Series Synopsis
Off and away in the countryside is the tiny Shikada candy shop, which has been family run for the past eight generations. This legacy goes into doubt when Kokonotsu Shikada (voiced by Atsushi Abe) shows little interest in running the store despite his immense knowledge of all things sweet. The future of the business would have been left up in the air if not for the arrival of the store’s most unique customer ever.
Hotaru Shidare (voiced by Ayana Taketasu) is the heir to the most famous snack company in Japan and her love of junk food is unparalleled. She has come to offer Kokonotsu father, Yo (voiced by Keiji Fujiwara), a job. The opportunity is more than generous, but Yo will not leave until Kokonotsu agrees to take control. Hotaru accepts this ultimatum as a challenges and will not quit until Kokonotsu has embraced his destiny as a candy store owner.
Life is suddenly a lot more active and Hotaru easily joins in with Kokonotsu and his two friends, Saya Endo (voiced by Manami Numakura) and her twin brother To (voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki). The four spend the summer together as Hotaru tries to convince Kokonotsu. Whether she will succeed is any ones guess, but it should be quite interesting.
Series Positives
I can’t go much deeper than that because again this isn’t an area I spend a lot of time analyzing. However, it appears as though I find characters with a single, yet noticeable fanged tooth to be an extremely cute; couldn’t even begin to tell you why this is.
The Characters
Without conflicts, without obstacles, and often without much of a plot, how can a slice of life anime keep an audience? These types of shows need characters worth following and getting to know. They have to hold up and push forward everything; relying purely on personalities, relationships, and interactions. If the cast fails, everything goes with it because there’s nothing left to lean on.Dagashi Kashi is therefore a solid hit. All the characters in this series are great.
This group works due to the level of comfort they have around each other. Kokonotsu, Saya, and To have been friends for years and Hotaru is so much of an eccentric she effortlessly fits in with the already established flow. If I didn’t know any better, I would say these four have been together since they were kids. This dynamic allows for a lot of freedom and Dagashi Kashi takes full advantage of it.
Having a strong pool of characters to pull from breeds flexibility and it spreads the burden of engagement out so it doesn’t have to rest solely on the shoulders of one or two people. Put simply, it means the main character doesn’t have to be on screen all the time in order for a show to remain entertaining.
Granted the bulk did consist mostly of Kokonotsu and Hotaru, but other combinations were present and some were even a lot better. The two guys were fun and when together, it was clear they’re best friends. However the pairing which had me the most interested and had me laughing the hardest was Hotaru and Saya.
These girls are not polar opposites. Sure Hotaru's a hundred times louder, but Saya's a lot easier to set off. The mix between Hotaru’s rough, but well intentioned friendliness and Saya’s slightly reserved, yet still sarcastic outlook made for a great duo. They may not have been as aggressive as Ichiko and Momiji from Binbougami ga, but they were just as strong.
Another great aspect of this group was you never knew exactly who you were going to get. Everyone had their own go to role, but without any real warning or reason, someone could change up the formula.
Hotaru's the bombastic schemer constantly trying to accomplish her own agenda. However she’s not arrogant or obnoxious about it all and things don’t always go her way. Her plans could backfire, she could get caught off guard, or she could even be the voice of clarity at times.
Kokonotsu was often the reactor and was the person who had to deal with the fallout caused by the actions of his friends or father. He would have to fight back when it seemed others were trying to force their will onto him. Yet he could also be the one causing the problems and he hasn't fully given up on his love of sweets.
Saya, who’s my favorite character by the way, was normally the anchor. When things were going off the rails, she would be there to reign it all back in. She was tough and aggressive, but she was never unapproachable and could easily fill in the role of the clown.
To did pretty much whatever he wanted and was the big, lovable doofus. Of the four, he was the jokester and the person who would always say one too many things. However he was always aware when he absolutely needed to back off, usually when it came to him trying to help Saya get closer to Kokonotsu.
There are more things I want to see these characters do. What will they do when this happens? How will they react when this occurs? Dagashi Kashi is only scratching the surface here.
 |
| From left to right: Hotaru, To, Saya, Kokonatsu |
Series Negatives
As of me writing this review, Dagashi Kashi is currently sitting at a 6.3 on IMDB. That’s shockingly low (especially when garbage like Prison School sits at a 7.9). Then again I rarely ever agree with IMDB’s ratings.
That being said, I can totally understand why some people may not like this show, or at the very least not get the same level of enjoyment out of it as I did. This may be a good slice of life series, but by no means is it one of the best; maybe not even in the top thirty for me
Heavy Handed
Loud, unabashed insanity doesn’t equal good comedy. There are series which thrive in this type of environment; Nichijou and Level E for example. This is a type of humor that's not easy to do and can get out of control at the drop of a hat.
Dagashi Kashi did make me laugh and at times made me laugh hard. Yet there were plenty of moments when it needed to tone it down.
Even though I loved her as a character, Hotaru’s obsession with candy and sweets took her to some bat s@#$ crazy places and it always played out the same way which made it that more annoying.
Hotaru would go into one of her tangents and they would start out funny. It’s a shame, after the first two or three you realize the show is never going to stop at a reasonable spot. It’s going to keep going until it’s exhausted every possibility.
There are too many of these moments to count and it is the major issue holding this show back.
Final Thoughts
I feel this is a good place to let those who are new to this whole anime thing in on a secret. I’ve found that the best way to truly enjoy this medium is for you to abandoned the word weird. Now is a show with the main focus being candy really all that weird? Probably not, especially considering the kind of s@#$ I’ve seen.
However would you ever honestly thought there would be a show about a candy shop owner prodigy. If you did, then you have found your community and you’ve also found a pretty fun show.
With fantastic character and an easy going atmosphere, Dagashi Kashi was a great watch. I got a few good laughs out of it even though the jokes did tend to drag, on occasion. For a slice of life series its well done and for fans of the genre I suggest checking it out.
 |
| Google+ Facebook Twitter |
Others in the Dagashi Kashi Series
| photo b |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment