Tegami Bachi REVERSE – 04
In which Lag quits his job and changes his name
This is a chapter I liked from the manga, so it’s nice seeing it animated. It’s another one of those one-shot dealios, but it has an intriguing plot to make up for it. Plus, JIGGY PEPPPERRRR!!! I love whoever subbed “Time for dessert” as “time for desert”, by the way. It made his badass line that much better.
Why is Lag doing (even more) child labour in a lighthouse? Why is there some ghost telling him to go away? Why does he suddenly have a grandfather calling him Lugh and praising him over tea? As you can see, the episode opens up right in the midst of a mystery. Lag, err, Lugh seems convinced that he was raised here in this lighthouse with his grandfather and that he will be the successor of the lighthouse. There are even a bunch of family pictures in the kitchen to prove it.
Don’t worry, you’re not watching the wrong anime. Over some tea, Lugh tries to explain how a ghost told him to leave this place, which makes the old man upset that Lugh wants to leave him. He is FOREVER ALONE aside from his precious grandson. Lugh assures him that he will stay and all is well. Until he goes to bed and the ghost rapes him in his sleep.
Lugh doesn’t have much time to ponder the incident the next day. Work, work, work. Sounds like me during test time..which is all the time. ANNNNYWAYS, Lugh brings some hot water up to the old codger only to see stacks and stacks of journals. He writes logs everyday and then makes Lugh do all the work, I guess. Great guy, that nameless grandfather man.
I assume all lighthouses are owned by a man named Bill and that Dragonite is nearby
As Lag is changing, he notices red marks all over his body, as if a snake had started constricting him. The room suddenly becomes cold, and the door creaks open. Standing there is the grandfather holding a gun at Lugh’s head.
How can I take this seriously when Lugh is topless?
JIGGY TO THE RESCUE. VRROOOOMMMM VROOOM VROOOM
This is when Lugh suddenly realizes that he doesn’t have a grandpa, which would’ve been useful to remember a bit earlier. Pre-“grandpa’s gonna kill me”, would’ve been nice. Just as we think Lugh is about to bite the dust, the ghost appears. Surely this is bad, right?
Nope, it’s good. The ghost gives Lugh a flashback. Lugh suddenly remembers having a chat with his Bee-bros about how superspecialawesome Jiggy Pepper is, and how Lag is going to be in the same area as him. Although we don’t get a Sailor Moon transformation sequence, Lugh’s ratty clothes give way to Lag’s gallant uniform. Finally, back to normal! To complete the change, Niche pops out of seemingly nowhere to get Lag moving away from…you know..the man with the gun?
I’m…I’m a real boy!
Back to Jiggy. Mmm Jiggy. *ahem* He’s already on his way to exterminate the Gaichuu on top of the lighthouse. He can tell right away from just the sight of all the ancient pages flapping around that they contain a lot of heart…Enough heart to attract a Gaichuu to roost there and suck it all up. Therefore, that lonely old man was actually just the remnants of the heart he placed in each page of his journals. An illusion. He disappears right in front of Lag, allowing them to escape. Meanwhile, Jiggy makes quick work of the Gaichuu with a fatal blow.
Despite the building about to collapse on his tiny little head, Lag is curious enough to stop and shoot an akabari at one of the journals lying around. As expected, the old man was abandoned by his family, even his grandson who actually wanted to stay at the lighthouse with him. Distraught, he shoots his journal and decides to rewrite it. Consumed by bitterness, he writes the story of how things should of gone. How he treasures his grandson who stayed with him. How happy he is, and how life is great. What’s really sad is that he died alone and full of resentment.
Lag finally gets around to escaping, believe it or not. But you really don’t expect Jiggy to not meet Lag, do you? Jiggy scolds Lag for giving in the heart in the lighthouse, and praises Niche for helping him fight. Ohhh, your dingo outdid you big time. Lag cries, and explains how he didn’t want to leave his grandpa behind, even though in real life he’s dead. Lag certainly gets attached to people quickly. Jiggy ends up praising him (probably so he will stop bawling) and gives him a ride home.
Lag brags to Zazie and Connor about meeting Jiggy and actually being thanked for saving his sister. They fangirl over Jiggy, ending the episode on a high note. Ahahaha, oh Zazie…
Yeah….I rode it alright…Heh-heh…
Extra Screenshots:
Is it a ghost or ringworm? GHOST OR RINGWORM?!
