“Light” shonen: Tegami Bachi and Fairy Tail

Compared to the many action-packed and drama-filled shonen anime I’ve seen, newcomers Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee) and Fairy Tail seem to be “lighter” shonen series…

After watching a fair number of shonen anime over the years, such as Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Shaman King, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gash Bell, and Inuyasha, I’ve come to identify two main themes in such series; 1) many intense, epic, and often long battles between heroes and villains, and 2) suspenseful, gut-wrenching drama that often accompanies said battles. Tegami Bachi and Fairy Tail, though referred to as shonen titles, seem to be lighter in one of these themes. I’m not familiar with the original manga of either of these series, so my statements refer to the anime version only.

There could be some debate about whether Tegami Bachi should be classified as a shonen series, but since it’s serialized in the shonen magazine Jump Square, I’m going to consider it part of that genre.

Eleven episodes into Tegami Bachi, and there have been only a couple of scenes that could really be called “action-packed.” It seems more of an adventure series rather than action. There has been less action/fighting and more about Lag becoming a Letter Bee, finding out about the different people he meets, and learning about the world around him – a world that is a lot calmer, serene, and uncomplicated than other shonen settings. And when there is fighting in the series, it’s much lighter than typical shonen – it mostly consists of destroying the robotic bugs called Gaichuu instead of dragged on fights where the heroes suffer harsh injuries and use epic super powers to fight evil villains. The fights also have less blood, violence, and pain, and more “prettiness,” since destroying the Gaichuu with a shindan gun causes pretty transparent snowflake-like particles to fall.

Though it’s lacking in action, Tegami Bachi definitely has drama. However, unlike other shonen series, the drama is not usually derived from the characters’ agonizing, self-sacrificing battles. It’s more tame and realistic, cropping up when Lag finds out the sad stories behind the people he meets.

While I would classify Tegami Bachi as a shonen adventure series, Fairy Tail seems more like a shonen comedy series. Because Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mishima was inspired by Eiichiro Oda’s work on One Piece, Fairy Tail will be forever compared to it.

While One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and a number of other shonen titles have their share of comedy, their main focus is the action and drama. Though Fairy Tail has action-packed battles and a complex fantasy setting, drama is mild to say the least. The tear-jerking drama present in One Piece is replaced with more silliness and slapsticks in Fairy Tail. Nine episodes into the show, and I don’t think any character has even shed a tear yet. The battles are also lighter in that they’re virtually bloodless and less pain-inducing.

In conclusion, I find it interesting that Tegami Bachi and Fairy Tail don’t include the two main attributes I’m used to in shonen anime. Tegami Bachi has the drama, albeit less intense so far, but the drawn-out, violent, action-packed fights amidst a complicated fantasy setting have been replaced with pure adventure and discovery amidst a gentler, slower-paced setting. Fairy Tail has the action, albeit less intense and dark, as well as the complicated fantasy setting, but the drama is mild, the fighting is light, and comical antics amongst the characters seem to dominate. Of course, it’s still early to judge these new shonen series. Their themes could definitely change as their stories evolve.