Tegami Bachi cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

The land of Amberground is locked in darkness with only a man-made star casting a dim light over the land.  Travel to the various city of Amberground is dangerous because Gaichuu, giant insects with metal exoskeletons, infest the forests.  There is, however, a brave corps of messengers, called Letter Bees, who risk their lives delivering letters and packages to the cities and keeping Amberground connected.  But sometimes, the letters are actual people…

In Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, Vol. 1, Gauche Suede is on his last delivery before his big promotion.  On the outskirts of the darkest area of Amberground, Gauche arrives to pick up his package and discovers that it is a boy of about seven-years-old, named Lag Seeing.  Traumatized by his mother’s abduction, Lag is due to be delivered to his aunt in Cabel Litus, a city in Yodaka, the poorest region of Amberground.  Gauche and Lag face a perilous journey together, through lands rife with Gaichuu, but it is a trip that will inspire Lag to become a Letter Bee.

THE LOWDOWN:  Although Tegami Bachi has a lot of back story and is set in a world with a thick mythology, creator Hiroyuki Asada knows his young readers need time to mentally digest it all.  Thus, Asada unveils this world to his readers through the action of the story, rather than through pages of text.  For instance, Asada uses the interaction between Gauche and Lag, whether they’re fighting off a Gaichuu or sharing a meal of awful canned soup, to reveal surprises about the characters:  showing the abduction of Lag’s mother; revealing the power of amber hidden in the young boy; and illuminating Gauche’s motivation, among other things.

Asada’s art provides this graphic narrative with emotional impact and explosive action.  His art seems like a combination of Steve Skroce and the Pander Brothers.  More important than style is that this sequential art conveys the heart of a special group of characters, special enough that we’ll want to watch their heroic struggle to survive a harsh realm.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Although this is a “Shonen Jump” title aimed at male teen readers, Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee is a potent fantasy drama that will cross boundaries.

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