Out in the countryside stands a sweet shop run by the Shikada family for nine generations: Shikada Dagashi, a small business selling traditional Japanese candy. However, despite his father's pleas, Kokonotsu Shikada, an aspiring manga artist, adamantly refuses to inherit the family business.
However, this may start to change with the arrival of the eccentric Hotaru Shidare. Hotaru is in search of Kokonotsu's father, with the goal of bringing him back to work for her family's company, Shidare Corporation, a world famous sweets manufacturer. Although the senior Shikada initially refuses, he states that he will change his mind on one condition: if Hotaru can convince Kokonotsu to take over the family shop. And so begins Hotaru's mission to enlighten the boy on the true joy of delicious and nostalgic dagashi!
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
kurokitty-mimi
THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE! Many people argue that Dagashi Kashi is nothing more than one big advertisement for Dagashi. This may or may not be true. Perhaps if you are Japanese and had grown up on Dagashi, this series is probably so slice-of-life that it’s boring. As someone genuinely interested in the lifestyles of Japanese citizens beyond anime and pop culture, I found this anime quite educational! Not only had I never heard of Dagashi before watching episode 1, but it also gave me a look into Japanese childhood, and growing up in the Japanese countryside. I also love the silly characters, especially Hotaru. Ifyou are interested in Japanese culture as a whole, and you enjoy your light-hearted series’, then Dagashi Kashi is for you! It helps that I’m also a bit of a foodie.
I was rather confused by the final episode, which almost completely lacked closure. Are they leaving an opening for a second season, or did they really just not know how to wrap up this anime?
Yuni
So Kokonotsu... do you wanna try becoming adults? Say yes you beta bastard, say yes! Anyways, Dagashi Kashi! This series was the one I was most interested in before it aired. Why? Because of that busty babe on the picture! And now, after watching it, I can confidently say that Dagashi Kashi was actually the complete opposite of what I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be a story about young Kokonotsu, an aspiring mangaka, and his struggles of dealing with Hotaru, that sweet sexy thang, who wants Kokonotsu to take over his dad's candy shop instead! Well, sure... that's kind of whatthe show is about. But is it really?
Nah.........
Dagashi Kashi is a textbook example of a "nothing happens" show. However, it isn't by any means boring! It isn't like Glasslip tier of nothing happens, it's more of like the things that do happen are borderline irrelevant to any sort of "plot" this show tries to tell.
Did I mention "plot?" Well, I take it back, for there is none. Dagashi Kashi purely consists of skits and character interactions. As entertaining as some of these skits are, they really don't add up to become some amazing story. Quite the opposite, actually, for they don't add up at all! They are all their own little equations.
And now most of you guys reading this review must wonder why I still give it a 6, and that is because Dagashi Kashi is by no means a bad show! In fact, it was one of the more enjoyable ones this season! Sure, since a lot of the jokes are about Japanese candy, and not a lot of you people are Japanese, you might think the jokes are incredibly hit or miss. But the extremely colorful and dynamic characters more than makes up for it! Dagashi Kashi is definitely an enjoyment > quality type of anime.
Pros:
- Great characters! They are all really characteristic and fun, and none of them are hateable.
- Very catchy OP and ED!
- I really like the character designs!
- Character interactions are very humorous.
- Surprisingly good use of flashbacks!
- There's romantic tension? What....
Cons:
- Less story than Musaigen.
- While the character interactions are spot on, the jokes themselves are very hit or miss. For most caucasians, you won't find most, if any of the jokes funny. I'm Chinese, and Chinese candies are close enough. (Not really.)
- No memorable OST.
Story: 4
But Yuni, there is no story? Why not a 1? Well, that's because the events that actually do happen within this "story" are actually pretty entertaining! Each skit is usually about a type of candy or some event based around candy. It's a story that focuses A LOT on first world problems. And these first world problems are like ridiculous ones. Whatever happens depends on the candy. Sometimes it's a history lesson about why that candy exists. Sometimes it's some competition that connects to the candy. Sometimes it's a flash back of a memory that was triggered by the candy. These events range from boring, to educational, to entertaining. But at the end of the day, the characters are the same, the plot hasn't progressed whatsoever, and yeah. NOTHING HAPPENS!!!!
