Shonen manga tend to involve a variety of themes, from ninjas to pirates to superheroes, but there aren't many series about postmen. Letter Bee (or Tegami Bachi in Japanese) is a series that's unique and highly enjoyable.
The story is about a group of mail carriers who traverse the dark and dangerous land of Amberground, delivering letters and fighting Gaichuu with bullets fired from their hearts.
The series alternates between short arcs about smaller deliveries(especially in the first half of the anime) and larger arcs that advance the Myth Arc of the series. The arcs in the former category don't contribute much to the plot, but they can be entertaining in their own right. As for the latter category, the story can be relatively slow-paced, leaving the viewer in suspense about many of the major mysteries for much of the series, but the payoff is generally worth it.
The battles can be fun, but aren't the main draw of the series. Unlike some shonen series, there aren't any real power levels, and most of the characters don't get much stronger over the course of the series- just somewhat more experienced at fighting Gaichuu.
The characters are decent, and while most aren't especially deep, some of the antagonists and other morally gray characters have a surprising amount of Hidden Depths and Character Development. Some of the characters with the most interesting backstories and personalities appear in the one-shot storylines, since their characters can be tailored to the story arc, rather than having to serve a purpose in the broader narrative.
If you're interested in checking out the 50-episode anime adaptation, there are two things I'd like to warn you about. The first is about the first half of the anime, which contains a large number of Filler episodes- all the episodes from 12-22, except for 14 and 17, which is nearly half the season. The end of the Blue Notes Blues arc makes a good stopping point for the first season, but it suffers from pacing problems.
The second season is mostly faithful to the manga until Garrard and Valentine show up early in Episode 30, and almost completely diverges from the source material in Episode 41, concluding just after the battle with the Cabernet. It's not a bad place to stop the anime, but not adapting the manga's final arc leaves many questions unanswered.
All in all, while Letter Bee isn't one of the classics of the genre, it's still a reasonably fun and underrated series that's worth checking out.
Manga Fairly good series, with a flawed adaptation
Shonen manga tend to involve a variety of themes, from ninjas to pirates to superheroes, but there aren't many series about postmen. Letter Bee (or Tegami Bachi in Japanese) is a series that's unique and highly enjoyable.
The story is about a group of mail carriers who traverse the dark and dangerous land of Amberground, delivering letters and fighting Gaichuu with bullets fired from their hearts.
The series alternates between short arcs about smaller deliveries(especially in the first half of the anime) and larger arcs that advance the Myth Arc of the series. The arcs in the former category don't contribute much to the plot, but they can be entertaining in their own right. As for the latter category, the story can be relatively slow-paced, leaving the viewer in suspense about many of the major mysteries for much of the series, but the payoff is generally worth it.
The battles can be fun, but aren't the main draw of the series. Unlike some shonen series, there aren't any real power levels, and most of the characters don't get much stronger over the course of the series- just somewhat more experienced at fighting Gaichuu.
The characters are decent, and while most aren't especially deep, some of the antagonists and other morally gray characters have a surprising amount of Hidden Depths and Character Development. Some of the characters with the most interesting backstories and personalities appear in the one-shot storylines, since their characters can be tailored to the story arc, rather than having to serve a purpose in the broader narrative.
If you're interested in checking out the 50-episode anime adaptation, there are two things I'd like to warn you about. The first is about the first half of the anime, which contains a large number of Filler episodes- all the episodes from 12-22, except for 14 and 17, which is nearly half the season. The end of the Blue Notes Blues arc makes a good stopping point for the first season, but it suffers from pacing problems.
The second season is mostly faithful to the manga until Garrard and Valentine show up early in Episode 30, and almost completely diverges from the source material in Episode 41, concluding just after the battle with the Cabernet. It's not a bad place to stop the anime, but not adapting the manga's final arc leaves many questions unanswered.
All in all, while Letter Bee isn't one of the classics of the genre, it's still a reasonably fun and underrated series that's worth checking out.