Anime 31636 Dagashi Kashi Reviews Filter Check 3

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

At the time of writing this review, I have dropped this anime, with no plans to ever return and finish the remaining five episodes. This anime is boring. It is basically a Japanese candy commercial in anime form. Each episode is typically divided into two parts, with each part focusing on a different candy. There is also a weird crazy girl that knows too much about candy, and she is usually the one that introduces the candy of the episode.
The plot of this anime is relatively simple: Kokonotsu wants to be a manga artist, but his father wants him to take over the family ... business: a candy store. Hotaru wants Kokonotsu's father to work for her family's candy company, and he agrees as long as she is able to convince Kokonotsu to take over the store. This makes Hotaru begin to harass Kokonotsu about candy all the time and allows the anime to become a Japanese candy commercial. Honestly, I had forgotten about the premise of the series because they hardly ever mention it again in favor of talking about candy all the time (can you tell how annoyed I am that I was roped into watching an anime that is literally just about candy?).
The one redeeming quality of this anime is Saya. The episodes, or parts of episodes, that focus on her really stand out for me, but sadly weird crazy girl (Hotaru) gets most if the focus of the anime. I suppose if you want to learn more about Japanese candy you might find some enjoyment in this show. Being a foreigner with absolutely no previous knowledge of any of these candies led me to being either confused or bored at most of the content, and I couldn't justify finishing the series if I was just forcing myself to sit through it. 3/10

Dagashi Kashi is the unholy combination of annoying characters, poor humor, boring plot/dialogue and crappy predictable ecchi.

It's set in a Japanese candy-store where young boy and cute girl blah blah blah...yada yada. Anyway, none of that matters, because it's a pointless show.

If the reason you watch anime is to hear lengthy descriptions of various candy including it's origin story, ingredients list and physical dimensions then this is a show for you.

If the prospect of teen boys messing their pants because a girl eats a pot-noodle seems like good entertainment then this is a show for you.

If not...then probably give this one a miss.

This is one of the worst anime I've seen. Its just plain boring, and every episode just feels like some commercial for a specific japanese candy-brand. There ist soooo much product placement, even more that they have put in the story.

The characters are just very plain, and you never get deep enough with anyone of them. The only interesting person is Hotaru, just to see what more crazy things that she comes up with. That was the only reason it kept watching.

And the jokes are just recycled boring tropes, and seldom really funny. The "funny" food stories just feels unrealistic and over-the-top.

Dagashi Kashi is an anime all about...Dagashi which are Japanese candies/sweets. That is what 95% of the show is about, talking about Dagashi.

I'll start with the good parts. I found the art to be rather strange at first but it does grow on you and is a nice change from the art most anime's put out and the sound is also rather good as well.

Now for the bad parts. There is almost zero plot/story, it starts out with what could be an interesting but nothing never seen before plot point that basically only gets touched upon briefly in the last two episodes, other then that ... their is no plot but some side stories do come up....based around the Dagashi that is the main focus for that part of the episodes. Characters, well their aren't too many characters but they hardly get any focus either anyway.

Overall, the ED is probably the thing I most enjoyed about this anime and with the interesting art style you will eventual get use to and decent sound their was not much enjoyment for me, if you are into Dagashi then it will probably be more enjoyable to you.

So if you're looking for or need a decent story, or any story, in your anime skip this one.

Dagashi is a story about a girl, who clearly has some mental issues, who for some reason needs to get a candy store owner to join her family's company. Unfortunately, the owner refuses unless his son, our protagonist, agrees to give up his mangaka dreams and inherit the store. At this point, I'm thinking oh wow we have an instant girlfriend series with a candy-based twist. Oh how very wrong I was.

In actuality Dagashi is a show about candy, all sorts of various candy including regional specialties- oh, and a bit of Ramune. The characters are there just barely more than a story is present ... in a hentai- i.e. literally just enough to get you to the next scene er... candy. If you like learning interesting random facts about candy and can stand a story that basically goes nowhere, then Dagashi Kashi is the show for you. If you're looking for something with a bit of romance, character development, or depth, you're looking in the wrong place.

Animation:
The animation in Dagashi is definitely unique, you have to look no further than the OP and its rather wild style. The ED's play on Alice in Wonderland is also pretty creative. It isn't a particularly serious show so colors are more vivid than your typical show, and backgrounds aren't particularly important so expect a lot of blurry scenery. That said there is a ton of various candies, which is drawn to a very good level of detail. The character styling is likewise unique in the show. Hotaru has crazy eyes that match her infatuation with candy and for some reason Saya has tiny pupils. Our protagonist Kokonotsu, hereby nicknamed Coconuts, often wears a bored look that, along with his outfit, reminds me of the protagonist from Sankarea.

