Dagashi Kashi 1

About this translation: I kept the original names of the different dagashi that are introduced in the story. I don't usually keep Japanese words in my translations, but I thought it would be extremely awkward to translate the name of the different sweets.
As for typesetting, please do not use an all-caps font to prevent possible misunderstandings for the readers, since one of the character is named "You", and that would look just like "you" with an all-caps font.

000a:

[front cover]

だ
Dagashi Kashi
[Translation note: there is a pun in the title. It can be read "dagashi kashi", where "dagashi" are cheap Japanese sweets that are mainly targeted towards children (as opposed to "wagashi", which are refined, expensive sweets, served during tea ceremony or given as presents), and "kashi" are sweets in general; it can also be read "da ga shikashi", which means "however" (it could also be read in different other ways, but they do not make much sense, in my opinion).]

コ
Kotoyama

[front flap]

コ
Kotoyama

コ
My name is Kotoyama.
This is the first time my manga is published as a bound volume, so I'm feeling many different emotions right now, such as happiness and nervousness. It's a very strange feeling.
I think that "Dagashi Kashi" is a pretty good title, don't you think so too?
Best regards.

[book spine]

だ
Dagashi Kashi

コ
Kotoyama

小
Shogakukan

[back cover]

美
Delicious. Nostalgic. Unseal the dagashi comedy!!!

駄
One day, Kokonotsu, whose father runs a dagashi shop, encounters a mysterious girl.
Umai Bou, Buta Men, Ramune...
For this small rural town, this marks the beginning of the "ridiculous summer of sweets", stirred by the lively girl's stories about dagashi. [Translation note: there's a pun in this sentence: it's written "okashina natsu", which means "ridiculous summer", but "okashi" also means "sweets", which is why I translated it as "ridiculous summer of sweets".]

[back flap]

駄
Dagashi roster

う
Umai Bou

[on the umai bou]

コ
Corn Potage Flavor

う
Umai

棒
Bou

ま
I'm round and delicious!

[description]

み
It's the king of dagashi, everyone knows about it... It's the Umai Bou!! Approximately two million of these sticks are sold each day, which brings it to an overwhelming six hundred million over the course of a year!! So, by a simple calculation, on average, each Japanese person eats five of them a year. That really surprised me, it's just like a national dish!
The Umai Bou first came out in 1979 in three different flavors: Worcestershire sauce, salami, and curry. Then other novel (?) flavors were launched, such as lobster or crab chanko, and now there are more than fifty different flavors to choose from!! It has been loved by both children and adults for more than thirty-five years, and continues to reign over the world of dagashi, even now. It is truly the king of dagashi!!
[Translation note: a "chanko nabe" is a stew with large quantities of protein sources (e.g., crab).]

000b:

[front cover]

だ
Dagashi Kashi

[book spine]

だ
Dagashi Kashi

コ
Kotoyama

小
Shogakukan

001:

だ
Dagashi Kashi

コ
Kotoyama

002:

も
Table of Contents

第
1st Sweet "The Dagashi Shop"

第
2nd Sweet "Umai Bou"

第
3rd Sweet "Potato Fry"

第
4th Sweet "Kinako Bou"

第
5th Sweet "Namaiki Beer"

第
6th Sweet "Morocco Fruit Yogul"

第
7th Sweet "Coffee Gyuunyuu Candy"

第
8th Sweet "Young Doughnuts"

第
9th Sweet "Buta Men"

第
10th Sweet "Kurukuru Bou Jelly"

第
11th Sweet "Fue Ramune"

第
12th Sweet "Menko"

第
13th Sweet "Ramune"

第
14th Sweet "Cocoa Cigarettes"

第
15th Sweet "Puchi Puchi Uranai Choco"

第
16th Sweet "Bin Ramune"

第
17th Sweet "Kozakura Mochi"

第
18th Sweet "Tamago Ice"

003:

い
Do you understand, Kokonotsu?
[Translation note: his name is a pun, "kokonotsu" also means "nine".]

俺
I want you to take over after me. I will entrust it all to you, the ninth head...

父
Pops, I...

い
I know.
You don't have to say it.

お
You have a natural gift for it.

安
I know everything will be fine in your hands.

い
No, what I meant was:
"I don't want to inherit our business."

…
That's what I was trying to say...

え
Huh...?

泣
He's cryiiiing!!!

