Letter Bee (Anime)

Tegami Bachi (テガミバチ) is a anime series created, written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Asada. The anime series was directed by Akira Iwanaga, while the music was done by Kunihiko Ryo. The series was made at the Studio Pierrot Studio in Japan, while it was broadcast on TV Tokyo. The series aired in Japan on October 3, 2009 to March 27, 2010. The English version aired on December 16, 2011 to January 19, 2012. Apparently abandoned by his mother, orphaned Lag Seeing is taken as a "letter" by a "Letter Bee" name Gauche Suede to a town where his aunt raises him. His affection and admiration for Gauche give Lag the ambition to become a Letter Bee himself, carrying mail through the dangerous wasteland between towns on his world. When he becomes a teenager, he makes the trip to the capital to take the examination to become a trainee Letter Bee. On route, he meets the strange, powerful girl-like creature Niche, who becomes his "dingo," a Letter Bee's travelling companion. Lag yearns to find his mother, and discover why she abandoned him, if she did. Including to figure out why Gauche is missing. The series continues in Letter Bee Reverse.

Plot
The story begins with 18-year old Gauche Suede, a Letter Bee, arriving to pick up his latest package. However, he was surprised to find his letter to be a little boy named Lag Seeing. Lag has just lost his mother, who has been taken to Akatsuki, Amberground's capital, and the boy is to be delivered to his aunt's residence in Cambel Litus.

Along the way, the Letter Bee tells the boy briefly about his job and the gaichuu he has to repel. After a mishap regarding Lag unwittingly firing Gauche's weapon, the shindanjuu, Gauche takes the boy to a cave to rest for the night. After Lag has recurring dreams regarding Gauche's lifestyle and his sister Sylvette, the boy wakes up to discover Gauche and his Dingo Roda lying exhausted from a fight with numerous Gaichuu.

Lag, Gauche, and Roda continue their journey. Lag starts to warm up to Gauche and Roda, but he is still intent on finding his mother and asks Gauche to bring him along to Akatsuki if he becomes Head Bee. However Gauche sticks to his duty as Letter Bee and does not want to have any connections with the boy.

Soon, Lag becomes upset and steals Gauche's shindanjuu while he's asleep to head for the capital, but is lost and falls into a sand trap by a Gaichuu Bucker. Gauche arrives in time to save Lag and shoots the gaichuu, but he misses as it's too far. They prepare for another shot and Lag reveals a spirit amber in his left eye, which strengthens the shindanjuu and destroy the gaichuu.

Later, Lag carries an injured Gauche all the way to town. Three days passed and Gauche has trouble getting supplies as the townspeople are wary of outsiders. Lag brings food and water before they leave. Lag and Gauche have a touching moment as Gauche finally treats him as a friend. As Lag bids farewell to Gauche, he shouts that he will be a Letter Bee like him someday. Five years later, Lag prepares to embark on his promise to be a Letter Bee.

During the five years that Lag lives with his aunt Sabrina, he studied hard to be a Letter Bee. Eventually he passes the preliminary exams and is granted an interview at the Yuusari region.

After bidding goodbye to his aunt and the townspeople, Lag takes off with Connor, a regular Letter Bee at Cambel Litus, to the train station to head for Yuusari. Lag stumbles onto a little girl sitting inside a niche in the station and notices her mailing label, however the delivery details are unclear. Lag decides to part ways with Connor and deliver the girl to her destination himself before heading for the interview. When Lag tries to get her name, the girl tells him that she has many aliases. Lag decides to name her Niche from their first encounter, which she accepts.

Lag and Niche reach the town they were looking for and find the address Niche is to be delivered to: a freak circus named "Love Someone Down". They discover that the animals used to perform in the circus have been mistreated. Niche is handed over to the circus ringleader and she bids farewell to Lag.

Before leaving for Yuusari, Lag forgets to have the receiver sign the delivery receipt and heads back. After obtaining information on the circus's newest exhibit, which is actually Niche, Lag rushes back just in time to see Niche destroying the circus and releasing all the animals. He goes after her into Broccoli Forest, which is gaichuu territory.

Lag finds Niche with a gaichuu, but she handles herself easily and cuts the creature's head off. The gaichuu continues its attack and injures Niche. This causes Lag to fire a shindan into the gaichuu, destroying it, while Niche sees Lag's memories. Niche decides to become Lag's Dingo, while an escaped animal from the circus, whom she calls Steak, goes with them.

