Creative Staff
Story: Hiroyuki Asada
Art: Hiroyuki Asada
Translation/Adaptation: Rich Amtower
What They Say
Largo Lloyd, ousted director of the Beehive, saves the life of a Marauder—and, in return, demands to be taken to the leader of Reverse. Will the Letter Bees finally penetrate to the heart of the rebel organization? Meanwhile, with his hero Gauche returning home at last, things are looking up for Lag…until he discovers the shocking truth about Gauche!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Volume 11 is one big ball of cuddly fluff! Well, not really…but with the focus on Lag and Sylvette reuniting with Gauche after he has recovered his heart, that’s the general impression one is left with through most of the book. Granted, a lot of time is spent with these three characters. However, the magic of being 11 volumes into this series has a strong effect on how we feel about the reunion. We feel relieved and genuinely happy. There are tons of flashbacks, memories, laughs, tears, and pained smiles in these sections and we believe each and every one of them. Tegami Bachi has a unique flair for conveying more emotion and context through its art alone than a lot of other manga can muster. This approach is what has propelled the series over the last 10 volumes and the technique pays off two-fold here.
Even though the focus seems to be on Gauche’s reunion, there is quite a bit of stuff going on elsewhere that is strangely much more important and what really grips the readers in this book. The fight with Cabernet seemed to have ended in the previous volume in utter failure. Zazie has stretched himself beyond his limits and the Gaichu beast has flown away towards the Capital. Knowing that our heroes have already failed to stop the monster is what provides this book with its urgency. We know just how big and bad this legendary beast is but we want the good guys to win. The book begins with some flashbacks of the Reverse Marauder Zeal which sheds a little light on some of the mysteries revolving around the Capital but not enough to be considered a revelation. We then witness Former Director Lloyd Largo telling Zeal that he is no longer a government employee and would like to join Reverse; to please take him to Lawrence. Of course we never once suspect him of treason but it’s still one of those moves that we know will be extremely dangerous and one we want to start following. Unfortunately we get to see none of it as the focus is quickly moved to Jiggy Pepper who has just arrived on the scene. Thus begins the main storyline of the book that runs alongside the Gauche reunion: Jiggy and Zazie traversing Yodaka and they attempt to catch up to Cabernet and defeat the creature before it destroys the hearts of more innocent bystanders and enters Yuusari.
It is quite the exciting volume of manga because of this plot thread. Jiggy and Zazie catch up to the beast a couple of times, there’s bursts of action, and it is always fast paced. We even get to see Moc Sullivan for more than a page or two as he teams up with Aria and tries to catch up to Cabernet as well. The pages are simply pulsating with suspense and action and, as expected, the artwork conveys these scenes with such beauty and clarity that you can just get lost in a single page or panel if it weren’t for the story driving you forward. The Gauche reunion story is interwoven with the Cabernet chase story and the back and forth between the two is handled extremely well. The focus is clearly supposed to be on Gauche and Lag, as Lag goes to deliver a letter and Gauche dons his Letter Bee uniform once again to help him, but our set of side characters so thoroughly steal the show that the intense melodrama of the Gauche story feels comparatively toned down; making this an exceptionally well-constructed volume. We didn’t get any more big revelations that ramp up the overarching mystery like I had hoped but this solid action piece with warm-hearted meaningful drama makes for quite the excuse.
In Summary
Tegami Bachi has had a lot of good action scenes in previous volumes and a lot of them have been breathtaking in their weight and execution. However, volume 11 seems to be constructed like a Hollywood action film. It incorporates the kind of pacing and calculated cuts that really get the excitement flowing through your veins. I was really quite impressed here! I may have made the Gauche reunion plotline sound a bit mopey in the review but it really isn’t that bad. It’s kind of par for the course with this series and that still makes for great storytelling. It just all works together so well that even though the main plot really didn’t move at all, it doesn’t bother me; nor should it bother you, at all. Top class entertainment! Oh and in case you haven’t read the book yet or are looking for something really cool to get you excited about this volume…we get to see Moc fight and he is an absolute maniac! He is now possibly my favorite Bee, just because I love crazy as hell characters.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: November 6th, 2012
MSRP: $9.99
