English Dub Review: Dagashi Kashi “Monjiro Squid, Manga Manuscript, and…”

Can Kokonotsu follow through on his dream of being a manga artist?

Overview (Spoilers Below)

The Shikada Dagashi website is turning out better than expected! Koko and Owari get their first dagashi order from a caring young lady ordering for her friend who’s bedridden in the hospital. Koko is moved by her plight, and soon the two are off to make their very first internet dagashi delivery. They arrive at the hospital but find that their client is none other than Koko’s dad, You, who’s been in the hospital with a busted foot for some time. Seeing Owari at Koko’s side, You assumes that she’s working at the store for…naughty reasons, much to Koko’s dismay.

Koko delivers the monjiro squid sticks ordered for his dad, who is ecstatic to get some new flavor in his hospital stay. You go on to explain the history of monjiro squid, and how it is more often eaten with beer than as a normal snack. Their shenanigans finished, Koko tells his dad he needs to pay for his delivery, but You has no idea what he’s talking about. Turns out, You didn’t order the monjiro after all, but nonetheless, he’s still impressed with Koko taking initiative at the dagashi, instead of chasing his dream of becoming a manga artist. This brings poor Koko down, who gets stuck in his head, feeling disappointed in himself that he’s forgotten about his mangaka dreams. Their business finished, Koko and Owari head home, though Owari decides to see what all the fuss about beer and monjiro squid is about by making a quick beer run on the way home.

Later that night, Koko is in his room, lamenting how he’s gotten so caught up in his everyday life. His one-man pity party is interrupted, however, by Owari drunkenly groping him from behind, asking if he’s really into her as his dad implied. Koko denies the lewd accusation, but also realizes at the same time that it was probably Hotaru who sent that mysterious e-mail for the dagashi delivery to You.

The next day, Koko sees an ad for a manga review event two days from now. He resolves to finish his manga in time for the competition and stays up day and night at his drawing table to get it done in time. Unfortunately, he’s bitten off more than he can chew, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be able to make the deadline. Once again, Owari interrupts Koko, telling him that he’s got friends looking for him downstairs. Seeing the in-progress manga on his desk, Owari asks what Koko is up to, who confesses to her that he’s failing as an aspiring manga artist. Owari isn’t about to let her beloved manager fall into despair. She, along with Koko’s friends Tou and Saya, decide to help Koko finish his manga in time for the contest, in their own silly ways, of course.

Our Take:

This was one of the plot heavier episodes of Dagashi Kashi I’ve seen, which actually serves as a little bit of a detraction from the usual comedic shtickiness I’ve come to expect from this show. I’m glad to see Kokonotsu get some more character development, following up on his manga dream, but I also think the comedy didn’t really hit this episode, which makes this usually energetic anime fall somewhat flat. However, this might be a good setup for a payoff next week, which teases the return of Hotaru to the story, so we’ll have to wait and see how it all turns out.