Art: 8
The art is great, although nothing noteworthy or overly impressive. I do like the character designs though! This show does have a pretty unique and interesting character design, and I think it fits the characters well, especially Hotaru, who's character design makes her look both mature (BOOBIES) and childish.
Sound: 7
OP and ED are incredibly catchy! Other than that, sound is average. OST is there but you won't remember it, and the seiyuus do a good job expressing their characters!
Character: 9
Arguably the best aspect of this series, the characters of Dagashi Kashi are just so enjoyable! Their characteristics aren't the most unique, but they are just so colorful and hilarious! Hotaru's little antics and habits are really funny and you can just see the innocence just seep out of her. Saya is your typical flat tsundere, but she still has so much character to the point that she became my favorite character of the series. Also, the interactions between kid Saya and kid Kokonotsu during flashbacks were just adorable. Tou also has a lot of personality, and of course, Kokonotsu's dad is just hilarious! Kokonotsu himself is pretty generic, but he has his moments as well.
Enjoyment: 8
Dagashi Kashi was actually really fun to watch for the most part! Whenever it got entertaining, it got REALLY entertaining. However, there were parts where it got pretty boring, but the entertaining parts completely overshadow the boring ones!
Overall: 7
Dagashi Kashi is actually a pretty good show! It's light hearted and has no serious moments in it whatsoever, and is pretty much there just for fun. If you go in, don't expect any plot. But you may get some nice "plot" if you know what I mean ;)
TL;DR: Boob ice cream? Take my money.
cactusdays
Tl;dr 4.4 out of 10. no oppai, no plot, lots of talking about snacks. This show starts completely different than it actually is. We start with a young aspiring manga artist who works in his dad's rural snack shop. It's a boring little shop with few customers. One day a pretty girl walks in and announces she's someone important and then goes on to challenge the main character in some snack themed contest and then does it again and again and again and so on. The story pretty much derails after the first two episodes and falls into a formulaic feedback loop: Start of episode: boring snack shop.part 1: introduce some mundane problem that a character acts like it's the end of the world (think first world problems).
part 2: somehow this has to do with a snack (no, really it doesn't).
part 3: the history and other random useless facts on said treat (boring).
part 4: some sort of bet is made (which they never actually do, no matter who wins).
part 5: a contest that usually doesn't make sense takes place (only part where something happens).
part 6: win or lose or don't complete the contest. nothing ever comes out of this.
part 7: the episode ends.
That's pretty much it. This is especially odd since the first ep looks like this might have a bit of ecchi theme to it which is followed by some semblance of a plot and a promise of some high jinks, however that is the only episode that offers any of those things.
In the background there's an interesting slow developing love triangle with the two female characters and the main character. I really wish the story would have focused on that more as it is kind of interesting. The two pretty girls have good traits and the main character is likable but the show all but abandons them to play out a history lesson on snacks that you never knew existed, assuming you're not from Japan. I'd still wager that even if you are from Japan and/or you do know all of these snacks, you'll care just as little.
Story: 2
Art: 6
Sound: 6
Character: 6
Enjoyment: 2
Overall 4.4/10
Defias76
Dagashi Kashi is that kind of anime that you either hate or love as soon as you are done watching the very first episode. Yet I'm still surprised how low is the show rated here on MAL. Instead of pointing out pros and cons, let me comment on some aspects that people complain about. "The show is advertising Japanese sweets.". I mean... it is called *Dagashi* (sweets) Kashi, so the talk about sweets and their history is to be expected, isn't it? Even the synopsis says, quoting: "...And so begins Hotaru's mission to *enlighten* the boy on the true joy of delicious and nostalgic dagashi!" Thenwhy is it so surprising, that the characters often discuss facts about candy? It isn't. That's exactly what I expected and what I got. Facts about sweets. Often pretty interesting at that and occasionally humorous, too.
