Tegami Bachi REVERSE – 06

Never underestimate “The Wheelchair Leopardess”

Here we have the “Sylvette is awesome” episode! If Sylvette ever annoyed you before, she won’t now. Remember: she’s Gauche’s sister. She has to have some of his blood flowing in her veins. I’m mostly saying this because I didn’t care much for Sylvette in the beginning of the series, but then she grew on me. :3

Lag and Niche come home from their latest delivery to find Sylvette working on a new doll. Since Lag and his dingo have the day off tomorrow, Lag deems it a perfect opportunity to get Sylvette to help him write that letter to Gauche. She never does end up helping him, though. She’s too distracted by a fanletter from a girl in Dogra.

The 10 year old girl compliments Sylvette, then proceeds to demand that a doll is made for her by tomorrow. Nice tactics, kid. Okay, so she’s not extorting Sylvette for plushies – one of her family members is actually going away to work in a coal mine tomorrow. Enclosed in the letter is a picture of herself so that he can have a doll that looks like her when he’s away. Awww.

Making a doll in one night is impossible…unless she uses a doll that’s already made and just reworks it to look like the girl. The only doll she has like that is one that looks like her. Without hesitation, she takes the doll apart to try to finish by tomorrow. Lag tries to write his letter, despite being ignored by Sylvette, but it doesn’t go so hot.

If sleepy Lag isn’t the most adorable thing ever, I don’t know what is. As he’s stumbling down the stairs, Sylvette is ready to roll (…literally. GET IT? WHEELCHAIR? AHAHA……ha…) for her doll delivery. She leaves him standing there, half-asleep, before he chases after her in realization. Chivalrous as he may try to be, Sylvette proves to be just fine without her “dingo” Lag. She practically leaves him in the dust heading for the carriage to Dogra. Meanwhile, Lloyd buys some information at a store and Niche is pissed off that Lag left her behind.

The two of them have a nice little chat on the carriage about the dolls, Gauche, and the letter bullet…until Sylvette falls asleep on Lag. LagxSylvette shippers…this is for you. A kind old lady promises to wake them up when they get to Dogra, so Lag decides to join Sylvette in dreamland.

This button is actually an M&M I found under my bed. Shh, don’t tell her

BAD MOVE! THE LADY IS A THIEF! She’s a cross-dressing bandit named Autobahn, who decides to steal Sylvette’s doll for money. Yeah, that’s real devious of you there, mister. You’ll make a KILLING off of that. The carriage goes over a bump at that exact moment, sending Autobahn sailing and waking up our white-haired duo. It becomes pretty obvious that something isn’t quite right about that sweet oba-san.

Lag dashes after him (there’s…not much distance to chase though) just as, lo and behold, ANOTHER bump in the road causes Lag and Autobahn to fly out of the carriage and almost into a ditch. Thankfully, the fail driver stops the carriage this time. Lag sees the doll oh so conveniently dangling from a branch in the ditch, so he heads after it. That boy just blindly chases after letters, hmm? Autobahn takes this opportunity to hijack the carriage. How does this benefit him? I don’t know. I guess he could sell the carriage. Or maybe he just wanted to get out of there quickly.

BACK OFF! THIS BITCH IS MINE!

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Sylvette + wheelchair drag racing. Feel free to imagine whatever badass, fast-paced theme song in your head as she takes off at jet speed after that carriage. Physically impossible – maybe – but it is STILL MAGNIFICENT. Sylvette singlehandedly stops the carriage to save the one passenger by SLAMMING INTO THE SIDE OF THE WHEEL.

All this action, and all Lag does is shoot a doll so Niche can grab it. Why didn’t you just get Niche to grab it in the first place? Aside from so we can get a flashback scene? Anyways, he shoots it, and this reveals the doll’s heart. The first memory that plays is the memory of Gauche wanting to work to find a way to get Sylvette to walk again, and Sylvette wanting her big brother to stay with her. It transitions into Gauche asking for Sylvette’s ribbon to keep as a memento. That’s when she gets the idea of making him a doll of herself before he leaves; except she doesn’t make it in time. The next memory is when Aria brings news of Gauche’s lost heart, where Sylvette cries and drops the doll onto the floor.

Sylvette not only apprehends the criminal, but she delivers her doll on time too. Now that we know the meaning behind the doll, it’s all the more touching. Even though Sylvette couldn’t deliver her doll to Gauche, at least someone else was able to find happiness. Tegami Bachi decides to end on a dark note, with Largo Lloyd giving Aria some vague instructions to investigate Noir based on the new information he got earlier in the episode. More Noir spottings? You know what this means.

What Lag Should NOT Write in his Letter Bullet:

“Yer sister is hawt.”

“Dude, I was SooooOOOOOOooooo drunk when I wrote thissss lolololol”

“Come back or I’ll shoot your JASKLFD@%DR&@ off”

End Thoughts: I had forgotten that this episode wasn’t just about making dolls. We get our fair bit of sap and flashbacks, but a nice dash of action too. Sylvette makes it very clear that she’s not one of those weak girls who just stands around doing nothing. That girl can MOVE. I like my female characters on the USEFUL side, so seeing some wheelchair drag racing is always welcome. Niche was also adorable and useful, tracking down Lag with her supersensitive nose.

Not only did Sylvette show her physical prowess, she showed us just how strong her heart is too. She may cry a lot and spend most of her time at home, but she’s just a little girl left all alone. Despite this, she’s making a living for herself and has a newfound hope for her brother’s return, thanks to Lag. Her split-second decision to change the doll she made for Gauche into one for a little girl in a similar situation was rather heart-warming (well, not for me because I’m heartless. But I do recognize that it’s supposed to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, kekeke). Sacrificing something important to you for someone else isn’t easy.

Lag needs to write that letter already. Come on Lag, what if REVERSE ends and you don’t even finish your letter? GET TO WORK, MAN! STOP PROCRASTINATING! XD

Preview: The episode is called Film NOIR, so you can bet Noir, Roda, Lawrence and overall Reverse drama and backstory will be the focus of this episode. If that isn’t enough to perk your ears, you get to see Zaji having a gun pointed at his head by Noir. How will THAT be resolved, I wonder? (…I actually don’t remember this happening in the manga lolll I’ll be reminded when I watch the episode, though.). Noooo, my precious Zaji!!!! T.T