The show doesn't really have any real action but does have imaginary scenes borrowing some ideas from other shows such as Gundam, and occasionally features various candies as talking characters. There is a bit of light ecchi as the show makes use of Hotaru's generous proportions. It's often a result of Hotaru's lack of self awareness, leading to many bloody noses from the male cast.

Sound:
The music of Dagashi is likewise unique. The show opens with a funky and playful tune; it's fitting though I don't particularly like it. The ED is sung by the VA for Hotaru, it's a likewise playful tune that honestly is a bit more catchy than the OP. The show's uniqueness continues in the BGM, if anything I'd say it has a bit of a Latin flair; some of the songs sound like they'd go well with a tango dance. Though the BGM is more playful than your average show, there are long periods of just conversation, which can still put you to sleep.

The VAs do a good job considering the specific nature of this show and the rather long sections of nothing but conversation. Ayana Taketatsu gives Hotaru a fittingly overpowering personality, and is pretty much the selling point of the show. Our protagonist is voiced by Atsushi Abe, whose somewhat soft voice reminds me of Touma from the olden days of Index.

Story:
Dagashi doesn't really have much of an actual story; it really is just a bunch of episodic content centered on different Japanese snacks. The focus ranges from the well known to the rather obscure regional delicacy. As a person who has spent less than three weeks total in Japan, a lot of the show is rather hard to relate to as I haven't had the pleasure (or horror) of trying some of these snacks. I will happily report, however, that this show doesn't induce hunger attacks like other food-centric shows (such as Gourmet Girl Graffiti).

The show's premise of crazy-girl Hotaru convincing Coconuts to take over the family shop isn't done in a convincing manner. Her attempts basically boil down to a bunch of challenges that happen to deal with candy, whether it's eating super-sour candy or a tug of war with gummies. Though the challenges are comedic and often bring up random references to other famous anime, one has to question the importance of Coconuts father, given the amount of time and effort Hotaru is spending in a rather rural town. As the story doesn't have an actual central plot, I wouldn't expect much of a climax or conclusion either. Really if you're looking for anything beyond a candy-centric slice of life, this story isn't going to yield much.

Character:
There aren't many characters in the show assuming you don't count the candy and occasional mascot. Our protagonist happens to know many random facts about candy and is often found staring at Hotaru's generous bust. He is accompanied by a comedic-relief sidekick named Tou, who is often on the receiving end of violent retribution when he teases his sister Saya, who happens to have a crush on Coconuts. Enter in the well-dressed and energetic Hotaru, who is literally crazy about snacks.

The show establishes the relationships between the characters early on but then leaves them set for the duration of the show. Though there are some interesting exchanges between the characters, don't expect any plot depth from the relationships. Sorry to harp on this more but seriously, Hotaru is in love with a snack mascot?

As I said in the intro, this show really isn't about the characters, and it shows in their lack of depth.

Value:
Though this may sate the comedic needs for some viewers, I am not in that category. Furthermore, there is virtually zero romance in this show and zero story depth. Yes, there are a lot of candy references that I'm sure will be completely useless to me lest I make another journey to Japan, but that isn't really what I'm watching shows for. It does score some value for being unique in theme, but I just wish the story actually went somewhere. Overall, Dagashi was a fair watch, but way overrated considering the amount of initial hype surrounding it. Perhaps just like the show's topic, Dagashi is good in moderation.

The longest commercial I've ever watched and it worked. It just goes to show what putting anime girls next to your product can do.

There is nothing particularly outstanding about this anime, if you are interested in learning a bit about dagashi through another means besides Wikipedia, I'm sure you could find this interesting enough to check out.

There are also jokes, which are sometimes funny I guess. If you don't enjoy the art style or the characters, you probably won't enjoy watching this.

Let's break it down then, since MAL wants me to write an unnecessarily long review. For the record, you don't need to read ... any of this, I've already said all that needs to be said.

STORY: 4

The story is simple. A boy wants to become a mangaka, but his dad owns a candy shop and wants him to inherit it. One day, a girl shows up and wants to take his father away to work at their company. Unfortunately, doing this will force the boy to inherit the shop, so the father refuses to leave unless he does so.

So there is the premise, but the story mostly unfolds through the explaining of dagashi, and not derivative "WacDonalds" level parody stuff, but actual dagashi that exist in real life, where the previously mentioned girl, Hotaru, will usually explain the history of it with her usual hijinks that become a staple of the series.

