The Fall 2024 Light Novel Guide

Dagashi-ya Yahagi: Setting Up a Sweets Shop in Another World

What's It About? 

From the day he was born until the moment he died, 25-year-old Yusuke Yahagi never had a say in his life. Even after being hit by a truck and sent to a new world, he was given a job he hadn't asked for: a dagashi-ya. But the cheap and tasty snacks that line his shop are different from those back in Japan. From Curry Rice Crackers to Anzu Sticks, each item comes with its own special effects. Unfortunately, this new world has no idea what dagashi are! It's up to Yahagi to teach them about the wonders of dagashi as he builds a new life for himself, selling his stat-boosting snacks to help adventurers in need and earning loyal customers—like the lively pink-haired Meryl, the mysterious man in the silver mask, and maybe even a witch or two...?

Dagashi-ya Yahagi: Setting Up a Sweets Shop in Another World has a story by Bunzaburou Nagano with illustrations by Neruzo Nemaki, with English translation by Mizuki Sakamoto. Published by J-Novel Club; PublishDrive edition (September 2, 2024).

Is It Worth Reading?

I'm not sure if everyone has warm and fuzzy memories of penny candy or other places with cheap treats and trinkets, but I certainly do. The thrill of deciding between Swedish fish, Alexander the Grapes, and those little chocolate things with the white dots on top was a major part of my early childhood, and it was a local tragedy when the old grocery store with the candy counter closed. That's the sort of nostalgia that this book is selling, albeit dressed up with an isekai glaze. Our protagonist is an average guy who dies via truck (just like everyone else in his corner of the afterlife) and is sent by a paper-pushing god to a fantasy world with a very specific power: dagashi-ya. That means his skill is to magically open a store selling the Japanese equivalent of penny candy and cheap toys, with the twist that all of them have stat boosts or other benefits tailored to his new world.

It's not a new concept – plenty of other isekai protagonists end up as shopkeepers – but it is a fun take on it. Yahagi's a pretty chill guy, and he's just as excited by his products as his customers, reliving moments of his childhood with every new item that shows up. His leveling up isn't the typical RPG style, either; instead, his shop simply physically expands and he gets new goodies to sell. Most are recognizable even if you've just perused the Asian section of a Wal-Mart and absorbed what people munch on in anime and manga, which is a good thing because most of the gags hinge on this recognizability. The idea is that they're the familiar treats everyone knows and loves, just with some bonus features, like mana restoration.

While I wouldn't quite classify this as a cozy fantasy, it fills much of the same niche. The exception is Yahagi's relationship with “Minerva,” a powerful adventurer he's utterly convinced is a man. I don't think it's a spoiler (look at the name) to say that Yahagi's wrong and that all attempts to convince us otherwise are futile because the author pretty quickly gives up on that ruse, instead making a shift to an attempted dual narration. That doesn't work particularly well, mostly because they have a hard time differentiating between character voices, something that holds true for the “Meryl's Diary” sections as well. It also doesn't help that Minerva is a bit more yandere than I tend to like, but if obsessed ladies are your thing, I suspect you'll enjoy her as a character.

On the whole, this is a more engaging novel than I was expecting. It has a comfortable pace, plenty of references to other stories in a nicely self-aware way (although those references come too fast at first), and a decent take on what has become a schlocky genre. It's a good choice if you just want to take your mind off of the real world for a few hours.

Lauren Orsini
Rating:

Dude gets hit by a truck, dude gets reborn in a magic fantasy world, dude becomes a chick magnet. It's the oldest isekai plot in the book, so what is there to make Dagashi-ya Yahagi worth your while? That is, beyond the fact that the protagonist is vocally anti-slavery and supportive of gay marriage. (In any other genre, we could simply assume these things without having to be told!) This book's selling point is its relaxing blend of the Japanese old fashioned snack shop experience and its on-the-fringes slice-of-life experience of a dungeon town non-combatant.

Yusuke Yahagi has read his share of isekai stories, so he's not too surprised when he ends up reborn in a fantasy world. But unlike the powerful heroes of most such tales, Yusuke only has one ability. It's a magic spell to open and close his dagashi-ya, a type of snack shop that is common in Japan, but is a surprising novelty to his new customers: adventurers looking for a quick bite on the way to their daily dungeon crawl. Yusuke's dagashi are especially handy to his customers—for example, 10 Rim Gum (known in Japan as 10 Yen Gum) has the added benefit of restoring 1 MP every 10 minutes for as long as it retains its flavor. As Yusuke continues to sell products, he “levels up” his offerings and attracts new patrons. One customer is especially odd: a dangerous-looking guy with a girly way of speaking. This is technically a spoiler, but you'd have to be dense as a brick not to immediately notice this dude is actually the witch Michelle in disguise. The same cannot be said for this book's entire cast: everyone simply assumes he's a man who is super gay for Yusuke, a misconception that raises even more eyebrows after Yusuke begins dating “him,” especially since “he” is extremely clingy and possessive! The second half of the book drops snacks altogether in favor of Yusuke selling knockoff Gundam models. Believe it or not, this is a critical matter for politics at a state level.

Yusuke's leveling up, his cute female customers, and eventual oddball girlfriend (whom everyone thinks is a man) are sure to charm light novel fans. It's a by-the-book isekai that places a relatable, ordinary guy in an extraordinary world, then gives him a special something that makes him alluring to a gorgeous, needy witch in disguise. Before the dagashi-ya leveling-up narrative can lose its luster, the plot about Gundam models that can potentially overthrow a kingdom raises the stakes. It's good for what it is, blending the requisite level of wish fulfillment with an interesting plot that keeps things moving.