Lag and Niche arrive in the town of Kyrie, where it is the place that crosses over to Yuusari, and also a dead end town where few travelers visit. They meet a girl named Nelli Pepper, who gets interested in them and offers to take them to the town's only inn. However, after checking in, Lag realizes that Nelli has made off with his bag, intending to use his crossing pass to go to Yuusari.

Soon, she attacks Lag and tells him that the reason for stealing his pass is to send a letter to a Letter Bee named Jiggy Pepper, whom she hates for abandoning her and her brother Nello Pepper, who died in his absence. After alerting the townspeople's attention, they attack Nelli and take the pass for themselves. Niche arrives in the nick of time and defeat the townspeople, but Nelli recovers and snatches the pass, running all the way to the bridge to Yuusari, while Lag and Niche go after her. A mysterious man named Largo Lloyd becomes interested in Lag and Niche.

Nelli Pepper tries to cross the Bifrost Bridge; however, she realizes the bridge is not there. Signal, the gatekeeper of the bridge, identifies her as a trespasser attempting to bluff her way in and summons a frog-like creature to dispose of her. Soon, Niche arrives to pin down the monster, while Lag risks his life to grab Nelli's letter. He shoots a shindan from his hand and obtains the letter, in the process revealing the heart of Nello Pepper. Nelli witnesses Nello convincing Jiggy Pepper to go and pursue his dreams of being a Letter Bee, and therefore, he promises to become stronger in order to protect his sister someday.

The letter was meant for Nero to apologize to Jiggy for his unfulfilled promise, and asks Jiggy to take care of Nelli. Largo Lloyd appears and explains his theory of Lag's ability with his spirit amber: to peer into one's heart. Unsure about the information of the letter and Nelli's concern, Lag fires a shindan at the church bell, revealing to Nelli that Jiggy funded the building of the church in town in order to instill hope for his siblings and the townspeople. Her faith in Letter Bees restored, Nelli decides to mail the letter to Jiggy herself, and bids goodbye to Lag's group.

Lag's group is allowed to pass over Bifrost Bridge, and therefore, they reunite with Connor, who has been waiting for them. He rides them to Central Yuusari, where Lag will take his exams in the Head Post Office.

The sub-master, Aria Link, whom Lag recognizes in Gauche's thoughts, brings him to see the master, who turns out to be Largo Lloyd. Lag is directed to do his suitability interview exam with another initiate, McKay G. They are to deliver letters to a town by going through a path where gaichuu are frequently encountered. McKay gets there first and encounters a centipede gaichuu, Gaichuu Glen Keith; however, he has no prior experience with gaichuu or firing a shindanjuu.

Lag's group soon arrives and defeats the gaichuu successfully with team coordination; however Lag ends up dirtying the letter. Zazie, the exam proctor, arrives to evaluate their performance. Using Lag's shindan on McKay's letter, it is revealed that McKay forged it when his was dirtied. McKay failed the exam while Lag was given Zazie's approval. Lag is surprised to learn from Zazie that Gauche is no longer a Letter Bee - to which, Connor was hiding all along. This brings grief to Lag.

Lag is upset to learn that Gauche had a breakdown due to the stress of work, according to Zazie. Connor rides Lag to Sylvette's house, where he has an awkward encounter with Sylvette as she mistakes Lag for a debt collector. Upon seeing Gauche's shindanjuu in Sylvette's hand, Lag initially thought Gauche was there; however, Sylvette tells him that her brother never came back home after he was continually absent from his duties in the Akatsuki, and then later fired from his job as a Bee.

She remembers the day that Aria Link personally dropped off his termination notice. Sylvette resolved to think her brother was dead, and then she tells Lag to never come back to her place. Later, Lag rushes back to Sylvette's place, promising to search for Gauche and restore her hopes.

Lag heads back to Sylvette's house, where his spirit amber begins to glow. Touching Gauche's shindanjuu, both Lag and Sylvette witness flashbacks of Gauche. In the memories, Gauche insisted on working more deliveries despite the risk of losing his heart for the sake of curing Sylvette's disability. The last memory of Gauche was the time before he headed for the capital and his first encounters with the group called Reverse. Lag promises to find Gauche and bring him back to Sylvette.

