Review of Dagashi Kashi

“Dagashi Kashi” is what happens when a sugar addict gets a chance to create something. I honestly don’t know why it isn’t classified as a “slice of life” on MAL but… c'est la vie. It’s a story about a boy who really doesn’t want to succeed his father in running a small dagashi (from what I understand it’s an umbrella term for cheap candy and snacks) store out in the boonies. One day an eccentric (borderline obsessive and crazy if You ask me) girl shows up in town to recruit his father to work for her family company. By the power of anime logic the father andthe girls conceive a pact. If the girl manages to convince the boy to take over the shop, the father will work for her. Because of the banality of the plot the show relies heavily on their cast to carry the show.

Kokonotsu Shikada - Our main hero. The boy whose future is the subject of the deal between his father and Hotaru. He’s a standard anime protagonist. No charisma and no personality but… he has a goal. He wan’t to become a mangaka and actually practises his craft. Apart from that he really isn’t anything interesting.

Hotaru Shidare - Basically a whack job obsessed with sweets to the point she traits them as medicine. She has a habit of going into a teacher mode and gives history and trivia about many kinds of sweets. Despite her being an eccentric she’s not a bad person and doesn’t want to force Kokonotsu to take over the shop and even states she wants to see what dream he will pursue. She’s probably the most unlucky person in the world when it comes to chance games.

Saya - A good old childhood friend. After all, what is an anime without one? She runs a cafe and has a crush on Kokonotsu. She quickly befriends Hotaru as their goal aligns - to make Kokonatsu stay in town. She’s a natural at games. She wins all the games she takes part in.

Tou - Sayas brother and friend of Kokonotsu. A laid back young man who wishes to be popular with girls.

Despite having an end goal - make Kokonotsu make a choice about the store, the show really doesn’t care about it more than 3 or 4 times for the whole 12 episodes. Most of the show is getting trivia about candy from either Kokonotsu or Hotaru. The show is slow, really slow and the characters aren’t good enough to carry it. Hotaru has potential but her shenanigans get old really fast. It’s not a bad show. It does have its appeal and the slow paste can be pleasing but forgetting about its own end game is something that makes it hard for me to invest in it.