Tegami Bachi REVERSE – 11

It appears Niche has recovered from her wounds. I wonder why she headed all the way back to the Hive at Yuusari though.

Poisoning cookies. That has to be one of the lowest of lows.

Connor is keeping a lookout… for his stomach.

「カベルネの襲来」 (Kaberune no Shuurai)
“Cabernet’s Attack”

It wasn’t quite enough to invoke any real emotional response, but the human sacrifices in this episode worked towards one of those moments when Sunny fell victim along with the rest of the monastery nuns. The only thing overshadowing that was another run-in with Gauche, whom Lag was able to hit with his shindan and convey some of the memories they share. It was definitely progress in terms of bringing Gauche around; however, it was pretty evident that the letter bullet would be needed for any real chance of doing so. Regardless, I did enjoy seeing Zazie and Lag team up to drive back Roda and get the jump on Gauche. It’s just a shame the same can’t be said about how things ended between Connor and Sunny.

 

The scale is tipping in Sunny’s favor after Connor learned that she baked the cookies.

Connor doesn’t seem to mind that Roda has a knife to his throat when he’s busy checking Lag out.

While this series hasn’t made out the Reverse organization to be a bunch of tactless killers, it’s moments like this that make me wonder if they have any intent of killing Bees they come across. Connor was easy pickings given his precarious situation, yet Roda decided to retreat instead of quickly finishing him off. From a story standpoint, it’s probably easy to cough it up as part of their plan — letting Bees live so that they can keep stealing their letters — but it’s just as easy to conclude that this isn’t the kind of series to get bloody. Thus far, shindans have been useful for knocking people around without inflicting fatal wounds.

 

Even when the monastery is crumbling, Connor still can’t get over Roda being a member of Reverse.

Poor Sunny gets adopted by a bunch of nuns who have sold out to Reverse for food and supplies.

I had confidence in Sunny not telling Connor, even after his body went numb from her cookies.

After all, she’s in love with the big lug who quickly became her number one cookie fan.

First letters, now guns as well. What will Reverse steal next?

Here’s the obligatory butt shot this week. It’s just too bad it’s Lag’s.

Whether it’s Lag’s pants or some payback to Roda for before, Zazie’s ready to deliver.

Roda’s cornered and at the mercy of two young boys.

It was only natural to feel bad for Sunny, but I did for Roda as well because I happen to like her character.

At the moment, it’s mostly my interest in Roda’s past that has me sympathizing with her at times. I sometimes wonder what she’ll do if Gauche’s heart resurfaces, assuming that Lag will bring him around sometime before the end of the series. Given the huge conspiracy going on in Akatsuki, it seems like the story could turn completely upside-down with the Bees turning against the capital. If that were to happen, then the lines between friend and foe with Reverse may even blur. Between that possibility and the one where things remain as they are with the Bees at odds with Reverse for their extreme methods, it’s probably unlikely that there would be such a drastic turn of events. Instead, I foresee the Bees deciding which party is the lesser of two evils.

 

Gymnopedies doesn’t appear to be Noir’s only shindanjuu, as he fires Shikkoku ones at Lag.

Just when I thought Lag would get to use his letter bullet, Roda happened to take it. She must have frisked Lag in his dress to find it.

If a Bee and his dingo isn’t enough to take on Gauche, then two Bees packing twice the number of guns should do the trick.

“Akabari!”

It’s too bad this wasn’t the letter bullet. Lag’s shindan proved to be somewhat effective at least.

It’s feasting time for Carbernet as the sisters become the human sacrifices they agreed to be.

Sunny’s letter to Connor turned out to be a farewell one.

If only one of his land mines hit to help calm his anger.

Gauche still isn’t quite himself, but at least he seemed to remember who Lag is.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Lag’s cry out to Gauche will be enough to turn him around.

The subplot involving Connor and Sunny was a nice touch, but I still found myself much more interested in the overarching one about Lag and Gauche. Even after Gauche was hit by Lag’s shindan, it didn’t look like it was enough to get through to him in any noticeable way. At least, that’s what the preview scenes suggest as much by showing them still fighting. Hopefully the letter bullet will be used next time, as I really don’t want to see it saved out until the very end of this sequel. Part of me is still hoping that Gauche will rejoin the hive and help investigate what’s going on in Akatsuki.

 

Preview

Even with a swarm of Gaichuu in the air and Gauche and Lag exchanging shots on the ground, the episode title suggests there may be hope to turn this all around.