Dagashi Kashi / First Impressions

「ブタメンとくるくるぼーゼリーと…／ボンタンアメとセブンネオンと…」 (Butamen to Kurukuru bozerii to… / Bontan’ame to Sebun’neon to…)
“Butamen and Kurukurubo Helly and… / Botan Rice Candy and Seven Neon and…”

Mixing and matching the cast, for fun and candy.

It Was The White Shirt, Right?

First things first: Hot ramen, in summer? Madness! I mean, I don’t always want cold food just because it’s hot outside—though I’m a bad example because my people (Texans) are masters of putting air conditioning in everything—but purposefully sweating up a storm to eat hot ramen? Does not compute.

It felt like this whole skit didn’t quite work for me, because while I was expecting the see-through shirt gambit, street shark started claiming victory before Hotaru’s shirt became see-through, and at that point I was just confused. Did I miss something before then, or were they just really enraptured by Hotaru’s glowing face? Not that I blame them.

Comfortable With Failure

It’s safe to assume that Hotaru and You-san are going to try a lot of gambits that’ll fail to get Coconutsu-kun interested in running the candy store. What made their pool bit work better (to me) was that they took their abject failure so in stride. They seemed almost cheerful when they admitted defeat to themselves, despite their plan being stupid and ill-conceived anyway. (That’s Hotaru/You-san logic for you.) Though really, the moment when they revealed that they were working together was the best. Keep on failing hilariously, you crazy candy nuts.

Cast Comedy

One of the fun things about having a colorful cast of characters is mixing and matching them, and seeing what happens with the different combos. The last two skits did exactly that. First was Hotaru and Tou, and I can’t decide if they have terrible compatibility or great compatibility. At first, I was all on with terrible, as Hotaru’s candy otaku mind failed to grasp what shark tooth was saying, but they were strangely aligned on the weird challenge. I don’t know, but I want to see them together more, even if his lack of interest in candy means Tou-kun has already lost the Hotaru Olympics. Only a candy store kid need apply.

As for Hotaru and Saya, I want to see more of them together. Saya can’t keep up with Hotaru’s candy mania like Coconutsu-kun can, but she’s interested in it, and who doesn’t love to talk about what they’re interested in? Or love people who are wholeheartedly interested in hearing you talk about it? Unlike Hotaru and her baka-nii, Saya and Hotaru have compatibility. Er, I meant friend compatibility, ya perverts. Though maybe the other kind, too. I don’t know, I’m not a doctor.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Mix and match the cast for maximum fun. The pool gambit was as funny as it was stupid #anime_dagashi 03

Random thoughts:

  • These are cute? They look like a sex toy. I’m told.
  • Look at that Game Boy. Remember Game Boys? I had a Game Gear. That thing ate batteries like Hotaru’s breasts consume nutrients. Good times.
  • Scary. Sexy, but scary. That’s Hotaru for you.
  • Looks like the ED for the first two episodes was a placeholder, and the shiny new ED is in. If anything is going to be delayed, this doesn’t bother me. Get the story right, and if you splice the real ED in on episode ten, I won’t care. Plus this one is fun. I’m getting High School DxD vibes, especially the first season ED. With less pole dancing, obviously.

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: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – The Introduction, What Star Wars: The Force Awakens did right, What Star Wars: The Force Awakens did wrong, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens – The Conclusion.

Full-length images: 09, 15.

 

ED2 Sequence

ED2: 「Hey! カロリーQueen」 (Hey! Calorie Queen) by Taketatsu Ayana

Preview

34 Comments

  1. Man, that Game Boy got more reaction out of me than anything else this episode. That game though… the cartridge looks kinda yellow, so I have to guess that he was playing Pokemon Yellow.

    PurpleBomber
    Reply

    3. Ramen can be snackish, especially the smaller packets that are often sold bulk by the box (i.e. the university student’s monthly food supply). As Hao mentioned it can be eaten dry by crushing and mixing in the seasoning, an alternate to potato chips basically.

      Not sure how big eating dry ramen is today, but I remember when it was a thing, I knew several kids who liked eating ramen that way back in high school. Never liked doing that personally though, I prefer my noodles in sauce or broth 😛

      Pancakes
      Reply

    4. Instant noodles are a downright staple in my part of the world, i.e. Asia. I eat them every now and then when there ain’t nothin’ ‘tuh eat, plus they come in all sortsa flavors. I prefer extra spicy curry flavor myself. And I don’t know how it’s like in Europe or the Americas but there’s dry and wet instant noodles. The dry ones being the ones that are mixed with sauce or gravy, and the wet ones placed in broth.

