neko's thinkbox

Lag's impression of Black★Rock Shooter - Red☆Bee Stinger.

Lag’s impression of Black★Rock Shooter – Red☆Bee Stinger.

First series to be caught up to is Tegami Bachi. Unlike the frantic marathoning I could have hinted to in my post on batch watching/blogging from a couple of days ago, I took it relatively slowly, two episodes a day.
Either way, let’s see how well the working bees have fared so far.

In my first impression, I had imagined that this anime would turn out to be some kind of journey where Gauche and Lag would explore each other’s past, unveil more and more mysteries, and perhaps unlock some darker plot involving the abduction of Lag’s mom. But we already parted from Gauche in the second episode, and instead, the story has become all about Lag Seeing’s endeavor to become a Letter Bee himself.
I’d have believed that the premise was a little misleading, but the OVA from last year, which I obviously did not watch, already made clear that it would turn out like this. Still, the first two episodes felt more like a prologue, and should have been singled out (before the season for instance) to leave more space for the rest of the story. I’m not saying that there won’t be… well, I am actually.

Gaichu vs Niche, Giant Mantis vs loli dragon, that's almost David vs Goliath... inversed.

Gaichu vs Niche, Giant Mantis vs loli dragon, that’s almost David vs Goliath… inversed.

It’s not that the pacing feels off, to the contrary, it is just right. There isn’t too much of a rush nor is there a clear waste of time in the two arcs (which come in paired episodes) following the prologue, and the overall feel is good. I like it so far, despite the mediocre arcs.

In the first post-Gauche arc, Lag swayed Niche not only by being his usual kind self and delivering her, but showing off his potential strength and saving her – proving that he is worthy enough of her. (Even though he brought that perilous situation upon her to begin with.) I find this assumption a lot more plausible than the naive “Goodbyes are sad, so I won’t go away” line.
The next arc was a little more generic though, with the naive protagonist being tricked by poor denizen part and naive protagonist remaining unresentful towards mugger and saving their life again and again. I was more angry with Nelli’s blind stupidity than with Lag’s altruism though.

The plot devices so far are pretty lackluster, too. That ugly little Steak creature feels quite obsolete, and although it might turn into a plot device later on (if anything), it’s far from convincing. The scene where Niche wanted to stir-fry a passive SteakGood dragons should always warn their prey that they are going to eat it imminently. If you are their victim, try to roast in their flames as deliciously as possible. wasn’t funny either. If at least that large-mouthed beast had put up some resistance to create a halfway ridiculous situation…
Also, the fact that Nelli turned out to be a girl was totally irrelevant to anything at all, apart from purposeless boobs, making Lag blush, and justifying some shedding tears here and there.

Despite the simplistic story and the few inconsistencies, however, I found the mix of unsophisticated (sometimes unseriousWTF IS THIS I DON’T EVEN) action, enjoyable characters and light humor topped with the great design quite satisfying. Nothing over-the-top, but nothing all too boring either. I can’t really describe it, but it just resonates well with me. Even the few questionableThere were closer pics of her bare chest (without nipples though). imagesPantsuless loli, we’re treading in dangerous waters here! and innuSo far, everyone was able to see my bare crotch and I didn’t mind!endosShe’s like, so straightforward and all, y’know, like… yeah. were easily digestedNot that great, but slightly funny within the context. with a small grain of salt. Though, perhaps I’m just too lenient towards these weak elements in anticipation of the next episodes, and I hope they won’t disappoint.

Nice: small companions don't always need to look cute. But Steak, on top of its ugliness, is a little too useless so far.

Nice: small companions don’t always need to look cute. But Steak, on top of its ugliness, is a little too useless so far.

But there’s a problem. If I am to believe the length of the series fixed at 13 episodes, then I will have to suppose that there will be a second season, because we haven’t seen much that would suggest a clear conclusion in the near future.
Edit: Crunchymeh’s translator apparently confirmed 26 episodes for Tegami Bachi, so no worries here. Thanks to Iron Maw for the information.

My point is that so far, we have only see a hint of a possible large plot, but we basically only found out that Lag doesn’t need a gun to fire his Shindan, which is not much, considering that we are already at the middle of the season. But guessing from the preview to episode 7, Lag will -finally- manage to get into Yuusari and meet his new boss, Lloyd, and hopefully we will see a plot unfolding.
Beyond the mystery behind Lag’s eye, new questions have arised, like for instance, why would Lloyd be after the child of Maka (Niche), and why would he carry Harry (Jiggy Pepper’s eagle) around? I can imagine that he needs a new Dingo, and that Jiggy Pepper could be his personal Letter Bee, but that’s too easy. There must be something more to Lloyd’s intentions. Perhaps he will try to steal Niche by hiring Lag first, then getting of him. He might even be related to the men who abducted Lag’s mom. Perhaps she had an Amber in her body too, and was used as someone’s personal dingo mistress? Questions over questions.

Still, unless Lag doesn’t make it into Akatsuki soon, I can’t see how it could be completed in a meaningful way within 13 episodes. We’ll have to wait and see.

Oh and, Sawashiro Miyuki’s trademark “sh” and “ch” struck once again. Took me a while to recognize her voice, it was not that obvious in the beginning, but pretty noticeable once Lag grew up. Guess she’s fast becoming my favorite seiyuu… wait, I don’t have one anyway. Well, consider it done then.