The month is October. The year was 2012 and I had just fallen in love with a short, two to four minute, anime called Lychee Light Club. I thought nothing of it then. I was laying on my friends couch when I decided to shot gun the series. My mind exploded, literally melting into nothingness as I watched any IQ points I had awoken with drain from my body, through my nose and unto the floor. Little did I know, that this random short would become such an obsession for me. This especially rang true when this February, I got a hold of the manga it was based on. I was completely was floored by how different the manga is from the anime.
Lychee DE Hikari Club (Lychee Light Club the Anime)
First let me preface this with the following. The anime is intended to be a comedy. Which is what I think throws people off. If you are a fan of the manga, the anime will piss you off to an extent. If you are a fan of the anime, the manga will ruin everything you thought prior to watching it. They are as different as Day and Night and yet the same.
Lychee DE Hikari Club is the kid friendly version of this tale which takes place in the tiny town of Keiko-cho, where there is nothing to do and nowhere to go. The story centers around a nine-member club of middle school boys called the Light Club. Who take residence inside an abandoned oil factory for use as their club house and secret lair. Their purpose is to create an AI in order to abduct beautiful girls. The anime picks up with them already having abducted a woman named Kannon. Who seems to be able to control their AI, Lychee, better than they can and the hilarious antics that ensue in them trying to convey "justice" among each other as well as them progressing their AI.
The anime is 8 episodes long, totaling 30 minutes combined. It's listed as a Psychological, Horror, Comedy and can be viewed by any age.
Check out the first episode here at Crunchyroll.com, because posting screen shots won't do it justice and the episode is only 3 minutes long.
Which now brings me into the manga.
Oh the manga. It touched me in places I didn't know a manga could. Being a huge fan of Junji Ito's works (Uzumaki, Tomie, Frankenstein just to name a few) I thought I was prepared for anything. So upon finding the horror manga of Lychee Light Club and having seen the manga first. I thought I was ready for anything.
I was not prepared for this.
But I love it all the same.
The manga follows the same premise. Kids in a small town, playing in a abandoned factory, building an AI to capture beautiful girls (because what middle school boy doesn't think of girls?) and what happens in between. It also follows the previous leader (and one of the nine) Tamiya who tries to gain his club back from the tyrant (and current leader) Zera.
However, the manga is far, far, far from a comedy. It's full of socialism, murderous paranoia, homoeroticsm, violence, dismemberment, rape, death, jealousy and for a added flair love. Because of all this, it is definitely a 18+ read. I wouldn't suggest this to kids, at all.
I don't want to ruin much of the manga so I will keep this part short and fairly sweet. These boys will do anything and I mean anything for the sake of Zera and the progress of building, evolving and controlling their AI, Lychee.
They have a perverse sense of 'beauty'. It's more based on looks and age, aside actual beauty.
But in this search for beauty, the main story comes into play once Lychee kidnaps Kannon. Who has become someone for Zera to worship. Kannon helps Lychee evolve into a self aware AI and the two in a very Frankenstein meets Beauty and the Beast manner fall in love.
The story is immediately engrossing and the pacing is fast enough that it doesn't drag, though the real victor here is the artwork. The art itself is immediately eye catching. The cover alone makes you want to pick it up and examine it thoroughly and once you open it you get sucked in. It's dark and gritty with a real Gothic feel too it. It's not harsh on the eyes and the contrast between light and dark leave it so that everything is perfectly clear, even what you're looking for in the shadows. The gore is amazingly detailed (so are the backgrounds) but not too over the top. Which is a good thing considering that the story will be over the top for many. It's really not something for the weak of stomach.
I highly suggest both of them though. Personally, I would read the manga over watching the Anime first. The most interesting part of the Lychee Light Club fan base is how it's in all media formats.With being based off a play preformed by the Tokyo Grand Guignol, I feel little to nothing is left out of the feel of being there watching it unfold as I read. It just engrosses the reader which sometimes is hard to come by. Sadly, it is a one shot manga. However, there is a two part prequel manga as well.
Lychee Light Club can be watched in full at Crunchyroll.com
The manga can be purchased from Amazon.com
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