      Mihashi Nishizawa
      Reply

  4. Dagashi Kashi really is similar to candy. Absolutely enjoyable to consume, but runs out quickly and you can’t help but want more.

    Also, is Butamen really just instant ramen/cup noodles, or is it somewhat different (besides the brand name) from the cup noodles I usually eat? (Read: Nissin cup noodles)

    Incognito
    Reply

    1. No part of what you just said surprises me, though the print number doubling is good to hear, since reality doesn’t always dole out success as it should. Glad to hear Dagashi Kashi is getting the bump it deserves.

      Stilts
      Reply

  7. It’s worth noting that the OP has been filled out as well, rather than being mostly colored silhouettes like it was in the first two episodes.

    Anyway…

    Hotaru + Saya = best combination. Saya is the most normal person in the cast, and yet despite not understanding Hotaru’s dagashi-fanaticism, she doesn’t find it off-putting. That allows her to both serve as straight man for some of Hotaru’s sequences, and also get involved deeper in them, depending on whichever is more appropriate.

    Honestly one of the things I worried about when I started this series was that the two of them would end up treating each other like rivals or something. The fact that they’ve become friends instead and genuinely enjoy spending time with each other really opens things up.

    Wanderer
    Reply

    1. Well crud. I maaaay have checked the first and last scenes of the OP, seen those were the same, and assumed that it all was. Whoopsie.

      Agreed on Hotaru and Saya being friends. Even if Coconutsu favors Hotaru a bit, they’re not reeeeally rivals, so it’s nice that Saya isn’t misunderstanding things. Everyone’s taking their relationships at more or less face value, which is probably wise and certainly pleasant.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. Hell, when Hotaru realizes that Saya likes him she’ll cheer and become the world’s zaniest wingwoman. Saya + Kokonotsu = victory for all since he’ll stick around to get worn down into taking the store.

        Hotaru playing support on a date… I’m already laughing! XD

        Aex
        Reply

  8. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw ‘Butamen’ is “Dang, I can’t eat that now can I?” Metcha oishisou no ni yo! Oshii wa… ( ; _ ; )

    Anyway, the skits were a tad less interesting this time around, but Hotaru’s glorious reaction faces continue to be sights to behold. The things that I especially liked about this episode are the new ED -particularly the dancing parts- and the pool skit. It’s like, their plan really seemed like it would actually work, only to utterly fail- again…

    Mihashi Nishizawa
    Reply

    1. i admit, seems like Hotaru’s way of drawing is done with more carefulness then the others. Looks like they want to beware the “sexy” Vibes around her. She really standout from the beginning

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

  11. Can anyone confirm the Pretty Cure and Hunter x Hunter references for me? Or is it just me?

    15:45. When she threw the candy. First Hotaru’s posing and line about removing something from the heart and then the abrupt and overly detailed narrator voice, so characteristic of Chimera arc.

    Okadam
    Reply

  12. About the white shirt bit, I think the victory was in reference to them seeing Hotaru eat the ramen in a… suggestive fashion.

    And much like how the eyes make them look a bit like they’re about to go yandere, I keep expecting this to turn into a romance comedy and it never does. Good character interactions this time.

    Grant
    Reply

    1. Yeah, they were waiting on the slurping and sucking that accompanies ramen. I didn’t get it till the last second, thought it was about “white shirt + sweat = see-through,” too.

      Aex
      Reply

  15. Despite Hotaru’s wonderful design, I honestly think I prefer Saya. She’s a qt.
    It’s also nice, like others have said already, that there isn’t any jealously between them. They aren’t rivals in love or anything of the sort. They’re actually both pretty cute together, and I enjoyed the last bit of this episode since they bonded so well.

    This was probably the best episode so far.

    Mormegil
    Reply

  16. Unlike Hotaru and her baka-nii, Saya and Hotaru have compatibility. Er, I meant friend compatibility, ya perverts. Though maybe the other kind, too. I don’t know, I’m not a doctor.

    Wouldn’t that be a twist? To have the two main female love interests run off with each other instead. I’d laugh my ass off (and wholeheartedly cheer them on).

    Anyways, while this episode wasn’t as strong as the previous ones, the characters have grown on me enough that I’m getting joy just out of watching their interactions. They’re certainly a lively bunch. And the food helps – I may not be a foodie, but I certainly do like my snacks (including mix-and-matching them to discover new flavours) so the endless trivia about it keeps being interesting.

    And man, that Gameboy. I got one of those good ol’ fridges lying around in my closet somewhere, along with Tetris, my first game for it. Dat nostalgia.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

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