Dagashi Kashi – 12 (Fin)

Here it is: the last episode of the Winter for RABUJOI, ending it with, well, not a whimper, but not really a bang either. The show was clearly never interested in brining the candy shop succession plot to any kind of resolution, and so instead stuck to its usual formula of crafting a slice-of-life skit around particular brands or types of candies.

Specifically, Saya is momentarily freaked out by the possibility of having a yuri moment with Hotaru, who asks her about the “flavor of love”, but she’s only talking about a cherry candy with a poem on the package called Sakuranbo no Uta. Meanwhile, Koko and Tou have a very over-dramatic exchange about the proper use of fortune-telling Taberun Desu Hi candies.

The next skit is devoted to Morinaga Milk Caramels, with Hotaru sitting in the smoking section of Saya and Tou’s family cafe as a kind of acknowledgement that they used to be marketed to adults as a tobacco substitute.

Mind you, before she comes in Koko is worried about “tying down” Hotaru with his indecision about succeeding the store, which Saya incorrectly imagines to be bondage. But Hotaru leaves impressed that Koko fulfilled her expectations, talking about the caramel’s history and mentioning its many flavors, including coconut.

The final skit is notable for its visual beauty as well as the transformation of the weather from beginning to end. While running after Hotaru to talk to her about his concerns, it starts to rain hard, and the two end up sheletering at a bus stop. There, Hotaru tries to break open a tin of Sakumashiki Drops, but can’t get it open; Koko pries the top with a 10-yen-coin, amazing Hotaru.

Then he tries to put the peppermint flavor drop he gets back in the tin, which Hotaru stops him. He tries it, and it turns out to be much better than he thought, which is again what Hotaru wanted him to realize: one has to try new things to be surprised.

As for tying her down and keeping her from her own business, Hotaru tells him that’s simply not the case: she’s in Koko’s town not just because she wants to recruit his father and get him to succeed the shop, but because she enjoys hanging out there; that’s all. He’s been overthinking things, and like overthinking this show, that gets you nowhere.

Dagashi Kashi – 11

Any DK segment with a healthy dose of Endou Saya is fine by me, and we get that in this week’s first segment, as Hotaru has her and Coco hide under a box so they can observe firsthand why Coco’s dad is so amazing.

Of course, due the the close quarters (and their adolescence), initially all Coco and Saya can think about is the face they’re so close together in a dark, confined space. Naturally Hotaru thinks nothing of this.

Somehow, Hotaru’s plan kinda works: You doesn’t notice that big box with peeping holes, but Coco comes to think a little higher of his old man after he sees how expertly he deals with a customer. Specifically, a young boy comes in with a girl he likes, but doesn’t have enough money to buy two pieces of Cola Gum.

Why doesn’t the boy just buy gum for her, then? I don’t know, but the girl seems ready to wash her hands of him right there when You suggests he unwrap the gum to see if he won another piece. He doesn’t, but he grabs the little insert and sayshe won, letting him take a second piece. The boy thinks he won, the girl is impressed; everyone’s happy.

This exchange reminds Saya of a time when she and Coco were that age, and she kept winning gum from unwrapping winning wrappers. She surmises that You was letting her win so she’d have more fun, but Coco knows better: Saya has scary good luck when it comes to candy; as good as Hotaru’s is bad. If only Saya had as good luck with Coco!

The next segment starts leisurely with Coco and Hotaru waiting for the next train after just missing the previous one. Hotaru, in her typical blithely oblivious way suggests passing the time by “sucking on something.” Whoa there, Coco: she’s just talking about suckable kombu (seaweed).

While not technically a candy, neither are a lot of the snacks at Coco’s store. But Miyako Kombu was developed to be sold in a place with lots of people coming in and out all the time; i.e. a train station. After the history lesson, Hotaru’s mouth is parched due to all the talking she’s done, so breaks out a refreshing Ramune.

After offering Coco some (and inadvertently, an indirect kiss as well), he mentions that “Ramune” is a Japanese bastardization of “Lemonade” brought to Japan by Commodore Perry back in the 1850s.

Underwhelmed by the roteness of his story, Hotaru takes the history lesson to the next level, in a hilarious reenactment in which Perry talks in the manner of a contemporary hoodlum, and in which she credits his ramune with convincing the Japanese to open their borders to international trade, despite having plenty of their own problems.

