In society everybody wears masks. Masks of which we hope to personify a certain character, whether in the real world or cyber world. However, behinds those masks are our true selves in which we seldom reveal even to our closest of kin, if at all. Pure Mail seems to remind us of the scars, secrets, and skeletons in the closet in which you or those around you may have hidden behind that mask. It’s not very often you come across a good story and well developed characters in hentai. Pure Mail dives deep psychologically and delivers an interesting story that ties in topics of childhood abuse,neurotic behavior, internet anonymity, and love. Think of it as a darker version of “You’ve Got Mail” in hentai form... Okay, perhaps that’s a long shot, but Pure Mail is certainly one of the best hentai series I’ve come across in a while in terms of story and character.

Pure Mail revolves around Ogata, the male protagonist, who was a victim of an abusive father in his younger years. Now in high school, he isolates himself and retreats to the only place he feels comfortable: the online world of the internet. There he finds a kindred spirit who goes by the handle EVE. In the meantime, at school he is approached by a girl named Nagawa who asks him to take a picture of her so she can post it online to a friend. He soon suspects that EVE is none other than Nagawa. He strives to maintain two personas as he keeps his real identity hidden, all the while struggling with his dark past.
Although the story never looses site of the main stem, it does branch off a little, which is good for introducing some side characters as well as getting to know different aspects of Ogata's personality.

There are a number of interesting female characters that have an air of charm about them: sadistic megane chick, childhood friend who has a crush, little sister's friend who needs help, and the friendly girl with a dark past. They all have somewhat of a chip on their shoulders and throughout the story they gravitate towards Ogata, for one reason or another, as sexual relations ensue. Their relationship tend to either hurt or be hurt. However, by the end, they are able to redeem themselves and resolve their own problems as they become true to one another and accept themselves as they are, which I believe is the moral of the story: BE TRUE TO THYSELF.

Throughout Pure Mail, you will get plenty of cherry popping goodness in the forms of S&M, rape, reluctant sex, and good old consensual love making. The ecchi scenes were surprisingly good and well choreographed. Admittedly, the art is somewhat simple looking, but the characters look good and the animation is pretty smooth, portrayed in all its uncensored glory. There are no odd angles and everything is anatomically correct (i.e. no gigantic boobs). Disregarding flashbacks of Ogata’s mother, it does take some time to get to the first authentic sex scene. Also, because of the story development and there are only two sex scenes per episode, however, they are nicely played out and well timed, especially in the last episode, finishing off nice and sweet.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Pure Mail. It is very well balanced in terms of story, character, and ecchiness. It takes you through a dark psychological journey but provides a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a great title for those who are new to the hentai scene as well as those who have been around.