Kin no Hitsuji
The Golden Sheep

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Once again a review because there are no reviews. This manga is pretty good, I would lean towards a 7.5 instead of an 8, but that's not an option. I gave it an 8 because it felt like a fairly real interpretation of what could happen to someone who comes back to an area they've been gone from for a while. The main character is positive but not oblivious, and she does a good job supporting the other characters in the story, particularly the dark-haired boy. Likewise, all of the characters remained grounded and fairly compelling.

It was short, so there's not too much else ... to say, but it was good.

From a technical perspective The Golden Sheep is basically flawless with effective art and paneling, great character designs, and coherent backgrounds. The story is a typical coming of age tale, which is the author somewhat specializes in, and it is here the negatives can be found.

Of the 4 protagonists, 2 have a satisfying, if quick, arc while the other two pull down the series. Tsugu in particular stands out for her optimism and sincerity, which puts here a cut above move teenage girl leads. The slight romance that develops with her is compelling and leads to some of the most effective emotional beats. Her and ... her otaku love interest are easily the best part of the series.

The sick one and the boxer on the other hand just never get in a groove. They do awful things repeatedly throughout the series which then gets 'resolved' in a series of tearful exchanges. There isn't much likability or arc to be found here. The boxer in particular just never earns the resolution the series give it.

The length of the series is a massive negative. A longer story would have given more time for the reconciliation to develop naturally and for the characters to face the consequences of their actions. The entire cast also leaves off in a very interesting placed, and volumes of material could easily be spent exploring things the characters just off-handedly mention in the last page.

Good, but not filled out enough to be truly impactful.

Score: decent 7

Mod Edit: This review was original posted for Love Letter and has subsequently been merged into Kin no Hitsuji.


What if, before we were born, we all had a chance to choose our mothers?

This short and sweet one-shot relates the tale of one soul who does his best to make his mother happy, regardless of the circumstances.

Story, 6: There are definitely some rather cliche tearjerking moments in the story, but I enjoyed the premise and thought the different avenues of life both the soul and the mother follow were touching.

Art, 7: There were some particularly nice panels featuring the characters crying, and the rest ... of the one-shot was fairly standard.

Characters, 6: The young soul's obsession with his mother doesn't make much sense to an adult reader, but if one were to try to put themselves in the mindset of a child with utter reverence for their mother, I think his motivations become more clear. The side characters in heaven felt distinct, but I was fairly underwhelmed with the mother (there were moments of development but she had a notable lack of screentime and fairly generic tragic plotline).

Enjoyment, 7: It was a quick read with some touching moments and, again, I enjoyed the intriguing premise.

Overall, 6: My major qualms were with the cliche story beats, but I would nonetheless recommend this for fans of sentimental titles or those that also find the idea of choosing one's mother interesting.