Forum - View topicComparing Comedies: Konosuba vs. Dagashi Kashi
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Stretch2424
 Posts: 168 |
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Maybe there is something odd about my sense of humor, but I dropped Dagashi Kashi after one episode but am thoroughly enjoying Konosuba. It seemed to me that one problem with DK is that the basic premise--a rich girl wants you to work in a modest snack shop--was hard to take seriously. Even worse, the episode couldn't summon a single laugh out of me. If I were authorized to do whatever it would take to salvage this show, the first thing I'd do is hire one or more talented comedians who can write genuinely funny jokes. As things are, being a comedy without jokes DK needs an interesting story and likeable characters. But again the premise is lame and the characters are lame as well. Kokonatsu's personality consists of his wish to be a mangakka; that was revealed in the first minute or two of the episode and little or nothing is added to him afterwards. Nobody else gets much depth, either. Both the OP and ED songs sounded to me like there was something wrong with the timing of the recording I was listening to. There's the usual 'oops, I walked in on a nude girl in a shower' scene; wouldn't it be funny if just for once a guy who was about to open a bathroom door stopped and thought 'for all I know, there might be someone naked inside'? It would definitely be unusual. I don't hate this show, but I definitely have much better things to do with my time. It has gotten to the point where sometimes when I see a certain style of modest character designs (like the ones here) in the first scene of a new anime, they seem to quash my hopes at a stroke, because shows of this sort are almost never very good.
On the other hand, I sort of liked Konosuba right from the start. It is silly, the characters have some personality, and, perhaps best of all, it seems that an actual story is being told. The fact that Kazuma and Aqua have a clearly defined goal which they must accomplish suggests that an interesting story will come about. Very few shows (including this one) are funny enough for the humor alone to carry them forward, so they need a halfway decent plot as well, and Konosuba seems like it might have just that. There are varying degrees of plausibility in people getting caught in MMORPG-like situations; here, the bizarre premise that a Goddess is behind it and it is a form of resurrection actually makes more sense than some other shows. When Gods and Goddesses are involved, anything is possible. And the silly tone of the show indicates that we don't have to take it all that seriously. I initially worried that Konosuba might devolve into a harem, but nothing of the kind has happened. Maybe one thing I like is that Kazuma is a respectable otaku. Just be fairly funny, and all other sins are forgiven. That great truth of anime (and any other form of entertainment) applies here. Konosuba somehow manages to be a genuinely funny show; not ROFLMAO funny, but funny nevertheless. Not a whole lot of supposed anime comedies even manage to reach this modest goal--many only pretend to be funny while clearly relying on fanservice or even violence to attract viewers. But this is a show which took a little pride in itself, and whose makers wanted to turn out a quality product. I appreciate that, because it is all too rare. |
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killjoy_the
 Posts: 2475 |
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I did the same, sort of. Dropped Dagashi after 4 episodes, and I'm enjoying Konosuba but it's not really near my favorite comedies at all. If anything I found Dagashi's first episode to be the best one because the set-up was still new. Then, it got boring really really fast. Konosuba has had moments when it's really funny, and entire characters who just aren't and drag whole episodes down. My favorite anime comedies are more like the Konosuba type of comedy, sort of mean-spirited, and parody-y. Humanity Has Declined and Abenobashi, for instance, are less the former and more the latter, and rely a lot on absurdity too. I have enjoyed more atmospheric comedies like Tamako Market, Yuru Yuri, and other 'cute girls' shows, but not as much. |
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navycherub
 Posts: 233 |
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Same. I actually do like Dagashi Kashi, but essentially never find it "funny" and instead just "comfortable." On the other hand, shows like Konosuba can actually pull laughs out of me. It's just kind of cathartic to come home from a stressful or busy day and watch - dare I say, relate to? - these characters making dumb mistakes, giving each other a hard time, and so on. |
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jree78
Posts: 123 |
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I totally agree also, Dagashi was fun at first but became stale. Konosuba is the show I look forward to every Wednesday.