"The show is not that funny." Yeah, probably because it isn't meant to be funny. I don't understand why is it marked as comedy / shounen here on MAL, when it is neither of that, it's a slice of life more than anything. It's supposed to make you smile, maybe giggle a little bit, but don't expect to laugh out loud.
"It's repetitive." Like I said, it's a slice of life. Life is repetitive. What do. Live on.
Now that I'm done ranting, let me just say that I genuinely enjoyed it. I mean the show, not life.
Highlights? Characters are great, Saya is the best waifu. Also great animation, I love the way eyes and faces in general are drawn. Lastly, really good (and cute) opening and ending sequence.
Don't get confused by the genre tags. They're lying to you. Watch the first episode and decide yourself, whether you like it or not.
Definitely one of the better slice of lifes I watched in recent past. 1/1 (me) would recommend).
TrollMuncher
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.
Stark700
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.
mcrider
The title and the plot of the anime just screams Japan, All that the anime focuses on is "DAGASHI", which would mean "Candy" in English, as childish as that may sound, its a lot more deeper than that, the way candy is shown to give nostalgic feelings to people about their child hoods and take them back to those days just by looking at the packaging is something every one in any place around the world can relate to. The anime has a very silly side to it, a lot of gags and awkward moments that just make the "comedy" tag worth it. I don't know alot about the plot, but what am sure of is that this anime wont give you much of a story, their wont be deep details about the characters past, just small flashbacks and also their isn't really any character development but for the most part you wont be needing them because the comedy itself is enough to make the story just awesome.
The art work is awesome on my side, smooth movements and Exaggerated boob sizes is what made me watch the anime in the first place (sorry if you find that offensive).
Considering that their inst much of a story to follow, its a great thing the anime has awesome art work that wont bore you to death.
The overall
The anime in all aspects is very good in my opinion, its one of those anime that don't use a lot of plot and story line to get you excited about the next episode. waiting for whatever crazy thing HOTARU is gonna do is fun for me.If you haven't checked it out, then I hope you don't miss out on this one.
AllenHavens92
With a sweet story and deliciously hilarious comedy, Dagashi Kashi has to be my personal favorite of the Winter 2016 season. What’s great about the plot is how simplistic it is: conversations about traditional Japanese snacks (referred to as “dagashi”) in a rural setting. That is pretty much all there is. However, it’s how this is executed that makes it great. Also, fun fact: the dagashi mentioned in the show are the real product, so there is even accuracy to it. The other great aspect about the show is the characters. Ever get tired of shows that have this massive list of characters that it makes ithard to comprehend? Well, Dagashi Kashi can fix that, because their cast only consists of five characters. Since we follow only these five that we get this strong connection with them; all of them work together perfectly.
I like to believe that the animation from Feel helps give a distinguished look. There have been other works from the studio that I particularly didn’t enjoy, but this is an exception. When there are any close ups of the characters, I love how detailed everything is.
This series was one I was highly anticipating for the season. Hearing about it, I promptly read the manga, and feel in love in an instant. The one thing that concerned me was how the anime was going to adapt it, considered the format of the manga. However, though there were some liberations, I feel the anime did a pretty good job.
I would highly recommend this series if you love comedy and the fun facts about Japanese history (though be it only about candy).
camilist
Dagashi Kashi is basically a show featuring different kinds of Japanese snacks and candies along with light-hearted comedy and some fanservice. The plot line about his father wanting him to succeed the candy shop so that he could work in Hotaru's company made little importance to the show (the last 2 eps}, so the anime has almost no story and are focused more on the snacks, candies, and gags. The characters are good. Hotaru is quite an interesting ball of energy and weirdness along with Kokonotsu's father and are balanced by the more normal (but not boring) Kokonotsu and Saya. Tou, Kokonotsu's best friend, was the guyin between, a little weird and a little normal. So all in all, the characters are almost perfectly corresponding to each other and made this show comical and amusing.
The art is amazing, but what caught my attention were their eyes, while in numerous anime these days where the eyes are largish, Dagashi Kashi did the opposite, which is what pulled me into watching it in the first place.
