Review of Dagashi Kashi

Watching Dagashi Kashi feels nostalgic. It’s nostalgic in the sense that makes you feel like a little kid again. Remember the first time you’ve walked into a candy store and picked out your favorite sweets? It’s that type of familiar feeling. Dagashi Kashi evokes a bit of childhood memories when I walked into a candy store for the first time. And believe me, this show likes to do a lot of funny things related to candy. The series follows the episodic adventures of Kokonotsu Shikada. His encounter with Hotaru Shidare lands him in stories that drops him into the world of dagashi. Why? It’s because Hotaruis part of a famous family owned sweet company. She wants Kokonotsu’s father to join and he only agrees on the condition that Kokonotsu can take over his own shop. Thus, we got Hotaru and her ever daring tactics to get Kokonotsu for taking the shop.

First thing to get out of the way: A good portion of the show relies heavily on comedy. It sells comedy through advertising of the dagashi. Hotaru is pretty much the mascot girl as she tries to appeal the wonderfulness of dagashi. From simple explanations, innovative lectures, or expressive dialogues, Hotaru is actually pretty good at convincing. Plus, she has the look (or “it” factor) to sell her product. The way this show is set up is that each episode has Hotaru trying ways to win Kokonotsu or others over with her convincing. Her personality is rather eccentric and overly dramatic whenever it involves candy. A good example is when she gets a mouth ulcer but still desperately wants to taste candy like in a ritualistic manner. Throughout the show, Hotaru also shows a vast knowledge about candy. The way she tries to convince others is rather overdramatic including getting others to play strange games or activities. So in retrospect, this is the type of show with little emphasis on plot but more on selling its premise.

With a small character cast, the show gives a decent amount of screen time for almost all of them. Kokonotsu (or as some of his friends call him “Coconuts”), is perhaps the most normal of the main cast. He is friendly, casual, and often tries to help others although remains oblivious to certain characters’ feeling around him. This includes Saya, a girl that has obvious affections for him. Through his interactions with Hotaru, it seems like if he’s developed an affection the titular character. In the meantime, there’s Saya’s brother Tou, who actually knows about his sister’s crush on Kokonotsu. The only person that doesn’t seem to know is Kokonotsu himself. And finally, we got Kokonotsu’s father, You Shikada. Unlike his son, You’s personality seems more similar to Hotaru with his hyperactive energy. The entire show focuses on these characters and the world of candy. When you have a diverse range character cast like this, it makes you wonder how the show can build around itself. The obvious answer is through character chemistry. Every episode may focus on candy but it also puts a bit of emphasis on character connections. Kokonotsu learns a lot from Hotaru, Saya grows closer to Kokonotsu throughout the show, and Hotaru also develops a friendly relationship with Saya. The show presents the character relationships in a comedic style rather than dramatic. In other words, don’t expect actual love angles to develop as this series is about much more than a romance story. The only thing Hotaru has in mind seems to be candy while Kokonotsu remains dense as a neutron star about Saya. The family relationships (Kokonotsu/You and Saya/Tou) seems pretty typical and nothing out of extraordinary; the type you can expect between real life family members. But in essence, the show is down-right more of a comedic story.

However, there’s some controversy with the way the series is adapted. For whatever reason, certain content is omitted from the manga about Hotaru and replaced by Saya. The show started with overemphasis on Hotaru’s presence but in later episodes seems to also expose Saya a great amount of screen time. This seems controversial as it derives from the faithfulness of the adaptation and also gives Hotaru less relevance. Because let’s be honest here, who here originally came to the series to watch for Saya? Hotaru is the main poster girl. In the meantime, the comedy of the show can be a mixed bag at times. It never actually changes despite each episode involving different scenarios, games, or whatever tactic Hotaru tries to convince others about candy. This also comes with a negative of characterization as background storytelling (with perhaps the exception of Saya) is largely absent. In essence, the show is really more of just popcorn fun to pass time at times.

Studio feel helms the adaptation and thankfully provides good enough quality for the characters, backgrounds, and overall presentation. It has a countryside feel as the entire show never really ventures too far away from the candy store. However, the most noticeable part of the series is character design. Or rather I should say, one name. Hotaru Shidare. She has exotic looking eyes with ripple-pattern like rings in her iris. Combine that with a bit of lilac hair and you got quite a unique looking girl. Saya’s eyes on the other hand looks rather simple and she dresses more casually than Hotaru. Oh and of course the show likes to take advantage of Hotaru’s appearance so expect a bit of fan service; mostly subtle and satire by the comedic parodies.

Soundtrack and music goes hand in hand for the show. The OP song evolves throughout the first three episodes until we get a good glimpse of the style. While I can’t say the music is very impressive, it does fit quite well for the show – being lighthearted and dramatic at time when it needs to be. However, the voice mannerism is what really sells the product with Hotaru yet again being the star. Her over-eccentric voice combined with personality is hard to ignore to be quite honest. Similarly, You is also ever energetic enough to be in the spotlight whenever his son seems to be indifferent about his life.

By the time this show is over, I feel like eating candy. No, it’s not because Hotaru convinced me but that the show itself just seems to have too much fun to not jump into it. At the same time, the character cast is there to sell its comedy whether it works or not. As with any comedic series, the humor really needs to be exciting and Dagashi Kashi got that right in the palm of its hands.