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stilldemented
 Posts: 232 |
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I'm afraid that I also have to join the choir alongside everyone else in regards to Dagashi Kashi not being my cup of tea.
Most of that is simply because the show is outside of my frame of reference. I know very little about the kind of candies that are commonplace in Japan. The show is centered around it and does a good job of explaining everything. The problem lies in that sometimes it starts feeling more like a history lesson than a comedy. I'm just not all that invested in learning about Japanese candies. So that's one major hitch that immediately works against my enjoyment. The other thing is that the show revolves around Hotaru. Most of the characters play the role of straight man to her boisterous demeanor. For me, she is an exhausting character, and I find myself a fish out of water when trying to keep up with her rhythm. That's supposed to be the humor, but it's one-note and that's part of the problem I have. Another random aside is that the first episode didn't do too well at establishing that this is a straight comedy. It's understandable why, as the show starts off with the classic boy meets girl story usually found in romances. It wasn't until episode 3-4 that I realized my own misconception. So that had also generated a little unnecessary frustration. In an odd sort of way, what works against Dagashi Kashi just so happens to be the same sort of writing tool that is fitting for Konosuba. Unfortunately, because of this, it invites comparison. Konosuba establishes its genre in comedic farce and consistently rolls with it. Kazuma is the straight man in an insane world. Everything that comes into his life is absurd. The audience is able to relate to Aqua to a certain extent, because the show establishes her role as a goddess with poor luck and intelligence. The comedy then proceeds to set itself up and knocks itself down. We can understand her as a character. Hotaru works counter to that as her role plays off of being awry and alien to everyone else. Though I will say that Konosuba does have its shticks that eventually start feeling stale. Darkness's played up masochism is becoming more distracting than humorous as we move forward, but for the most part, Konosuba delivers nothing more or less that what it intended. In that regard, Konosuba is a solid success. But to give Dagashi Kashi a little bit of slack...Saya is awesome. 
That's my thought process about the two shows. Hopefully, it's coherent and hit all my bullet points. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if I missed something. Last edited by stilldemented on Wed Mar 09, 2016 1:10 pm; edited 4 times in total |
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SnowyLightning44
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I think I prefer KonoSuba since Dagashi Kashi was a bit funny a the start but it doesn't really feel comedic anymore whereas I still find myself cracking up whilst watching KonoSuba probably since I tend to refer comedies with a 'straight man' role, such as Arakawa Under The Bridge, Gintama and Senyuu
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r0verandom
 Posts: 26 |
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I dropped KonoSuba after 2 episodes so I can't tell much bout that, characters and situations weren't funny enough to keep me interested.
I prefer more atmospheric and heartwarming comedies like Dagashi Kashi, where I can just see characters fooling around and doing what friends do. I'm glad main girls aren't rivals or something like that, but are instead friends who enjoy spending time together. DK is far from great (like Non Non Biyori and Aria are, for example) but its a nice 20 minute break to relax. |
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meiam
Posts: 3450 |
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Liked others, it seems, I also dropped DK after episode 1. A big part was that I just didn't know any of the snack they talked about but another was the bane of every comedy, the "where are the jokes?" syndrome. Where you have slightly humours moment but no punch line or anything, just an atmosphere of "isn't this sort of weird?". Other reason was that the show was entirely carried by Hotura and once her shtick would become repetitive and boring the entire show was gonna fall apart. The only character I sorta liked was hawai shirt guy, but its pretty clear he was never gonna become anything, the main character was boring to tear.
Konosuba on the other hand has great characters, including the main character. He's a straight men, but the show still has him do outlandish things from time to time (like the long suggestive sequence with his hand). Plus the character in many way feel close together. I think once you become really good friend with someone you can be a lot more blunt and you can start to backstab each others a bit, because both of you are confident that your friendship is strong enough to handle it. So when he and Aqua argue and such they kinda feel like good friend, when they're in need the two of them rely on each others. |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4627 |
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I have to say, I appreciate Nick's analysis here. I've been thoroughly enjoying Dagashi Kashi, and it was actually my most anticipated new show of the season, but I couldn't quite pin down my reasoning. Honestly, I don't think I necessarily need clearly defined jokes or gags to find a show humorous, and I can get a lot of enjoyment out of friends just being friends without there having to be some sort of point to it.