Overall, I would say this is good, if you are the type who wants a good laugh. Personally, this is my weekly source of entertainment when it was still ongoing and I was always looking forward to it.
plisetskytrash
Dagashi Kashi is a really simple and easy to follow anime. Main plot is about Hotaru convincing Kokonotsu to take over the family candy shop. And almost 95% of this plot is about candy. Every episode explains literary everything about one or two particular candies but in a fun way. Other than candy and some really good humor there is also well-placed hinted romance. But it’s more about friendship and young people planning their future. The characters are also well-made, interesting and fun to watch. I’m not a big fan of main female characters because they’re often poorly done but Hotaru is really special. Hercandy obsession never stops to amaze me. Downside is that you’ll probably get bored because every episode is similar so even if you skip a few, it’s no big deal. And it definitely doesn’t look like shounen anime to me.
So if you’re interested in japanese candies and you’re looking for some good comedy with no particular storyline this one I for you.
YanSinJurai
Well this is my first review and I'm writing this because I thought that many people rated it too low. About the story, it was pretty okay. You have a bunch of teens living in the countryside and doing the usual stuff. They sometimes go to the "dagashi" shop and talk about the origin of the sweets they eat. There is not much more to it. So, if you like deep anime with a serious plot, this is not it. It's more a "product" anime that you watch for your own enjoyment or to kill some time. About the art, I'm sorry, I am no expert andmy opinions on it usually are pretty subjective, so I just gonna say that it looks polished and the animation is pretty nice. I didn't notice too much lazy tricks or any awful drawings.
The sound doens't have a lot of imporance. The opening was nice and the ending was funny. Ambient music was inmersive for me.
Regarding the characters, I found them the best part of this anime because they are funny and likeable. You have 2 girls and 2 guys. The girls just hang around talking about love, life and that kind of stuff. The guys look at the girls and want to be popular,which is quite hard in a village like the one they live in. But I really liked their development, because you get to see how are they in their daily lives and what they do. Basically, they are "real" people.
I rated it 10 in enjoyment because I like this kind of animes and enjoyed the humor and stories about candy origins.
Overall, yes, it may be kind of an advertisement for japanese candy but it is worth watching just because it has a peaceful atmosphere and lots of funny jokes.
Sorry if this is a bad review or it has lots of mistakes. I just wanted to give my opinion on this anime because I really liked it and thought there were too much reviews that positioned it in a bad place.
I really think it deserves a shot if you like relaxed anime about everyday life with no significant plot.
I found it similar to Non Non Biyori or Barakamon, so if you liked those, definitely give it a try.
Thanks for reading this. Feel free to point out my mistakes. (And sorry for the grammar, english is not my native language so I may have made some mistakes)
Wailordking97
Dagashi Kashi is a "sweet" series. The series centres around a boy known as kokonutsu. His father tells him one day that he has to run a small shop which is his families legacy. Kokonutsu does not really want to run the store and is left to look after it. Suddenly, an insane purple haired girl who was the main reason people watched the series appears. Her name is Hotaru Shidare. She is one of the main characters. Hotaru is the daughter of a business owner for the famous Shidare Dagashi corporation. She had been sent to retrieve Kokonutsus father to get him to jointhe Shidare corporation. We find out that Hotaru has a real sweet tooth, knowing pretty much anything needed to know about candy. We get to meet the 2 other main characters after Hotaru gets Kokonutsu to make a delicious new umaibo mixture. These 2 characters are the twins Says and Tou. Says runs a cafe and Tou kind of just sits there but is a likeable character. Saya is a timid, cute girl. She makes people think there's going to be a love rivalry between Hotaru and Saya but there isn't. The series serves as a way to sell Dagashi (candy). It's quite a good way to advertise something because you know a lot of people will watch it.
Now going on from all that description, here's the actual review.
Dagashi Kashi as I said is a sweet series. The characters are enjoyable, the soundtrack is good, the art is good and it's quite enjoyable.
Despite that there are a few problems with the series.
