Litchi☆Hikari Club
Lychee Light Club

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First off, since you're on this manga's page you probably already know what you're getting into. If that isn't the case, I highly advise that if you have not had any experience or prior knowledge of the ero-guro (erotic grotesque) and yaoi genres to NOT READ THIS MANGA.

Yes, it is very, very explicit.

Litchi Hikari Club is an adaptation of a theatrical play of the same name that was performed at the Tokyo Grand Guignol Theatre in 1985.
(For those who do not know, the original Grand Guignol was located in Paris, France, and became infamous for it's horror-themed performances that involved large ... amounts of violence and gore. It was later closed in 1962, due to World War II and the Holocaust making people realize that violence isn't exactly hilarious.)

Plot: 10
Litchi Hikari Club tells the macabre tale of the club of same name, which involves a boy named Zera and his eight followers attempting to create the ultimate Artificial Intelligence. And then everything goes horribly wrong. This may sound a bit average, but it's executed so well that it even breaks away from the genre it's supposed to be. This isn't just porn and gore, there's drama with twisted romance, as well as friendships, betrayals, and a plot that's built off of both ancient and modern philosophy. All in one volume, to boot.

The beginning of the manga took a little bit for me to get into (the German dialogue surely didn't help, aside from creating the creepy mood), but after that the ball dropped and didn't stop rolling until the last page.

Art: 10
If there's one thing that should stand out with Litchi Hikari Club, it's the artwork (which surely you must have noticed by now). To put it simply, it's incredible. Usamaru Furuya's ability as a mangaka is quite remarkable, and any fan of manga artists such as Tajima Sho-U (MPD Psycho, Galerians) and Obata Takeshi (Death Note, Bakuman) will easily be drawn in by his style. While many of Furuya's older works have a rather average to mediocre style outside of his more detailed fine-art inspired panels (take Palepoli for example), he draws the characters of LHC with large amounts of detail, as well as creating backgrounds that define the industrial-dystopian-esque wreck they live in.

And sticking true to it's roots, the gore is drawn equally as well. It's intense, enough to make any fan of horror and the grotesque look away (but then they'll have to look back again, it's so painstakingly drawn to detail.)

Character: 7
For the most part, the manga adaptation of Litchi Hikari Club sticks with the original, aside from what looked like one name that was changed. Although the majority of the characters dress in a similar school uniform, each has their own unique personality quirks that separate them from one another, from Zera's sick and twisted Elagabulus-esque complex to Kaneda's constant thumb nomming.

However, due to the length of the manga, most character development is cut short on the secondary characters and left to the protagonists. This is kind of forgivable in my eyes, since it's still part of the horror genre, which usually leaves out developement and sticks with stock character types, but I would've liked to have known a little more about the less important members of the club.

Enjoyment: 10
Litchi Hikari Club does everything it should do for a series of the ero-guro and yaoi genres, and more. It's shocking, twisted, and leaves such an impact (the final chapter comes to mind instantly) it's near unforgettable. As I've said before though, if you're not interested in a series built on violence and lewdicity, you may want to check out something else.

Overall: 9
Litchi Hikari Club was able to carve itself a bloody niche in my manga-loving heart. It was made with such panache that it could actually give a positive light to the ero-guro and yaoi scenes.
If you need a good scare, a devious plot, or just want to look at some great artwork, Litchi Hikari Club is the manga to pick up. It's a guilty pleasure that's worth the time.

"Litchi☆Hikari Club" is a work by the renowned manga artist Usumaru Furuya, promising an immersion into a dark and complex theme. My journey through its pages was marked by mixed feelings and profound reflections. Undoubtedly, Furuya's artistic style stands out as a pinnacle of the manga. His meticulous aesthetic manages to capture the narrative's essence, serving as one of its foundational pillars. Furuya's drawing delivers an atmosphere of sociopolitical horror, effectively alluding to Nazism. However, this is executed satirically and responsibly, exaggerating and ridiculing the group, providing a biting critique to the plot.

The manga is notable for its "nazi chic," a controversial element that, in ... many contexts, can be misinterpreted. Yet, Furuya deploys it in a satirical and theatrical manner, acting as a subversive reflection on the rise of fascism in Japan. Through a group of youths led by a charismatic but manipulative leader, we witness a sharp commentary on the mentality of "just following orders" without questioning. Despite its promising start, the character development falls short of expectations. It would have been enriching to know more about the group, their origins, familial backgrounds, school environments, and the socioeconomic dynamics of the city they inhabit. Such elements could have added more depth and understanding to the characters' motivations and actions.

The story kicks off with an intriguing premise: a fascistic group of youths that, due to its inherent dysfunction, is on a path to self-destruction. This core plot is captivating and well-constructed. However, the introduction of a secondary narrative in the latter part of the story disrupts its balance, becoming a detraction that compromises the initially established pace and focus. "Litchi☆Hikari Club" is a work that shines in its aesthetic and sociopolitical critique, but, at times, strays from its potential. The manga could have benefited from a deeper exploration of its characters and a more centered narrative. Still, it offers moments of reflection and stands as a valuable addition for those seeking a read that transcends the conventional.

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 of ... the 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?