Dagashi Kashi 2
Dagashi Kashi is a nonsensical slice of life comedy about snacks. The original season focused on the plight of Kokonotsu Shikada. Nicknamed “Coconuts” by his friends, Kokonotsu aspires to be a manga artist. His father, on the other hand, wants him to be the ninth successor to their family-run snack store.
Hijinks unfold when an eccentric young girl named Hotaru Shidare arrives at the store one day. She wants Kokonotsu’s father to work for her father, the head of a famous snack company. Kokonotsu’s dad agrees on the condition that she convinces his son to become the store’s next successor.
Every episode of the first season comprises Hotaru’s attempts to convince Kokonotsu to take over the family business. She uses games, stories, riddles, and challenges of all shapes and sizes, and uses the opportunities to inform Kokonotsu, and the audience, about how different Japanese snacks are made, as well as their history and cultural significance. This show is meant to be funny, but there’s an underlying educational element to the show as well.
Dagashi Kashi’s strength lies in its characters, and I have no doubt this will continue into its second season. Located within a small town, the show only comprises five characters. None of the five are true antagonists either. Three of the five do want Kokonotsu to stay and run the shop for their own selfish reasons, but none of them do anything truly dastardly or underhanded to ensure their success. They don’t want to force Kokonotsu to stay. They want to convince him that he wants to stay.
Season 2 will add a new character: Hajime Owari. Not much is known about her, so fans are anxious to see how she’ll fit into the established formula of the show. Introducing new characters partway through the second season of a slice of life anime usually shakes things up for the better. However, as seen with 2017’s New Game!!, new faces can sometimes ruin an otherwise perfect formula.
