English Dub Review: Dagashi Kashi “I’m Back, Welcome Back, and…”

Hotaru returns for the final episode of Dagashi Kashi season two.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

By the grace of a serendipitous train delay and a snowstorm, Hotaru and Kokonotsu have their long-awaited reunion in a train station waiting room. The awkward tension between them is palpable, but Koko attempts to make conversation with Hotaru, asking her how her life has been since her departure. She tries to keep it light, talking about the family business, but it’s not long before Koko lets out what’s really on his mind.

He tells Hotaru that she shouldn’t have left without saying, and recaps to her all the trials he’s gone through since she disappeared. Tears form at the edge of his eyes as he recounts his failed attempt at creating a manga, and Koko soon realizes he’s putting too much on Hotaru for their long-awaited reunion.

Hotaru isn’t one to just let her friend throw a one-man pity party, so she does what she’s done time and time again: indulge in some snack food trivia. This time, she’s got “Super Mario-kun Comic Gum” (Yes, that Super Mario) a gum that also contains a little Super Mario manga contained within its wrapper. Surprisingly, Hotaru’s peace offering works, and Koko’s spirit is lifted as the two of them enjoy their time together waiting for the snowstorm to blow over. When Koko starts shedding tears of joy, Hotaru inspires him to keep going, expressing her pride at seeing how far Kokonotsu has come. Hotaru apologizes for leaving without saying anything but tells Koko that she’s finally back now, so everything will be fine. The two spend the rest of their evening sleeping in the waiting room together, enjoying some instant soup to fight off the cold.

The next morning, Hotaru and Koko return to the dagashi, and meet up with Koko’s friends. Everyone is stoked to see her, of course, but when Owari calls Koko her manager, Hotaru starts freaking out and declares that she has chosen Kokonotsu to work for a snack company she’s starting. Koko’s dad soon shows up, along with Beniyutaka, who turns out to be Hotaru’s estranged older brother. With the entire cast there, everyone starts to fight over Koko’s future, all of them wanting the poor boy to work for them. The episode finishes up as Koko dashes out the door and tries to escape, with all of his friends following behind him.

Our Take:

For a season finale, this was certainly a strange and unexpected episode. While Hotaru and Koko’s reunion was fairly touching, the second half of the episode felt rushed, like the writers had all these plot threads and didn’t know how to resolve any of them, so they just, well, didn’t. Hotaru’s return to the show happened too late in the season to really develop anything, and it felt like the episode was just trying to finish on a status quo instead of giving a proper finale. Although considering what Dagashi Kashi is, I can’t say I’m terribly surprised that this episode went for cute and kinda funny over powerful storytelling. Not bad, but not particularly good either.