This was a ludicrously funny little bit, punctuated by the disturbing sight of Hotaru’s face morphing into Perry’s as she imitates his voice.

All that aside, the reason for the train journey comes up. Coco needs art supplies; Hotaru wants to go on a candy shopping spree. As it turns out, only Hotaru boards the train, as if leaving for good, suddenly giving the scene—and the episode—a welcome bit of serialization.

Hotaru tells Coco she knows he has his own aspirations in life, and doesn’t want to force him to succeed his dad’s shop. But forcing and persuading are two different approaches to achieving the same end.

Having stayed in town these past eleven weeks (or however long it’s been by the show’s calendar), Hotaru quite suddenly decides to leave it up to Coco to contact her when he’s made a decision. She’ll be waiting…only she just didn’t bother to tell him where.

Dagashi Kashi – 10

This week’s DK starts off with a little mystery, as Tou is confronted by an out-of-breath, distraught Hotaru who has been running in her stocking feet, takes Tou’s hands, and begs him for help. But with what? What is her big issue? And where are her shoes?

After the credits, we’re in Coco’s store, only Hotaru isn’t there. She hasn’t come by for two days, which to Coco isn’t just bizarre; it’s a little scary. When he doesn’t find her at Saya’s cafe either, the two pay a visit to Hotaru’s massive house for the first time, and find Hotaru in her pajamas and a surgical mask, looking very much the worse for wear.

They mystery deepens as Hotaru seems to freak out whenever she sees Coco’s face. And while she seems interested in the snacks he brought for her, she always ends up recoiling in fear, and can’t complete a sentence without wincing in pain multiple times.

Turns out the mouth ulcer she had last week—and continued to torture with pop rocks and the like—has only gotten worse, swelling her cheek to a ludicrous degree.

When pressed for answers, Hotaru tells them the tale that led to her encounter with Tou the other night. She used Pop-a-Fortunes to try to wish for her mouth to heal before a new Baby Ramen flavor release, but the candy instead tells her to go on an “outing”, which she goes on immediately (without putting on her shoes).

That led her to Tou, who gave her advice to abstain from candy until her mouth fully heals. That way, the candy will taste even better, since absence makes the heart (and stomach) grow fonder and all that. The only problem is, that abstinence has led to candy withdrawal.

When Hotaru just can’t hold back anymore, she has to be physically restrained by both Coco and Saya. Her cuckoo clock snaps her out of her trance, letting her know to take her disgusting-looking but lovely-smelling homemade medicine.

That “medicine” turns out to be the culprit behind her increasingly huge mouth ulcer: it’s made from a combination of powdered pine, melon, and “American Cola” drink mixes. In other words, it’s pure sugar.

Upon learning Hotaru’s cure (and her candy abstinence) is a sham, they take off, leaving her to continuing drinking her nasty—and very harmful—witch’s brew. But what’s the daughter of a candy company to do?

Dagashi Kashi – 09

This week brings back evenly-spaced variety and some interesting candy, all consumed while Hotaru is nursing a pretty bad canker sore (mouth ulcer). Of course, Hotaru has no idea how she got it, and when Saya suggests the obvious—too much candy—Hotaru swiftly laughs it off and pops the equivalent of cotton candy with Pop Rocks in her mouth.

This marks the return of “Candy POV” in DK, in which two of the straggler bits of explosive rock linger on her tongue, saying their heartfelt goodbyes before popping, causing a cascade of sharp pain. However, once it’s all over, Hotaru says it feels great. There’s a fine line between pleasure and pain.

The discomfort becomes more mental than physical for Saya as she innocently points out a cute cartoon animal package that turns out to be the new hit product for primary schoolers: UnChoco (or PoopChoco), little grape-chocolate balls that are “pooped” out of a hole in the back.

Saya thinks she and Hotaru are a little too old for such things, so Hotaru classes it up by creating a mature lady’s al fresco tea party atmosphere, belying the fundamental immaturity of eating what are essentially candy turds. Hotaru never makes the connection (despite saying poop repeatedly); instead, she likens the candy to eggs being laid.