Soon, Sylvette hands Lag Gauche's shindanjuu for him to use, per her brother's wishes. Back at the Bee Hive, Largo evaluates Lag's performance and makes him a full-fledged Letter Bee. However, Lag explains his dream is not to become just a Bee; he wants to become Head Bee someday, where no delivery of letters is impossible.

Sylvette allows Lag to live in Gauche's room for rent. Aria arrives at Sylvette's house to take Lag out, so that she can ask about his background. Aria takes Lag and Niche to the Hill of Prayer, where the artificial sun at Akatsuki shines very brightly there. She tells Lag about the Day of Flicker, when a government airship, which was used to make adjustments to the sun, crashed into the vicinity.

Before the crash, the light from the sun went out briefly and flickered back on. This caused Gauche to lose part of his heart and forget about his mother, who died from giving birth to Sylvette. He began to focus all his thoughts toward taking care of his sister. Soon, Lag tells Aria that he was born on the Day of Flicker just like Sylvette. After that, Lag and Niche leave Aria and go to help Zazie and Connor repel multiple gaichuu attacks.

Lag and Niche begin their first delivery. On their way, they meet a fellow Letter Bee Moc Sullivan, who feels Lag is not fit for the job and feels there's no need to concern himself with the content inside the letters, for all that the Bees do is deliver them.

Lag and Niche arrive at the sender's house, to which, they meet a writer named Vincent Alcott. He writes fictional events of his day-to-day life in his letter to his mother. Lag objects this kind of behavior but can't do anything about it. Deciding to deliver the letter, Lag and Niche begin their search and encounter an older woman, who happens to be Vincent's mother - the receiver of the letter. She leads them to her home, to which, they encounter a gaichuu, which attempts to destroy the bridge they were trying to cross.

After Lag and Niche defeat it, Lag's shindan hits the letter, revealing Vincent's memories to the woman Louisa, who really is his mother. However, Louisa knows that her son writes these kind of letters to her, and hopes that he will one day make his dreams a reality and come back home with pride.

Soon, on their way back, Niche shows Lag a letter that was hidden inside one of Vincent's books that Steak had eaten, to which, he realized that this is the letter that contain Vincent's true feelings. Instead of intruding on their business further, Lag decides to return it to its owner, Vincent.

Lag and Zazie, become "Holy Night Messengers", who dress in Santa Claus-like costumes, and whose job is to "grant wishes" to those who receive letters on this day.

Lag and Zazie meet Sonja, a girl whose parents were killed by gaichuu. Because of this, the other villagers fear her, thinking that she might attract other gaichuu to her village. When a gaichuu does attack, Zazie determines that it was because of all the presents for Holy Night. Before they return to the village, Sonja gives Lag and Zazie her red and green hair ribbons to remember her.

A man named Promessa Prometas returns to withdraw the delivery of his letter. A rich man named Galador constantly pursues a woman named Pistis for her hand in marriage, but his real motives are to take her land and rights. Lag and Niche encounter Galador after he is rejected once again by Pistis. Upon learning the letter is from Promessa to Pistis, Galador and his servant treats Lag and Niche to a dinner. Later, Galador is gone, while Promessa catches up to Lag. He explains that he doesn't want the letter to be delivered to his fiancée, Pistis. He made a promise to marry her once his dream to be a scholar has been fulfilled, however he was afraid that she would not accept him since five years have already passed.

Soon, Lag finds the letter missing, stolen by Galador while he was asleep. Meanwhile, Galador threatens to destroy Promessa's letter if Pistis doesn't hand over her land rights to him. Lag, Niche, and Promessa arrive to take back the letter, but the contents inside are spilled out over the field, creating a rapidly grown bed of flowers. Promessa explains that he bred these flowers to fulfill part of the promise with Pistis. After that, he asks her hand in marriage, to which, she accepts.

Dr. Thunderland Jr., a biologist in the Third Bioscience Division, as well as the head doctor in the Bee Hive, has a morbid interest in collecting and dissecting animal corpses, earning him the nickname of "Corpse Doctor." Exhausted from firing too many shindans, Lag returns to the post office and meets up with Connor and Zazie. Dr Thunderland recognizes Steak as a rare Kapellmeister, a creature that is able to form a symbiotic relationship with the Spirit Insects.

