanese middle school boy. From the get-go, you can tell this manga is one of those black comedy types with a lot of gore and B-movie type science. The idea ofthe club is these boys don’t want to grow up to become “filthy” adults with a goal to create a robot with the ultimate AI technology who runs on lychee fruits. There’s a leader who is worshiped as a God (because of a passing fortune when he was a little younger) nicknamed Zera. During the course of the manga, it’s revealed that, originally, the Light Club was formed between three friends but over time, they invited other boys – who never seemed to fit in within their classes – and eventually Zera took over the club and uses the boys as his personal soldiers. And, if any of the boys messes up, they get punished – very violently. The story itself isn’t very good, once you remove yourself from the gore, disturbing images, and the beautiful bond between Litchi (the robot) and Kanon (a girl they kidnapped and decided to worship as a goddess). It’s a typical story of a ruler gone mad with paranoia and obsesses over the possibility of a traitor. The whole traitor spiel started because Litchi wasn’t just built to become the ultimate “thinking” robot – they wanted to kidnap girls because they were curious about them and since they had already killed a teacher (in a very brutal way), they wanted to find a girl to worship as their goddess. The betrayals start when Zera finds one of his black chess pieces broken. They end up killing one of them right off the bat by breaking his spine in half. This was when murmurings of ending Zera’s rampage started to go across. Soon, the kids start dropping one by one. In fact, after Litchi had kidnapped some other girls (due to programming trial & errors), they put them in a cage. One of them releases them and had their sister raped as a result. There’s even a scene where one of them catches Zera having sex with another boy – but the boy who caught them is in too deep with his loyalty for Zera. Sadly, loyalty means nothing and he is eventually killed off as well. The only survivor was Kanon because Litchi developed feelings (truly, the ultimate AI) for her and killed itself to protect her, after he killed most of the remaining members. Now, is it good? A lot of other reviewers would tell you it is because of the art and because of how dark and gruesome it is. This manga is really not shy about showing off genitalia (even though the boys are way underage), human innards, burnt humans, and so much more other disturbing images. They would also tell you that the author took the idea of Nazism and turned into something even more messed up than it already is. Someone might even chime in that the original story came from a play the author has seen in his youth – it’s theatrical! Okay, but does that mean it has to have a very weak plot? After they captured the ideal girl, Kanon, they kinda threw both Litchi and Kanon aside till the last few chapters and built them up to have this “forbidden” romance. I put those in quotes because, in the end, everything was kind of predictable. You knew that there was going to be a betrayal within the ranks. You knew there was going to be something disturbing happening – especially in the first few chapters with the teacher and the random student. But because of the singular volume count it has, it’s clearly rushed. However, that’s not really an excuse for a weak plot. This type of story is clearly fit for a way longer volume count than the one it has. There’s hardly an impact to be made here, at least for me. I’m having a hard time remembering the key points in the actual story – but what I do remember from it is the art and that’s it. I barely remember the characters’ names and had to re-research who they were and what their actual significance was. And the only reason why I even had to mull it around in my head were the lingering questions: “Do I really want to recommend this to anyone?” “What do I actually like about this?” “What do I actually not like about this?” And here are my answers: Do I really want to recommend this to anyone? No. I really don’t. This is not something for everyone, as I’m clearly bothered by it. It’s very explicit and it does not hold back on disturbing images. If you’re someone who can digest this better than I can, by all means but don’t read this while you’re around other people who are not to your level of tolerance. What do I actually like about this? Despite my feelings towards it, the art is beautiful and unique. It goes with the theme of the story and, as much as I don’t want to admit it, the characters intrigued me. Perhaps if this went longer than one volume (as in, I get a feel for the characters, the ranks, and how things operated) I would be a lot less critical of the weak plot. I really did like looking at it even if it meant something disturbing on it – because the author intended it to be very disturbing. He got my reaction of being disgusted, disturbed, and other negative feelings. But that’s about it. What do I actually not like about this? Besides the plot issues, I didn’t like how it was disturbing because “Wow! Look how disgusting this is! Look how shocking! Shock! Shock!” After a while, it doesn’t get as shocking as it once was. After a certain point, I felt feeling very “meh” and I just wanted to finish this. Maybe it’s good in that case that this is only one volume because, like I said, I was getting really bored. The shock did wear off for me after a while. The plot is, once again, very predictable and didn’t seem to different when get down to it. The story is very bland. The characters are bland. Again, nothing is memorable. Overall, this manga is kind of overrated. People seem to praise it for how disturbing it is and how the art is, but take that away – what are you left with?

