Dagashi Kashi (2017)

[だがしかし]

Volume 7

Author/Artist: Kotoyama
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Hotaru is gone and the Shikada Dagashiya has fallen on hard times, so Kokonotsu has to step up and save the shop.

Story/Characters:
From here on out, we follow more of a continuous story than the more episodic nature of the series before. This may or may not appeal to you. I feel it works because the characters are appealing and I certainly don't mind seeing more of an arc for them. We get two major additions to the cast, Yutaka and Hajime. The former is set up as a rival for Kokonotsu, running a convenience store, which is the slayer of dagashiya all over the country. He could've been insufferably smug and dismissive, which is how he first appears, but he then turns into something of a spear counterpart to Hotaru. Hajime is great. On the one hand she's actually quite smart but sorely lacking in common sense. She has great chemistry with Kokonotsu, as highlighted in the chapter where they work on a website for the shop. Even though there are some shipteasy moments, she's not meant to be a romantic rival and that saves the series from slipping into harem territory. Her introduction to Tou is great. All this builds up to Kokonotsu preparing a manuscript for editorial review. The result is quite realistic. That leads us to an absolutely perfect cliffhanger.

Art:
I have a thing for meganekko, so as you might imagine, I really like Hajime. She has this unkempt beauty thing going for her that I dig as well. She shares visual elements of both Hotaru and Saya which makes her the best of both worlds.

Other:
The four 4-koma are pretty good and play well with the introduction of Hajime.

Conclusion:
This volume represents a shift in the storytelling style, but it doesn't suffer from it. While the old formula worked just fine, this is a nice evolution for the series to take. Both Yutaka and Hajime liven things up, so even in Hotaru's absence the show goes on. This one is worth having.

Rating:
Own It