Dagashi Kashi

If you ever wanted to know more about inexpensive Japanese snack foods and candies, this series will satisfy your curiosity. The first season runs for 12 episodes of 24 minutes, the second for 12 episodes of 12 minutes. In the first season, each episode consists of two short episodes.

The characters:

• Kokonotsu Shikada (aka Coconuts), a high school student who dreams of becoming a manga artist
• Yō Shikada who wants his son to take over the family dagashi shop (Shikada Dagashi)
• Saya Endō, a high school student who runs a local coffee cafe and has had a crush on Kokonotsu since they were children
• Tō Endō, Saya's twin brother and Kokonotsu's best friend
• Hotaru Shidare, a strange high school girl who has come to town to recruit Yō to work for her father's candy manufacturing company
• Beniyutaka Shidare, who manages a convenience store which opens near Shikada Dagashi
• Hajime Owari, a young collage drop-out who gets a part time job at Shikada Dagashi in exchange for room and board

The last two characters are introduced in the second season. As you might guess from the names, Hotaru and Beniyutaka are brother and sister, but while the viewers are clued into this when Beniyutaka is first introduced, the other characters do not realize the connection until the last episode.

There is not much of a plot to speak of, and most episodes focus on exploring trivia regarding various types of dagashi. All the products talked about are real items you can buy if you want to look for them. The humor comes mainly from double entendres and misunderstandings ("Oh, she was talking about dagashi, not ..."), but the backstories of the various dagashi are told with a nice touch of humor. There is usually at least one genuinely funny moment in each episode.

The opening and closing credits are among the weirdest Catman has seen to date.