Oh, the little Letter Bee. I have to say that I love the artwork of this series. Hiroyuki Asada creates a beautiful atmosphere in his world of perpetual darkness. This steampunk-style story follows the young Lag Seeing on his quest to first become a Letter Bee (a kind of postal worker) and then to find his friend and mentor Gauche Suede, a former Letter Bee who has mysteriously gone missing. The ultimate goal is find his mother who has been kidnapped. This is a series full of heart and plenty of tears but the tales within the stories are touching.
The character names used in this series are very memorable. At dinner I still can't resist the temptation to ask someone to pass the Jiggy Pepper and I will never look a Steak the same way.
It is a sweet heart warming story about a boy who sees the best in everyone. It is sprinkled with a humor and lots of action and mystery, enough make it appeal to both girls a boys and is good for ages 13+.
I am pleased to see that the anime closely follows the manga and brings Tegami Bachi to life in all its star filled darkness.
Volume 5 is to be released in May by Vizmedia/ Shonen Jump