Name: Spoiler-free review of Kin no Hitsuji. A nice, dramatic teen story.
Item: The Golden Sheep
Rating: 70
Author: Benkei

Waifra

Spoiler-free review of Kin no Hitsuji. A nice, dramatic teen story.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Considerations ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ● This is a spoiler-free review. ● 70 in my scoring system means "average". ● I've got to read this work on a friend's recommendation. I didn't look too much into the synopsis and just started reading.

● This manga deals with heavy themes such as bullying and suicidal thoughts. If you feel like those themes are sensitive topics for you, please skip the manga. If you are struggling with any issue, call your country's hotline. Take care ♡.

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The Story ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Tsugu loses contact with her best childhood friends as she moves to Osaka. Years later, Tsugu is coming back to her home town, and she hopes to get in touch with her past friends and relive the amazing friendship they had. But with the time apart, things changed.

The story of Kin no Hitsuji is average. I like how the story is presented and how there are many internal dramas. The pacing is good and even as a short manga (15 chapters), it doesn't feel rushed nor over stretched.

There's also a good sense of closure with a good ending without leaving anything major unanswered. But, there's nothing amazing about the story whatsoever.

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The Art Style ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The art style is clearly the style of the author, who's known for his other work (and more successful) called Kami-sama ga Uso wo Tsuku.

The art is overall good. Very nice character designs with a lot of minor details, such as clothing, that the author discusses a little more in his last volume extras.

Perspectives, shading, and textures are nice. Backgrounds sometimes lose a lot of detail, but it's not terrible. There's not much for me to complain about.

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The Characters ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ There are a moderate number of characters in this work. Main character and her 3 best friends, a bit of their families and other minor characters. Each of the friends brings a different drama to the story, supporting or adding to the main character's own drama. Everything is okay but not remarkable.

I always like to spend some time talking about the main characters. I think that Tsugu was average. Besides some impulsiveness, I felt that she behaved in a bland mood during the series. She flows with the drama instead of leading it.
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Conclusion ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ If you're like me, you skip everything and read only the conclusion because you don't want to get spoiled with other themes. So I will try to be brief on this point:

Maybe read it. It's a very common dramatic manga. Considering everything, I can't see anything that is really remarkable. If you like dramatic teen stories, go for it.