Don’t shoot, I’m just a poor, half-naked shota…
I guess Connor’s trying out a diet. I approve.
GET IT AWAYYYY
Time to make up for the lack of Niche this episode!
End Thoughts: I’ll leave it to you to decide, but the manga “ghost” looks slightly scarier than the anime one in my opinion. That’s not a big issue though, the ghost being frightening isn’t the main goal – it’s weaving this rather interesting one-shot story about a man with nothing to live for, and how his selfish desires ensnared Lag. It’s a change from the whole “go here, solve this person’s problem, deliver this.” rhythm that Tegami Bachi sometimes falls into. I just liked how things slowly came together until you realize how this poor old man was left alone. Be nice to your elders!
I’m sad that Niche took the backseat once again (Steak too. He looked so deflated when Jiggy didn’t mention him!) but we got JIGGY PEPPER, who I will never tire of. In fact, I say his name out loud every time I type it, it’s that much fun to say. JIGGY PEPPAH. He is the Bee that everyone looks up to, and he’s cool enough that the viewers (well, maybe just the fangirls) admire him too. His speech to Lag about not being swayed by either good or bad was a nice touch, even if he was saying it to the wind…XD
Can I talk about the lighthouse for a second? Because I’m going to talk about the lighthouse. I’m pretty much in love with the setting of Tegami Bachi. It’s a gorgeous place, even if their sun isn’t quite real. It even has a lighthouse where there is no water. A lighthouse in a desert. The old man doesn’t even have WATER to keep him company. It adds another layer of desolation. The funny thing is, the lighthouse is still an important guide for people traveling across the vast expanses of open land. Oh my god, I talked about a lighthouse for a paragraph what’s wrong with me? LOL
Preview: Shady guys! I see lots of shady guys! And the episode title mentions Reverse? So now we shall progress forward in learning about the organization Gauche has got himself caught up in. Not only will we get info, but Niche appears to be a pretty fierce headlock. Ohohoho, a face-off? You’ll have to wait until next week~
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 371 comments
I was expecting to be freaked out by the so-called “ghost” (since it did scare me a little when I was reading the manga) as well but it just didn’t come off as intimidating even with Niche looming over Lag all the time. I totally forgot it was Niche, though, so I had a good laugh when he figured out it was her. xD;
Ah, that poor old man. If he were part of my family, the way his children deserted him would never be approved. They didn’t even come to visit him or anything and he had to die away buried in his hate and delusions of having a grandson with him. ;___;
Jiggy was so cool. I was kinda glad, though, that he didn’t have too much trouble taking out the Gaichuu because Niche went and chopped off its legs first. He’s one of the best Bees but is it still up for debate when it comes to who exactly is the strongest? Gauche included, Noir or not. :/
Anyways, awww, why don’t you have screencaps of Niche scolding Lag with her hair, Lag using Connor like a
donkeymotorcyle and Sylvette going “You boys are such idiots”. lol, those were the best parts! XDAnd when you said “shady men”, I misread that as well…cuz I forgot about the preview so quickly. *bad fan* |D;
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, I remember the chapter being pretty creepy and all…omg, I totally forgot Niche was the ghost too XD I only remembered that it was an illusion XD
I know! He wasn’t even like a mean guy that you’d want to abandon. His son and his wife were just jerks who never bothered to visit. Or even send a letter.
Jiggy just OHKO’d it after Niche did some preliminary weakening, woo, teamwork! It’s hard to tell who’s the strongest since it’s not like they fight each other, and it’s harder to compare based on who they fight against…But I still wanna know now that yu mention it…>_< (Probably Jiggy or Gauche)
Sorrryyy Xiao~ I actually have screencaps of those, but ended up not picking them lol.
I always hate previews, I always skip them unless I'm blogging a show, in which case, I have no choice XD I want to find out what happens WHEN IT HAPPENS without teasers to cloud my judgement!
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
GYAAAAAA JIGGY THE SMEXY MAN!!!!!
btw, is the next episode manga-based episode or not? bcz i don’t remember reading that…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
YEAHHH JIGGYYY! ;3
…Truthfully, I don’t remember this chapter either XD I went to check out of curiosity, and the next episode is supposed to be another one-shot type thing if it were to follow the manga…I guess they thought the pacing would be too slow if they kept up with the filler-like material. It might be a fusion of manga-material and new stuff (or just new stuff) so I guess we’ll have to wait.