Since no one character can withstand an entire episode alone with Hotaru’s hijinx (hojinx?) Saya is swapped out for Koko at the midpoint, and he’s perplexed to find her eating a bowl of rice (the canker sore goes unmentioned here, but we still see it; it’s not going away in a candy store!)

The reason Hotaru is eating rice is because the sweet and sour taste of Sakura Daikon makes her want to. She also decides to confess to Koko that she’s from Osaka, and has always been hiding a Kansai dialect. However, her Kansai-ed-out exclamations feel a bit forced to Koko (not to mention really irritating), so he’s not surprised when she confesses she isn’t actually from Osaka.

This entire episode takes place in the Shikada storeroom, which technically makes it a “bottle episode”, but the final segment involves not the bottle, but the breast.

Hotaru asks Koko straight-up what he thinks of boobs, and he initially responds as if Hotaru were a normal girl – that they’re no big deal to him. Incidentally, this line would have worked well on Saya, who, while not necessarily normal herself, doesn’t need Koko to be boob-crazed considering her bust size.

But because it’s Hotaru, she nearly storms out at his measured response. He quickly reverses his opinion, and she presents him with tamago ice cream, which she calls “boob ice cream”, but which he’s always called “bomb” ice cream.

In one of the more raunchily suggestive sequences of the show to date, both nicknames are validated, first when Hotaru squishes the ball like a boob, then when the balls explode like bombs, releasing melted vanilla ice cream all over the place, making Hotaru’s clothes see-through. Call it mutual understanding through confectionary…er…release.

Dagashi Kashi – 08

Well, that was certainly the strangest start to a Dagashi Kashi yet … I thought for a moment I was tuned into the wrong show! But I liked the reveal of Tou telling a ghost story during a stormy night at Kokonotsu’s place, which only his sister is scared of. Knowing Tou, if he can freak out his sister Saya, that’s at least something, even if Koko and Hotaru don’t react.

Around the time I was wondering what candy, if any, was the focus of this segment, Tou whips out the “Ghost Story Gum.” Hotaru has collected and read all 144 stories, which explains why she’s not scared by any of them.

As for Koko, he gets hung up on the narrative inconsistencies, for which Hotaru has an answer: the people who write the stories are corporate slaves! If there’s a meta-commentary on anime here, it’s too subtle.

From there, we transition to a Tou who is simply unreasonably into cup-and-balls, after watching a YouTube video of people popping off tricks with the thing. He desperately wants to be cool and popular, and thinks— quite absurdly—that an $11 child’s toy is the answer. Say what?

Tou is immediately hostile and dismissive when Saya shows up (wanting to hang out with Koko, not him), but as usual Master Saya shows the boys up with some sick cup-and-ball action that puts the YouTubers to shame, then soaking up Koko’s praise with glee.

Embarrassed by his lack of cup-and-ball progress, Tou runs off to the shore, where Koko follows him. Tou then whips out “Pop-a-Fortune”, a button candy with packaging that tells your fortune. The boys go from health to homework to seeing a girls’ panties, with mixed results.

‘Mixed’ pretty much sums up this episode…along with ‘sparse’. The art is great as usual, and there are a few sporadic chuckles to be had courtesy of Tou’s absurdity, but all in all it’s a quiet, inconsequential week.

Dagashi Kashi – 07

This week DK does a festival episode, only in this case, Kokonotsu and You are there bright and early before any customers arrive. Koko’s confusion as to why his dad is setting up a monjayaki pancake griddle for a candy stall is quickly cleared up by Hotaru, perched high in a nearby tree (a tidy reference to the Alice in Wonderland-themed ED).

We also get to see an annual tradition that’s very familiar to Koko: the okonomiyaki seller Tamai squaring off with his dad over selling pancakes. When You subtly threatens that she’d lose all the snacks people love using as toppings for her product, she quickly backs down, and the two make up. It’s all there, from anger to tears, and there’s comfort in knowing it will probably go exactly the same way next year.

Turns out it’s Hotaru’s first ever festival, but with only 200 yen on her person, she has to find a way to procure more cash. Fortunately, she’s practiced precision candy die cutting for fun, and when she spots a stall, she immediately picks out the shape that will net her the biggest cash payout.