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RestLessone
 Posts: 1426 Location: New York |
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Nice article! Made me think about my own tastes in comedy. I've often had trouble articulating my feelings, and this article definitely helped. To begin, I find myself in sort of a weird situation where I rarely laugh at comedies unless I'm among other people. Then, laughter is either contagious (in a good way!) or a signal to others that I'm enjoying the content. Sometimes, I don't find something funny exactly, but can recognize it as being humorous? If that makes sense. I don't think it inhibits my enjoyment of a work, though.
Anyway, I think I fall more into the Konosuba-esque humor camp. (Note: I have seen neither Konosuba nor Dagashi Kashi.) I like series with easygoing characters and/or gentle humor, but not to the same degree as sharper comedy. Or, in some cases, I don't watch the gentler show for the comedy at all. Essentially, that form of humor can be nice in small doses or as a supplement to a series, but that alone wont hold my interest. That said, I need at least something likable to cling to. I can only handle Always Sunny in Philadelphia in small chunks because its cast is a bit too harsh for me. To bring up another airing anime comedy, Osomatsu-san stars horrible people, but it does a satisfactory job at balancing those elements with less mean-spirited humor and sometimes sympathetic moments. I can't go into Always Sunny expecting that, and it's not what that series sets out to do. |
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FlareKnight
Posts: 175 |
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Have to agree that I definitely enjoy the style of Konosuba vs Dagashi Kashi. Dagashi was alright, but I did get bored after a while. Not being familiar with the subject matter might not have helped, but the way it creates the humor didn't really work for me.
I think Konosuba gives you it's whole identity right from the gate and just carries on with that. The great thing is that the whole cast is flawed. The show sometimes tries to treat Kazuma as the sane man in an insane world....but he's really not. He may be more normal and sane than his party, but not by much. Often crossing lines and getting caught up in perverted or threatening moods. Darkness wasn't wrong, he has a bit of sadist in there. I appreciate just how flawed the whole cast is, both in good ways and bad. Aqua takes a lot of hits for the comedy and is an idiot. But she's also got a lot of power and often can resolve situations (and sometimes make additional troubles while doing it). I appreciate that everyone in the cast has their flaws and no one is immune to getting in trouble. Kazuma can take his hits for the sake of laughs just like Darkness, Megumin, or Aqua. In the end Konosuba is a show that revolves around fun and it brings that every week. |
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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I would have to disagree, there is some sincere fraternal love between konosuba's main cast, as shown in the scene where spoiler[Kazuma get's ressurected after being decapitated]. Also, they do not really laugh at each other, the group dynamic seems to be who can cause more grief to kazuma (and viceversa). |
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FaeLioN
Posts: 4 |
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To keep it simple, Dagashi was really boring, i could only stand 3 or 4 episodes just to not be unfair, but then dropped it. What i want from a comedy is for it to make me laugh, wich konosuba does quite well.
Dagashi is just silly, really silly, and boring, and surelly patrocinated by candy companies, if not, i can't explain why they made an anime out of it. If you want to fell warm, better watch Aria (the Venezia one, not the Ammo). Last edited by FaeLioN on Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:41 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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FaeLioN
Posts: 4 |
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I disagree too, they don't really laugh at their friends problems. And it's clearly shown in a lot of scenes that they clearly care for each other. It's true the funn comes from the misadventures of the characters. But Nick's analysis makes it sound like a gourp of cold people wich they really aren't. |
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FlareKnight
Posts: 175 |
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Yeah, it does go a bit far in that respect. Sure, they cause trouble for each other but they still care. It's something that evolves over time which makes sense since they start out as strangers and become friends along the way. While they might get each other into difficult situations, they don't really enjoy each other suffering. Though someone might be in a bad mood (usually Kazuma) and be more ambivalent about upsetting someone (Aqua). |
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