First of all, there is no story to it really making the series a bit repetitive at times. The pacing of the series I didn't really like.
There just small problems but the one true problem lies in the dub. The sub doesn't really have that much problems with the script but the dub has some really cringe worthy moments and I mean really cringe worthy moments.
If you can look past them sorts of things you might enjoy this series. Many people seem to have kind of underestimated it, mostly stopping at episode 7. I swear it gets a bit better after that. I recommend it to people who don't mind many advertisements and like a sweet, chilled, relaxing series.
Dickcheese
Hi my name is David Cheesborg and I'm here to review this show. Story 5: In response to this query, I pondered with what little intelligence I could muster. I can only conclude, with this morally challenging question of "story," and how it was. Well, my fellow cartoon consumer, it's trash. Zippity zap, bing bong, fling flop flip. Just know that this is not a cartoon where the story isn't the main focus: it's the snacks. Art 8: The art is what is should be, and I would assume it stays true to how the author wanted it to look like. They have managed to use actual, real life,not drawn by hand, images of the snacks to give us some real eye candy for when we buy snacks off otakumode.com(tm)* see the link below.
Sound 7:
I like it. Nothing special.
Character 9:
They chose the "few pew pew" option and went with choosing a small set of great characters. You'll love these characters, they were worked on very well. The MC isn't that bad either, at least he can take hints sometimes (and sometimes those hints mean overstepping his boundaries).
Enjoyment 8:
Good. Very good. So much so that once I receive my paycheck I'm going to go out and buy a Dagashi Kashi themed onahole.
Overall 8:
Sure it has some flaws (the story), but it is something worth watching. Episode 11, you'll find the most boring. It has a gag though that'll put that to rest. You won't die without watching it, but it's a good watch if you're bored.
V1nn13z
You rarely see an anime that actually teach you something (specially Japanese culture), or that's probably just me 'cause I rarely watch anime... Anyway, the whole anime is really nice. Really light, and doesn't force you on the main plot. I like how it's being playful and gave a tickle on the fan-service/ecchi side. You really could just jump between episodes if you're a bit lazy (or just want to re-watch) since it's really doesn't have a major plot. The plot is there so the main girl have at least *some* purpose. In my opinion, if there's no major plot, only a girl with a love ofsnack like some weed junkie loving... his weed, it's still a good and happy-go-lucky anime.
The only flaw I have it's that (for me) it feels a tad fast, and it's kind of sad that they're not THAT focus on the major thing, which is making the main character be an owner of some shop so his dad could work on this big corporate.
Would actually wait for a season 2. If there isn't a season 2, it'll be fine too
LegendAqua
Candy has never been this delicious hasn't it...right Hotaru?. This anime is a slice of life comedy through and through from it's setting of a rural town to the local candy store which is the setting for most of the anime screentime. The comedy like it's "slice of life" genre has simple yet some fanservicey punchlines from the minimal cast however even with 5 main cast members, their chemistry together makes the comedy all the more entertaining and relatable. Although the comedy revolves around traditional Japanese candy that may deter or confuse some people, it still has substance in comedy and relatablity. Candy has always beena kind of food you could actually have fun with, savour the flavour and best of all, nostalgia, thus it "just being a Japanese candy, I won't get it"...isn't much of an excuse...we've all had childhood where we had candy and this anime only reinforces that through comedic timing and characters.
There are a bit of referential humor from the "product placement" mascots of the Japanese candy (where that actually might deter you but considering that this anime gives some history to these candy at the very least they do that so you CAN be in the loop) and really the humor can go either way, either you'll see it blatant product placement or if the comedic timing is right, can be a good laugh, really what LA is saying is that the referential humor can be a hit or a miss.