Kokonotsu and Tou are skeptical: even if Hotaru manages to do a good job, the die cutting stall guys are notoriously nitpicky and cheap. But to their surprise and mine, she’s actually really good at something (for once!), and earns the full 5000 yen (nearly $44). Furthermore, she Koko notices she looks really cute when she’s concentrating.

Speaking of cute, in the second half of the episode Saya finally makes her appearance at the festival, resplendent in a yukata she spent a long time getting into. She wants to hang out with Koko, but Koko’s working his dad’s stall, and doesn’t realize how much she wants to be alone for him, so it’s up to his dad to notice Saya’s cues and send Koko off with her.

Koko does at least compliment Saya’s yukata – though only after she compliments his clothes. How it happened doesn’t matter; Saya is over the moon by being told she looks good, making the trouble of putting on the yukata totally worth it.

With that milestone achieved, the two simply have fun visiting the stalls, chowing down and playing games. It’s as near as makes no difference a date, even if again, Koko doesn’t realize the significance of spending time with Saya and only Saya.

When Koko spots the goldfish scooping station, Koko does happen to notice a moment of hesitation in Saya, but she bids him proceed with scooping. Saya is remembering another time when Koko obsessed over the goldfish, all too confident he knew exactly how to scoop one, but ending up spending all his money with no result. The vender took pity on lil’ Koko and gave him a consolation fish, which he promptly gave to lil’ Saya.

So it happens this time. Just as Saya is done fondly reminiscing, Koko is broke again, and has a new consolation fish for her. The first fish he gave her is the giant one still floating (in a bowl way too small for it) in her family’s cafe. Regardless of whether he remembers, Koko again demonstrates his generosity and almost reflexive tendency to make Saya smile every chance he gets, which is enough for now.

Dagashi Kashi – 06

I kinda needed a week away from Dagashi Kashi, so last week’s hiatus was well-timed, allowing me to build back up a hankering for some fresh candy-cation. This week’s loose theme was “playing with your food”; specifically candies that you’re meant to play with before you consume them.

Hotaru brings the others to a shrine where she does a dance to the god of candy with a super-long gummi string, then breaking out a “Maken gummie” which comes in the form of a hand making one of the three rock-paper-scissors gestures. Tou learns another use for it is flipping a girl’s skirt, enabling Kokonotsu an unsolicited look under Saya’s, much to both their embarrasment. Saya promptly posterizes her brother.

Hotaru tries to use the gummie string in a surprise competition that will determine if Koko inherits his dad’s store, but it fails, like most of her attempts to get him to commit to doing so. However, Koko inadvertently proves he was born to own a candy shop when she accidentally loses her grip on her gummie “nunchaku”, and without thinking he leaps into the air to catch the errant candy in hismouth before it touches the ground.

When Hotaru breaks out the ohajiki, Saya is naturally good at it without knowing the rules. Hotaru has noticed Saya is good at a lot of things she sucks at, and starts to think Saya would be a perfect fit working at Koko’s candy shop. She suggests as much to Saya, unaware of how much Saya likes Koko, and while Saya doesn’t give an answer, the thought of being that little bit closer to Koko lingers in her mind.

That takes us to the episode’s strongest and most heartwarming segment, a flashback to when Saya and Koko were still in elementary school, and she’d come by all the time to play.

Back then, Koko was as enthusiastic about candy as Hotaru is in the present, and acts as a spokesman for combination candy and “nutritional good” Yoguret, a melt-in-your-mouth dairy candy that comes in blister packs like medicine, making it perfect for if, say, they were to play Doctor.

That was only an example, but Saya, who liked Koko as much back then as she does in the present, runs with it. But Koko makes her the doctor, and when she insists they switch, he always manages to get out of “examining” (read: touching) her by prescribing her the Yogurets as medicine. While comforting him when they’re all gone, the two stumble to the floor, holding hands and lying quite close.

It’s perhaps the first time in their lives they were quite that close to each other, and noticed each other as girl and boy. Cut to the present day Saya, all grown up, wondering why that particular memory suddenly surfaced, but sure that Koko probably forgot about it.

When she arrives at Koko’s shop, Hotaru announces the featured candy of the day is – yup – Yogurets. Both Saya and Koko instantly blush, and Saya retreats, but she’s clearly happy Koko remembered after all. Such is the power of candy. 

