Dagashi Kashi (2016)

[だがしかし]

Director: Shigehito Takayanagi
Studio: Feel
Starring: Ayana Taketatsu, Atsushi Abe, Manami Numakura
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
To recruit a candy shop owner for her father's company, an eccentric girl obsessed with junk food must convince the owner's aspiring mangaka son to take over the shop.

Impressions:
This is one of those series that caught my eye with its character designs and stuck in my head until I finally got around to checking it out. I'm glad I did because this is a rather fun series. For those who don't know, dagashi is really cheap junk food usually meant as something kids can get with a little pocket change, similar in concept to penny candy. This show basically acts as an ad for various kinds of dagashi. Each episode is typically broken up into two parts featuring a different kind of dagashi. There's plenty of trivia tossed in as well, so that's neat. Besides the character designs being appealing, the characters themselves are quite a bit of fun. We have the quartet of male lead Kokonotsu, the loony heiress Hotaru, and Konotsu's childhood friends, the brother-sister team of Tou and Saya that have great dynamics. Kokonotsu's dorky father also adds amusement, particularly when he and Hotaru get into antics together. I did see some other viewers complain that not a lot happens plotwise, but this is slice of life/junk food commercial, so don't expect a take on the Hero's Journey. The humor can be a bit ecchi at times, but it's fairly mild. All told, this is definitely worth checking out.

Rating:
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