Dagashi Kashi’s third episode came and went with little fanfare or incident. This episode is very watchable, but that’s about it – the jokes aren’t generally that funny, and the structure’s a little samey. That said, I was very happy to see this episode’s second half actually start to make Hotaru feel like a real person. Shows about wacky comic instigators I could take or leave, but shows about awkward kids who inherently lead to funny situations through their weird passions? Yeah, that I can deal with. Hopefully this wasn’t just a one-off thing.
You can check out my full episode review over at ANN, or my notes below.
Opens with another classic summer moment – the air conditioner seeming like it will break down. The show is excellent in these little summer moments
The new dagashi is Buta-men, something to survive the summer heat
The danger of buying unknown flavors versus the known quantity. The psychology of buying snacks is actually pretty interesting
Hotaru savoring the Buta-men noodles a little too much
Endo is Saya’s brother’s name
We even get the trashy horns as the camera pans the sweating Hotaru
And so they go to the pool
Hotaru and Kokonotsu’s dad actually set up a ploy to make Kokonotsu feel bad and work at the shop more
Hotaru’s desire to make Kokonotsu take over the shop is both her most human attribute and the thing actually giving this show some purpose, so it’s nice that this episode emphasizes it
The second half getting into Hotaru’s head is great. So far she’s just been a sort of ridiculous idea of a person, but aiming the show from her perspective is both funnier and makes her more human
And Hotaru just keeps upping the ante for herself
Chatting with Saya. Hotaru has absolutely confidence about dagashi and that’s about it
And of course Hotaru even gets lusty watching Saya eat dagashi
Saya trying to figure out how to eat the dagashi based on Hotaru’s faces
Making dagashi deliberately tricky to eat extends the amount of value you get out of buying one
Hotaru actually finds a friend who finds her trivia interesting, as opposed to just staring at her. Nice. This episode is establishing Hotaru not as a device, but as a weird person
I should mention, Endou is a surname. Saya’s brother’s name is Tou. They’re about the Endous.
I view Daga Shikashi as a plain slice of life anime, that’s the feel I get from it when I look back at the episodes, I don’t think its a comedy or anything else. Just plain old good rural SoL.