「コーラガムとヨウと…/都こんぶとラムネと…」 (Kouragamu to Hitsuji to… / Tokonbu to Ramune to…)
“Cola Gum and You and… / Miyako Kombu and Ramune and…”

What makes You-san special, and a Hotaru setup for the final episode.

What Makes A Good Candy Shop Owner

Finally, someone thought to ask (and get an answer for) why Hotaru’s company wants You-san so much. I get the feeling this is anime original, or if not (I haven’t read the source), it was built up too much for too long, so the actual revelation is lacking. Yet I liked the first half of the episode. It didn’t end on its highest note, so the final gag was more of a wry smile than a laugh-out-loud gutbuster, but you’ve gotta love seeing You-san make the little boy’s day by letting him win another gum. Though the little girl was a silly character, dismissing the boy because he was out the equivalent of nine cents USD (i.e. couch change—and then saying he’s cool because he got lucky. Ridiculous.

I am becoming more aware of the forced Saya scenes, such as the flashback where her imba Luck stat (don’t let her and Kazuma meet) caused her to win a bunch of free gum. That didn’t add a whole lot, even while the perhaps also unnecessary Saya shipping fuel was greatly appreciated. Either way, the skit goes to show that, no matter how silly You-san is—bringing back the candy addict schtick was an odd choice—he’s a really nice guy who looks after his customers. Not just as revenue sources, but making sure they leave happy too. More businesses could learn from that.

Hotaru’s Lips

Hotaru doesn’t seem to have an ecchi bone in her body (don’t make the obvious joke, you perverts), but let’s dispel with this fiction that the writers don’t know what they’re doing. “I’m going to need something to suck on.” “You can have a suck, too.” Stoppit Hotaru, dammit! (No wait don’t stop.)

Setup For The Finale

The standout bit of the second half was undoubtedly the Lemonade diplomacy/Perry-created-Ramune-kind-of. It reminded me of the History of Japan, which you should watch if you haven’t already. “open the country. stop having it be closed.” ‘Nuff said. Though I could go without seeing Perry-faced Hotaru again.

The more obvious point of the second half was to set up the anime’s endgame, such that it’ll have any, maybe. Or at least that’s my guess, but don’t quote me on that. But Hotaru saying that she’s not trying to force Coconutsu to succeed his shop seems like a setup for a decision next episode. That, plus Saya realizing earlier in the episode that him succeeding the shop would lead to him staying around … something which I’m pretty sure Saya figured out episodes ago. I just hope the anime staff isn’t going to try to get all dramatic here at the end. I have a feeling that won’t go well.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – You-san makes his customers smile, Hotaru sucks on something sour, & Perry gives Japan lemonade #dagashi_anime 11

Random thoughts:

  • “Chug, chug, chug!” “Lemonade, yo.” Perry is such a bro.
  • To clarify, cider means something different in East Asia. It’s more like Sprite or lemonade, not fermented (and alcoholic) apple juice. Though cider of the other variety is muy delicioso if you pick a good brand. Stilts approves.
  • Saya’s plan to wait and pick the gum that Hotaru doesn’t pick to find all the winning ones is cold blooded. I knew there were many reasons I liked her!

My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel novella. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: Inside Out: What Emotion Drives You?, Superhot: Storytelling through gameplay, Deadpool: Tonal Balance Through Non-Linear Storytelling, and Through their own flaws.

Full-length images: 05.

 

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12 Comments

  1. Have seen the History of Japan, hilarious stuff and accurate to boot.

    Coconuts clearly isn’t as awesome as Kauzuma, who knew you should never ask and just go with it. Yeah, I haven’t read the source but apparently there was a lot of Hotaru chapters that were great but got axed for more Saya stuff. I can understand that Hotaru’s luster can wear off, but they still should have tried to more evenly adapt things.

    Gouka Ryuu
  2. Ramune. Lemonade. Huh, never noticed that.

    Anyways, I found the You skit to be lacking as well(I fail to see why it makes him different from like a million other shopkeepers) but the Perry bit was fun. The guy keeps popping up in a lot of anime, from Dokuro-chan to Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, heh. Oh well, onwards to the last episode.

    And was that Felix the Cat gum next to the cola ones? Cripes, that brings back memories (of the cartoon, not the gum). This whole show is an exercise in nostalgia sometimes. As well as making me sad the local candy store went out of business (though it’s probably healthy for me).

    Dvalinn
  3. Saya isn’t even in the box in the manga, just Hotaru and Kokonotsu. I start reading it yesterday and besides Hotaru’s developement, the one thing laking is You and Kokonotsu’s relationship. I liked this episode more than the past two, gives me hope for a decent ending.

    Carma
  4. https://randomc.net/image/Dagashi%20Kashi/Dagashi%20Kashi%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
    You know, among many anime characters, I often wonder if our dear Coconuts understands just how lucky he is; I do find it rare for an anime character’s main heroine to have both lovely body curves and big breasts.

    https://randomc.net/image/Dagashi%20Kashi/Dagashi%20Kashi%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
    And seriously, does our dear Coconuts have Imagine Breaker? His luck with women sure is something with each episode. You find it funny that, when he wants to be a Mangaka, he never expected that he is becoming like those Harem Male Lead characters in mangas.

    https://randomc.net/image/Dagashi%20Kashi/Dagashi%20Kashi%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2026.jpg
    Speaking of Imagine Breaker. I just noticed that big brothers, with sunglasses, Hawaiian shirt, and light colored hair, seems to be getting common.

    greed2

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