This episode clinched for me what I’d always suspected: Saya is the true star of this show, and the reason I’m still tuning in. Hotaru has her moments, but she’s a mostly static, cavorting jester, while Saya is a warm, vulnerable human being with whom we can empathize.

Dagashi Kashi – 05

“Don’t get high on your own supply.” It’s a useful saying for both drug and candy dealers, apparently, because You started doing so with his bottle ramune, and has ended up consistently eating all his inventory, causing Kokonotsu to assume they don’t have it in stock.

Hotaru and You using peer pressure on Koko was pretty funny, along with the way the two kinda feed off each other’s chaotic energy, even leaving the store together in the middle of the night, promising to come back “clean.”

This is one of the rare cases where I’ve had a candy vaguely similar to one in the show: those little wax soda bottles that contain sugary liquid you bite the tops (or bottoms) off. I don’t remember them being that addictive, however.

Anyway, all mention of You’s addiction disappears in the next bit, which starts later that night, as Koko walks in on You recording a truly terrible dagashi review of Baby-Star Ramen, a “by-product” dagashi born from the desire not to waste anything.

Koko gives a far more impassioned presentaion, unaware You is recording him in a video that gets a lot more hits than he ever did, as well as impressing Saya (who only has one brief appearance this week).

Next up, Yatta! Men, another ramen-based snack that comes in little tiny cups with peel-off lids. When Koko and Tou lament their lack of spending money, Hotaru suggests they attempt to win said funds by trying their luck at Yatta! Men.

It’s here where we discover that, like Aqua in KonoSuba, Hotaru has dreadful luck, and seems incapable of selecting a winning cup, even as she collects enough ramen for Tou to make a bowl and slurp it up. No doubt some of that ramen contains Hotaru’s tears of defeat and frustration.

Finally, Hotaru tries to rally back with more gambling; not a great strategy considering her luck thus far. She chooses a candy called “Watch Out for the Sour Grape!”. She entered into the game believing she could tell which of the three candies in each package was the super sour one from the sunglasses of one grape on the packaging (which Tou’s sunglasses reminded her of).

However, she’s thinking of the old packaging; there’s no such “hints” on he new design, and even if it was the old design, it was just a rumor and not true. In any case, Hotaru loses again, and is unable to mask her sour-face.

And there you have it: another serviceable tour of Japanese confectionery stocked with, shall we say, sporadic laughs. But five episodes in, despite the diversity of the candy and resultant hijinx, Hotaru and You’s shtick is beginning to lose its luster.

Dagashi Kashi – 04

Rather than explore a combination of various confections, Dagashi Kashi focuses on only two this week; and one at a time. First is fugashi, the brown sugar-coated wheat gluten snack for which there are countless varieties. Hotaru decides she and Kokonotsu will do a blind taste test.

What with the blindfolds and the bound hands and the stuffing of cylindrical things down each others’ gullets, the exercise definitely has a suggestive, kinky quality to is, as Kokonotsu points out in his thoughts early on, but that’s tempered by the fact Hotaru is so darned innocent and oblivious and purely interested in the candy and the competition.

The second part is dedicated solely to Glico, a little box containing caramels that will each provide enough energy to run 300 meters. When Kokonotsu leaves his sketchbook at Saya and Tou’s cafe (containing an incriminating sketch of Saya that Tou edited to point out her slight chest) Hotaru suggests they use the caramels to fuel the 1,500m run to retrieve the book.

Nothing kinky about this segment, but like the fugashi competition, the proceedings grow very dramatic as they progress, with Hotaru and Koko performing great feats of athleticism while crunching the nitty-gritty numbers. However, they eventually tire, and Koko remembers Glicos only come four to a box, leaving him one short of the cafe.

Hotaru gives him her last one and demands he leave her behind to accomplish his goal. He reaches the cafe, but unfortunately, it’s too late; Saya sees the sketch, and no amount of explanation will quell her rage.

Poor Coconuts…never any luck! Were it not for Tou’s “adjustments”, Saya would have likely been moved by the portrait. Then again, a gorgeous rich girl constantly wants to hang out and do stuff with him, so maybe he’s not so unlucky after all…

Dagashi Kashi – 03

On a hot day, as kids we’d usually go for a soda (or pop, depending on what state we were in), snowballs, soft serve, or frozen yogurt. It never occurred to me how great it can be to eat hot things when it’s hot out. Hotaru demonstrates this, I think, by firing up a stove to the shop and cooking up some tonkatsu Butamen; kind of a a mini ramen cup.