Based on the Tokyo Grand Guignol play of the same name, Litchi☆Hikari Club is a twisted black comedy about teenage-hood. Giving off a strong vibe of Lord of the Flies crossed with A Clockwork Orange; LHC is ironic, explicit, violent, over-the-top, sexist, and terrifying. Not entirely unlike the inner turmoil of an average testosterone fuelled and sexually confused boy toeing the line between what is taboo and what is acceptable, testing the waters before swimming through the shallow waters of puberty and out to sea... I guess you can call it a coming of age, except with more dangling innards and megalomaniacal zeal for death.The Light Club itself is both a metaphor for society at large and for the cruelty of one's teenage peers. To submit or to perish. The comedic blind pursuit of beauty and youth, and the overwhelming innocence shown by the boys is complemented very nicely by a good dose of sexual violence. They capture and trap girls but are ultimately unsure what to do with them. They raise their chosen doll-like girl onto the pedestal to worship and neglect at the same time. They blush at the prospect of being in the presence of girls yet feel nothing as they strip and gut their female history teacher. It may just be me, but I felt the Light Club perfectly and strikingly illustrated the dichotomy between the treatment and view of women in society. The story of the boys is contrasted by the story of Litchi (or Lychee), the eponymous AI monster designed by Zera which foreshadows his Frankensteinian fall. Litchi is the blank slate taught to kidnap, to hurt, and to kill by the Light Club. Without spoilering too much of what is already a short story, Litchi's growth and maturation is I think a highlight of the manga. Another one of the stand-out features of this manga for me is the theatre-like atmosphere and lighting used in the illustrations. This particular framing allows a degree of suspension of disbelief over the outrageous activities happening on stage whilst not detracting from the shock and aesthetic value. It's only a play and we are only viewers. Thus giving viewers the permission to indulge in the heinous acts in the name of art, which in turn mirrors the actions of the boys in the manga itself. There is no subtlety to be found in this manga, the metaphors are glaringly obvious and the actions of the characters are dramatised to the extremely. Litchi☆Hikari Club reads exactly like a grotesque play about the harshness and fragility of teenagers, and I loved every page. It's only a short manga, but definitely worth reading especially if you're a fan of Anthony Burgess' Clockwork Orange.

Zera is my toxic Sigma male "literally me" character ngl... Now, I came into Litchi Hikari Club as a fan of Japanese Angura and Eroguro Kei and shock material in general, so I had a semblance of what was going to happen, though LHC turns it all up to an 11. If you don't know what Eroguro usually entails, then be advised that this manga has ultra-violence/extreme gore and explicit sex scenes. I only recommend this work to readers over 18 and those who enjoy dark themes and shocking material. Albeit, Litchi Hikari Club is so much more than mere shock material, trust me. The artstyle is fantastic. The art style has a very strong Angura aesthetic, with Shironuri (white face makeup) and Gakuran (black boy's school uniforms) complimenting the dreary monochromatic background of their Shouwa-era, worn-out, industrial town. Despite each member wearing the same clothes and having the same hair/eye colour (not typical in anime/manga), each boy has a unique look to him and stands out, from Kaneda's half-hidden face to Raizou's effeminate gestures. Colour is used sparingly, and when it is, you can FEEL it, despite the comic being in black and white (that's how effective it is). Though the leader gets the most screen time, LHC doesn't have a main character and mostly focuses on the Club as a whole. Zera is their leader, a calm and calculating young man who obsesses over aesthetic beauty. He demands order in the club and commands calmly, but with an iron fist. The members seek his approval and follow him in his goal; to give life to their robot Lychee, and have him successfully kidnap a human girl. His members include his right-hand man and lover Jaibo, a sycophant with sadistic tendencies. Tamiya, the somewhat disgruntled former leader. Niko, the ultra-dedicated "#1" of Zera's. Dafu, who is fairly quiet yet dedicated in his own right. Dentaku, a highly intelligent young man in charge of programming Lychee. Kaneda, whose nail-biting habit reflects his anxious spirit. Raizou, a highly effeminate and spirited young man who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in the club's business. Jacob is the youngest member and is the most innocent of them all, however, he is still very much complicit in the club's heinous activities. Other major characters include Lychee the robot, and Kannon