Airheaded Country Boy Follows City Boy to College
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Takara's Treasure. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to mentions of animal death, excessive drinking, stalking (not between the main couple), police, underage drinking, strained familial relationship, mentions of cheating (not between the main couple), and mentions of divorce, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Taishin is on a mission. He is determined to find a college student whom he met by chance back in his country hometown. Unfortunately, before Taishin graduated high school, his pet bird passed away. Inconsolable, Taishin ran off from home and ended up crying outside. By chance, an older stranger stopped to comfort him, giving Taishin the hope and strength to go back home and move on. Now, Taishin wants nothing more than to thank the stranger, but he has to go to college in Tokyo, far from his hometown, to find him.
It’s easier said than done, especially for someone like Taishin, who is more innocent and airheaded. On his way to campus, he thankfully runs into some super sweet freshmen who essentially adopt him into their friend group. From there, he finds the person he’s been looking for, Takara, who is recruiting for the hiking club. But when Taishin tries to thank him, Takara blows him off. Most people would be offended and give up, but Taishin isn’t one to give up. So, he joins the hiking club not only to hike hills and mountains but to also overcome the mountain peak that is Takara.
Review:
Suzumaru Minta is one of my favorite creators of all time. I love this artist so much, and I feel like with every title, their style becomes more and more beautiful, which is hard to believe with it being as beautiful as it was initially. I’m not sure why, but Taishin’s design reminds me of Kingdom Hearts. I feel like his face and his hairstyle are really Kingdom Hearts-coded, and his outfits are also in that same vein. I’m personally a huge Kingdom Hearts fan, so I’m all over it.
Plus, Taishin’s accent reminds me of Yechan from Love Tractor, and I’m a sucker for the country accent (I might be biased here as a born and raised Alabamian myself). But more than that, I love Taishin’s character. He’s reminiscent of the main character from Suzumaru Minta‘s other one-shot Golden Sparkle. They’re both innocent and a bit airheaded, but unlike Himari, Taishin is much more socially inept, which I love. He’s so sweet and determined, and it’s so easy to see why every other character who meets him falls for him. His ineptness is not that super awkward, uncomfortable, and cringy type, partly due to how quiet he is. He comes off as shy and sweet, which makes him extra-loveable. I personally think this is worth reading just for him (and seeing him praying to a picture of his pet bird is so precious).
Takara, however, is less loveable from the jump. He is a bit of an ass, though sometimes it is understandable – I can’t say I wouldn’t be weirded out if someone approached me, claiming to have followed me to college just to see me again. Still, knowing how sweet Taishin is, I found myself openly despising Takara until he eventually let his guard down. Once he does let his guard down, he reveals a much more vulnerable and insecure person, which is so much more loveable. Plus, he’s a real sweety and knight in shining armor for Taishin, which makes him a winner in my book.
Something I do need to note is that while this is Yaoi and contains sexual content, the actual sex is completely isolated to the bonus story at the end. This could be classified as a shounen-ai without the bonus, so if you’re hoping for lots of sexy time and smut, you might be disappointed. I personally didn’t mind it because the growth of their relationship and personalities is such a treat to read – the sex really is just a bonus. The one scene we do get between them is also uncensored. Well, I guess you can call it uncensored. There’s not a ton of detail, but there aren’t lightsabers, black bars, white bars, or scribbles. The closest equivalent I can think of is the mature version of Oh! My Assistant. I liked it, but if you are hoping for hyper-detailed naughty bits, that’s not here.
Results:
I love this, and because of Taishin it’s a favorite. As our main character, Taishin is impossible not to love, and though he is experiencing so many new things and running into so many problems along the way, he’s never deterred. I long to be as determined as Taishin. This has the makings of a coming-of-age story leading to a sweet and fluffy romance. This is definitely in my comfort read rotation, and I implore you to read this if you need one, too.
Have you read Takara's Treasure? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!