Lychee Light Club is a manga about divine fruit...really

12:00 PM on 07.24.2010   |   Josh Tolentino

Hey, nerds! You have trouble getting girls! It's because you're all nerds, and girls love muscle-headed sports stars who wear letterman jackets and are into sports (SPOOOOOOOOOORTS)!

And so goes the common taunt. That said, it's a common enough stereotype that many nerds do believe it. That's why movies like Weird Science and countless other Revenge of the Nerd-esque movies do well. They pander to the idea that smarts matter more than good looks and social skills.

That's why Lychee Light Club, a one-shot manga by Usamaru Furuya recently announced by Vertical for its publishing slate, is so intriguing. It's about a group of nerds who construct a special, godlike machine that can seek out the world's most beautiful women. And it's powered by...lychee fruits. Yes.

But, like many technology stories, it takes a turn for the strange. The machine achieves self-awareness and becomes "equally capable of measuring beauty and executing justice." Yes.

Sounds hot. And it may well be, as despite its seemingly lighthearted premise, Lychee Light Club is probably not a manga targeted at young nerds. It was first run in Manga Erotics F magazine, and its content descriptors warn of "graphic depictions of sex, drug use, or bloodshed". 

Hmmm. This is definitely going on my "check it out" list. Is it on yours? Do you want a machine capable of measuring beauty and executing justice in equal measure? Have a lot of spare lychee and nothing to do with them?