Tou, who’s back after a week off, put together what was going down and invited himself, knowing that in return for the intense heat, he and Kokonotsu would get to watch a cute girl eating noodles, not to mention getting so hot her dress gets see through. Naturally, Hotaru is totally oblivious to all of that.

Her only concerns are candy, snacks, and acquiring You for her father’s company. And that’s the other side of it: she doesn’t realize the power she has over Kokonotsu, courtesy of her looks and close casual manner with him. As far as she knows, the battle will be won with her convincing arguments for the primacy of candy.

So rather than seduce him, which just isn’t in her character, Hotaru continues cockamamie plans, one of which involves You pretending to be a lifeguard to make extra bucks on the side, since the shop doesnt’ do. She’s unaware of her ability to seduce, so instead she tries to guilt trip.

She and You (also back after one week off) are awfully proud of their plan and are regarding one another in a better light all the time, but snagging him all comes down to her ability to convince Koko to take over the shop. Alas, an attempt to show the wonder of candy through strategic placement of kurukurubu jelly sticks in the pool backfires when Koko, Tou, and Saya see the “no food or drink” sign.

The last segment is somewhat strange, in that Hotaru’s interaction with Kokonotsu is minimal. Like Hotaru with You in the previous segment, this looks like an effort to explore each two-person combination in the lean five-person cast. Hotaru curbs her suspicion that Tou is a pathetic confectionary tourist and shows him the proper way to deliver a Botan Rice Candy (with its edible wrapper) to one’s mouth: the same way one delivers a fastball to the plate.

Finally, after Koko shoos her off while the shop’s A/C is fixed (which seemed kinda mean; though Hotaru was somewhat in the way), Hotaru interacts one-on-one with Saya a little more. Just as Hotaru thought Tou might be testing her (though he wasn’t; he’s just an idiot), Saya sees Hotaru’s desire for “girl talk” that starts with a quesiton about Koko has her thinking Hotaru is testing her.

She is, but it has nothing to do with Saya’s crush, only the fact she’s never seen her with candy, something Hotaru cannot stand by and allow. She gives her some “Neon Seven”, a very cryptic kind of candy that Saya initially picks at wrong (both of their close-up expressions are hilariously rendered) but eventually learns to eat properly.

Saya is amazed and entertained by Hotaru’s wealth of knowledge (as anyone would be), and the two end up talking so long Hotaru never goes back to Koko’s…which kinda serves him right for shooing her off!

Dagashi Kashi – 02

Dagashi Kashi continues to be Shidare Hotaru’s (and Taketatsu Ayana’s) world; everyone else is just living in it. Kokonotsu lives in a goldmine of candy classics, Hotaru has more passion for them in one of her brightly-painted nails than Koko’s whole body. There’s a tremendous enthusiasm gap here, but the hope is Hotaru will eventually wear Koko down into accepting succession of his father’s store (though who knows if it’ll happen).

Until then, Koko can hardly complain about being bored with Hotaru around; there’s literally never a dull moment with her around, getting into a big lecture about the proper way to eat Kinako sticks, then breaking out tablets of non-alc Namaiki Beer she somehow proceeds to get piss drunk on (and Hotaru is possibly even more entertaining in this state).

In both cases, Hotaru, despite being so well put together fashion-wise, doesn’t seem to know some of her mannerisms and phrasing can be inadvertantly titillating for Koko. There’s this subtext of Hotaru growing up so fast into the candy and snacks savant she is now (she could probably run her dad’s company today), she never had either the time or the inclination for romance. And yet, she’s by any measure extremely happy and fulfilled.

On the other hand, Koko, and Saya for that matter, are still very much kids at heart. Koko doesn’t want to give up on his manga dream and gets embarrased when Hotaru does or says certain things, while Saya likes Koko, but Koko is of course oblivious. I do appreciate that while there is a clear love triangle here, Saya’s the only one remotely aware of it, and in any case the show doesn’t push too far on the romance or triangle angle.

