First Impressions / Tegami Bachi

「シルベット・スエードに会う」 (Shirubetto Sueedo ni Au)
“Meeting Sylvette Suede”

Nooo, not Gauche! When you take into consideration that Lag’s looked up to him for the past five years, and that Gauche is his motivation in life to this very day, his tears are completely understandable this time. I felt pretty sorry for Lag, but even more so for Sylvette, who’s lost all hope for her missing brother.

To make things worse, it all happened only half a year after Lag last saw Gauche. He had made his way to Akatsuki and was the ace Bee well on his way to becoming a Head Bee, but went missing after taking on a ton of work. Having not reported back to the Bee-Hive in a while, Gauche was dismissed as a Letter Bee. Lag can’t fathom the possibility of Gauche abandoning his responsibilities, but soon learns from Sylvette that Gauche was taking on the most difficult jobs and most likely “lost himself” (probably from overusing his shindan). With her brother gone for the past 4.5 years, Sylvette considers Gauche dead now, but upholds a tough exterior claiming it was his own fault for not just staying with her. While happy to have met Lag, she asks that he never come again. Lag tearfully departs, but gets his spirits raised by Niche along the way, so he rushes back to Sylvette’s place with the intention of telling her that he’ll find Gauche and bring him home.

 

Lag is the new light in Sylvette’s darkness! It was nice to see that Lag realized she was avoiding her painful loss by blaming Gauche instead, and decided to become the new hope she can believe in. It’s quite a bold stance to take when he isn’t even a Bee yet, but Lag’s heavily emotion-driven nature is what I love about him. He’s pure, innocent, and eager to help others — the last of which undoubtedly developed after his encounter with Gauche. In Sylvette’s case, I feel bad about the tough lifestyle she’s had to live without her brother, knitting dolls and clothes for a living, and trying to clear the debt she’s in. It’s pretty evident that she’s been miserable without Gauche around, with things being a million times worse now that she believes he’ll never return. The flashback with Aria delivering the notice to her depicted just how hard it was for her then, but it didn’t really hit me on any significant emotional level until I saw her true feelings come out in the preview. My guess here is that Lag will fire his shindan into the gun Gauche left behind, revealing to Sylvette exactly how hard her brother had been working for her sake. Once she realizes that he’s always been thinking of her, I’m sure the waterworks will really start flowing. Either way, I can’t wait!

Much like last time, this episode tickles your senses then leaves you out to dry. Right when I saw Lag rushing back, I was thinking, “Yeah, go tell her Lag! Bring Sylvette back to her senses and make her realize how much she really wants Gauche back!” One minute later, HIMEKA’s “Hatenaki Michi” starts playing and my thought process instantly changes to wild antagonizing screams. Luckily, that song calms me just as quickly and the preview gave me a taste of what I was waiting to see. I’m still dying to hear the full version of it, but there’s still four more days until its single is released (09-11-25). Other than that, Niche is cute as always, chasing after one of Sylvette’s toys, getting caught up in her dress, drinking milk tea after seeing the size of Sylvette’s bust, offering to lick Lag’s wounds, and threatening Connor to let her go. Sylvette on the other hand is really well played by Mizuki Nana, which is reminiscent of her lead roles in Allison & Lillia. Nana never disappoints regardless of what role she gets cast in, so she’s a really nice addition here. The next thing I want to see is some sort of emotional response from Aria after all this time. I mean, Koshimizu Ami (Aria) has lost her Fukuyama Jun (Gauche). That’s like Horo losing her Lawrence!

Moar Tegami Bachi please. -_-;

 

Preview

27 Comments

  4. https://randomc.net/image/Letter%20Bee/Letter%20Bee%20-%2008%20-%2009.jpg
    Silvette’s about to pop a cap in Lag’s ass. >.<

    Right when I saw Lag rushing back, I was thinking, “Yeah, go tell her Lag! Bring Sylvette back to her senses and make her realize how much she really wants Gauche back!” One minute later, HIMEKA’s “Hatenaki Michi” starts playing and my thought process instantly changes to wild antagonizing screams.
    You too?

    garfield15
    Reply

  6. @ hellrose

    Don’t worry, Squash will return!

    Anyway, yeah! Syvette! I totally love her in the manga since she can be pretty awesome if the anime gets to that part. Also, she’s actually quite strong don’t you agree? Even without Gauche around and the tough life she has, she moved forward without any hestitation. Anyway, Tegami Bachi has a lot of cool characters and that includes Lag even if he’s a crybaby. Who cares if he cries because he’s an emotional person but does not mean he’s any less of man or whatever our social construct defines a man is. Moar Tegami Bachi? I agree!

    Silver
    Reply

  11. @ MeareX

    Well, you know how girls tend to grow faster than guys. So I think that’s the case with her looking older than Lag. Funnily, she is actually even more physically fit and stronger than Lag.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Silver
    Reply

  12. Reading your synopsis about next weeks episode with Syvette brought tears to my eyes.

    It was a nice addition with Aria since that wasn’t in the manga and I’m glad they added that because we never really see how it had affected her.

    Cherubium
    Reply

  14. Sylvette really filled out for a 12 year old, eh?

    I see they actually developed the Aria scene a bit more. Guess they’re milking Fukuyama Jun and Koshimizu Ami fanbase! And utilizing their voices for full effect…

    R
    Reply

  20. @ Splash

    He’s strong enough to cry without holding anything back. He’s strong enough to move forward. He’s strong enough to get where he is today. What’s wrong with crying? A man can’t cry?

    Silver
    Reply

  22. @ Iron Maw
    Exactly. He’s a huge crybaby and you also learn that Sylvette is also one too. However, look at both of them and you see how they both live strongly and do what they need to do without whining. I say that both of them are great and strong even if they are crybabies. It is one of their weakness that they cry a lot but it’s also their strength in showing emotions to others while they themselves still walk forward without any hesitation or regrets.

    Silver
    Reply

  25. Lag crying all the time is just part of his character and shows how in-touch with his feelings he is. That’s probably why his ability enables people to view the ’emotion’ of the object shot at.
    He does get the job done though, and he is still only a kid, so let the lad cry I say. lol.
    Loving the series though. Easily one of the best of the season and can’t wait for the next ep.

    blinx01
    Reply

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