Onto the characters, Kokonotsu does have "dense male protagonist" syndrome however he does "know what he likes" but is too shy about it, that person being Hotaru who invigorates the anime and comedy with her eccentric skits and candy-addiction and she too is rather dense in the romance department only because she's just utterly obsessed with candy AND trying to get Kokonotsu to take the mantle for his father's shop. Saya Endou voiced by ''Manami Numakura'' and her brother Tou Endou voiced by ''Tatsuhisa Suzuki'' are Kokonotsu's childhood friends, with Saya having a tsundere crush over Kokonotsu with Tou giving that shipping for those two. Finally You comes in here and there but he's usually loafing around or trying to intact a plan along with Hotaru to get Kokonotsu to be the owner of his shop. These 5 characters do have their other quirks and running gags used in differing ways to produced some decent comedy through their chemistry together with some satisfaction in terms of timing and setting. LA's favourite character?...it was a tie between Hotaru and Saya however over time LA sided with Saya, ohh and these characters do develop over time, but you might be saying that for a slice of life comedy?, what do they develop?, well they grow as characters through their relationships and comedic banter with one another, especially Hotaru as we know the least about her with candy being both the core focus as well as setting for development.
In terms of animation by Studio feel, as eccentric to plain as the character designs are, they exceeded in terms of backgrounding and referential effects, thus the animation by feel is by all means decent enough. The ending is one with no resolution to the major plotlines from the love triangle to Kokonotsu becoming the owner of the candy shop...your gonna be slightly angry by this, but considering this anime adaptation is still from an ongoing manga, LA was kinda expecting this thus the "slightly angry" statement.
Dagashi Kashi may look like a "blatant advertisement for traditional Japanese candy", but it definitely has something more than that, LA is gonna be slightly cheesy here but it does have heart in it's characters for their enthusiasm and love of candy, it may not be thee best comedy of Winter 2016 (as that honor goes to ''Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!''), but for a slice of life, relaxing comedy with candy and one eccentric girl in it's skits, it definitely caters to that.
jicks
Dagashi Kashi is one of those anime that punches the viewers in the nostalgia. Unlike many of the other anime which also produce down this like, I'll confidently say that the creativity behind Dagashi Kashi is through the roof. I'll skip the synopsis and whatnot and go straight to explaining. At first, Dagashi Kashi might seem a bit plotless or plain. You're actually correct; there's actually no major plot in this and it is plain. There's little to no romance and just looking at it, all that's left is the humour. But this is not what this anime is aiming for. Dagashi Kashi wants it'sviewers to hit that nostalgia spot and wants you to crawl back into your childhood.
Let's stand back a bit and look at anime from a wide perspective. Anime is targeted towards its local audience (Japan) before considering the foreign audience (other countries). Coming from an Asian background, childhood mainly consists of: Playing at the park, doing crazy things with other kids, and of course; visiting a Candy shop (Unfortunately Candy Shop are getting rarer and rarer so finding one is very difficult nowadays.)
From the whole 12 episodes of Dagashi Kashi which advertised a new candy on every episode, I've probably tasted around 30-40% of them. I've seen many of them before but never had a chance to taste them. Every time a candy that I've tasted or seen, I just think back of the time when I'd spend the weekly pocket money all on these candy and eat them all with friends. Really hits the spot, dead on.
The art was definitely well done; Characters were lacking depth but that shouldn't matter in this case as there is no major plot.
Overall, you will definitely enjoy this anime if you had a childhood that can relate to this anime. If you don't, just take this experience to build a list of Dagashi that you want to buy when you visit Japan for a holiday.
Adieu!
jc9622
I feel like this series is more of an advertisement for a Japanese candy rather than an actual show trying to present a plot..... [Story]: (2/10) Kokonotsu's father owns a candy shop on a small rural countryside town. One day, a girl appeared and she tried to recruit his father to work for her company. He refused and so did Kokonotsu. Hotaru then decides to stay to try and convince Kokonotsu to work for her company. I have no idea why I decided to enter this show with expectations. The first episode was really interesting and I thought it was going to go somewhere. Even if theplot was going somewhere like a garbage, I'd rather have that than 12 episodes of pure advertisement for a candy. That's literally the whole show. Every single episode, Hotaru brings in a new candy or she randomly picks one of the candies in Kokonotsu's Father's Dagashi shop and then she explains the whole candy for you. The concept, how it's made, where it came from, what it tastes like, how you should eat it and etc. But wait there's more, Hotaru is not the only character who talks about candies. Every character in the show talks about candies.
