This is not a shoujo, I repeat this is definitely not a shoujo.
This is a shounen tragedy, following a romance that had barely begun just as the Second World War is breaking out. Based on a real events, this manga follows what it meant to be an ordinary Japanese person in WWII – and how extraordinary times can cruelly conspire against the ordinary wishes and desires of two people.
Kouji Seo is perhaps best known for Kimi no Iru Machi, a much more light-hearted work. Love Letter proves that he can render a quiet heartbreak and gravitas, as well as the more humorous aspects of life. Kouji-sensei’s artwork mayn’t be to everyone’s tastes, but it has a lovely quality of simplicity – a definite lack of a conscious effort to make make characters “pretty”, or “zany” for the intended audience. A manga about ordinary people in extraordinary times.
5 out of 5, read it and weep. Stay tuned folks.
Manga Addicts Anonymous 