Soon, Dr. Thunderland kidnaps Steak for "dissection", while Lag and the others chase after him. After the doctor is cornered at the front door of his lab, Zazie attempts to attack him for having taken the stray cats he befriended for his experiments. Lag hits the cage holding Steak and all of them witness Thunderland's flashbacks.

He is shown as actually a kind doctor who comes up with cures from the corpses he collects. He had taken the stray cats in, as there was a disease spreading around the neighborhood. Aria takes Lag to the lobby where she plays her violin to all the gathered staff, healing their spirits with her Heart Restoration shindan. Thunderland comments to Lag that Gauche Suede was one person who understood him, and wishes Lag some luck in finding the missing man.

While traveling in a carriage, a couple named Moss and Bonnie strike up conversation with Lag. Soon, a gang of cowboys chase after the carriage. Lag is told by Bonnie that Frank, the leader of the gang, was madly in love with her and wanted to marry her, but she refused as she's in love with Moss.

After that, Niche helps the couple by beating up Frank and his gang, allowing the carriage to escape, but later falls into an ambush, sending Lag and the couple flying out of the carriage. Frank and his gang arrive and demand the spirit ambers that Bonnie and Moss stole. Revealing themselves to be black market spirit amber miners, Frank tells Lag that the couple are thieves and that Bonnie is a con woman, shocking Moss. However, Bonnie claims that she wanted the ambers so that she can start a new life with Moss. Niche returns to rescue Lag and the couple when Frank is about to execute Moss.

Soon, with the spirit ambers in their hands, Moss and Bonnie want to sell them in order to obtain funds to enter Akatsuki, but Lag has never heard of such a way. He snatches away the spirit ambers and tells the couple that it's wrong to steal things in order to attain happiness. Lag's spirit amber reacts with Bonnie's gun and all became witness her flashbacks, showing her to be cheating Moss of his love for her in order to meet up with her real lover in Akatsuki. Moss is angry and wants to kill her, but stops himself. Bonnie tries to kill Lag for ruining her plan but Niche stops her, causing her to run away. Moss thanks Lag for letting him know the truth than living a lie, as he leaves with a broken heart.

This anime-exclusive episode involves "Holy Night," a Christmas-like holiday originating from the northern areas of Amberground.

Lag and Zazie, become "Holy Night Messengers," who dress in Santa Claus-like costumes, and whose job is to "grant wishes" to those who receive letters on this day.

Lag and Zazie meet Sonja, a girl whose parents were killed by gaichuu. Because of this, the other villagers fear her, thinking that she might attract other gaichuu to her village. When a gaichuu does attack, Zazie determines that it was because of all the presents for Holy Night. Before they return to the village, Sonja gives Lag and Zazie her red and green hair ribbons to remember her.

Episodes

 * 25

Theme Songs

 * Opening


 * "Day of Beginnings" (Ep. 1 - 13)
 * "Love Letter no Kawari ni Ko no Shi o." (Ep. 14 - 25)
 * Closing


 * "Endless Lamenting Road" (Ep. 1 - 13)
 * "Memories of the Light" (Ep. 14 - 25)

Voice Cast

 * Japanese


 * Miyuki Sawashiro as Lag Seeing
 * Ayumi Fujimura as Niche
 * Ami Koshimizu as Aria Link
 * Daisuke Kishio as Zaji
 * Hisayoshi Suganuma as Conner & Moc Sullivan
 * Nana Mizuki as Silvette Suede
 * Naomi Nagasawa as Steak
 * Jun Fukuyama as Gauche Suede
 * Katsuyuki Konishi as Ralgo Lloyd
 * Kazuya Nakai as Jiggy Pepper
 * Marina Inoue as Mana Jones
 * Aya Hisakawa as Lag's mother & the Narrator
 * Hitomi Nabatame as Nelli
 * Yuki Matsuoka as Nello
 * English

This series hasn't air in English yet.
 * as Lag Seeing
 * as Niche
 * as Aria Link
 * as Zaji
 * as Conner
 * as Moc Sullivan
 * as Silvette Suede
 * as Steak
 * as Gauche Suede
 * as Ralgo Lloyd
 * as Jiggy Pepper
 * as Mana Jones
 * as Lag's mother & the Narrator
 * as Nelli
 * as Nello

Trivia
all information on the Letter Bee (Anime) came from http://tegamibachi.wikia.com/wiki/Tegami_Bachi