There is another girl by the name of Saya, who is the main character, Kokonotsu's (Whom is often referred to as "Coconuts" as a pun throughout the series.) childhood friend. She likes coffee, but dislikes sweet things, so there is kind of that clash between her and Hotaru, as the three of them get to know each other as the advertising- I mean story unfolds.

ART: 6

Dagashi Kashi's art direction is different, but it's also one of its main appeals. (So much so, that the season 2 art style has been seen with disappointment.) The character designs are simple, but have a charm to them. One of my favorite design choices are how the eyes are done.

Sound: 4

Barring aside the OPs and EDs, which have nothing to do with the series itself (Hence my reason for skipping them after a single viewing.), there is nothing noteworthy to say about the sound here. It's not bad, but it's not good either. As background music, it does its purpose and nothing more. The voice acting is good, but not enough for me to warrant raising the score of the entire series' sound direction.

Character: 5

There's not really a lot to say about the characters, they're simple, but fun. I've described them and their premise earlier, but a lot of what makes them charming is the art design and voice acting. They're essentially what sells you on them, but if you're not a fan of their design or voices, I'm not too sure there is really any in depth "character" or "personality" if you will, that is going to attract you if the other two options failed.

Tsundere Coffee Girl
Hyper Candy Maniac
Shy Manga Boi
The Side Character (Haha didn't even mention him.)

Enjoyment: 7

Not going to waste anymore time repeating myself, the characters and art style of the show are what sold me.

Overall: 4

If it wasn't for the fact I found the characters appealing and the main topic of the show interesting, I probably would have never finished this show. Actually, finding enjoyment in that alone is probably not enough for most people to finish it, but what can I say? I wanted to see more every time the end of an episode came.

If I were a more cynical person incapable of finding enjoyment in simple things, I would have torn this series apart, but I like fun things. Not like there was anything better that season anyway.

Oh wait...

For a show that revolves entirely around candy, Dagashi Kashi is untenably bland. Heed the warnings of the other reviews: this series is little more than an advertisement for Japanese sweets of various descriptions. Whether Dagashi Kashi is meant to parade sugary nostalgia in front of Japanese viewers or to serve as a mildly clever marketing ploy for Western audiences remains unclear (likely both are true), but the show clearly has no concerns outside of detailing and extolling the virtues of the exotic sweets you can find at your local specialty sweetshop or on the corner of any Japanese street. The subject ... matter would make for an informative hour-long documentary on a food-centric network of some sort, but attempting to wring a narrative work with characters and plot out of the fact that sweets exist was a mistake.

Dagashi Kashi cares only for dagashi and has no time to spend on anything else; all other considerations get shunted aside whenever a new opportunity arises for a sugar-coated or chocolate-covered gimmick to invite itself into the episode. The show pays only the paltriest lip service to concepts like plot, characters, and setting. MAL’s two-paragraph summary contains about as much information about the premise as the show itself delivers in its entire run. Immediately after laying down a barely workable background for the characters to exist in, the show completely abandons all pretext of pursuing any non-explicitly-dagashi-related plot thread any further than absolutely necessary. If I remember correctly, the first extended scenario not centered entirely around dagashi comes in episode 6 (and even then it’s still tangentially endorsing something). I could be mistaken, but it doesn’t matter anyway, because it was still terribly boring, if slightly cute.

It’s almost rude the way Dagashi Kashi establishes Kokonotsu’s conflicting futures – continuing in his father’s footsteps as the owner of his family’s shop or seeking success elsewhere as a mangaka – and then sweeps away the main character’s hopes and dreams to focus on more important things, like how many meters a person of average build can run on the caloric energy of a single mouthful of caramel. Saya has a longstanding and unrequited crush on Kokonotsu (for reasons that remain mysterious, given his complete lack of personality), but once her feelings have been established, they never again become relevant, except for maybe two dumb gags. The same goes for Kokonotsu’s apparent attraction to Hotaru, though the full nature of his feelings never becomes clear, and Hotaru’s worrying lack of concern for anything not candy renders any attempt to develop the show’s romantic side an exercise in futility.

The cast ostensibly comprises five characters in total, and not merely five main characters, but five characters who are ever named or have any significance to the series whatsoever. Kokonotsu’s father can be an amusing presence, undoubtedly made better by Keiji Fujiwara’s delivery. Most of the time, however, the action involves only Kokonotsu and Hotaru discoursing about this week’s sweets of choice in the charmless interior of the Shikada shop. The formula of the same two characters jabbering about the same things in the same place every episode gets old within about two minutes. Dagashi Kashi has so much variety in edible endorsements, and yet so little variety in anything else that the show feels suffocating. It isn’t until episode 7 that a couple of new one-time characters finally drop in to break up the monotony and something other than dagashi takes the center stage. The few episodes in the show’s midsection do begin branching out into more creative skits and provide a mildly amusing glimpse into what Dagashi Kashi might have been had the dagashi not levied such brutal demands for screen time, and while the show still isn’t brilliant, it at least feels like a presentable comedy rather than the soulless grind it usually is.