I just explained the whole show for you so I have no more idea what to talk about..Oh that's right, the comedy and the fan-service. What I'm going to talk about right now is going to be purely subjective since not everyone found the show to be funny. I actually found this show a bit funny and it made me chuckle through the run. For example, Hotaru's crazy-ass personality made me laugh sometimes and Kokonotsu and Endou being desperate at whatever also made me laugh. I also noticed that some people found this show boring. For me, I only found the show boring at the first half. At the second half, I just, for whatever reason, enjoyed the remaining episodes. Maybe because I watched the show in English Dub or maybe I got used to watching a 24 minute candy commercial every week.
Just by looking at the cover, you'll know at first's glance the character who's going to be subjected to fanservice. Yep, that's Hotaru. The show is going to be playing with her extremely large breasts in almost every episode so strap on if you want to see candy crumbs falling on her breasts or if you want to see a Slimey/Watery white candy (I forget what it was called) exploding on her face.
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[Art/Animation]: (8.5/10)
The Art and the Character Design looks pretty average. It's what you'd expect from a Slice of Life show except I won't call this a Sol show since it's not labeled in the Genre tags. This show is created by Studio feel, the studio behind My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU TOO and I honestly would have preferred if the character designs were almost the same as SNAFU TOO because the art in that show is feel's best work and this feels like half-assed. The animation is pretty good, though I wasn't expecting much since this show is just about candies.
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[Sound]: (7/10)
The soundtrack is....forgettable. Nothing really stood out and nothing attracted my attention. It was just a bunch of plain ass boring soundtracks. Now the OP and ED theme song(s)
The OP theme song is "Checkmate?!" by MICHI and "Hey! Calorie Queen" by Ayana Taketatsu. For a show about freaking candies, the Opening Animation didn't really make much sense... There was Star Wars-like segments feauturing Kokonotsu and some random guy that looked like Darth Vader, an Indiana Jones-like segments, characters flying in paper warplanes...you get what I'm trying to say. The OP theme song on the other hand is pretty average and it's somewhat catchy. The ED theme song is also average and the only reason why I would watch it is to watch the post-credit scene. You could say that I could have easily skipped the ED to watch the post-credit scene but.....it is what it is.
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[Characters]: (6.5/10)
The only highlights of this god-forsaken 24 minutes candy commercial is Hotaru. The rest of the characters are mediocre (Kokonotsu and Tou) to decent (Saya). Now to talk about the characters.
Hotaru is an innocent, candy loving girl who knows pretty much about every Dagashi out there in Japan. Like I said above, she's the highlights of this show. She's like the only interesting character in the show and is the only reason why I came back every week. She's also one of the reasons why the show is hilarious. Her personality, her innocent "act" that can be easily taken out of context, and the way she eats her candies freaking killed me. For example, there was one scene in the show where she was eating and chocking on a long and large candy. If you take a deeper look at the scene, the show makes it look like she's chocking on a large penis but it's just a giant and long pink candy.
Then there's the rest of the characters. Kokonotsu, Tou and Saya. Kokonotsu is a manga artist who lives in a Dagashi shop with his father and has to deal with Hotaru's crazy antics ever since she came into her shop. He's a mediocre character, that's all I gotta say. He's a bland and boring main character but the reason why he's not a forgettable character is because the show's character roster is super small. Then there's Tou, he's your typical perverted male character who likes to chase girls. I do like the chemistry between Kokonotsu and Tou which makes me like their characters at times. Then finally there's Saya, the only decent character in the series, just under Hotaru. What makes her interesting is her personality and she's also a "tsundere", my number one favourite character archetype.
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[Enjoyment]: (7/10)
Who said I can't enjoy a 24 minutes candy commercial? There are times where I found the show to be quite boring but most of the time, I did enjoy the show and it was a fun ride. Though, I won't be missing this show so good riddance.
