Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee, Vol. 1

Gauche is a young mailman, a “letter bee”; accompanied by his dingo Roda, he make deliveries through a land of darkness with little travel between outposts. His first package is, unexpectedly, a young orphan boy who must be taken on a 10-day journey across wasteland inhabited by metallic insects. Together, they learn more about each other's motivation: Gauche works far from his sick sister to make money to heal her, while the boy, Lag, is trying to find out what happened to his mother. Gauche takes his missions seriously, knowing that his “letters” (whatever their form) are connections between people. They carry “heart,” the key motivator of the series. In the second story, five years later, Lag is following in Gauche's footsteps with a delivery that echoes his past, a girl with mysterious abilities. This adventure includes both exciting action and touching emotion. The simple premise is easy to grasp, but has potential for almost any kind of story as the series continues. The art has a detailed sense of world-building with distinctive character appearances. (Sept.)