Love Letter

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Beware, for the following review may contain /spoilers/.

Love Letter is a one volume manga by Seo Kouji, and is somewhat a deviation from his other works. While a lot of Seo-sensei’s manga are high school romances with ecchi on the side, Love Letter is a tragedy based on real historical events. Mochida Chieko and Anazawa Toshio, two teenagers, fall in love during the events of World War II. Fate, however, does not allow them to be together, for Toshio enlists into the aeronautical army and joins the air force. Later on, he is assigned to the special force – otherwise known as the Kamikaze, ... those who go on a trip from which they will never return.

Love Letter is predictable. But that does not make it bad. That is precisely, perhaps, why it is so beautiful. You know what /should/ happen, and the manga does not deviate from that. It does not give Toshio some miraculous way to escape from his fate. Love Letter is, first and foremost, a realistic and poignant romance that manages to wrap itself around your soul. You /will/ be crying by the final chapter, and that is a guarantee. Seo Kouji knows exactly how to manipulate your emotions with words and drawings, and he does it well.

The art itself screams Seo Kouji’s style. It’s very typical of him. Clean, pretty, and well-drawn. Chieko looks somewhat like a cross of Suzuka from “Suzuka” and Yuzuki from “Kimi no Iru Machi”. Thankfully, though, he is capable of varying his character designs enough to avoid having his characters look like clones of each other.

All in all, there is precious little to say about Love Letter, other than it is a heart-tugging, lovely romance that is sure to bring tears to your eyes. It's short and sweet. If you have a little time, read it. You won’t be disappointed.