004:

そ
To begin with,
you're trying to make this inheritance sound cool, but...

う
Our business is just a small dagashi shoooop!!
Just hire a part-timer or something!

シ
Shikada

駄
Dagashi

氷
Ice

ア
Ice

005:

第
1st Sweet: The Dagashi Shop

007:

て
But, you know...

こ
There's no way someone would come so deep in the countryside to work part-time at a sweets shop.

え
Huh?
W-Well... That's true...

こ
There's no way someone would come so deep in the countryside to...

わ
I got it already!! Don't get so depressed by something you said yourself!! And don't say it twice!!

だ
But that's 'cause you said you don't wanna take over the shop...

ス
Now he's sulking.

て
But tell me, Kokonotsu...

じ
What do you want to be in the future, then?

！
!

…
...

？
?

ん
Hmm? What's wrong?

い
I-I can't tell him...

実
I can't tell him I actually want to become a mangaka...

勉
Don't study too hard, you have to sleep too.

う
G-Got it!!

そ
And that I've been drawing manga night after night in order to achieve my dream...
I can't tell him that... More like, I don't want to tell him!!

絶
I know he'd make fun of me!

ま
Well, I only have a vague idea of... What are you reading, pops?

008:

少
A shoujo mangaka, huh? I didn't expect that... It's not bad, but I think your female characters are too perfect, which makes me think you're still a virgin.

そ
Oh, and I think the readers will not understand the meaning of this sentence easily, so maybe you should reword it to make it simpler...

ペ
*blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah*

な
Why did you read it without my permission?! And now you're giving long, detailed, careful comments as if you're reviewing iiiit??!!

僕
The town we live in is near the cost, on a peninsula.

こ
around here

特
There's no tourist attraction, and not many people live here either.

009:

そ
The people who live here,

皆
they must find a way to pass time.

音
Some learn to play music.

勉
Some study their butts off.

時
Some kill time by going to the city.

僕
My way to pass time is manga.

き
Maybe pops praised me for my doodles once, or something like that...

父
That must be how it started.

…
...
The sea sure is vast.

あ
Ah ha ha ha ha!

き
Eek! It's cooold!

010:

夏
It's summer holidays!! It really feels like summer holidays when there are girls in swimsuits!

コ
Don't you think so too, Kokonotsu? By the way, between the two, which one is your type?

ぼ
*mumble*

僕
The one in the black swim-

べ
But...!!

わ
*panic*

わ
*panic*

別
But it's not because she's got huge boobs!! That has nothing to do with it, okay?!

こ
Hmm... So he likes huge boobs... Like father, like son, huh...?

て
What are you doing here, actually?

ん
Hmm?

コ
Well, you see, Kokonotsu...

お
I decided that, if you really want to become a mangaka, I'm going to support you.

…
...!

父
Pops...

お
I've seen you spend countless nights drawing manga...
I know you couldn't tell me...

011:

だ
And so...

…
?
An envelope?

お
In order to understand your feelings...
I've drawn a manga too.

コ
Kokonotsu
and
the Dagashi Story

こ
I-I don't... want to read iiiit!!!

こ
This is

だ
dagashi

な
very good! It's so good!

さ
As I expected of you, my son...

さ
Indeed.

こ
I'm leaving our shop in your hands, Kokonotsu!

お
I...

お
I'll take over after you, pops!

…
...

都
Don't write the story so that it develops in the direction that's convenient for you!!!

え
Huh?
Isn't that how people usually draw manga?

そ
That's clearly not the problem here!!

え
Huh? But, you know...

012:

そ
And... Even though the theme is dagashi, you don't even introduce a single one! I think I understand why we're in the red now.

い
There are many dagashi you could use here. You don't even name a single one!
First of all, you have to start by imagining what your clients want...

そ
To begin with, the good points of dagashi are that they remind people of their childhoods and that everyone has a close connection to them.
Ah, now that I think about it, in our shop...

ペ
*blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah* *blah*

や
I-I knew it, Kokonotsu...

お
You're a genius when it comes to dagashi!!!

ま
We should start by rearranging the shelves... Are you listening?

無
You're not even trying to, but you keep finding points to improve at our shop...!!

鹿
Kokonotsu Shikada (15 y/o). Dreams of becoming a mangaka.

な
What are you crying for?

「
At the beginning of summer holidays, unbeknownst to him, his father's wish for him to inherit the shop became even stronger.