The story of Dagashi Kashi is nothing that is overly thrilling. It is about a young man, Kokonotsu, whose father runs a dagashi shop. Kokonotsu does not want to run the shop, as he has dreams of being a manga artist. However, the daughter of a huge dagashi manufacture, Hotaru, soon shows up, doing her best to try and convince Kokonotsu to take over the shop. This story is nothing special and isn’t something that would normally get anyone too excited. However, there were a few plot points that did make the anime a bit more fun to watch.
The most enjoyable part of the show would be when Hotaru or Kokonotsu are explaining where the different dagashi came from and the differences that are made from various companies producing the same candy. I also found much enjoyment in the small side story of the crush that Saya had on Kokonotsu. It was through this little side story romance that the characters managed to develop the most, which made the plot move forward.
Art -7-
The art style of Dagashi Kashi was rather enjoyable but nothing too impressive. I was personally turned off by the strange hair color from Hotaru, as the rest of the plot was in a rather normal universe. I also enjoyed the few times where they would take the extremes and just run with it into the art style, making some of the characters have incredible facial features and the such.
However, that was the most extreme that the show went, as they put minimal effort into the backgrounds and the world was almost entirely bare of any background characters. I think that if they had put some more effort into making the world a bit more realistic, the art would have been much better to look at rather than just solely the main characters.
Sound -6-
There wasn’t anything too amazing with the sound design. Personally, I find it rather annoying whenever there is background music while characters are talking, but nothing too extreme is happening. Dagashi Kashi does not do this all that often thankfully, but it does keep things light as it is a slice of life anime. The opening and ending songs were both rather nice, however, they never really did fit the feel of the anime.
The voice acting for the anime was also very nice, each character having a voice that seemed to fit each character. Hotaru was always upbeat and passionate. Kokonotsu appeared to be a bit airy or like he wanted to be doing something else. Saya had the right mix of caring and not caring. If the opening and ending fit the feeling of the anime more, however, the sound would have scored a bit higher.
Character -8-
I fully enjoyed watching these characters. While there isn’t much of a plot in the whole show, the two most important characters, Saya and Kokonotsu, do seemingly develop throughout the 12 episodes. Saya starts off as someone who just can’t tell Kokonotsu how she feels about him and is happy just to be his friend. However, by the end of the series, she is much more comfortable with expressing her romantic interest in him.
Kokonotsu also starts off as rather selfish, only wanting to complete his dream even if it means that he will be leaving a lot of important people behind. After talking to Hotaru and spending the summer with her, along with his friends, he is much more open to the idea of staying in the town and taking on the business. Though he has not given up the idea of being an artist, he is just more open to doing both things. It was fulfilling to watch these characters grow and step out of childhood and become young adults who have real reasonability.
Enjoyment -7-
Most of the enjoyment for me was not in the occasional fan-service. I had a great time learning the history of different Japanese snacks along with seeing Kokonotsu and Saya start to move out of their childhood and into adulthood. When I was learning about the snacks, Hotaru’s passion would catch hold of me, and I would be drawn into the story, and it would make me want to go out and order some of these snacks for myself so I could try them as well.
When watching Saya and Kokonotsu start to grow up, it gave me a warm feeling, remembering when I was just starting to step out of my comfort-zone and start to do things that I enjoyed, but was nervous about. They each had a tiny comfort zone and seemed very set in their ways. However, as they came to the realization that they could not stay like that forever, they started to take steps that as an audience, made me happy to see.
Overall -6.8-
Overall, I truly did enjoy Dagashi Kashi, but not for the reasons one might expect. The art was average, and the sound was not as amazing as it could have been. However, where I was waiting for an anime full of fanservice and flat jokes, I found an anime about coming of age and learning. I do not like slice-of-life animes because I get very bored of them rather quickly. It is more of a chore to watch them. With Dagashi Kashi, I did not get that feeling. It has the power to connect with the audience and make them remember those time when they were kids just starting to come to the grips of the world. While there isn’t a solid plot in the anime, I would recommend this to anyone who wants to have a rather fulfilled feeling at the end.
