Review of Dagashi Kashi

"Wanna try and be like adults?" Apart from the fun and sweet (pun intended) nature of Dagashi Kashi, in all my reviews, this has been the hardest review ever as there's lots that conflicts with your mind and the fact that how much you enjoy it is severely hindered by the focus on Japan and it's sweets, something Westerners won't understand. De! Story: 6/10 It starts off excellently, it made me think that it's gonna be some Ecchi anime with a dash of romance included but boy was I wrong. Instead, it turned out to be a slice of life comedy with a huge focus on sweets particularly Japanesesweets and their origin. The middle part is the reason for it's mediocre rating, it's just too difficult for Western audiences to delve into the show and understand each and every reference and it. This anime was one of those cases of an anime "Made by a Japanese Studio for a Japanese Audience" and sadly unlike other reference-heavy anime like Gintama this can't be maneuvered by a simple Translator's Note... That aside, what made up for it is the easy pace and thankfully worthwhile ending. Though the ending is not exactly giving closure a second season is coming up on Jan 12th next year and so this ending makes sense.

De!

Art: 8/10

Made by feel. I was a bit surprised at the attractive artstyle of Dagashi Kashi because their previous works felt kinda average for me. Kiss x Sis, Mayo Chiki, last year's Konobi, the ever popular (and imo slightly disappointing) SNAFU Season 2 along with this year's Tsukigakirei are all examples of anime that looked very average in their artstyle. But out of all these, Dagashi Kashi felt a tad better. Character designs were more colorful with a lot of focus on the face, backgrounds looked better, and the list went on. These all made me feel as if Dagashi Kashi is one of the best looking anime made by feel. and so even if it doesn't have the best of stories by feel. animated anime it certainly looks great.

De!

Sound: 6/10

The OP/ED were really catchy and both perfectly showed the message of the anime clearly. Though yet again I preferred the ED over the OP (this has been going on for the past few reviews I've done, the ED just feels better than the OP). Now obviously one may appeal over the other for you (or none at all) but I can tell you this much that both were fun to watch and were animated nicely as well. The BGM however, even I with a great memory of BGM couldn't find it memorable at all. It felt bland and totally forgettable... Otherwise it was great.

De!

Character: 7/10

I marvelled at how they made a female MC so amazing YET she doesn't fall in love with the male MC as it happens in most similar anime of its kind (but then there's a season 2 so who knows?). Who am I talking about? Hotaru of course! She wasn't just your fanservice character, she was unique. No wonder she was the face of the anime. She loved sweets, she loved them so much that I can kind of understand why there's no romance yet. Upbeat, cheerful, and outright wierd, Hotaru had it all. Definitely my 2nd favorite Purple-Haired girl. On the other side we have Coconut- I mean Kokonotsu. He as well as Hotaru is a refreshing character in the way that he isn't some hopeless creature who doesn't have any aim and still gets all the girls. He has his motivations for being a manga-writer, he has his reasons to refuse the post of succeeding his eccentric Ramune-loving Dad at the Sweet Shop. What makes him so much fun as a character is that he's quite relatable as a character. For the supporting cast we have Saya and Tou, who do a very good job as support. The former got more screentime and development but the latter had an important part to play as well. I am quite surprised at how such a small cast of around 5-6 characters pulled it off, but well done.

De!

Enjoyment: 6/10

It was a treat (pun intended) watching Dagashi Kashi. Since I'm on a slice of life binge right now, I came across it when looking for the upcoming Winter 2018 anime where I noticed season 2 listed there and got intrigued (NOT by Hotaru mind you, I-I w-wont get attracted to a show because of that b-baka!) and gave the first season a shot (of non-alcoholic Beer) and enjoyed it. I would have loved if there was a focus on Romance as well but I'll look to the positive side and hope that the second season has some much-needed romance and I assure you, if there IS romance it's score will be ahead of the first season's. The slice of life aspect was nicely done and I liked the characters and their design as well. Overall I'm hyped for season 2!

De!

Overall: 6.6 (Averaged)

Comedy, sweets, infotainment Dagashi Kashi had it all. It blended all these things perfectly and unlike Hotaru's medicine is sure to make you feel better and happy once you finish the series. An underrated gem, Dagashi Kashi is a must-watch for all Slice of Life fan, comedy fans and of course fans of Ramune-loving I mean Japanese sweets! Here's to a wonderful series and here's to a hopefully better season 2 as well!

P.S: Why the "De!"s? It's obviously a reference.

P.P.S: Now this is quite obvious but Hotaru best girl <3