Tegamibachi
Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee

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Tegami Bachi is ok. It’s a bit slow at the beginning and rushed at the end, but both of these things do not matter much, since you’ll solve the main mystery much earlier than the characters, and what makes this manga worth reading is the world – unusual, intriguing, yet consistent.

When I read more traditional shounen, I tend to take notes of mature details and to imagine what a seinen built around them would’ve been like. With Tegami Bachi this exercise yields unusual results – this manga doesn’t have a middle ground, there’s the plot, centered around the main 12 y.o. character, with all the ... friends, dreams and heart moments, and then there’s the bleak world with secrets so messed up, that it probably wouldn’t even work in a more serious interpretation, everybody would have been already dead. Not that this dichotomy isn’t underlined by the author himself: the older more jaded cast does create their own plan to save the world and it’s, er, peculiar. These two currents sort of clash – when deaths of comrades are quickly downplayed, sort of compliment each other – when it’s easy to see why a bit of kindness would be valuable in a world like theirs.

It’s not that dark fantasy can rule unchallenged in the world of Tegami Bachi: after all it has its own metaphysics, centered around “heart”, including the human one. Heart is basically the most important source of energy in their world. That’s what I mean when I talk about consistency - everything of importance is heart-related: letters contain heart, Bees deliver letters, use heart to fight, monsters want heart, etc. The world is also memorable visually, considering the atypical lighting, postapocalyptic “moonscapes”, star symbolism and occasional bold fairytale-like designs.

The art is considerably good. I didn’t think it’d click with me, yet, as it turns out, it flows surprisingly well and there are plenty of gorgeous panels. The better parts are the landscapes, Bee uniforms and gear, the more boring are the enemies (bugs are bugs), the characters are a mixed bag, everyone looks way too sweet and somewhat similar.

Three things about Tegami Bachi should be pointed out for the sake of potential readers:
- Firstly, Tegami Bachi is full of crying, speeches about heart and tearjerker moments. It’s all plot-related and world-motivated, tearjerkers are perfectly effective (I did cry a bit, tho, probably, my age makes me sentimental), yet I feel the need to warn you about attempts to exploit your empathy.
- Secondly, fighting in Tegami Bachi is also done with heart bullets, and the side effect of any shot is a leak of heart, when people see each other’s memories and feelings. Somehow that always helps. But the battles are not exactly readable or tense as a result.
- And there’re some distasteful things, like the sexualization of the aide of the main character, who looks like a loli and usually jumps around without pants for a comedic relief. And she is immersion-breaking even when dressed.

I can’t say that I dig the main cast too much. I must give it to the manga, that it’s nice to see a low-key environment for a change: Bees are technically post officers, not superheroes. Their work makes them see a lot of people, so at times the manga resembles a procedural. Side-characters are mostly enjoyable and well-rounded. Yet the main character is a bit too predictable and saccharine, and the relationships between the mains are conflict-free, all forces of attraction - the few promises of potentially interesting disagreement are quickly stiffled, which, in my opinion, makes the interactions a bit too bland.

The tropes that play central part and may be not to everyone’s liking are special kids are special, chance meetings (the most important characters simply bump into each other) and following one’s inspirational figure (one of the major plotlines, if not the major, is about a bunch of people trying to find one cool guy).

The plot picks up around the 30th chapter, the ending is a bit rushed, I guess the manga got an axe chapter limit. What drove my attention was the wish to see more of the world, not the characters or plot, to be honest. Yet, between it all some truly powerful moments form, when, say, a giant monster nightmarishly drinks people’s hearts dry from the sky or a bullet reveals that a character inside his heart stands alone and hopeless under the rain and people can connect to him to alleviate the grief.

Structurally and by worth of some characters Tegami Bachi is a typical shounen, yet on the scale of friendship and battles it’s so skewered towards the former that it starts to stand apart. Tegami Bachi probably isn’t something that should be in your first dozen of titles, but it’s an interesting read worth checking out if you look for different settings, pretty high-contrast art and, maybe, a chance to shed heartfelt tears.

"hidden gem, but not really." This is what Tegamibachi can be described as.

CHARACTERS:

-Lag, the main character, is defined by his empathy, though you can make a case for him being a crybaby, his emotional reactions are fitting for the situations he encounters, and he balances his vulnerability with taking initiative.

-Gauche stands out as the best character, with his amnesia being handled masterfully. Rather than reverting to square one after regaining his memory, Gauche's old and new memories blend, leading to internal conflict between helping his friends in the Letter Bees, the protagonists, and his friends in Reverse group, the antagonists.

Niche's character isn't inherently bad, but ... the author's portrayal of her is off-putting and contradictory. Her past as a trafficking victim and trust issues are overshadowed by unnecessary fanservice scenes, which ironically contradict the arc focused on such issues. Fortunately, these scenes become less frequent as the story progresses.


Story:

The manga's beginning and middle are captivating, brimming with enigma and suspense. The mysteries in the story resemble a hydra; just when you think something is solved, new complexities emerge. The narrative also effectively weaves past events and characters into later chapters.

HOWEVER, the story loses its momentum in the last 30 chapters, leaving readers with a sense of confusion. It seems that the author might have faced editorial pressures or cancellation threats, leading to a rushed and poorly paced conclusion

Numerous plot points are introduced but left unresolved, such as Zaji's sudden trust issues despite being one of the most open and sociable characters. The ending raises more questions than answers, leaving you wanting for a proper epilogue to tie up loose ends.


TLDR:

Tegamibachi has a great momentum with the beginning and middle, but loses track of itself towards the end. It becomes stuffed with fast pacing,and unresolved plot points leading to an unsatisfying ending


Beginning 7/10
Middle 7/10
Ending 0/10

Overall this story is like a Low 7 at maximum, and a 5 at minimum, and you should only read if you dont mind a dissapointing end

This has been a disappointing series to read.

The first 5-6 volumes of the manga are the usual "world-building" part of the series where the characters and how Amberground works. A mystery is introduced, a character goes missing, our main hero grows up by crying every 10 pages. The art is gorgeous and there are some moments of tenderness. From the 7-8th volume, the series goes into high gear and until volume 14-15, the series continues to ascend and the reader is drawn in. I read 6 volumes of the series in a single day. It was that good.

And then given how well the ... manga was being written, it was disheartening to see how the author simply gave up after volume 15 which resulted in the manga becoming a garbled mess of shounen hodgepodge. New characters are introduced (in volume 17 of a 20 volume manga!), characters start to behave erratically and the plot implodes. By chapter 90, any semblance to whatever was the main plot is abandoned and random fights start happening. It's a slow moving train-wreck and having finished this series, I can't help but assign it to the pile of garbage manga that I've read.

Don't read this trash. Actually, if you revel in incoherence and good art - read it. But don't say that I didn't warn you. 2/10.