the kidnapped girl (despite being in captivity, she has agency and plays a major role in the plot). While it is comparable to Lord of the Flies with its isolated and self-governing male-centric, barely pubescent cast, I feel as if LHC reaches a separate logical end conclusion of LotF's more open-ended themes. Mirroring Japan's own extremely group-centric society, LHC functions with far more social cohesion and centers around the constant battle of appeasing (not rebelling) leader Zera in order to gain power... Well, except for what happens later, but that's a spoiler. Not to mention that it breaks down NatSoc (we know it as Nazism) into a smaller, digestible scale and shows how it influences the club's power structure and culture, that being of brutality and aesthetic worship (Nazis heavily used pleasing aesthetics to advertise their regime). As you would imagine, a large group of the same sex does indeed create sexual tension, which is shown in Zera and Jaibo's relationship and the resulting "power-couple" dynamic that is equal parts a shockingly NORMAL depiction of a gay relationship and a spiral of bad influence that emboldens each boy to embrace his negative character traits. This may be me reading into it too much, but I feel like, despite its dated setting, LHC still applies to the modern day with how our post-industrial society is creating dystopias where increasingly isolated men/women seek echo chambers and borderline cults in order to feel a sense of belonging. It also offers a mild character study of Zera, who slowly devolves into a mess of paranoia as his club devolves into chaos, his personal anti-thesis. The greatest theme, I'd say, is what it means to be human. I won't spoil it, but the end shows that humanity is earned and not begot by simple existence.

With this type of story I think it would be more productive to not look at it literally. If you take the story literally it becomes nonsensical and kind of random. It's more interesting to examine what this gore, cruelty and all types of violence supposed to represent. What is hiding behind them. Boys in Hikari club are both disgusted of adulthood and are terrified of growing old. Pubic hair, more mature bodies, having jobs or even applying make-up are all viewed as signs that you've entered adulthood. For them it is better to die young than to become adults. This type of thinking is whatI can PARTLY understand. All of your childhood you keep hearing from adults about how much harder you're going to have it once you become older. Whenever you look there are adults gloryfing childhood to an unhealthy degree and villainize bodies of adult people. Usually women. Edginess runs through their veins. The whole club is structured like a religious sect with Zera as Jesus figure. Better comparison would be nazism. Historical aspect of Japanese uniforms aside, they remind me of the nazi uniforms. Not to mention the boys like to speak german and Zera has build some sort of cult of personality around himself. Their devotion to Zera is absolute and cannot be questioned while everyone fights for his attention and love. Zera once even got compared to Hitler by a seer. He was capable and manipulative enough to take over the club and encourage vile behaviour. Much like nazis, these boys also don't know anything about women. In their mind women are only a means to a pleasure. Once Litchi kidnaps Kanon, they immediately deify her by putting her on a throne. She becomes an object of worship. Of course they could not even be bothered to ask her name. That is because her name does not matter. Only her beauty. Only that gives her a value. One of the characters trying to explain beauty to Litchi points towards classical paintings of Botticelli or pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Some of those paintings show women with fair skin, long silky hair, surrounded by flowers in a garden as if they themselves were just one of the flowers. When the boy has to explain what beauty is beyond pointing at those paintings he starts sweating and talks about curves. For them those paintings are an equivalent to porn magazines. They never had any meaningful relationship with women so they cling onto artistic ideals. Anything below that is unacceptable. Only character that manages to make some sort of human connection beyond lust is Litchi himself. His cold demeanor that was installed into him is being melted away by emotional connection that the boys could never give him, for they do not know it. In the end intrigues, lust, obsession, inability to be honest with their feelings and desire to cling onto power is what destroys them. It's not just toxic obsession with women. Even Jaibo's obsessive love and lust for Zera was equaly damaging. The problem was not the whenever they are obsessed with men or women. Problem was not their sexuality but rather sheer disgust, fear of adulthood and caring only about their own feelings and desires.