Review of Dagashi Kashi

Dagashi Kashi is for me the rare show that turned out to be different from what I expected, in a wholly positive way. No fanservice or wish fulfilment going on here, just unabashed dagashi nerdiness and fun slice of life. The premise is simple: An energetic girl comes to a town out in the countryside and tries to encourage our protagonist, Coconuts, to take over his father's dagashi shop. The story is full of nice people, the characters are pretty much all likeable and behave naturally throughout the show. I find Coconut's father, You(his mom's name must be "Me") to be an especially fun character, heis really energetic and caring, the kind of father you hardly get in anime these days.

You have to be prepared though, the show throws a lot of facts at you which can get repetitive. Each episode is divided into segments that talk about individual snacks, which are chock full of history and small quirks about each specific dagashi. It helps to have a bit of knowledge about the kinds of sweets there are available in Japan, but for me I never felt lost, even when the jokes didn't hit there was usually something to learn.

The show does however have a bit of a slow start. The character Tou comes off as pretty mean in the first episode but gets a lot more enjoyable through the course of the show. Some of the sound effects are pretty stock, and Studio Feel's animation doesn't flow very well at points, but these are minor issues in the show. If you're a sucker for anything related to history or Japan I'd say you'd take to this show very well, there's a lot going on in Dagashi Kashi even though it might not be the most complex show out there. Its smart and uplifting, the kind of show that will never fail to brighten up your day.