Hotaru’s striking design drew me to Dagashi Kashi, as it no doubt did many others, and I wish I could say that the show had enough substance to merit owning such a unique image. It’s a shame, because Hotaru’s design is about the only aspect of Dagashi Kashi worth remembering, but at this point I can hardly stand to look at her. Every time I see those distinctive ringed irises I have to brace myself for a ludicrous speech about the profound, sublime joys of eating something I’ve never heard of, and not even the voice of Ayana Taketatsu can make this dialogue sound clever or enticing. Hotaru actively makes the show unbearable, boring, and shallow to boot.

Dagashi Kashi is so dedicated to dagashi that every last piece of the show’s construction feels like it is aimed squarely at selling a product. Nothing feels like a natural part of a show, especially not a comedy show; every joke, every hint of character development, every moment of fan service, every “plot point,” every single aspect of the characters’ actions and demeanors seems like nothing more than a lengthy commercial. It’s like any television ad that tries to get your attention with a hyper-compressed storyline, hypothetical characters, and light-hearted ribbing. It’s not a REAL narrative and you aren’t supposed to enjoy it, because it has no substance and doesn’t go anywhere; all you have to do is think that you identify with somebody long enough to let the salesmen unveil their pitch. Already so much of Dagashi Kashi is mere descriptions of dagashi and their functions, but because of the show’s attitude toward the dagashi, the few aspects not explicitly dedicated to dagashi still feel like part of the scheme. This feeling makes Dagashi Kashi almost uncomfortable to watch; I felt like I was constantly being shilled to every second I sat in front of the show.

I won’t bother questioning why To wears his sunglasses at night.

Encouraged by the study feel, which has done things like the nostalgic Kiss x Sis, the famous Yosuga no Sora, and crap like Makura no Danshi. We get this anime that once gave something to talk about, but today is as forgotten as Erased at the end of its broadcast.

We better go quick with this fucking anime shit which I watched in its broadcast last year. Why ?, because I read a post where a moderator of AeE told some member of the Chinese dead that the show of this series would be his Waifu of the season, and surprisingly the design was fucking beautiful ... so I ran quickly to see the first episode, only to find me in the end ...

An anime, which starts in a meh way. We start with a dream that our protagonist has, which is a kind of future aspiring manga cartoonist, but who works in his father's snack shop. A day like any other one comes in a pretty-looking asshole who tells our beta that she is someone "very important", so that later she challenges him to a kind of sweets and sandwiches contest. Then the father appears and the pretty girl named Hotaru decides to stay in those places to fuck because he can, because he wants and because he has nothing else to do or anywhere else to go. The story is on the way to repeating the same puta formula of duels and contests with this little girl throughout the 12 episodes that constitute this work, falling into a vicious circle that could hardly leave.

As a point in favor I can say that the first chapters were harmless, they were not remarkable but they were not disastrous either, they were just there, they had harmless humor and you could even learn the odd thing about Japanese sweets and sandwiches. What happened next? The series opted to go degrading itself, going from being a Slice of Life with comedy and situations of daily life in a candy store, to be practically Pandering Otaku for pubertos, one of the stupidest I've seen in a series of that year. The series is downgraded to use its theme for a sexual nature and disgusting fetish that I would be embarrassed to teach my colleagues who only see comedies to pass the time and have some laughs. From winks and sexual messages with candy, to a construction of a disc Yuri bait between the two girls in the series. Not to mention that the series is super boring to have situations that are very fast, characters who do not care about a peanut and who spend talking about candy all the time, and in a way that you get tired. When I say that the only reason why someone would see this thing is by the Waifu of turn, Hotaru, being the biggest attraction of the whole series, for its energetic personality and its attractive design.

I have no desire to say much more, is another anime that starts as something harmless and ends up pathetically lowering all its theme and its character, to be able to create Fanservice situations that please even the last of the possible fetishes for disgusting Otakus, so that buy the DvDs and sleeves of these products.

And if you ask, will I see the second season that will come in January? Well ... I saw that he changed the studio (to a better one), and there was a design change (it's slightly different), however the trailer seems more of the same only with new characters, so I do not guarantee that to follow, and if so, I will only see the first episode to make some impressions, and if it is still in the same shit, I will give it its due Drop (unless of course I am wrong and there is an improvement).