10 Second Anime - Dagashi Kashi - Episode 8

The kids tell scary stories during a typhoon and Tou wants to become popular. Saya and Hotaru help and hinder in their own ways.

Episode 8 - "Super Scary Story Gum and Typhoon and..."

"Kendama and Pop Pop Fortune Chocolate and..."

Heh.

It was a dark and stormy night... Actually, a typhoon hit the seaside village, so the kids spent time telling each other scary stories by candlelight. Candy was involved, of course. The next day, Tou asserts his recurring mission to become popular, first by doing tricks with the kendama, a Japanese yo-yo like toy and then later by trying to understand women. Good luck with that, Tou.

And So.

Let's talk about this episode!

Saya the Scaredy-Cat.

I liked how the high-strung Saya showed off that personality trait by being really scared of scary stories.

Also, look how close she and Hotaru have come during the course of Summer vacation.

The candy related angle to the scary stories Tou told was that they all came from the short scary stories of, fittingly enough, Super Scary Stories Gum. Hotaru knew all the stories thanks to her Candy Nerditude. I found it odd that Tou, who had claimed earlier in the season not to like candy, spent enough time reading the packaging of the candy at the Shikada Snack Store.

Also, Tou wears sunglasses at night...

The funny thing about this scene was how the kids decided to turn the lights off and use a candle for ambience, but then a real power outage hit. Mr. You had to freak Saya out way worse than her brother ever could.

Kokonotsu showed off his story-telling skills by poking holes in all the premises while Hotaru assisted with the plausibility of those short scary stories by noting the lack of danger if someone narrating the story was able to actually survive a fateful encounter. I wonder if this wasn't a sideways editorial to tell the candy company to up their game.

And yes, I'm sure there will be tons of juvenile memes showing Hotaru holding a condom instead of a pack of gum.

Have at it, Internet!

Saya, Kendama Master.

I'm always impressed how a small seaside village looks like it's 20 to 30 years in the past, yet the people are all about YouTube and computers and smartphones. It's a pretty modern thing for Tou to plan on getting popular by making a viral video of his kendama skills.

Leave it to Saya to remind him why he gave up that particular plan several months ago. It's no surprise that Saya would be physically coordinated enough to handle hard wood and bouncing balls. Ah... look for smexy memes of this too...

The punchline for this vignette, besides the chuckle I had that Kokonotsu and Tou were actually featured in a De! eye catch, was that Tou spent all that money on kendama for nothing when he had so many at home. It's a good thing his sunglasses could hide his tears and insincerity that he just wanted something new.

Hotaru the Wish Granter.

Hoh, I really do wish that Tou's wish for a panty shot came true, but even more, I wish I could have seen it.

After the kendama debacle, Tou hadn't given up on his dream of achieving popularity. What better way to become popular than by hanging out with girls and understanding them? Eh...

Anyway, skipping the cross-gender shoujo manga cliché, Tou hit upon identifying with women by playing fortune-telling games.

He's not wrong. Japanese girls love them some horoscopes, personality types and other superstitious rituals. It's not just the Shinto influence where anything and everything can have a deity's intervention, but it's the candy too! Actually, the Shinto influence probably influences the candy gambling packaging.

Tou's desperation for popularity had him wishing on the Pop Pop Fortune Chocolates to understand girls, but then he wished for something only a horny teenage boy would ask for: a panty shot!

How strange that it would be Hotaru, who always wears black pantyhose and a long skirt, would be the one to suddenly show up to grant that wish.

From their faces, we can surmise something nice happened, but then Tou said they may or may not have seen them. Come on, man!

I think they saw a very nice side of Hotaru. That's just my personal opinion.

I noticed that Tou reminded the audience that they're still in Summer vacation because he said he hadn't done a lick of his homework.

I'm still tickled by these chibi faces. Hotaru was awfully excited to sleep with scaredy-cat Saya. I encourage this behavior!