Tegami Bachi, aseries combining elements of off-kilter fantasy and science fiction inlushly-illustrated manga format, took awhile to get off the ground for me. I loved Asada’s heavily-lined, high-contrast, gloomy and angular art, and I was curious about the parceled-out world of Amberground and mystery of the disappearance of a character from the first volume.
The world-building, the suspense and mystery, the art—all of
these grabbed me from the beginning, and I didn’t regret buying the volumes,
except after the second volume, when I found the narrative wanting.
The focus of the series had apparently changed from one
character to another, and the reasons why were not clear. However, after a few
months, I missed the art, and picked up the third volume. I’m happy I’ve since
bought through volume six (and just today ordered the next three).
The story is coming together better. More clues are
revealed. The supporting characters are earning their spots in the narrative. We
have liftoff.
For a while, the series felt weighed down also by the
silly-sounding names. I realized a bit late that there is a pattern, of sorts,
and though the names still sound ridiculous (I’ve written about Jiggy Pepper, a
minor character, before, but one of the principal characters is named Gauche
Suede, and there are more like that), the development of the protagonist and the
hints about the disappeared character outweigh that for me now.
This is definite shonen
manga material, with a child protagonist, missing parents, speed lines, obscure
catch phrases, and very tame “fanservice” shots of a semi-human character who
frequently disrobes. Tegami Bachi is
published first in Shonen Jump
magazine in Japan and the US, and brought out in volumes in Japanese, English,
French, and Italian, at least.
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