Hey guys! So now begins our first full-length episodic review of our anime pick, Dagashi Kashi, to help kick off our Anime REvisited segment! This show (or at least the dub) came out in 2016, and it tells the story of a Dagashi candy shop owner in Japan named Yo (yes, that’s his actual name, don’t ask why), as he wants his son Kokonotsu (or Coconuts as his friends call him) to take over the family business. There’s just one issue with that; he’s an aspiring manga artist who wants nothing to do with his father’s business, but ironically has much better marketing knowledge in how to make a better profit in terms of selling candy. Sure, when it comes to owning a family business every parent wants their children to take over, but sometimes the children want to follow their own dreams. For Kokonotsu in this case, that dream comes in the form 2D big-chested beauties!

For the first episode Kokonotsu is in his room working on original manga art…that is until his father Yo asks him that he needs to have a talk with him. Yo tells Kokonotsu that it’s his turn to be the next owner of the Dagashi shop, unfortunately Coconuts comes from a group of individuals who are a part of a generation that likes to disappoint their parents (i.e. ‘Screw you, I’m doin’ my own thing!’ mentality). After their little spat Koko runs the shop while Yo’s away, but then he encounters our candy-lovin’ girl, Hotaru, and her absolute obsession with dagashi candy. Later on Yo comes back and just so happens to be familiar with Hotaru and her supreme knowledge of candy, that he instantly takes a liking to her; much to his son’s dismay. To our anime-lovin’ fellas out there, find you a girl who’s a bigger anime nerd than you are! Why? Because (and we’ve seen this from personal experience) they will defend their man and shoot down any bullies and haters on social media that say you’re anime is trash!

Back to the review; Coconuts (yeah, I’m gonna start calling him that now) finds himself at his best friend, To and Saya’s (To’s sister) café. While they’re talking about the events that transpired via Yo’s candy shop, I had a funny feeling that Saya happens to be Coco’s childhood friend – and we ALL know how that trope gets portrayed. (You’ll see as we get further into the series.) Near the end of the episode Hotaru tells Yo that she wants him to join her father’s candy company, but he declines saying that unless Coconuts takes over the family business, he won’t leave his store. This leads Hotaru asking Yo that if he can convince Coconuts to run his store, that Yo will take Hotaru up on her offer. With the bet set in stone, Hotaru tells Coconuts that he’ll be seeing a lot of her around the candy shop. All of this…and it’s only the first episode.

After watching the first episode there were a few things I picked out; the fact that there are a lot of history tidbits about Japanese candy and its mascots, and early marketing strategies many candy owners in Japan use (or should be using) to help drive sales of their product. The overall feeling of the show is basically a slice-of-life comedy with maybe a touch of romance somewhere down the line. Some of the most common anime troupes are here; the otaku/manga artist (Kokonotsu), the childhood friend (Saya), the perverted best friend (To), and the one who’s obsessed with food (Hotaru). Perhaps as I dive deeper into the series we’ll learn more about what Hotaru’s true goal is – besides asking Yo to join her father’s company. That’ll end our first episodic review on Dagashi Kashi. Stick around for our next review on our next post! 😉