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[VERDICT]
Despite "Dagashi Kashi" having a weak-ass plot, the characters, especially Hotaru, does make the show interesting to watch. I did learn something while watching this show. First is the meaning of "Dagashi" and second is the amount and the variety of dagashi out there in Japan which makes me want to try them out. If you love candies sooo much then this is a show for you but if you're looking for a regular slice-of-life then I guess this is an ok show but I won't be bringing my expectations up if I were you because there are a lot more slice-of-life shows out there that takes place in a rural Japan and is 100 times better than this show.
[OVERALL]: (7/10)
Pros:
+Entertaining show if you don't have any expectations
+Interesting characters
+Great Animation
+The show's comedy is hilarious at times
Cons:
-Candies, Candies, and a whole lot more Candies
-Forgettable Soundtrack
-A very weak slice-of-life when compared to other slice-of-life shows with similar settings but without the candies.
wereprophet71
Soooo, an anime with a rural sweet shop as its main stage? Sure why not, seems harmless enough. And harmless it is: I discovered this via another website that was showing off a cosplayer's talents and ended up looking up the anime and eventually watching it (although I won't deny that one of the main heroin's "plot" played a large part in this). The first episode was enough to get me hooked, and my innate curiosity for all forms of weird and wonderful culinary creations helped a lot with that (thank you Roald Dahl), so overall I found the premise and informative tidbits about the sweetsquite enjoyable really (although, that really is the main topic of this anime, maybe a bit too much so in fact).
The characters and artwork are all excellent, even though there are only basically four main characters: the aspiring mangaka protagonist who doesn't want to take over his dad's sweet shop, his flat-chested and somewhat overpowered childhood friend who secretly loves him, her brother the nice, slightly overconfident and perverted "guide" (not really sure how to describe him, it's always the same kind of guy in these "romance" comedies), and the buxom heiress to a sweet company for whom the MC has a (kinda) crush on (or maybe it's just straight up lust, it seems a bit more like that frankly).
So there's humor, the OP childhood friend beats them all at these childhood games, a few flashbacks, a love triangle that doesn't really go anywhere and a huuuge amount of anecdotes related to sweets. It's all very nice (if not a bit boring from time to time), but the story just kind of gives up and dies at some point in the last few episodes, which seem to build up to (at least) a moderately impressive (if not maybe predictable) firework style ending, and then the last episode just pops, fizzes, smokes a little and splutters not very convincingly like a wet and rather small firecracker.
Which is a shame really, because that kind of thing tends to dampen your spirits and leave you thinking: "right..Well that was a bit of a cock-up wasn't it?"
Overall, I'd rate it 6-7: it's fun, I personally enjoyed it, but definitely don't watch it if you're not interested in sweets, want an interesting story or 24 minutes of the buxom heroin's chest (because they only focus on it twice and you can hardly see her bra through a transparent-whit T-Shirt).
There is oppai ice-cream though, so that's something I feel might be lacking in Occidental sweet-shops.
_Hans_
"Take of that jacket!" - Tou Endou 2016 I enjoyed this show. Even though nothing really happened and....OK FUCK THIS... this show is kinda bad but I enjoyed it..for some reason. Should you watch it? Well why don't cha' take a look here to find out. Pros - Art and Animation - Interesting and very endearing cast (Hotaru, Tou, and Saya make the show) - Catchy opening- Interesting OST (I'm kinda reaching here)
- Overall pleasant slice of life/comedy
Cons
- Comedy is a hit or miss (Sometimes I giggled, sometimes I fell asleep)
- Uninteresting MC
- No plot what so ever or at least no moving one
- Boring and Mundane at times
Overall...ok wait lets get this out the way..
SAYA BEST GIRL! FIGHT ME HOTARU LOVERS!! (ง'̀-'́)ง ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
Overall, I enjoyed the show but I rarely laughed and at times found myself extremely bored. As someone outside of japan, I didn't even understand the candy references and jokes, (Im not holding that against the show.) Also they have an initial plot but then don't go anywhere with it.I dont have much to say about this show. If you are looking to sit down and chill then this show might just be fore you. You won't know unless you watch it yourself
Give it a 3 episode rule.