Instead, what would have been another quiet, hot, boring small town day for Koko and Saya becomes…something else entirely, thanks to Hotaru happening to pass by showing off her Ramune Whistling skils, then going on to recite the entire history of the whistle, telling it like some kind of school drama, and casting both Koko and his father in unsubtle attempt to try to convince Koko that following his father is the best path for him.

To his credit, Koko stands his ground. Convincing him isn’t going to be easy, if it’s even possible, but if anyone can do it, Hotaru can. She even gets Saya’s blessing, since if Koko doesn’t take over the store, it might mean he’s leaving town; leaving her behind.

So now both Hotaru and Saya share a desire to keep Hotaru right there, in the Shikada Candy Shop that is his destiny. The episode closes out with some menko, a card-flipping game Saya turns out to be really good at despite having never played, to both Hotaru and Koko’s dismay.

The trio just seems to be having a ton of fun, and I’m having a ton of fun watching them. I didn’t really miss You or Saya’s bro Tou, though that’s not to say I’d mind if they show up next week. In fact, I like that the show can keep characters in its back pocket and still run the table.

The only character who must be in every episode is Hotaru; she’s the linchpin of this whole nutty operation.

Dagashi Kashi – 01 (First Impressions)

Simply put, Dagashi Kashi is a taut, crafty, stylish laugh-riot. It is life from lifelessness. I had an absolute gas watching it, and it never failed to surprise me with a goofy facial expression here or a momentary trip to a different genre there. And the premise should prove to be a veritable goldmine of comedic and romantic material.

The cast is lean, but makes every shot count: Shikada Kokonotsu (“Coconuts” to his friends-I’ll call him Koko) is the son of an animated small-town candy shop owner, Shikada You (a hilarious Fujiwara Kenji), who really wants him to succeed him as “ninth generation head”, but he’s currently in his mangaka stage.

Enter Shidare Hotaru of the famous Shidare candy company, who is looking for You but encounters Koko instead and immediately sets to work testing his confectionery instincts with umaibo.

The classic gothic lolita garb-donning young woman proves extremely eccentric, and well, very animated. Not just a pretty face with concentric irises, she’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys, and country boy Koko is super ultra intrigued. Taketatsu Ayana really sinks her teeth into the role with relish.

In fact, once You returns, Koko gets swept up in the combined madness of his dad and Hotaru, who formally relays her father’s desire for You to come work for his company. You flatly refuses, but when Hotaru hears of You’s desire for Koko to inherit shop, she makes a counter-proposal on the spot: if she can convince Koko to take over the shop, his dad will take the job.

She may be mad as a hatter, but she knows what she’s doing when it comes to business and snacks. I myself know the joy of extravagantly shoving too many hot fries down my gullet. One of life’s little thrills!

You wastes no time mistaking Hotaru for Koko’s girlfriend, which Koko vehemently denies (while blushing, natch) but Hotaru doesn’t dismiss the idea. She doesn’t say anything about it, actually. That segues nicely to Koko’s present love interest in the town, Endou Saya, whose brother Tou is Koko’s best mate (Saya is ably voiced by Numakura Manami)

Koko is oblivious to Saya’s feelings, but never fails to compliment her coffee as the only coffee he ever drinks. When a possible rival in love is brought up, she shows off her fiery temper, but even dropping dozens of sugar cubes in Koko’s coffee doesn’t faze him.

When Saya comes face-to-face with her competition, it’s quite by accident—as in Hotaru had an accident on her bike while too closely inspecting the message on her popsicle stick, and fell into a muddy rice paddock.

Saya gets Hotaru in the shower, but when Tou walks in on Hotaru and sees her nakked, Hotaru doesn’t even flinch, introducing herself and apologizing for putting Tou out. Later while enjoying some free coffee (which Hotaru agrees is wonderful), she breaks out some “Young Donuts” out of seemingly nowhere. No matter what, Hotaru seems to be equipped with the right snacks for the right job.

There, Hotaru regails Saya about her mission and the “contract”she’s ended up in, which should keep her in town for the foreseeable future. Of course, she’s so flowery and dramatic and vague, it’s as if she’s telling some kind of fantasy epic. Which is kinda is, to her. Her victory is dependent on convincing “the one who would succeed the legend.” This should be a sweet ride.