English Dub Review: Dagashi Kashi “Hajime Owari, Chocoball, and…”

A new girl has come to fill the void of Hotaru, but can she fill her enormous heels?

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Following the revival of his dagashi store, Koko is in need of a bit of extra help and decides its time hire a part-timer. No sooner does he put up the “Now hiring” soon in the window does a hapless young lady end up begging for the job. Who is this wellspring of self-confidence? Hajime Owari, a college dropout in dire need of employment. She’s something of a frazzled mess, but Koko gives her an interview anyways. Taking a look at her resume, he finds out that until yesterday she used to work at the convenience store that just opened up across the street. Koko is baffled, and doubly so when he finds out Hajime got fired almost immediately after starting the job.

Hajime tries to explain. Things did not start well when her manager, the eccentric Yutaka Beni, gave her the dorkiest of nicknames, “Four Eyes”; so called because, you guessed it, she wears glasses. The outdated nickname and shy demeanor aside, Hajime accidentally reveals she got fired because she kept coming in late to work. Waking up early is no easy task for her, but as she tells Koko this, she realizes the folly of her honesty. Koko is about to blow her off, but Hajime pleads in desperation since she’s basically a hobo at this point. Her resolve doubles when she finds out that since Koko’s dad got injured there’s a spare room in the store she can stay in. She presses her need further and eventually pushes her way into getting the job.

The next morning, Koko arrives at the store to find Hajime sleeping on the floor in her clothes from the night before. He scolds her for sleeping in the shop and still not being awake in time for work. The day gets underway, and Koko starts teaching Hajime how to run the store. The training is tricky, though, since Hajime has only been to a dagashi maybe twice in her life. Seeing the regret at hiring her in Koko’s eyes, she immediately regrets letting that slip and scrambles to impress her new employer.

Grabbing a snack off the shelf, Hajime tries to profess her love of the “Chocoball,” a chocolate candy with a cute bird mascot. She explains that she always liked getting them, but she loved how one could send in the golden tickets attached to each box to try and score a free can of toys. She even considered buying one of the toy cans she found in a shop during her unemployment. But once again, Hajime is filled with regret, not considering that perhaps her new employer might find it distasteful that she digs on the free toys more than the snack itself. She’s relieved to find, however, that Kokonotsu shares a similar fondness for the free toys and the two bond over their collective enchantment with getting free stuff. Hajime goes on to impress Koko by explaining how the mascot on the Chocoball box is an example of cubist art, a fact that Koko didn’t even know. But just as they’re about to fangirl over snack food, Hajime points out the time and Koko realizes he’s almost late for school. He dashes out the front door and Hajime waves him goodbye, just in time for Saya to walk by and see her out front. A jealous look spreads across her face, an ill portent for things to come.

Our Take:

Good times are to be had aplenty this week in Dagashi Kashi. The introduction of Hajime has gone splendidly, with her frazzled antics finding charming their way into my heart. Her voice acting is pretty on-point as well, making her a lovely new addition to the Dagashi Kashi family. No doubt her arrival will stir things up a little bit for Koko, who can’t seem to find a moment’s peace.